By Puspita Maylana Devi
ASX-listed global metallurgical coal group Cokal Limited announced on Thursday it has identified more than 35 coal seam outcrops after only 4 weeks of geological surface mapping in their newly acquired Tambung Benua Alam Raya project (TBAR). Cokal owns 75 percent interest in the TBAR project which is adjacent to the BBM coking coal project in Central Kalimantan. Initial coal analysis results indicate that all coal seams are potentially coking coal.
Although the mapping has covered only about 25 percent of the TBAR tenement area to date, the results are very encouraging with a number of outcrops measuring between 1.75m to 1.85m in thickness.
The TBAR Exploration License is an exploration area covering 18,850 hectares. Over 80 percent of the lease is either production or limited production forestry lease which means it is available for exploration subject to the issuance of an exploration forestry permit.
?The laboratory results on these initial outcrop samples confirm our expectations that the coal seams in TBAR will have premium metallurgical properties.? said Mr Pat Hanna, Executive Director of Cokal Limited. ?Some results confirm the outcrops are in fact coking coal with Crucible Swelling Numbers (CSN) of 8 and 9, which is unusual to find when the coking properties are expected to have been oxidized. This indicates that the depth to which Cokal may find fresh premium coking coal could be as little as 5m below the surface.?
?The initial analytical results of the raw coal samples indicate ranges of properties consistent with a premium coking coal product. The Volatile Matter values are typical for coking coals in the Marawai Coal Basin ranging from 14 to 22 percent? he said. ?The coals also exhibit low impurities including Inherent Moisture, Ash, Sulphur and ultra-low Phosphorus?.
?We are progressing the geological mapping of TBAR and we aim to complete the survey within the next 3 months.? Mr Hanna said. ?Each team surveys coal and non-coal outcrops in order to produce a structural geological map which helps us to understand the general dip and strike of the coal seams.?
Editing by Adianto P. Simamora
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