Vitrinite confirms the discovery of very high-quality coking coals at the wholly-owned Karin Basin deposit (EPC 1241) within Queensland’s Bowen Basin. Initial test work has returned Maximum Fluidity results of up to 30,000 ddpm with RoMax of up to 0.95 and Crucible Swell Numbers of up to 9. This coal quality has been confirmed in multiple holes revealing thick seams over multiple, consistent intersections.
We anticipate completing an initial resource within the asset in the coming weeks. The discovery of coking coal in this area, just south of Clermont, on the western edge of the Bowen Basin is an exciting development for the company and the Australian coal sector. Coking coals were not expected to exist in this region and we have proven this long-held view to be incorrect. The coal quality analysis suggests that this deposit correlates with the Reid’s Dome Beds within Rio Tinto’s Valeria Deposit.
To date, Vitrinite has drilled 9,156m within 56 holes since exploration efforts began on the permit in September 2016. With our continuation of drilling, we are focusing on establishing the extent of the coal quality continuity across the deposit and analysis on pre-treatment and washability to help us arrive at the final expected clean coal composite analysis.
Discussions with numerous traders, miners and end-users indicate that this coal type is in high demand and short supply (see the full-press release with an explanation of the properties of the coal relative to others in the market). Vitrinite is therefore aiming to dedicate considerable resources to further explore and delineate this potentially world-class deposit.
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