Hodges Resources Ltd, the Australian listed company, said the diamond core drilling programme has finished at its Moiyabana Coal Project (PL94/2007) in Botswana.
In an update, the company’s Managing Director, Mark Major, said several holes remain to be drilled using reverse circulation methods in order to complete the Phase 2 programme.
This is expected to be completed within a month.
Hodges said that all coal bearing diamond core from the project’s Phase 1 programme is currently being analysed at the ALS Witbank laboratory.
However, the company said delays are being experienced in receiving proximate analyses and coal washing test work results from the laboratory due to industrial disputes occurring since late October.
“The laboratory has informed us that it is trying to get back to normal as soon as possible,” said Major.
“Whilst it is disappointing that the laboratory delays will impact Hodges, other aspects of the project timeline continue to progress well although a slight delay to the release date of the resource estimate is anticipated.”
He added that this laboratory delay will, however, have a flow?through impact on the completion timeframe of the initial resource estimate for the Moiyabana coal project.
Hodges said as a beneficial consequence, these laboratory delays may allow the incorporation of information from the recently completed Phase 2 infill drilling into the resource model.
“This may permit the classification of an Indicated Resource (over the expected inferred resource) for some part of the deposit.”
The company now advises that the initial resource estimate is now expected to be released to the market in the first quarter of 2012.
