North American Gem Inc. Finalizes Acquisition of Fully Operational Blue Gem Coal Mine in Kentucky
31 Marzo 2010 - 5:50PM
Marketwired Canada
North American Gem Inc. (NAG) (TSX VENTURE:NAG) is pleased to announce the
signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a fully operational surface coal
mine with both minable Blue Gem and Jellico coal seams, which will now be
referred to as North American Gem #2 Mine located in Knox County, Kentucky. NAG
has recently completed drilling at the recently acquired mine site and was
pleased with the quality and the estimated tonnage of Blue Gem coal at the mine
site.
North American Gem #2 Mine will produce from both the Blue Gem coal seam and the
Jellico coal seam simultaneously once the permit is officially transferred from
the current operator. The coal produced at the Gem #2 Mine location will be
treated at the North American Tipple Facility. NAG is also expecting to have
another fully permitted mine site on the Swan Pond leases (formerly referred to
as North American Gem #2 Mine) in the near future as well.
"Our goal of becoming a producer of the highly sought after Blue Gem coal has
been reached with the activation of the fully permitted North American Gem #2
Mine in the state of Kentucky," stated Charles Desjardins, President of North
American Gem Inc. "The North American Gem #2 Mine will allow the Company to
start building relationships with Blue Gem coal buyers, before our larger Blue
Gem leases come on line and production begins."
The permit transfer is an administrative process that can typically be
accomplished in less than 4 weeks. Upon completion of the transfer, the mine
will immediately resume production at a rate of 8-10,000 tons per month with the
capability of doubling that production rate should favorable market conditions
warrant. The North American Gem #2 Mine will be a surface mining and augering
operation.
Operation Updates from Kentucky
Production continues at North American Gem #1 Mine with shipments of coal being
sent to market daily. At the current rate of production NAG is currently on pace
to produce and sell approximately 8,000 tons of coal per month with the ability
to further increase production. NAG has steadily increased its production over
time as the weather has slowly improved. Currently there are two augers
producing and the third auger is expected to be activated in approximately two
weeks time.
Management at NAG has decided to refer to its Kentucky claims by the actual
lease name until the individual leases are granted a successful mining permit at
which point the lease will be named as a North American Gem Mine in sequential
order. This will avoid future confusion as certain permits may be approved out
of order or the possibility of a new lease acquisition by NAG in an advanced
stage of permitting.
NAG has completed the drilling previously announced on December 8th 2009 on its
Wynn Hollow lease (formerly referred to as North American Gem #3 Mine) and is
now continuing the permitting process. The analysis of the data, combined with
data from historical drilling of natural gas and oil wells at the Wynn Hollow
location, will help NAG develop the most efficient mining plan. In particular
one coal seam, below the Blue Gem seam, has been measured in thickness from
1.5-2 metres and is believed to be low sulfur, high btu seam.
NAG has now commenced drilling on the Swan Pond lease (formerly referred to as
North American Gem #2 Mine) and once complete will immediately mobilize the
drillers to the recently acquired Granny Rose lease (Refer to NAG February 2nd
2010 release). The Granny Rose lease contains the readily marketable Blue Gem
coal throughout the entire lease with an average seem thickness of 2 feet. It
has been estimated that approximately 250 acres of the planned permit will be
mined using surface mining techniques with an additional approximate 100 acres
that is to be mined by highwall and/or auger mining methods.
The permitting process being managed by Ms. Deborah Moses of Engineering
Consulting Services Inc. and Mr. William Grable is proceeding well. One of the
previously announced mining permits is currently in the final stage of the
process and is expected to be approved in the near future. Currently all future
mining permits have been designated to be highwall mining operations, which
could allow production to be at least 25,000 tons per property per month.
The North American Tipple Facility will serve as the central operation and
distribution point for coal produced by NAG's mining operations. The facility
has equipment in place that is capable of crushing, screening, and washing coal.
This gives North American Gem Inc. the added dimension to service a variety of
customers by preparing coal to meet their specific requirements. North American
Gem Inc. will also have the ability to purchase outside coal to produce custom
blended products which will increase market potential. Specifically, plans are
to service the industrial stoker markets, silicon metal producers, and
electricity generators.
All of NAG's potential mining operations will incorporate sediment control
methods that will keep ahead of the increased regulations and restrictions.
Furthermore, in anticipation of increased regulations, NAG has, in all of its
permitting applications, begun the sampling of receiving streams and groundwater
wells utilizing the most stringent and extensive sampling parameters. This will
allow NAG to comply with the regulatory requirements and will also result in a
much shorter and smoother permitting application process.
Mr. Dean Schafer is acting as operations manager of all the Company's Kentucky
coal leases and is currently implementing an overall mine plan.
Ms. Deborah Moses, PEng, PLS, REM, of Engineering Consulting Services Inc.
(ECSI) is the qualified person for the Company's coal operations in Kentucky and
West Virginia.
North American Gem Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NAG) is a Junior Exploration Company based
in Western Canada. The Company's primary goal is to explore for Coal in North
America, currently the focus is in Kentucky, Saskatchewan, and West Virginia. In
addition to Coal exploration, the Company also has interests in Uranium, Copper,
Gold, Molybdenum and other base metals in Canada.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
NORTH AMERICAN GEM INC.
Charles Desjardins, President and Director
Cautionary note:
This report contains forward looking statements. Resource estimates, unless
specifically noted, are considered speculative. Any and all other resource or
reserve estimates are historical in nature, and should not be relied upon. The
production rate and mine-life projections have been made without support of a
feasibility study, there is no certainty the proposed operations will be
economically viable. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk
and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on factors that will
or may occur in the future. Actual results may vary depending upon exploration
activities, industry production, commodity demand and pricing, currency exchange
rates, and, but not limited to, general economic factors. Cautionary Note to US
investors: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission specifically prohibits
the use of certain terms, such as "reserves" unless such figures are based upon
actual production or formation tests and can be shown to be economically and
legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions.
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