Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has issued a letter of intent to Ellehcor...

Viking Mines (ASX:VKA) has issued a letter of intent to Ellehcor LLC for the provision of drilling services for its Berkh Uul coal project in northern Mongolia.

The proposed 2,000 metre drilling program will involve vertical pre-collar and diamond core drilling to maximum depth of 200 metres that will infill and extend the existing drilling coverage.

Results from the program, which is scheduled to begin in the next three weeks, will contribute to an update of the existing JORC Resource of 38.3 million tonnes of coal.

It will also provide additional information for input into the approvals process for a Mining Licence for Berkh Uul and provide further coal quality information for input into the planned feasibility study.

Berkh Uul Project

The Berkh Uul bituminous coal project is located in the Orkhon-Selenge coal district in Selenge Province, Northern Mongolia, approximately 40 kilometres from the Russian border and 200 kilometres east of Darkhan City.

The project is strategically located; approximately 40km to the existing Trans-Mongolian Railway, which provides a transport link to Darkhan to the south and Russia to the north.
   
It has an Inferred and Indicated Resource of 38.3 million tonnes of high quality bituminous thermal coal.

Notably, the project has already signed four non-binding memoranda of understanding with Darkhan Thermal Power Plant, Erdenet Power Plant, Darkhan Metallurgical Plant, and the Khutul Cement and Lime Plant relating to future potential coal supply.

Berkh Uul occurs in the Upper Jurassic - Lower Cretaceous age Sharin Gol Formation within the Orkhon-Selenge Coal Basin, which also hosts a number of large hard coal deposits including the Mongoin Gol, Shariin Gol and Ulaan Ovoot deposits.

It consists of shallow, consistent coal seams of high quality bituminous coal amenable to open pit mining.

Berkh Uul coal is of sales quality without washing. There is potential to further value add to the resource by washing and producing a high quality, high energy thermal coal suitable for export markets.

Mining studies are planned for 2014 to accompany a Mining Licence Application to be lodged during 2014.

Proactive Investors Australia is the market leader in producing news, articles and research reports on ASX “Small and Mid-cap” stocks with distribution in Australia, UK, North America and Hong Kong / China.