ASX AND MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
4th April 2008 ELS
72 2008
Integrated energy company
Aviva Corporation Limited (ASX /
BSE :AVA) has commenced a $3 million reserve upgrade drilling program at its
1.3 billion tonne Mmamantswe Coal Project in Botswana.
Two drill rigs have been mobilised
on site for a 16,600 metre drilling program designed to upgrade 50% of the
deposit to measured resources. The drilling campaign is expected to be
completed by the end of August, with final coal quality test results expected
by the end of October.
In February, Aviva
announced it had doubled its initial 600Mt target at Mmamantswe, where Aviva is
investigating the merit of a
1,500MW power station.
Aviva Managing Director
Lindsay Reed said the resource estimate affirmed the Project as very low strip
ratio open pit thermal coal deposit.
“The resource base
has the potential to supply six million tonnes per annum to both a 1,500MW
power project and/or direct coal sales to the power sector in South Africa. Aviva is now focused
on advancing the project through drilling to deliver a significant resource
upgrade,” Mr Reed said.
The program will include:
Drilling
|
Holes
|
Metres
|
Large diameter core
|
4
|
600
|
Slim core
|
25
|
3,750
|
Pre-collar tricone
|
|
1,950
|
RC holes
|
95
|
10,300
|
TOTAL
|
124
|
16,600
|
The large diameter holes
will provide samples for drop shatter – wet tumble tests. This will allow
the evaluation of different preparation techniques for the production of coal products
ranging from, a low sulphur washed coal for export, to a de-shaled coal for a
mine mouth power station.
The slim core holes will
increase the density of coal quality and washability data to allow the
estimation of a measured resource. All of the diamond core samples will be composited
to provide 2,000kg of product coal for combustion testwork. This will enable
the design parameters for a power station to be established.
The RC holes will be
geologically and geophysically logged to increase the data density and allow
the estimation of a measured resource.
Rock & Stock have
again been retained to project manage the drill program, and will provide
geological and logistic management. Aviva is pleased to have initiated the
employment of two graduate geologists from Botswana who will be working as
field geologists on this program under guidance of the Rock & Stock project
geologist.
Drilling services will be
provided by Quartz Drilling (RC) and Geosearch (Diamond) from South Africa. Field crews have been
employed from the local area.
Coal quality and
washability analysis will again be completed at the Witlab facility in Witbank, South
Africa.
Aviva expects to appoint coal
preparation and mining consultants in the near future, providing the necessary economic
parameters to allow the Mmamantswe resource to be upgraded to proven and
probable reserves.
Lindsay Reed Robert Kirtlan
Aviva Aviva
Chief Executive Officer Director
Tel: +61 (0) 8 9367 2344 Tel:
+61 (0) 8 9367 2344
Issued by:
Warrick
Hazeldine
Purple Communications
Tel: +61
(0) 8 9485 1254
ABOUT
AVIVA
Aviva is an
integrated energy company listed on both the Australian Stock Exchange and
Botswana Stock Exchange with its head office in Perth. The company is growing a portfolio of
integrated energy assets. Aviva’s most advanced asset is the Coolimba
Power project in Western Australia.
The
Coolimba Power Project will be on the Central West Coal project and is ideally
located in the northern half of the SWIS power grid to take advantage of demand
growth both in the SWIS and from new resource projects in the Mid West Region.
The location has the advantage of low cost fuel, available water, adjacent
infrastructure, existing mining lease and freehold land. Coolimba will be a
400MW base load generator employing leading emissions technology for water,
sulphur and carbon dioxide.
Aviva is
earning a 90% interest in the Mmamantswe project in Botswana where it has outlined a
1.3 billion tonne coal resource. The project is well positioned, being on the
South African border and adjacent to key infrastructure including, highway,
railway, and high voltage transmission lines.
Please
visit: www.avivacorp.com.au
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