PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The British Columbian Ministry of Energy and Mines has granted a five-year extension to ASX-listed Atrum Coal over its flagship Groundhog project.
The extension allowed Atrum to progress exploration work on its 15 licences in the area, including the northern zone, where a bulk sample and test shipment programme was planned.
“This is an important permitting milestone for Atrum as we prepare for next year’s bulk sample and test shipment programme,” said MD Eric Lilford.
A scoping study into the Groundhog project has previously suggested that for a capital investment of some $62-million, the project could deliver some 1.8-million tonnes a year of saleable product, generating a before-tax cash flow of $107-million.
If the project complied with Atrum’s aspirations of delivering some three-million tonnes a year of saleable product, the cash flow could increase to $293-million.
First anthracite coal shipments have been earmarked for the fourth quarter of 2014.