Strategic Natural Resources chairman ups stake to 3.08%

South Africa based coal exploration and production company Strategic Natural Resources (LON:SNRP)has announced that its chairman Richard Latham has bought a further 70,000 shares in the company to take his interest to 2.9 million shares, representing a 3.08% stake.
The purchase price of 9.5 pence is roughly 2.5% below the current market price of 9.75 pence.
Late last month, the company reported a 55% increase to the total coal resource at its Elitheni project in South Africa, which now stands at 150.3Mt (million tonnes), comprising 45.6Mt measured resources, 45.5Mt indicated and 59.2Mt inferred.

With a 74% interest, SNR controls Elitheni Coal Pty, which in turn owns the rights to new order mining rights and new order prospecting rights in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, 200km northeast of Port Elizabeth.

An updated CPR (competent person’s report) incorporated additional drilling over a 3,000 hectare (Ha) area, and the company highlighted that only 3% of Elitheni’s total area has been drilled to date. Elitheni's total rights area, which remains available for further assessment, covers approximately 179,000Ha (hectares).
During the past year, SNR has expanded its exploration rights to over 185,000Ha, five times higher than in the previous year, it received two separate merger approaches and it raised £1 million and a further £2.7 million in the current period.