Hi Atomic Watchers,My apologies for being absent from Hot Copper...

Hi Atomic Watchers,

My apologies for being absent from Hot Copper over the past couple of weeks but my Telstra Bigpond service was suspended due to a "systems error". The timing was most inconvenient.

I've just been reading through the recent posts regarding the latest capital raising and I wish to respond to some of the comments and make a few points.

Firstly, the capital raising has been extremely well supported and has seen a range of major new institutional investors join the ATQ register.

These investors see strong upside value in ATQ and are confident in management's strategy to fast-track development of the Tanzanian coal project. Their presence on the ATQ register adds vital credibility to the Company's profile and adds much needed liquidity to the stock.

The size and scale of the raising enables ATQ to get the Ngaka coal project into production within the next couple of months, purchase the remaining 15% of PCEA, fund exploration at the ASEAN JV and provide working capital for the foreseeable future.

Nobody received all the shares they applied for in the raising due to high demand, and even Graeme Robertson has his allocation reduced. The bottom line is that not everyone got everything they wanted, but most people got most of what they wanted.

In terms of the overall African growth strategy, the immediate focus for Tancoal is to get Ngaka into production quickly and deliver coal into the Tanzanian market ASAP. Demand for coal within Tanzania and the neighbouring countries is very high and growing, and ATQ expects to be able to capture a substantial share of the local market.

The second phase will include the development of a new mine site power station. Demand for electricity across southern Africa is huge and there is enormous potential for Tancoal to become a key driver in the African power supply market.

As for exports, this is not a priority for Tancoal or for Tanzania. There is sufficient demand within sub-Saharan Africa to operate a very profitable and low cost coal mining operation that will deliver real and lasting social and economic benefits to millions of African people.

By contrast, coal exports from Ngaka would require billions of dollars in transport infrastructure investment and would take several years to develop.

Sub-Saharan Africa now boasts at least half of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world, and they are all hungry for coal and electricity to sustain economic development and improve social conditions for their growing populations. Tancoal is focused on delivering coal to fuel African growth.

This strategy has received the very strong support of the Tanzanian Government, and the personal support of the Tanzanian Prime Minister during his meeting with Graeme Robertson last month.

Disclosure: I manage media and investor relations for Atomic Resources.