Monday,07 March 2011
TAKEOVER target Riversdale Mining expects to start exporting coking coal from its Mozambique project by September. Leon Fanoe, Riversdale’s Benga project’s general manager,
said the company aims to start mining coal in March, expects to complete construction of its coal processing plant in September and plans to put its first coking coal “on a ship” at the port of Beira that same month.
Riversdale is spending over $US1 billion to develop Benga, located in the Tete coal basin. Benga, which is 65 per cent-owned by Riversdale and 35 per cent-owned by India-based Tata Steel, is one of two mega-coal projects that will start exporting coal from the Tete basin in large quantities this year.
The Tete basin has attracted investment from mining companies and steelmakers from around the world due to its vast resource of high-quality coking coal, a key ingredient in steel making.
Brazilian mining titan Vale is spending $US1.66bn to develop the adjacent Moatize coal project, which is expected to start shipping coal at end-June or early July.
Anglo-Australian diversified miner Rio Tinto is also interested in the Tete Basin and has offered to purchase Riversdale for $US3.9bn. Riversdale’s board has recommended shareholders accept in the absence of a superior offer. Rio Tinto has twice extended the deadline for its bid, last week moving it to March 18.
Riversdale’s coal assets in Mozambique have attracted a lot of suitors who are either interested in investing in the company or in its projects. Tata Steel and Brazilian steelmaker CSN recently raised their stakes in the company to a combined 47 per cent of the voting shares.
The Benga project is being developed in phases, with the first phase designed to produce 1.7 million tonnes a year of hard coking coal and 300,000 tonnes a year of thermal coal, for use in power stations, from 5.3 million tonnes of mined coal.
Riversdale expects to export 200,000 tonnes of coking coal this year and sell up to 90,000 tonnes of thermal coal, depending on available transport infrastructure. It has secured port capacity but not rail capacity as of yet, Mr Fanoe said.
Riversdale plans to increase output from the mine in subsequent years, with plans to process 10.6 million tonnes of coal into 3.3 million tonnes of coking coal and up to 2.2 million tonnes of thermal coal from 2013, Mr Fanoe said.
By 2014-15, Riversdale plans to be able to process 20 million tonnes of coal annually, resulting in 6 million tonnes of coking coal and 4 million tonnes of thermal coal.
Riversdale is also looking at alternative ways to send coal to Beira, Mr Fanoe said, including a feasibility study into sending coal down the Zambezi river to Chinde and then on to the port. Riversdale expects this could start by late 2012 or early 2013.
Benga, the first of Riversdale’s two major projects slated for the Tete basin, has a measured, indicated and inferred resource base of 4.03 billion tonnes. Tata Steel has rights to 40 per cent of coking coal produced during the life of the mine.
The company’s other mining plans, the Zambeze coal project, is expected to have a feasibility study completed by the end of 2012 and hopes to start producing coal by the middle of 2014.
David West, the principal geologist on the Zambeze project, said the company has 10 drill rigs on site and an exploration staff of 60 people, including 26 geologists, to complete the feasibility study on the 24,700ha Zambeze project.
The Zambeze project is forecast to eclipse Riversdale’s Benga project in terms of resource base and annual production. The Zambeze project has a resource base of 9.05 billion tonnes of coal compared with Benga’s 4.03 billion tonnes of coal resources.
The project has the potential to extract up to 90 million tonnes of coal annually, although current plans are to process 45 million tonnes of coal into roughly 15 million tonnes of coal products annually. The product mix would be two-thirds coking coal and one-third thermal coal. Thermal coal is used to fuel coal-fired power stations.
Mr West said the 9.05 billion indicated and inferred resource base means Zambeze could have “a life of mine of 25 years or even more.” At a certain stage in the project, Riversdale will have to move Tete’s international airport to a different location in order to continue mining the deposit, Mr West said. (source: Dow Jones)
said the company aims to start mining coal in March, expects to complete construction of its coal processing plant in September and plans to put its first coking coal “on a ship” at the port of Beira that same month.
Riversdale is spending over $US1 billion to develop Benga, located in the Tete coal basin. Benga, which is 65 per cent-owned by Riversdale and 35 per cent-owned by India-based Tata Steel, is one of two mega-coal projects that will start exporting coal from the Tete basin in large quantities this year.
The Tete basin has attracted investment from mining companies and steelmakers from around the world due to its vast resource of high-quality coking coal, a key ingredient in steel making.
Brazilian mining titan Vale is spending $US1.66bn to develop the adjacent Moatize coal project, which is expected to start shipping coal at end-June or early July.
Anglo-Australian diversified miner Rio Tinto is also interested in the Tete Basin and has offered to purchase Riversdale for $US3.9bn. Riversdale’s board has recommended shareholders accept in the absence of a superior offer. Rio Tinto has twice extended the deadline for its bid, last week moving it to March 18.
Riversdale’s coal assets in Mozambique have attracted a lot of suitors who are either interested in investing in the company or in its projects. Tata Steel and Brazilian steelmaker CSN recently raised their stakes in the company to a combined 47 per cent of the voting shares.
The Benga project is being developed in phases, with the first phase designed to produce 1.7 million tonnes a year of hard coking coal and 300,000 tonnes a year of thermal coal, for use in power stations, from 5.3 million tonnes of mined coal.
Riversdale expects to export 200,000 tonnes of coking coal this year and sell up to 90,000 tonnes of thermal coal, depending on available transport infrastructure. It has secured port capacity but not rail capacity as of yet, Mr Fanoe said.
Riversdale plans to increase output from the mine in subsequent years, with plans to process 10.6 million tonnes of coal into 3.3 million tonnes of coking coal and up to 2.2 million tonnes of thermal coal from 2013, Mr Fanoe said.
By 2014-15, Riversdale plans to be able to process 20 million tonnes of coal annually, resulting in 6 million tonnes of coking coal and 4 million tonnes of thermal coal.
Riversdale is also looking at alternative ways to send coal to Beira, Mr Fanoe said, including a feasibility study into sending coal down the Zambezi river to Chinde and then on to the port. Riversdale expects this could start by late 2012 or early 2013.
Benga, the first of Riversdale’s two major projects slated for the Tete basin, has a measured, indicated and inferred resource base of 4.03 billion tonnes. Tata Steel has rights to 40 per cent of coking coal produced during the life of the mine.
The company’s other mining plans, the Zambeze coal project, is expected to have a feasibility study completed by the end of 2012 and hopes to start producing coal by the middle of 2014.
David West, the principal geologist on the Zambeze project, said the company has 10 drill rigs on site and an exploration staff of 60 people, including 26 geologists, to complete the feasibility study on the 24,700ha Zambeze project.
The Zambeze project is forecast to eclipse Riversdale’s Benga project in terms of resource base and annual production. The Zambeze project has a resource base of 9.05 billion tonnes of coal compared with Benga’s 4.03 billion tonnes of coal resources.
The project has the potential to extract up to 90 million tonnes of coal annually, although current plans are to process 45 million tonnes of coal into roughly 15 million tonnes of coal products annually. The product mix would be two-thirds coking coal and one-third thermal coal. Thermal coal is used to fuel coal-fired power stations.
Mr West said the 9.05 billion indicated and inferred resource base means Zambeze could have “a life of mine of 25 years or even more.” At a certain stage in the project, Riversdale will have to move Tete’s international airport to a different location in order to continue mining the deposit, Mr West said. (source: Dow Jones)
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