The Flathead Ridge (Elko) property is located in the Crowsnest Coalfield, approximately 26 kilometres was of the town of Elko, British Columbia, and approximately 30 kilometres south of the town of Fernie.
Commercial quality coal occurs throughout the Jurassic- Cretaceous Mist Mountain Formation (Kootenay Group) (425-550 metres thick) interbedded with sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. Coal is low to medium bituminous in rank.
The Flathead Ridge (Elko) project lies within the McEvoy syncline. Strata within areas 1 and 3 lie mostly on the western limb of the syncline, strike northwest, and dip 20 to 35 degrees to the northeast. Strata in area 2 and the southern portion of area 3 lie on the eastern limb of the syncline and strike northeast (T. Bradbury, 2014). Several thrust and normal faults have been mapped on the property.
BC Coal Ltd conducted much of the historic work on the property in the 1970's and 1980's, identifying up to 7 coal seams. In 1973, 6 adits were excavated in area 1, and in 1980 one diamond drill hole (FH-1) was drilled to a depth of 740 metres which intersected 6 coal seams. Four of the 6 seams (ranging from 1.6 to 11.7 metres thick, and from 280 to 640 metres depth) were sampled and analyzed for coal quality. Results returned medium to high ash contents (18 to 47 percent), however washing of the coal produced a low ash product (6.6 to 9.8 percent) with a yield ranging from 41 to 68 per cent (Coal Assessment Report 304). Additional coal quality analyses indicate potential for metallurgical coal and thermal coal at Flathead Ridge (Elko).
In 2014, Pacific American Coal, a subsidiary of Texas Oklahoma Coal Company (Canada) Ltd, acquired claims encompassing the Flathead Ridge property, and termed the new property Elko. In 2014, Geos Mining Mineral Consultants completed an exploration target tonnage estimate based on historic work at Elko and known data from the nearby Lodgepole property. The potential exploration target is in the range of 299 to 336 million tonnes of coal (T. Bradbury, 2014). It is noted in the study that the potential quantity and quality are conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource.
