Altitude/JOGMEC receives approval for Palisades Coal Project drill program near Hinton

With formal Alberta energy regulator approval, the Palisades Drill program will start immediately. — Photo courtesy Altitude Resources

The Altitude Resources Inc./Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC) joint venture has received formal Alberta energy regulator approval for a drill program at its Palisades property located in west-central Alberta, Canada. The Palisades drill permit is now valid for two years. The 2015 drilling program is expected to consist of 3,240 metres, including 15 reverse circulation (RC) and three core drill holes. Earlier this year, Altitude announced the joint venture arrangement with JOGMEC, whereby JOGMEC can earn up to a 51-per-cent interest in the Palisades coal project by investing $4.8-million in exploration expenditures over a three-year period.

"The planned 2015 drill program will start immediately, and, when completed, the program results will be incorporated into an updated [National Instrument] 43-101-compliant resource report for the Palisades project. It is expected that the report should be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015. Along with the field drilling, the program will include laboratory testing for coal quality." stated Gene Wusaty, president and chief executive officer of Altitude.

The drill program is targeting the Palisades property, which is located approximately 30 kilometres north of the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16) and adjacent to Highway 40 North near Hinton, Alta. Altitude's properties are in close proximity to Canadian National rail's mainline, which services the Grande Cache mine to the northwest. The drill targets in the proposed program were identified in the 2013 preliminary field assessment program carried out by Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd. Dahrouge has been contracted to oversee the 2015 exploration program.

Historical work in this area, reported as the Hoff property, included drilling programs first conducted by Rio Tinto Canada (1969) and then Denison Mines (1982 to 1983). An NI 43-101 study was carried out by Moose Mountain Technical Services in November, 2011, on the original Palisades property. The initial NI 43-101 resource estimate completed in 2011 for the Palisades property by Moose Mountain Technical Services identified an inferred resource of approximately 12 million tonnes of low-volatile bituminous coal. Moose Mountain also identified an initial exploration target of approximately 140 million tonnes of low-volatile bituminous coal.

Source: Altitude Resources press release