The company announced it had started a drilling program at its properties in Manitoba and Saskatchewan last month and on Friday said the Thunder discovery consisted of three thick coal seams at the Overflowing property totaling 25.85m (84.8 feet) beginning at 15.3m (50.1ft) depth and ending at just over a depth of 45m (147.6ft).

It is the second discovery to be made at Overflowing and about 2km (1.24 miles) north of the Karolina discovery the company revealed last March.

Officials said technical difficulties caused crews to suspend drilling at about 50m (164ft).

Coal thicknesses were determined by driller measurements and the discovery hole had no e-logs.

Saturn said the area of Thunder and Karolina was part of a significant geophysical trend that connected several strong anomalies and to date, the drilling of those anomalies in the Overflowing trend resulted in proven coal ranging between three and 89m (291.9ft) in thickness at depths of 10 to 45m (32 to 147.6ft).

“Drilling on the Oveflowing trend was halted following the Thunder discovery due to an early spring breakup,” officials said late last week.

“Consequently, the margins of the Thunder discovery were not defined during the drill program and the discovery is open in all directions.

“[We intend] to further analyze the Thunder and Karolina discoveries in conjunction with the remaining anomalies of the Overflowing trend, as well as other areas of the Overflowing property, to design a broader exploration program to determine the ultimate potential.”

The miner sent six of its coal core samples to Calgary-based Loring Laboratories for proximate coal analysis.

Saturn is planning to combine the samples of both Thunder and Karolina for a coal-to-liquids suitability test.

In other Saturn news, the junior confirmed that drilling was also continuing at the Muskeg and Rat Creek properties in western Manitoba where 206.8m (678.4ft) and 192m (629.9 ft) had been completed to date, respectively.

Muskeg drilling included three shallow drillholes to test for three discrete gravity anomalies.

Two intersected the Cretaceous coal-bearing formation with coal fragments and reduced thickness (between 34 and 42m, or 111.5 and 137.7ft) of the formation itself.

One extremely thin coal seam measuring 0.15m (approximately 6 inches) was also encountered in drillhole MK221-2 at a depth of 31.09m (102ft) and technical problems caused two drillholes either to be terminated or to not reach planned depth.

Three remaining drillholes were completed at Rat Creek, two of which tested with discrete gravity anomalies of moderate strength.

All three holes intersected the top of the Devonian carbonate at very shallow depths but had no encounters of the Cretaceous coal-bearing formation.

Since 2009, Saturn Minerals has made two coal discoveries at its Saskatoba project, including an 89m thick (291.9ft) seam – one of the thickest ever encountered in Canada.

Saturn is fast advancing its portfolio of energy and resource assets in Saskatchewan.

It recently purchased the Little Swan oil and gas property immediately adjacent to its Armit coal property in Saskatchewan.

The Little Swan property is one of the largest oil and gas permits in the Saskatchewan province and is accessible by highway and extensive logging roads.