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- Elixir Energy (EXR) has hit rock bottom at its Ugtaal-1 core-hole well in Mongolia
- The gas explorer has now reached a total drilling depth of 752 metres at the well, situated within its Nomgon IX coal-bed methane project
- While the final results from the drilling program are yet to be released, Elixir says the gas recovered from the cores appears to be predominantly methane
- Elixir’s BO-CH-2 well is also being prospected – yesterday morning, the exploration team reached a depth of 770 metres at the core-hole well
- Despite reaching total depth at the Ugtaal-1 well, Elixir shares have plummeted 11.9 per cent today to sell for 3.7 cents apiece
Elixir Energy (EXR) has hit rock bottom at its Ugtaal-1 core-hole well in Mongolia.
The gas explorer has now reached a total drilling depth of 752 metres at the well, situated within its Nomgon IX coal-bed methane project.
In an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, Elixir says well exploration exceeded previous expectations and the resource also proved to be thicker than prior research indicated.
Well-side geologists managed to intersect 43 metres of net coal during the drilling process. According to Elixir’s latest announcement, wireline logs will be run in the next few days to confirm these results.
While the final results from the drilling program are yet to be released, Elixir says the gas recovered from the cores appears to be predominantly methane. The company says a final gas analysis will follow in due course.
So far, the coring process at the Ugtaal-1 well has been successful. The company has reported a 99 per cent recovery rate during exploration tests. Many of the acquired coal cores will be processed with Elixir’s laboratory to determine their gas content, with permeability tests to come in the next few weeks.
“I recently visited our company’s drilling team in the South Gobi and was impressed by their professionalism and high morale in what we would in Australia consider very cold conditions,” said Elixir Managing Director Neil Young.
“The Ugtaal-1 well reaching TD is a milestone for the company’s maiden Mongolian CSG drilling program in our vast PSC, but there is plenty more to come,” Neil continued.
Ugtaal-1 isn’t the only well currently undergoing exploration at the Nomgon project.
Elixir’s BO-CH-2 well is also being prospected – yesterday morning, the exploration team reached a depth of 770 metres at the core-hole well. As a result, the company has just encountered the first coals at BO-CH-2.
Further drilling will go ahead at the well to uncover coal cores for testing. A similar process will also be applied to the BO-CH-1 well, subject to the hole’s conditions.
The company says it will remain on the lookout for additional wells to explore in the new region of the project. Nongom XI, solely owned by Elixir, boasts a lifespan of over a decade and spans over 30,000 square kilometres.
Despite reaching total depth at the Ugtaal-1 well, Elixir shares have plummeted 11.9 per cent today. Company stocks are selling for 3.7 cents apiece at 12:25 pm AEDT in a A$21 million market cap.
