Australia's junior explorers - The ASIA Miner

Indonesia
Challenger Deep MoU for thermal coal marketing
Challenger Deep Resources’ Tabang Coal Project is in East Kalimantan, close to infrastructure.
CHALLENGER Deep Resources has signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
an Indonesian marketing company to pr omote
thermal coal from its Tabang project to
the domestic market. The MoU will see Challenger
and PT Surya Dinamike Letsari (SDL)
develop a marketing plan for the East Kalimantan
project and negotiate formal coal
sales ahead of production start-up in 2013.
SDL will secure domestic buyers for the
coal and advise Challenger on the best pri-
CANADIAN exploration company Souther n
Arc Minerals has increased its share in two
Indonesian projects to 90%. The company
acquired an extra 5% inter est in both the
West Lombok and West Sumbawa (Taliwang)
projects and has entered into a cooperation
agreement with the Regency of W est Sumbawa
to ensure collaboration on the Taliwang
project. Southern Arc will pay its Indonesian
partner PT Permata Puri Mega US$1.5 million
and 2.25 million shares for the additional interest
in both projects.
Southern Arc’s president Dr Mike Andrews
says, “Recognizing the geological potential of
the West Lombok and Taliwang projects, we
have increased our interest to 90% and secured
the support of the local government at
30 | ASIA Miner | July/August 2012
cing parameters for different production scenarios
associated with Tabang. The company’s
established domestic customers include
PT Perusahaan Listik Negara, which owns
dozens of coal-fired power stations.
Challenger is developing the 2900 hectare
Tabang project in three phases, starting with
the construction of a short-haul road and jetty
facility on the Belayan River for pr oduction
from the ATRP property. The next phases will
add infrastructure and development of the
Southern Arc increases interest in projects
both projects as a 10% equity partner . This
emphasizes our vision of the gr eat potential
for both epithermal gold and copper -gold
porphyry mineralization at both projects.”
The West Lombok pr oject covers a
21sqkm structural corridor of mineralization
and alteration hosting porphyry copper-gold,
high sulphidation gold-copper and epithermal
gold deposits. Two of the prospects on the
property host a combined pr oven strike
length of more than 21km of mineralized epithermal
breccias. Southern Arc has completed
more than 22,000 metr es of drilling
focused on the epithermal gold mineralization,
confirming high-grade events and identifying
several high-grade shoots. The
company has also completed an airbor ne
Pelangi, CBM and IP properties.
The company’s president Ranjeet Sundher
says, “This MoU is an important first step in
the sales planning component of the overall
Tabang project development plan. This relationship
is focused primarily on the lower heating
value coal component of our project and
on domestic consumption, which pr ovides
the cornerstone of our initial development
plan. Moving to this stage in the process also
demonstrates our confidence in this pr oject
and in our marketing partner, SDL.”
Challenger has also determined that T abang
has favourable coal economics for export
to China and India, while supplying the
increasing Indonesian domestic power market
as the local economy grows.
The Tabang coal pr oject comprises four
properties in close proximity. ATRP and Pelangi,
are under formal pur chase contracts
while CBM and Inhuwa Purba (IP) ar e under
exclusive MoUs. The pr oject takes in the
highly prospective Balikpapan formation
which is known to host large r esources of
coal in the CV 4000-6000 Kcal/kg range.
ATRP is the most advanced of the Tabang
properties and is currently undergoing the mining
permit application process. A feasibility
study has been submitted to regulatory authorities
and the envir onmental study is nearing
completion. If both of these studies are
approved, a mining permit may be issued in
coming weeks.
geophysical survey at 50-metre line spacings
to define both near-surface and buried copper-gold
porphyry targets, identifying 17 porphyry
targets on the property.
Earlier this year Souther n Arc initiated an
exploration program to drill porphyry targets
in the south of the property, in areas without
forestry designation. Once the company r eceives
the Pinjam Pakai permit it will resume
full-scale exploration.
Exploration activities on West Lombok in
the first quarter of 2012 have focused on
Pelangan and Mencanggah prospects. Drilling
to date has confirmed the company’ s
geological model and identified three highgrade
shoots that will be explor ed further
with the next phase of drilling.