Volume 9 Edition 2 2012 - The ASIA Miner

Indonesia
Kopex funds to complete TCM drill program
FUNDING of US$1 million from Kopex has
enabled Pan Asia Corporation to complete
another phase of drilling at the TCM Thermal
Coal Project in South Kalimantan. Kopex is a
large international coal group which has previously
recommended the TCM project be
advanced to final feasibility stage, following a
positive independent study, which signals its
view of the project’s viability.
The funding is repayable at Pan Asia’s election
in cash or convertible into Pan Asia ordinary
fully paid shares at Aus$0.15 per share within
60 days following final feasibility study completion.
In April 2011, Kopex entered into an agreement
with Pan Asia to co-fund the accelerated
infill drilling program and final feasibility study at
TCM. Its total commitment to date towards the
drilling now stands at US$1.6 million.
In January Pan Asia completed the phase
3 drilling program required for the feasibility
study, adding 11 boreholes and advancing
4250 metres since the end of the September
quarter. The phase 3 program included 30
boreholes for 8680 metres. All geotechnical,
hydrological, geophysics, coal quality analysis,
methane gas testing and spontaneous
combustion sampling required for the feasibility
has been completed. The combined
phase 1, 2 and 3 programs bring drilling to
date on the concession to 50 boreholes, for
a total of 14,274 metres.
In October 2011, the company announced
a 115% preliminary upgrade to its initial
JORC resource at TCM. After completing 18
holes of phase 3, the resource was upgraded
from about 53 million tonnes to about 114.6
million tonnes, representing a significant increase
of 115%. This estimate also includes
35.6 million tonnes in the measured category.
As well as compiling and validating all date
from the most recent drilling, this quarter Pan
Asia is also updating the geological model, undertaking
hydrogeological modelling, geotechnical
modelling, and ventilation and gas
drainage modelling. It is also carrying out mine
design and planning, assessing coal handling
and processing options, designing surface infrastructure
and facilities, and updating its financial
evaluation. This work is also required
for the feasibility study, which the company
aims to finish by the end of March.
Pan Asia is aiming to supply the fast expanding
Asian markets from its thermal coal assets
in Indonesia and through TCM has exposure to
high quality export thermal coal with an average
calorific value of 6566 kcal/kg, 6.41% total moisture,
13.52% ash and 1.52% sulphur.
Gold and silver production imminent at Martabe
An aerial view over G Resources’ Martabe Gold-Silver Project in Sumatra.
G-RESOURCES is close to achieving first
gold and silver production at the Martabe
project in Sumatra. Construction is nearing
completion, the operations management
team is in place for commissioning and startup,
initial mining and stockpiling of ore has
started and key process materials supplies
contracts are in place.
Martabe is seen as one of the more promising
undeveloped mineral deposits in Asia
and resources now stand at 7.86 million ounces
of gold and 73.48 million ounces of silver.
Significant progress has been made in the
final three months of 2011 and the first two
months of 2012 and G-Resources expects to
achieve first production by the end of March.
Concrete works are almost complete, the
two large SAG and ball grinding mills are installed,
all large process tanks are complete, steel
and piping installation is well advanced and the
first phase of the high voltage power plant is
commissioned. The final capital cost estimate
remains unchanged and at the end of December
2011 the company has about US$150 million
in cash on hand and no debt. It has also
arranged a US$100 million stand-by credit facility
with a consortium of international banks.
The mine, discovered in 1997 through regional
stream sediment sampling, is a sulphidation
epithermal deposit and in subsequent years,
other deposits have been discovered. The
Contract of Work covers a 2500sqkm area
with the most significant deposit being Purnama,
where a resource of 66.7 million tonnes
containing 1.74 grams/tonne gold and 21.5
grams/tonne silver, representing a total of 3.7
million ounces of gold and 46 million ounces of
silver, has been defined by diamond drilling.
G-Resources initially aims to annually produce
250,000 ounces of gold and 2 million
to 3 million ounces of silver from the project,
with hopes to expand production to 1 million
ounces of gold within the next five years.
Once production starts, G-Resources will
send the mixed gold and silver bullion produced
at Martabe to Logam Mulia for refinement
and then for sale on the international
market. Logam Mulia is a unit of Indonesian
state miner Aneka Tambang.
Exploration and drilling activities continue to
extend the known Martabe deposits, while
field work and drilling have started on regional
targets within the large tenement area.
6 | ASIA Miner | March/April 2012