Company Profile

Churchill Mining PLC (Churchill or the Company) listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange in April 2005.

Churchill's business plan is to leverage off the rampant growth currently experienced in China and India and in particular its appetite for raw commodities used as feedstock in its burgeoning steel and energy industries.

The execution of this business plan has been instigated with the acquisition of the Sendawar Coal Project in East Kalimantan, Indonesia as well as continued exploration of the South Woodie Woodie manganese project in Western Australia .

More recently, the company has concluded an Exclusivity Agreement with PT Techno Coal Utama in regard to the highly prospective thermal coal project located in the East Kutai Regency of Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Furthermore Churchill's management continues to assess further opportunities in Australia and southern Asia to acquire quality projects in line with the Company's business plan. Churchill is committed to growing shareholder value by become a leading minerals explorer and future miner at a time of accelerating commodities demand.


Recent Minesite article : http://www.churchillmining.com/pdf/2008/23_01_08.pdf


January 2008 Research note : http://www.churchillmining.com/pdf/2008/reserchnote.pdf

This won't help in the short term?


BEIJING (Reuters) - Coal is piling up in China's top shipping harbor for the fuel, the official Xinhua agency said, as manufacturing weakness and slackening power demand undermine a market that was badly overstretched this summer.

Coal supplies in the northern port had reached 8.44 million tonnes by September 16, at least 3 million tonnes above normal levels, the report published late on Saturday said, citing an official there who declined to be named.

Qinhuangdao only has storage capacity for 10 million tonnes, but for two weeks a surplus has mounted at a rate of around 100,000 tonnes per day and other ports face similar problems.

In Guangzhou, there are 2.2 million tonnes of stored coal, compared with just 1.7 million in late June, Xinhua said.

Trading volume there is also down since July to just around 3 million tonnes, from 4 million tonnes a month in early summer.

Power plants now have enough fuel to cover an average 15 days of demand, following a summer when many were forced to close for lack of supplies or because soaring costs meant they could not make a profit by generating, Xinhua quoted Xie Juchen, head of the fuel section at the China Electricity Council, saying.

This caused crippling summer shortages that were the worst since 2004, with demand outstripping supply by more than 40 gigawatts.

But China's manufacturing sector contracted in July and August, contributing to a nationwide deceleration in coal and power demand, particularly in the south where rising labor costs and an appreciating currency are hurting exporters.

Around Beijing, factory closures to clear the air during the Olympics in August also dented demand for coal and power.

Analysts do not expect a repeat of the most severe coal shortages, though power supplies may still be tight this winter, as the government encourages small mines closed over safety concerns to reopen and some new rail routes come into action.
cyril

Churchill Mining Joins The Billion Tonne Club On East Kutai In Indonesia

http://www.minesite.com/nc/minews/singlenews/article/churchill-mining-joins-the-billion-tonne-club-on-east-kutai-in-indonesia/1.html

Coal mining is all about big numbers. Unlike gold mining you cant start small and work your way up because consumers want to have a reliable, large tonnage feed for many years. In contrast to gold, of course, there is not a ready market for odd lots of coal. Paul Mazak, managing director of Churchill Mining, understands that better than anyone. So when he decided to take an interest in coal mining he went to a part of the world that is renowned for its large coal deposits and started off with a target of finding a resource of 500 million tonnes of thermal coal. His companys exploration programme at East Kutai on the island of Kalimantan in Indonesia has subsequently over-delivered on that promise by declaring a resource of 1.412 billion tonnes in early September. Thats several months ahead of the target too. Not only is it a large tonnage but it is defined to JORC standards by SMG Consultants, an expat firm of Australian consultants based in Indonesia.
A large resource like that is a very fine thing, but a lot of work has yet to be done. The most important is the upgrade of the 972 million tonnes that currently lie in the inferred category. A key element in defining that tonnage to a higher standard is better topographical data, and that is now being done by laser aerial survey. In terms of the resource itself Paul says there is now no point in expanding the resource any further so all four rigs have been transferred to the site where the first pit will be dug. He already knows where it will be. An intensive drilling programme here is intended to raise the status of this material into a mining reserve which will form part of the feasibility study that is due for completion by the year end. Pauls ambition is to have about one third of the resource defined to a reserve standard by that time.

A lot of work needs to be done for the feasibility study but Paul already knows the coal has a good calorific value with a low ash content of 4%, so it doesnt need washing. A sulphur level of 1% should make it a sought-after product to blend with other coals to reduce sulphur emissions.

Although coal mining is capital intensive Paul is keen to fast track development to get cash flow as early as possible. In the early years the plan is to truck the coal to the coast then use barges to transfer it to Cape-sized vessels lying offshore. While that would be a relatively quick route to production it is not very low cost. By comparison with other mines Paul estimates about US$32 a tonne FOB. Even so, current and projected prices could make that viable, and year one production of two million tonnes in 2010 has been pencilled. Production should rise to four million tonnes the next year. The real ambition, though, is to take output up to 15 then 20 million tonnes a year in years three and four by installing a conveyor and an onshore loading facility for Cape-sized vessels. That could bring costs down by a long way to just US$13 a tonne. Before that all happens though Paul will be looking to bring in a joint venture partner to help with those capital costs. And someone who is a long-term coal consumer would be ideal.
cyril

Double post again.
cyril

News out today, good progress report and looking a great long term investment?
aimho
cyril

New article just published CLICK HERE

Someones is happy to accumilate.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200810201038071931G

I do like this company very much and i'm tempted to increase my holdings, i see
it as a no brainer in a normal market and will prove to be a real bargain once the market returns to normallity?
aimho
cyril

What makes feel investing in this company (with 1/2 years time in mind)?

Thermal plants face coal shortage
More than 60 per cent of Indias coal-based power plants are running with less than a weeks consumption of coal, threatening to affect power availability at a time when Indias peak deficit is hovering at around 15 per cent. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the apex power sector planning body, said in its latest report that 50 out of 81 thermal power plants in India are having stocks less than 7 days of consumption in September, the latest period for which data are available. This is the highest number of plants having stocks below the critical level in recent times.
The CEA report cited non-receipt of coal, inadequate linkage and higher generation, as well as law and order problems as reasons for the current situation.

The situation is getting worse, said Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh, referring to supply of coal to the power stations. In some cases stock level has gone down to even two to three days, he added.

At present, India has 81 coal-based thermal power stations which are largely fed by coal supplied by Coal India Ltd (CIL), the country

Some more for the positives?

Thermal plants face coal shortage

More than 60 per cent of Indias coal-based power plants are running with less than a weeks consumption of coal, threatening to affect power availability at a time when Indias peak deficit is hovering at around 15 per cent. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the apex power sector planning body, said in its latest report that 50 out of 81 thermal power plants in India are having stocks less than 7 days of consumption in September, the latest period for which data are available. This is the highest number of plants having stocks below the critical level in recent times.
The CEA report cited non-receipt of coal, inadequate linkage and higher generation, as well as law and order problems as reasons for the current situation.

The situation is getting worse, said Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh, referring to supply of coal to the power stations. In some cases stock level has gone down to even two to three days, he added.

At present, India has 81 coal-based thermal power stations which are largely fed by coal supplied by Coal India Ltd (CIL), the countrys largest coal production utility, and its subsidiaries. India is planning to add about 78,700 Mw of power capacity in the current Plan period (2007-2012). A greater chunk of this capacity 50,570 Mw or 64 per cent is going to come from coal-based thermal power stations.

However, the coal ministry says that its allotting coal in excess of what was being asked. We have given 101.6 per cent of coal than what we committed to the Planning Commission. Whatever shortfall is there in availability of coal, it is due to non-import of coal scheduled by the utilities. If they are not importing it, what can we do? asked Santosh Bagrodia, minister of state for coal, adding that no power station in the country has lost production due to unavailability of coal.

However, experts of the industry believe that this worsening situation of coal availability at thermal power stations might lead to serious concerns for the power industry in the future.

Coal sector is moving at a much slower pace than the power sector. The supply crisis will result in a major hit to future power projects because of a negative impact on the supply situation. The impact will be more on private power developers who have been assigned projects but have not yet linked fuel supply, said Kuljit Singh, partner, Ernst & Young.

Singh also added that in future the developers would think twice before endorsing a project. If the supply is not sufficient for current projects, how will it ensure availability of coal for future projects? Singh asked.

The number of power stations running on critical level of coal stocks has seen a gradual increase since the beginning of the current year. In April, 24 stations were reported by the CEA to have critical stocks of coal. The number has now gone up to 50.

The list of power stations running at critical stocks of coal include 14 coal-based thermal power stations in the northern region, 10 stations in west, nine in south and 17 in the eastern region.

The Business Standard - 21-Oct-08
cyril

UPDATE ON FAST-TRACK TO PRODUCTION

New transport solution for Fast-Track production identified which may considerably decrease Capex requirements.

Increase in initial tonnage target in first year up to 3 Mt and second year up to 5 Mt.

Coal upgrading has potential to lift operational pre-tax profit by US$31 per tonne.

Churchill Mining Plc, (AIM:CHL) the Indonesia focused mining company with a JORC resource of 1.4 billion tonnes of thermal coal at its East Kutai Coal Project ('EKCP'), is pleased to announce significant progress on the transport options it is finalising in order to Fast-Track the project to production in Q4 2009.

New independent studies verified by the Company have concluded that a combination of road and river barge transport is now possible and should be the most capital cost-effective and quickest initial access method to transport the coal from site for the Fast-Track production scenario.

The new studies involved Side Scan Sonar, LIDAR aerial survey and a condition survey of the river. This concluded that access to the Senyiur River, which is a tributary of the Mahakam River south of the EKCP, can be used to transport the coal down to the Mahakam River for transhipment and onto multi-user coal ports at the coast. This access route was previously thought to be restricted. The newly surveyed Senyiur River route could enable shipping of up to 7 Mtpa of coal, starting with delivery of up to 3 Mtpa, which is the increased target for the first full year of production.

Currently, a new multi-user coal barge port is being built on the Senyiur River by a third party. Churchill management is in discussions with the company constructing this river barge port to gain access to the facility, which would result in a significant reduction in capital expenditure for Churchill. The Company is also in discussions with the owners of current and proposed multi-user coal ports on the coast, which if access is gained, will also add significant further reductions to Churchill's project capital costs.

The Company continues its detailed work on a number of options for the 20 mtpa Full-Production scenario, to transport the coal to a new dedicated port, including a conveyor system.

Infill drilling continues on site and is on target to upgrade much of the 1.42 Bt of coal resource to 'mineable' by the end of 2008.

Churchill recently launched a review into coal treatment processes that have the potential to move the energy content of EKCP's thermal coal from the current range of kcal 4700 - 5600 ADB (Air Dried Basis) to over kcal 6000. This would enable the Company to achieve higher pricing terms for its thermal coal.

Churchill's examination of processes to upgrade the EKCP thermal coal has determined that the coal sale price assumptions in the Company's business model could be increased from US$50 per tonne to US$84 per tonne (in the current price environment) at an operational cost of US$3 per tonne.

Churchill Managing Director Paul Mazak commented:

'The various elements of the EKCP are fitting together in a way that should significantly increase the bottom line, especially by upgrading at least part of the coal production to achieve a higher value per tonne. Churchill's technical team is in the process of finalising their assessment of the available upgrading technologies and it is envisaged that at least one of these plants will be on-stream during the first year of production.
cyril

Pala buying more,now above 21%
cyril

I only wish i could buy more cyril to bring my average down a little, but funds tight at the moment

Pala look to be in a no loose situation, whatever their plan is

08 Dec
'Churchill' or 'the Company'

More than 500Mt of coal at low strip ratios shown by preliminary pit optimisation studies

Churchill Mining Plc, (AIM:CHL) the Indonesia focused mining company with a JORC resource of 1.4 billion tonnes of thermal coal at its East Kutai Coal Project ('EKCP'), is pleased to announce that studies it has undertaken as part of its fast-track to production, show that more than 500 million tonnes of the in-situ JORC compliant resource of 1.4 billion tonnes falls within a preliminary pit design at a stripping ratio of just 2.23:1. This calculation does not constitute a JORC mineable reserve. However, the results indicate the planned future operations will allow significant tonnages of the coal resource to fall within design pit shells with a low stripping ratio.

At this stage the pit design studies concentrate only on the northern half of the current target drilling area of the RTM block, with the southern section still being evaluated.

Whilst the studies are preliminary in nature, early mine-pit optimisation models show the following in-situ coal tonnages within the designed pit:

Stripping Ratio In-situ Tonnes

1.29 260 Mt

1.50 325 Mt

1.89 442 Mt

2.23 551 Mt

Churchill is encouraged by the steps emerging countries are making towards introducing new sources of coal fired power. China is bringing forward its country electrification programme and Indian companies such as National Thermal Power Corporation, are in the process of constructing another 25,000 MW of power. With India unable to fulfil its thermal coal supply domestically, Churchill is well placed to capitalise on the future demand from India and the Company continues its discussions with a number of Indian companies about off-take agreements.

Churchill's Managing Director, Paul Mazak, commented;

'We are now approximately 12 months off our first phase of production at the East Kutai Coal Project. With the current international coal price having come off, these low stripping ratios are of great positive significance to the economics of the project. By focusing initially on the coal available at low stripping ratios, we are expecting to significantly reduce our operating costs during the initial period of mining, which is especially important on large projects such as this one.'

From Thursday,

RNS Number : 5658J
Churchill Mining plc
04 December 2008



CHURCHILL MINING PLC

("Churchill Mining") or ("the Company")

HOLDINGS IN COMPANY

Churchill Mining (AIM:CHL) is pleased to announce that Indo Setubara Limited ("ISB") has
purchased 4,450,000 ordinary shares,
representing 6.62% of the Company. ISB notified Churchill Mining of the acquisition of shares
on 4 December 2008.

ISB, a company managed by Advaita Partners Limited ("Advaita"), is aiming to become a
preferred fuel supply partner for Indian power
producers. It has an interest in several coal concessions in Indonesia and Mozambique.
Advaita, an investment manager focussed on energy
sector, also has mandates for coal supply from several power companies setting up over 10 GW
of imported coal based power capacity in South
India.

Commenting on the investment, Paul Mazak, Managing Director of Churchill Mining, said:

"Churchill Mining welcomes the investment of ISB and looks forward to further developing
its relationship with the company. Such a
significant investment in Churchill Mining as it fast-tracks its East Kutai Coal Project to
production acknowledges the vote of confidence
that this investment in Churchill Mining represents."

And today Pala announced it had increased its holdings to 26.72%, up from
22.07% less than a fortnight ago.

Pinched this from another board,eit sums up imho the situation?

Now why would a company that has "mandates for coal supply from several power companies setting up over 10 GW of imported coal based power capacity in South
India" want to invest in Churchill?

I assume this is the same Advaita:

"Advaita Indian Energy Ventures Ltd. seeks to invest in companies and/or projects across the energy value chain. The company is focused on Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution; Power trading, Energy Equipment, Energy Related Services and Fuel Assets (Coal, Natural Gas, etc).

We intend to invest across all stages of the business cycle from Greenfield projects to mature businesses. We provide Venture, Growth, Buyout and Mezzanine Capital. We also invest in Public Markets and provide Asset Financings".

http://www.advaita-ventures.com/investmentobjective.html

Head office in Guernsey. Pala head office is in Jersey. Coincidence?

cyril

new article, click HERE

Cheers Andy.
cyril

Updated: 2008-12-19 08:48
Counter:201

The recent recovery of steel and cement industries is likely to help coal price to regain the momentum to rise despite of little change in the fundamentals of coal industry.

The 4-trillion financial aid of China's central government, most of which are invested in the construction of infrastructures, greatly boosted the production steel and cement industries in some parts of China.

According to the Society for Promotion of Industrial Economy of Tangshan, Hebei province, 28 percent of its iron and steel production capacity in the iron and steel city still halted production, a big decline from 58 percent in September and October, and over half of suspended production capacity has resumed operation.

Besides, the cement production also increased in some regions of China. Since the end of Nov., cement price in Shanghai, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces has seen a boom on account of growth in demand.

Since steel and cement are important downstream industries of coal, the production rise in these two sectors will no doubted boost up the demand for coal.

Meanwhile, the coal inventories at Qinhuangdao and Guangzhou Harbours have decreased from the peak of 9.23 million tons and 2.49 million tons to 7.7 million tons and 1.66 tons respectively, which would help balance the supply and demand in domestic coal market.

In addition, coke price increased slightly after sharp slide. For example, the price for secondary metallurgical coke surged by 100 yuan per ton on Dec. 15 from 1400 yuan per ton on Dec. 1.

A research report of China International Capital Corporation Ltd. also hold that the spot coal price is likely to rebound recently, which will be favourable for the coal price negotiation of 2009.

Li Chaolin, researcher with China Coal Market Network, predicted that coal price to be decided at the order meeting of 2009 may rise because price gap between the planned coal price and market coal price remains 10 percent at least.

cyril

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=3532660
cyril

Julian Emery, analyst at Ambrian, says: "This news (link up with Leighton) is positive for Churchill as it represents an alliance with the world's largest contract miner, which is vastly experienced in the coal mining industry and has a strong presence in Indonesia."

cyril

Deal agreed!

Click HERE

Andy comes up as Regal?
cyril

CHL making good progress, Pala increasing its share to 27.84% seems to have woken up investors to the value of this company?

cyril