JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) − JSE-listed Optimum Coal, South Africa's sixth-largest thermal coal producer, which has for a while been targeting two prospecting rights in close proximity to its Koornfontein mines, has struck a R420-million deal to acquire those rights.
The company on Wednesday announced a deal with Umcebo Mining, which would see it acquire the in situ coal resource of some 120-million tons of thermal coal.
CEO Mike Teke said that the TNC prospecting rights would provide Optimum Coal with a critical, high-value export life extension at Koornfontein, thereby unlocking the currently underutilised infrastructure and maximising value for the 1,5-million tons a year Richards Bay Coal Terminal entitlement.
"We now have more flexibility to explore options to potentially provide the lower quality 4 seam coal at Koornfontein Mines to power utility Eskom and we will continue to work on developing these opportunities," he added.
TNC prospecting rights, are located about 10 km from Koornfontein and it is believed that the over 35-million tons are extractable as run-of-mine tonnage.
Koornfontein's current high-value export life-of-mine from the Gloria 2 seam is about 4,5 years, and the development of the TNC prospecting rights resource would enable the mine to continue to produce high-value saleable export coal for an additional period of 12 years at the current 1,5-million ton a year rate.
Further, over and above the export product, the resource is expected to yield some 500 000 t/y of thermal coal within Eskom-quality specifications.
The agreement is subject to regulatory consents from the Department of Mineral Resources. The prospecting rights would likely be mined by opencast methods. First coal development is expected in the 2015 financial year.
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