Well, the rigs are busy in Russia.... :))Since our last visit to...

Well, the rigs are busy in Russia.... :))

Since our last visit to Ukraine,UCG interest and development
have moved well up the ladder.

Russia/Ukraine between them hold 21% of the worlds coal
reserves,most of it brown coal and lignite,similar to
Victoria.Both countries view this 'near worthless resource'
as ideal for UCG.

Both Alex Gordienko director of strategic development at
Donetsk's steel plant and Denis Smyslov,chief of U.S.
based Red Mountain Energy [RME] state that Ukrainian
coal is high in sulphur and ash,and the only way to
profit from it is to gasify it.Adding that large scale
UCG plants would give Ukraine energy independence and
security and cut its gas costs by 50%.


Both men say the economic case for UCG is overwhelming,
when one considers that Ukraine imports 75% of its gas
from an ever threatening Russia.

Russia had invested around $10 billion by 1976 into UCG
research and development,resulting in five UCG power
stations employing 3000 people.Now it seems that Russia
has "rediscovered" UCG in the face of their declining
oil and gas reserves and their first UCG plant for decades,
has now been established by [RME] in the Kemerovo/Tomsk region.

Kemerovo is a large industrial city in the major coal
mining region of the Kuznetsk basin.Both cities have
populations around 450,000.In a similar region,a UCG
power station has been operational for the past 45
years.[Another is at Angren in Kazakhstan].

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev spoke recently of the
need for RAPID MODERNIZATION in the country's energy
industry and has appealed for HIGH TECH INVESTMENTS in
the the coal sector.

During 2008, Cockatoo coal [cok] sealed a deal with
Korea's east west power and Korea Australia [existing
shareholders] and it paved the way for financing Cok's
Baralaba mine near Moura.

Cougar has access to COK's deep coal encompassing many
leases..Wandoan being the first cab off the rank. CXY's
probable "tying the knot" with China/Mongolia,makes a
"million wild acres",adjacent to the Latrobe valley in
Victoria,with 50/100 BT of lignite,look more interesting
by the day...on and on.

Its only a matter of time before a waterfall of accum-
ulated American dollars earned by China,flows freely
throughout our coal industries, to slake their thirst
for Australian coal.And in doing so..mold Cougar into
an upper class act of Strategic importance. [IMO]


Go Well
HM.