[miningmx.com] — UNIVERSAL Coal, an emerging thermal coal production and development company with assets in South Africa, announced on Thursday that it has achieved a direct ownership of 40% in the Berenice Coking Coal Project.
The project is located in the Soutpansberg coalfield, which is situated north of the Soutpansberg mountain range in Limpopo province.
The company said this follows the completion of the first phase of drilling and the updated resource estimate completed by Independent Geological Consulting Firm GEMECS.
The Berenice project hosts a total joint ore reserves committee (JORC) compliant coking coal resource of 1.057 billion gross in-situ tonnes of coal, of which 218 million tonnes are classified as indicated and 840 million tonnes as inferred.
The company’s total indicated and inferred coking coal resource currently stands at 1.485 billion tonnes of which 547.9 million tonnes are attributable to Universal Coal, it said.
Chairperson Tony Harwood said: “We are delighted to have expedited the farm-in agreement to achieve a 40% shareholding in the Berenice and Somerville properties.
The results of the first phase drilling program have exceeded the previous resource estimates substantially and will allow the company to commence a second phase of drilling and a scoping study in the 4th quarter of 2011.”
