historic mine may reopen

I like how IK is going to the press..


Historic mine may reopen
Greg Punshon

Friday, June 20, 2008

© The Cairns Post



PERTH explorer Mantle Mining Corporation and traditional Aboriginal owners are set to exchange a draft land use agreement that could lead to the return of mining to the historic Mt Mulligan coal
deposits.

Mantle yesterday announced it had acquired – through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary Trafford Coal – the remaining 12.5 per cent of the Mt Mulligan coal and coal seam methane tenements from Calcifer Industrial Mineral Pty Ltd.

Mantle managing director Ian Kraemer said discussions with the Djungen People had been very positive and he hoped discussions over an indigenous land use agreement could be finalised early next year.

This would allow Mantle to proceed to exploration of the historic deposits which were last mined in 1957.

Mt Mulligan holds a significant place in Australian history as the site of one of the country’s worst mining disasters when 75 men died in an underground explosion in 1921.

The exploration would determine whether Mantle proceeded to mine the estimated 500 million tonnes of coal or opted to look at coal seam methane.

Mr Kraemer said the company’s stated aim was to mine the deposit in the most culturally and environmentally sensitive manner which meant coal seam gas could prove a better and more economical option to open cut coal mining.

"We have focused on early development options designed to best capture the current upsides of low impact, low capital and low emission energy production," Mr Kraemer said.

The exploration process would determine the extent of the resource and would be followed by normal development processes including the best options for mining or gas extraction.

"There is a huge growing demand for gas and coal seam methane is easy to mine," Mr Kraemer said.

Options that would come under consideration if the company proceeds to coal seam methane included tapping into a gas pipeline which has been proposed from PNG, converting to LNG or putting the gas into the national electricity grid.

Mr Kraemer stressed all of this depended on "complete and equitable consultation with the traditional custodians".