PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Coal miner Universal Coal is poised to pull the trigger on its third coal project in South Africa, announcing on Monday that it had received all the necessary licences to develop its Brakfontein thermal coal project, near Delmas, in Mpumalanga.
The project has all the permits required for development, including a water use licence, a mining right and environmental authorisation.
Universal said that a feasibility study showed that Brakfontein could be integrated with existing infrastructure and make use of excess capacity at its nearby Kangala operation, thereby substantially reducing capital development costs and the scale of the water licence required.
The project has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 75.8-million tonnes, of which 31.7-million tonnes is measured and 39.4-million tonnes is indicated.
First production is expected later this year.
Universal recently started commissioning at its New Clydesdale colliery, near Kriel, also in Mpumalanga.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online
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