A winter’s worth of drilling has nearly doubled the recoverable coal reserves contained in Grande Cache Coal‘s (GCE-T) no. 8 mine in the Smoky River coalfield of west-central Alberta.
The mine’s surface recoverable reserves have increased to 13.2 million tonnes from 7.6 million tonnes, while saleable coal reserves have climbed to 9.6 million tonnes from 5.7 million tonnes. The mine area is also home to an additional inferred resource of 20.3 million tonnes.
The new estimates are based on an additional 95 drill holes completed since the last estimate. In all, the no. 8 mine area has been tested by some 224 holes for 24,131 metres since 1961.
Grande Cache expects to receive an operating license for the area by yearend, with pre-stripping slated to begin immediately thereafter. The company has already inked letters of intent to buy an electric shovel and drill; the company is in negotiations for haul trucks, loaders, bulldozers and other equipment.
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