Tigers Realm Coal (ASX:TIG) mined and trucked its first coal in late December from Project F Phase One at its Amaam Coking Coal Project located in eastern Russia.
Coal is being trucked to stockpiles at the company-owned Beringovsky Port.
Tigers Realm plans to mine and haul coal to the port on the winter road until early May.
At that time coal production will temporarily cease and road works will recommence to convert the winter road into an all season road.
Following the completion of these works in the third quarter, coal mining and trucking to the port will recommence at a rate of 600,000 tonnes per annum.
Mining operations update
Coal mining commenced in a part of the pit where the waste to coal stripping ratio for the first 12 months of production is less than 2:1 (waste:coal).
Mining is being carried out with a fleet comprising a 40 tonne excavator on coal, a 70 tonne excavator on waste, five 40 tonne in pit trucks, a grader and two 70 tonne bulldozers.
Coal haulage on the winter road from the pit to the port is being undertaken with eight 30 tonne capacity trucks.
Amaam Coking Coal Project
Two tenements, Amaam and Amaam North, together comprise the Amaam Coking Coal Project, located within 35 kilometres of the Bering Sea coast in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, far eastern Russia.
Tigers Realm has 80% ownership of Amaam and has recently signed a Heads of Agreement which will see its 80% ownership of Amaam North increase to 100%.
In addition, the company owns 100% of the Beringovsky Port and Coal Terminal, located 35 kilometres to the north east of the Amaam North tenement.
Amaam and Amaam North have combined JORC compliant coal resources of 632 million tonnes with the majority of these resources being of coking coal quality.
Project F within Amaam North has 110.6 million tonnes of coal resources, 16.1 million tonnes of which have already been classified as Product (Marketable) Reserves under JORC.
Project F: Phase One
Phase One is a starter project ahead of an expansion to full Project F at 1+ million tonnes per annum.
First coal sales are expected during 2017, ramping up to 600,000 tonnes per annum of unwashed thermal and coking coal by 2018.
The Phase One open pit targets near surface coal reserves located 37 kilometres from the company owned Beringovsky Port.
The capital investment for Phase One is estimated to be US$ 6.6 million expended in two periods and site operating costs are estimated at US$25 per tonne free on board (FOB).
The company secured $23.3 million funding through a successful rights issue in the December quarter of 2016.
Analysis
In less than four years Tigers Realm has progressed Project F from resource identification and initial evaluation to production.
Tigers Realm Coal sales forecast for the unwashed product in 2017 are estimated at 30,000 tonnes of semi‐soft coking coal to the steel sector and up to 220,000 tonnes of thermal coal into the industrial and power generation sector.
The Q1 2017 semi-soft coking coal settlement price is US$171 per tonne FOB, and the current Newcastle thermal price is circa US$85 per tonne.
This offers a significant margin to the forecast per tonne operating cost of coal from Phase One.
The company’s share price is up 170% over the past six months, currently trading at $0.065.
Quick facts: Tigers Realm Coal Ltd
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