Full Metal options Chickaloon coal to Afognak Native Corp

Vancouver – Full Metal Minerals (FMM-V) recently entered into agreements with the Afognak Native Corporation to jointly explore the company’s Chickaloon coal lease (also known as Castle Mountain) located in the greater Matanuska Coal Field of south-central Alaska.

The 9,164-sq. km lease contains the state’s only significant metallurgical coal occurrences and includes a past-producing operation. Situated next to the Glenn Highway, the project enjoys good access to infrastructure and is about 140 km from the Point Mackenzie bulk loading facility; it is also located only about 30 km from the Alaska Railway.

Full Metal was awarded the renewable 10-year coal lease in mid-2006 from the Alaska Mental Health Trust, which retains a 5% royalty. The project hosts at least four coal seams identified at surface with varying thickness of 1.5 metres to 7 metres. Ranking of the coal ranges from high volatile ‘A’ bituminous to semi-anthracite, with most of it classified as medium to low volatile bituminous and suitable as a coking coal. Past mining occurred on the project area in the early 1900s and briefly in the late-1950s.

The Afognak group can earn 80% interest in Chickaloon by incurring US$2 million in exploration (US$600,000 in the first year) and make payments of US$100,000 to Full Metal. Once vested, the native group will incur all exploration and development costs through to commercial production.

Organized in 1977, Afognak Native Corporation is jointly owned by shareholders who trace their descent from the Alutiiq settlements on Afognak Island in the Kodiak Archipelago. Initially allotted a small cash settlement and about 650 sq. km as a part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, it has grown into a US$500-million company with over 4,000 employees and worldwide operations.