Entre Gold (ETG-T, EGI-X) may be exploring for gold and copper on the resource-rich steppes of Mongolia but as luck would have it, the Canadian junior has also stumbled across some coal within 5 km of a haul road already being used to transport the commodity to China.
The coal was found on the western portion of Entre’s Lookout Hill property in Mongolia, about 70 km southeast of the country’s largest known coal deposit, called Tavan Tolgoi, and about 60 km northwest of Ivanhoe Mines (IVN-T, IVN-N) and Rio Tinto’s (RTP-N, RIO-L) massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposit.
Entre is now evaluating the coal target — known as Nomkhon Bohr –using geological mapping, magnetic and induced-polarization (IP) geophysical surveys, excavator- assisted trenching and diamond drilling.
So far, the coal target has been traced over a 1,000-metre strike length and remains open along strike to the east and to the west and downdip.
Seven trenches totalling 620 metres and five core holes totalling 467 metres have been completed. Just two of the five holes completely tested the target and the remaining three were abandoned due to drilling problems.
Hole 68 intersected three multi-metre- thick coal-bearing horizons of 13.5 metres, 25.7 metres, and 7.6 metres apparent thickness. Within those horizons are coal seams of variable apparent thickness, the company says.
Hole 71 intersected two coal-bearing horizons with interbedded mudstones and coal over apparent thicknesses of 21.4 metres and 57.4 metres.
Hole 72 struck the coal-bearing horizon at 42.1 metres but the hole was abandoned at 66.6 metres.
Entre has yet to determine the coal’s quality and is awaiting results from SGS Tianjin China on samples it submitted for analysis.
The coal target continuity appears to be predictable from hole to hole, and from trench to trench, the company said in a release.
Entre plans to test the downdip continuity of the horizons through further drilling and further trenching along strike. Norwest Corp., an international natural resource consulting group, has been contracted to assess the geology and assist exploration.
The Lookout Hill property consists of 1,796 sq. km and surrounds the 85-sq.-km Oyu Tolgoi project, and hosts the Hugo North Extension of the Hugo Dummett deposit and the newly discovered Heruga deposit.
In July, Entre set up a joint venture with Ivanhoe’s wholly owned Mongolian subsidiary on about 400 sq. km of the Lookout Hill property.
Under a 2004 earn-in-agreement, Ivanhoe’s subsidiary earned a 70% interest in mineralization above a depth of 560 metres and an 80% interest in mineralization below a depth of 560 metres by spending US$35 million on the joint-venture property.
Ivanhoe and Rio Tinto are major stakeholders in Entre, holding about 15% and 16% respectively of its shares.
In Toronto at presstime, Entre traded at about $1.90 per share with a 52-week trading range of $1.33-3.35.
The company has about 94 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization of roughly $178.7 million.
Be the first to comment on "Entre Gold discovers coal in Mongolia"