MC Mining granted mining right for Generaal Project

MC Mining announced on Tuesday that the South African Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has granted a mining right for its 74%-owned Generaal coking and thermal coal project in the Limpopo province.

The AIM-traded company said the Generaal Project, together with the Chapudi and Mopane Projects, comprise its longer-term Greater Soutpansberg Project (GSP) in the Soutpansberg Coalfield.

It explained that the GSP is located within close proximity to the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone - an area designated by the government to focus on energy and metallurgical industries, among other sectors.

The company said it submitted mining right applications for the three GSP project areas to the DMR during 2013, and following the Chapudi Project mining right in December 2018, the Generaal Project mining right was the second of the applications to be granted.

It said the Generaal Project contained more than 407 million gross tonnes in situ of inferred coal resources, and supported MC Mining's strategy of being South Africa's pre-eminent producer of hard coking coal, used in the steel manufacturing process and attracting “significantly higher” sales prices compared to thermal coal.

“The granting of the Generaal Project mining right is a further step in unlocking value from MC Mining's significant coking and thermal coal assets, positioning the GSP to be a potential long-term coal supplier to industrial users both local and offshore, including the planned Musina-Makhado SEZ,” said MC Mining chief executive officer David Brown.

“The long-term development of the three GSP project areas is complementary to our flagship Makhado hard coking coal project, also in the Soutpansberg Coalfield.”

Brown said the company had made “significant” progress in advancing Makhado during the last 12 months, and anticipated completing the first phase capital raise process in the near-term in order to facilitate the start of construction in the first quarter of the 2020 calendar year.

“The conclusion of domestic and export Makhado Phase 1 and Phase 2 off-take agreements reflects the market appetite for hard coking coal and the significant potential of projects located in this coalfield.”