Altona Energy Regulatory News (ANR)

20 Nov 2006 12:06

Altona Resources PLC20 November 2006 20th November 2006 Altona Resources Plc ("Altona" or "the Company") MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH FLINDERS POWER Altona Resources plc (AIM: ANR) announces it has entered into a non-bindingMemorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Flinders Power, South Australia'slargest electricity producer, to evaluate the potential of supplying up to 4million tonnes of coal per annum for 25 years, from Altona's Westfield CoalDeposit. Flinders Power operates the Northern and Playford coal-fired power stations inPort Augusta, South Australia, ("the Augusta Power Stations") with a combinedcapacity of 760MW, and is currently pursuing strategies to identify and sourceadditional coal supplies to that from their wholly owned Leigh Creek coalfield,which at present is the sole fuel source for the Augusta Power Stations. Following the execution of the MOU, a Review Committee will be establishedconsisting of two members appointed by Altona and two members appointed byFlinders Power. The Review Committee will work closely together and will beresponsible for coordinating the Scoping Study into the quality, quantity andviability of the Westfield Coal Deposit and will determine likely terms andconditions for the project. The Westfield Coal Deposit has a defined resource of approximately 800 milliontonnes of sub-bituminous Permian coal and is located adjacent to the Adelaide toDarwin railway line, facilitating the potential transportation of coal to theAugusta Power Stations. In addition to working with Flinders Power in evaluating the development of theWestfield Deposit, Altona continues to work positively with BP and other keytechnical partners in evaluating the development of a coal-to-liquids plant withco-generation power facility at Altona's Wintinna Deposit. Chris Lambert, Chairman of Altona, commented: "We are very pleased to be workingwith Flinders Power towards establishing the viability of the Westfield Depositin meeting their long term needs. The Company's Arckaringa Coal Projectcontinues to emerge as a key resource in meeting South Australia's significantlyincreasing future energy requirements, driven by the state's expanding resourcesector, including projects such as BHP's massive Olympic Dam expansion." The Arckaringa Coal Project Altona's Arckaringa Coal Project ("Arckaringa") comprises the 100% interest inthree exploration licences in South Australia, which have previously beenestimated as containing a JORC compliant resource of over seven billion tonnesof sub bituminous Permian coal, amenable to open pit mining, and suitable asfuel for power generation and potential application of coal to liquidstechnology. The three exploration licences, EL3360, EL3361, and EL3362 ("theLicences"), cover a combined area of approximately 2,500 square kilometres inthe northern portion of the Permian Arckaringa Basin in South Australia. The Licences include three coal deposits, known as the Westfield Deposit(EL3360), the Wintinna Deposit (EL3361), and the Murloocoppie Deposit (EL3362),all of which are located in close proximity to the Adelaide to Darwin railroad. Details of the resource estimate are as follows: Measured Indicated Inferred TotalDeposit million million million million tonnes tonnes tonnes tonnes Wintinna 1,150 750 2,000 3,900Murloocoppie 250 300 2,600 3,150Westfield 100 200 500 800 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Total 1,500 1,250 5,100 7,850 =========================================================================== The information contained in this announcement has been reviewed by NormanKennedy, the Technical Director of the Company. Mr Kennedy holds a Bachelor ofScience from the University of NSW, and is a Member of the Australian Instituteof Mining Engineers and Metallurgists -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 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange