jv with total on vaalbank

you heard it here first.
Where is the announcement? 4th last para below.

Continental Coal’s SA unit acquires adjoining exploration tenement

11th May 2012
TEXT SIZE Aim-listed miner Continental Coal has, through its South African subsidiary, Mashala Resources, entered into agreements that will enable the company to materially extend the operating mine life at its Ferreira coal mine, in Mpumalanga, as well as increase its production of high-quality thermal coal through the acquisition and development of the adjacent and adjoining prospecting right.

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Mine planning work to incorporate the adjacent prospecting right block into the Ferreira mine’s existing mine plan has started with a 15-hole exploration and resource confirmation drill programme.

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The company plans to start development of the prospecting right once the relevant approvals have been obtained, and intends to extend mining activities from the current opencast operations into the prospecting right area, with mining of between 350 000 t and 400 000 t run-of-mine coal forecast to be completed on the prospecting right in around eight months.

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“I am confident that this addition will contribute substantially to our future devel-opment, adding significant value to our shareholder offering,” comments Continental CEO Don Turvey.

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In addition, Continental is in negotiations with other parties to acquire further resources that are contiguous to the Ferreira coal mine.

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Meanwhile, Continental has also entered into an agreement with Total Coal South Africa’s 74%-owned Forzando Coal Mines, under which the two companies will jointly complete further exploration, drilling and geological modelling of the coal resources within Continental’s Mpumalanga-based Vaalbank coal project over a 12-month period.

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Forzando operates four underground and opencast mines immediately north-west and contiguous to the Vaalbank project, and is currently looking to both acquire additional coal deposits and expand its current reserve base in the immediate vicinity of its operations.

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The two-phase exploration programme at Vaalbank will be managed by Forzando and will comprise an initial 20-hole diamond drilling programme with associated analyses of the raw and washed coal qualities, aimed at further establishing the resources and coal qualities on site.

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The R3-million programme will be funded on a joint basis, and is scheduled to start this quarter.