The acquisition includes 11 coal licence Panstone applications covering a total of 15,554 hectares. It provides the company with a substantial consolidated footprint totalling 38,369 hectares in the Groundhog coalfield, managing director Eric Lilford said.
“We have increased our strategic dominance, in what we believe is the best part of the coal bearing geology at Groundhog,” he said.
“We are on track for an exciting year with a pre-feasibility study, off-take, first coal extraction and our spin-out activities expected to deliver significant value.”
The company will transition the Panstone Applications to granted licences as part of preparation for the 2014 exploration activities.
The company aims to deliver a low-cost anthracite operation at Groundhog and is targeting high-value, high-grade and ultra-high grade anthracite coal for application to the steel and ferro-alloy industries.
Atrum now has a total of 22 coal licenses and 15 coal licence applications (including proposed acquisition) at Groundhog. The company will incorporate these newly granted licenses into its 2014 exploration activities, it said.
