Last checked at 26 Oct 2009 07:00
26 October 2009 CHL: AIM
CHURCHILL MINING PLC
("Churchill" or "the Company")
INITIAL MINING RESERVE STATEMENT AT EKCP
Highlights:
Churchill Mining PLC (AIM: CHL) the Indonesian-focused coal mining company and its Indonesian partners the Ridlatama Group, are pleased to announce a JORC Probable In-Situ Reserve of just under 1 billion tonnes of thermal coal for the EKCP, in which Churchill Mining has a 75% interest.
The JORC Reserve Report, compiled by independent coal geology and mining specialists SMG Consultants ("SMGC"), defines an initial JORC Probable In-Situ Reserve of 956 million tonnes of thermal coal at the Company's flagship project in Indonesia. This reserve statement follows the resource upgrade in August 2009 of 1.33 billion tonnes of coal into the JORC categories of Measured and Indicated, from a total global resource of over 3 billion tonnes. The SMGC Reserve Report also describes a comparatively low cumulative average strip ratio of 3.6:1, which should result in excellent project economics.
Feasibility Study
The Company continues to move forward on the current feasibility study and other work associated with the project.
Tenders have been issued for all the main components of the project including the port and its facilities, the conveyor system, service road and power plant, along with all the relevant requirements at the mine site. All bids are expected to be in and reviewed before the end of 2009 so that the feasibility can be completed and the JORC Proven Reserve defined.
Churchill Mining's CEO Paul Mazak commented:
"We are extremely pleased to report the initial reserve statement for the EKCP. This is a significant milestone for Churchill and its Indonesian partners. The size of the initial reserve, at just under a billion tonnes, demonstrates the world-class size of the project.
The Company believes that a project of this scale and magnitude is extremely attractive to end-users of thermal coal, particularly in India and China. With the value of EKCP being enhanced by the strategic location in relation to the ever-growing Asian coal markets and combined with the steady progress that has been made technically on the project, it is likely that the interest in the EKCP will increase".
JORC STATEMENT
This reserve statement completed during October 2009 has been prepared in accordance with the JORC Code 2004.
The information in this statement relates to Coal Reserve of the East Kutai Coal Project and is based on information compiled by Keith Whitchurch, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, a Chartered Professional Mining Engineer and a Registered Professional Engineer (Queensland). Keith Whitchurch is employed as a Principal Engineer by PT SMG Consultants. Keith Whitchurch has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Keith Whitchurch has over 25 years experience in planning and mining of coal deposits.
For further information please contact
Enquiries:
| Churchill Mining Plc Managing Director - Paul G. Mazak +62 81510539186 / + 62 21 39832398 paul.mazak@churchillmining.com | Astaire Securities Shane Gallwey
+44(0)20 7448 4400 | Pelham PR James MacFarlane / Charles Vivian +44 (0) 20 7337 1500 or +44 (0) 7841 672 831 |