PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal hopeful Atrum Coal has entered into joint venture (JV) discussions with subsidiary Kuro Coal to develop its Panorama project, about 20 km from the flagship Groundhog project, in British Colombia.
Kuro is the spin-out company of Atrum and holds the company’s Canadian exploration assets, including the Naskeena anthracite project, the Peace River coal project and the Bowron River coal project.
Atrum told shareholders on Thursday that the development of the Panorama project by Kuro would create a second operator in the Groundhog region, which had the potential to provide more regional employment opportunities and to share the costs associated with future infrastructure developments.
“A JV at Panorama is a win-win for Atrum and Kuro. The deal creates co-development and co-marketing opportunities that will benefit both companies,” said Atrum executive director Russell Moran.
A formal JV agreement was expected within the next week.
The Panorama project consists of two granted coal licences covering 850 ha of contiguous tenure that was subjected to the proposed JV. The Panorama area is the only other known outcrop of the Groundhog coalfield and is believed to be prospective for high-grade anthracite.
Moran said that the JV option over Panorama, rather than a spin-out of the asset would enable Atrum to retain influence over the exploration and development of the potentially high-grade asset.
Meanwhile, Atrum on Thursday also announced the appointment of Andrew Phillipps to the board of Kuro Coal as a nonexecutive director.
Phillipps has more than 20 years experience in corporate finance and has held senior roles with UBS, in Australia and New Zealand, Cameron Partners and ANZ Funds Management.