Drilling continued in both Elan South and Isolation South area till last week. Core drilling at Isolation South for coal quality testing and further RAB drilling at Elan South now expected to conclude in
Elan South
A total of 119 rotary air blast (RAB) exploration holes have been completed at Elan South in 2019 for a total of 20,150 metres of drilling (as at
At South East Corner, large diameter (LD) coring has been completed at 3 sites and PQ coring at 8 sites, with the coring undertaken at defined intervals based on the twinning of existing structure holes. Five LD cored holes have been completed at Fish Hook, and current drilling at
Core drilling at Elan South has been significantly slower than expected, particularly over recent weeks, due to mobilisation delays and equipment maintenance downtime. As a result, analytical testing of the core samples taken from Fish Hook, South East Corner and
Isolation South
A total of 49 RAB exploration holes have been completed at Isolation South for 7,850 metres of drilling. Eight holes have been completed in the southern area and 41 completed in the area north of the
The RAB holes at Isolation South complement 19 historical HQ size fully cored holes drilled in the 1970's.
Total Elan Project HCC resources
As noted earlier, an update to the overall Elan South resource, incorporating all 2019 drilling in this area (and including a maiden resource estimate for South East Corner), is now expected in 1Q 2020.
As also previously flagged, exceptionally thick seams encountered in recent Isolation South drilling are not yet incorporated in the resource estimate. These results include intercepts of cumulative apparent thicknesses exceeding 100 metres in multiple holes.
This area of structural thickening presents further significant resource upside potential at Isolation South. This upside potential is to be complemented and validated by planned drilling of cores for coal quality testing being undertaken at Isolation South in
Expanded Elan Scoping Study
The total areal footprint of the
The Isolation South drilling results during 2019 have, as previously reported, consistently returned shallow, thick cumulative coal intercepts. The recent interim resource update for Isolation South also saw a substantial 97 Mt increase to
Given the considerable project upside potential that Isolation South offers, and the delay to the Elan South resource update into 1Q 2020, Atrum has elected to incorporate Isolation South into an expanded Elan Scoping Study. The enlarged Elan Scoping Study will incorporate mine designs and production schedules for both Elan South and Isolation South, as well as project infrastructure and transport logistics solutions that are fully integrated for a dual development. Targeted completion of the expanded Elan Scoping Study is now scheduled for 1Q 2020.
Contact:
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About
The Elan South area is located approximately 13 km from an existing rail line with significant excess capacity, providing direct rail access to export terminals in
A Scoping Study to evaluate development of the
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