Churchill Mining (LON:CHL), together with their partners, the Ridlatama Group, released today an update on the East Kutai Coal Project in Indonesia.
Churchill’s aim is to leverage off the growth currently being experienced in China and India and in particular their appetite for raw materials used as feedstock in their burgeoning energy and steel industries. Churchill’s growth plan quickly accelerated in 2007-2008 following the discovery of a very large thermal coal deposit (Churchill 75% owner) in the East Kutai Regency of Kalimantan, Indonesia. Churchill and Ridlatama are collectively developing the Indonesian prospect with a JORC mining reserve of 956 million tonnes of coal. To date more than 3.18 billion tonnes of coal has been drilled to JORC standard and the project area explored only represents 20% of the Company’s total land holding in the Regency.
Churchill today announced that it expects to complete the feasibility study at the prospect in Q2 2010. Once this is complete, the company will release a comprehensive RNS statement of the results and implications.
In September 2009, the company revealed they had been approached by several parties wishing to acquire specific projects under the Churchill umbrella. These non binding approached are reportedly still under review, as the company continue to assess its options with regard to funding and commercial alternatives at the East Kutai Coal Project.
Apart from its thermal coal interests, Churchill also has a significant investment in gas via its Sendawar (Churchill 70%) Coal Bed Methane project, also located in Kalimantan. In 2007, Churchill, along with its minority Indonesian partner, was granted the first CBM licence awarded in Indonesia. Churchill also retains an exposure to the manganese sector via its 28.8% shareholding in ASX-listed explorer Spitfire Resources Limited. Spitfire is exploring the South Woodie Woodie project in Western Australia.
You can read more about Churchill Mining here and more about Coal Mining here.
