The Naskeena, Bowron River and Peace River projects, all located in British Columbia, will move to the new company.

The company said the spin-off would allow it to concentrate on the development of its flagship Groundhog project, which is in the process of completing a feasibility study.

Atrum managing director Eric Lilford said it was a huge win for shareholders.

“They will benefit from additional returns by way of shares in an exciting new exploration venture in one of the most attractive mining jurisdictions in the world, leaving Atrum free to focus its management time and balance sheet on developing the tier one Groundhog project,” Lilford said.

The finalisation of the capital structure and management team for the new vehicle is underway, as is a decision on the date for an Atrum shareholders meeting to approve and plan the listing.

“The board and management of Atrum consider this to be the most appropriate method of delivering long-term shareholder value whilst enabling exploration funding to be allocated to these three exciting projects,” Lilford added.

Following a 2012 15-hole program, Groundhog’s 2013 total global resource comprises 1.57 billion tonnes, including 16 million tonnes of measured, 553Mt of indicated and 998Mt of inferred resources.

A 2013 drilling program is underway.

Coal quality testing has confirmed that the Groundhog product is a high quality anthracite coal suitable for the metallurgical coal markets in Japan, Korea, China and the Americas.