Altona Energy Regulatory News (ANR)

10 Oct 2005 07:00

Altona Resources PLC10 October 2005 Altona Resources Plc ("Altona" or "The Company") Altona Resources Plc Signs Full Acquisition Agreement to Acquire the Arckaringa Coal Project in South Australia Altona Resources Plc (AIM:ANR) announces that pursuant to the announcement of 8September 2005 relating to the acquisition of the Arckaringa Coal Project, afull acquisition agreement has now been signed. The share consideration remains 30 million ordinary fully paid shares in Altona,of which Rank Geological Services Pty Ltd will receive 17.713 million shares andBentley Solutions Ltd will receive 12.287 million shares. Completion of theagreement is subject to due diligence, and a further announcement will be madein due course. Christopher Lambert, Chairman of Altona, commented: "This is a significant steptowards completing the acquisition of the exciting Arckaringa Coal Project, anddue diligence is currently underway. The Board will seek the appointment of keypersonnel with extensive coal expertise, as part of the drive to unlock thesignificant development potential of a JORC compliant resource of over 7 billiontonnes of coal, in close proximity to the Adelaide to Darwin railroad." The Arckaringa Coal Project comprises the 100% interest in three explorationlicences in South Australia, which have a combined total JORC compliant resourceof over 7 billion tonnes of sub bituminous Permian coal, amenable to open pitmining, and suitable as fuel for power generation and potential application of "coal to oil" technology. The three exploration licences, EL3360, EL3361, andEL3362 ("the Licences"), cover a combined area of approximately 2,500 squarekilometres in the northern portion of the Permian Arckaringa Basin in SouthAustralia. The Licences include three coal deposits, known as the WestfieldDeposit (EL3360), the Wintinna Deposit (EL3361), and the Murloocoppie Deposit(EL3362), which are located in close proximity to the recently completedAdelaide to Darwin railroad, facilitating improved economic potential for coalexports. The acquisition of the Arckaringa Coal Project includes extensive data inrespect of the Licences, with the areas covered by the Licences having hadhistorical exploration expenditure estimated to be in excess of AUD $10 million(GBP £4.3 million). -ends- For further information please contact: Altona Resources Plc Nabarro Wells & Co Limited Parkgreen CommunicationsChristopher Lambert, Hugh Oram Justine Howarth Chairman Director Director+44 (0) 20 7016 9464 +44 (0) 20 7710 7400 +44 (0) 20 7493 3713 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange