Altona Energy Regulatory News (ANR)

12 Oct 2006 07:00

Altona Resources PLC12 October 2006 12th October 2006 Altona Resources Plc ("the Company") BANKABLE FEASIBILITY STUDY TO COMMENCE Altona Resources plc (AIM: ANR) announces that the Company is to progress to thecommencement of a Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS"), following reports byJacobs Consultancy ("Jacobs") and MineConsult, which together indicateencouraging economic returns for an integrated mine, Coal-to-Liquids ("CTL") andpower cogeneration plant at the Company's Arckaringa Coal Project ("Arckaringa")in South Australia. Jacobs studied an expandable CTL plant, based on the Wintinna deposit atArckaringa, with a capacity of up to 45,000 barrels per day (BPD) of commercialpetroleum products, including 80% ultra low sulphur diesel and 20% naptha. Theplant design incorporates ConocoPhilips Gasification and Rentech'sFischer-Tropsch technology. The report concluded that: "Using already tried and tested equipment with long operating history, aself-sufficient expandable CTL Plant can be designed and implemented in threephases to a final plant capacity of 45,000 BPD without any major problem." In parallel, the Company's mine planning consultants, MineConsult, updatedcapital and operating cost estimates for an open cut mine, based on the Wintinnadeposit, starting at 5 Million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) and increasing to 10 and15 Mtpa to support the expandable CTL Plant. The BFS will include supplementary field drilling, coal quality testing forplant design, and further studies to optimize capital and operating costs for aCTL Plant of at least 30,000 BPD capacity and an open cut mine of around 10Mtpa. The results of theses studies will be reported progressively. The Companyaims to have the BFS completed by mid 2007. -ends- For further information please contact: Altona Resources plcChristopher Lambert, Chairman +44 (0) 207 016 5100Christopher Schrape, Managing Director +61 (0) 417 984 434 Nabarro Wells & Co LimitedHugh Oram, Director +44 (0) 207 710 7400 Parkgreen CommunicationsVictoria Thomas +44 (0) 207 493 3713 Notes to Editors: The Arckaringa Coal Project: The Arckaringa Coal Project ("Arckaringa") comprises the 100% interest in threeexploration licences in South Australia, which have previously been calculatedas a JORC compliant resource of over 7 billion tonnes of sub bituminous Permiancoal, amenable to open pit mining, and suitable as fuel for power generation andpotential application of coal to oil technology. The three explorationlicences, EL3360, EL3361, and EL3362 ("the Licences"), cover a combined area ofapproximately 2,500 square kilometres in the northern portion of the PermianArckaringa Basin in South Australia. The Licences include three coal deposits,known as the Westfield Deposit (EL3360), the Wintinna Deposit (EL3361), and theMurloocoppie Deposit (EL3362), are located in close proximity to the Adelaide toDarwin railroad, facilitating improved economic potential for despatch of coalto coastal based industries and export ports. The railroad will also facilitatemine development and operations. About Jacobs Consultancy Jacobs Consultancy is part of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. ("Jacobs Group"),one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of professional technicalservices. With annual revenues exceeding $6 billion, Jacobs Group offersfull-spectrum support to industrial, commercial, and government clients acrossmultiple markets. Services include scientific and specialty consulting as wellas all aspects of engineering and construction, and operations & maintenance. Jacobs Group global network includes more than 60 major offices in over 15countries. They have operations in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe,India, Australia, and Asia. Their headquarters are in Pasadena, California. Further information is available at Jacobs Group's website at www.jacobs.com. About MineConsult MineConsult is an independent consulting group specialising in Technical,Operational and Management Services to the mining industry. The company iswholly Australian owned and has been operating for over 11 years. The group's professional staff primarily comprises mining engineers withAustralian and offshore experience in coal and metalliferous mining andundertake work for the private and public sectors. Further information is available at the MineConsult website atwww.mineconsult.com.au. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange