The MoU is legally binding for six months, giving the companies time to properly enter into the agreement to explore in the Karoo Basin coalfields of South Africa.
The JV plans to use the expertise of the parties to apply an extensive database and knowledge of coal geology in the area to methane gas exploration.
White Rivers holds technical cooperation permits over the Free State and Vereeniging Sasolburg coalfields, which give it access to available data held by the government for desktop studies while also giving the option to convert the area to an exploration right.
Widespread gas occurrences are known from coal and mineral exploration in the Free State area, while helium production in other parts also flared methane gas in the past.
Coal bed methane is also expected to be contained in conventional sandstone reservoirs within the Karoo sandstones.
