Kibo awaits MCPP Esia certification

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Kibo Mining has completed the environmental- and social-impact assessment (Esia) for its Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania, and is now awaiting certification.

CEO Louis Coetzee on Wednesday said the completion of the Esia work marked another major step forward in the development of the MCPP, which had now reached an advanced stage of development.
 
The company, meanwhile, remains in ongoing consultation with the Tanzanian government and State-owned entities, including the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) and the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), regarding a power purchase agreement (PPA).

“The PPA is the most critical commercial agreement for the MCPP,” the company stated, adding that it was impossible to start negotiations with Tanesco without certainty on the key economic parameters and indicators of the project.

“It is for example not possible to reach agreement on the final tariff if there is not absolute clarity and certainty on construction and production cost, which could, in turn, only be obtained by conducting a proper integrated bankable feasibility study (IBFS) first. Without the IBFS there could therefore be absolutely no sensible discussion on the PPA,” it stated.

The company added that while there was no definitive timeframe for the Esia certification process to be completed – owing to the consultative nature thereof – and with the special mining lease (SML) still outstanding, it did expect the process to happen much quicker than usual.

“Given the time gained as a result of the parallel process approach with the Esia and the SML, we believe the Esia certification will be completed well in time to avoid any delays in the assessment and evaluation, and subsequent issuing, of the SML by the MEM,” it stated, adding that the MEM was currently assessing and evaluating aspects of the SML other than those related to environmental and social impact.