News Archive

23 November 2004

ATH Resources completes Acquisition of Bertholene Concession

ATH Resources plc, one of the UK’s largest coal producers, announces that it has completed the acquisition of the Bertholene Concession through its French subsidiary, Société des Ressources Minieres du Massif Central SA (SRMMC) .

The Bertholene Concession covers an area of approximately 36km² in South Central France, not all of which is coal bearing, and runs until 31 December 2018. The Concession conveys the right to enter onto land for the purpose of exploration and also the exclusive right to mine coal within the Concession area, which is similar to outline planning permission in the UK. Prior to mining, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required and will be submitted to the regional prefecture in Rodez.

The Company intends to carry out drilling ahead of the EIA. Preliminary assessments indicate an inferred coal resource of approximately 4.5 million tonnes. The EIA will be conducted as soon as practical in 2005. The Company hopes to commence production at the concession in 2006 with annual production of 300,000 tonnes. The coal produced is expected to be sold into the French power and cement industries.

Tom Allchurch , Chief Executive Officer of ATH Resources plc, said: “This is a major step in bringing coal production back to France. France closed its last coal mine in March 2004 but still maintains a market that consumes 18 million tonnes per annum of imported coal. This is significant progress for the Group in extending its resource base and production life well beyond that of the Group’s two current producing mines, Skares Road and Garleffan. We hope that Bertholene will form an important part of the Group’s coal production from 2007 onwards.”

For further information:

ATH Resources
Tom Allchurch , Chief Executive	Tel: +44 (0) 1302 760 462
tom.allchurch@ath.co.uk	www.ath.co.uk

Media enquiries:

Abchurch
Henry Harrison-Topham / Justin Heath	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 7702
henry.ht@abchurch-group.com	www.abchurch-group.com

Notes to Editors:

ATH Resources is an AIM-listed operator of opencast coal mines in the UK with its current two operational mines, Skares Road and Garleffan, located near New Cumnock, East Ayrshire in Scotland. The Company is currently the third largest producer of coal in the UK producing approximately 1.6 million tonnes per annum. Coal was used to generate 34.7 per cent of the UK’s electricity in 2003 and the Company holds coal supply contracts with four of the UK’s main electricity generating companies.

The management team has been in place since 1998. It acquired the rights to operate (and subsequently acquire) the Skares Road mine with support from The Alchemy Plan and Bank of Scotland. Following ATH Resource’s incorporation in October 2003, and backed by a follow on investment from The Alchemy Plan, the Company acquired the Garleffan mine in November 2003.

In addition to the Skares Road and Garleffan mines, the Company also has a number of other coal mining projects in Scotland and two through its French subsidiary, SRMMC including a series of six existing coal concessions in south-central France, covering an area of 36km² with an estimated resource of approximately 4.5 million tonnes of recoverable coal.

ATH Resources listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in June 2004 under the symbol ATH.L

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