(EnergyAsia, February 5 2013, Tuesday) — Australia-listed Celsius Coal Limited said analyses of coal samples taken from last year’s drilling programme at the Uzgen Basin in Kyrgyzstan confirm the existence of “very good coking properties”.

“Seams at the Min Teke project have a mix of premium thermal coal and coking coal characteristics,” the company said in a statement after receiving the bulk of the assays from the programme.

The samples were tested according to their free-swelling index (FSI) that measures their tendency to expand when heated under controlled conditions, with the best coking coal showing a narrow range of volatility and plasticity.

“For the complete 2012 Kargasha drilling of 49 coal samples analysed for FSI all but three show levels greater than 4.5 (typically assessed as the threshold for coking coal). Most samples show FSI in the range of 6.5-8.5 indicating coking coals could be of high quality,” said Celsius

Analyses of the Min Teke samples show coal intersections of high thermal capacity with some samples showing good coking properties.

With this update, the company said it is maintaining its target to uncover between 501 and 700 million tonnes of reserves for the Uzgen Basin coking coal project.

Celsius is preparing its maiden reserve report for official verification later this quarter.

Celsius owns 80% of the Uzgen coal basin which is located mainly on the southwestern slopes of the Fergana Range and enclosed within the Paleozoic Fergana-Kokshaal structural zone.