Aim-listed Beacon Hill Resources (BHR) has appointed additional senior management role-players at its Minas Moatize coal mine, in Tete, Mozambique, in preparation for the mine’s ramp-up next year.

BHR CEO Justin Lewis says the appointment of Ricardo Jose as Mozambique country manager and executive director of Minas Moatize, as well as Adelino Fernandes as the finance GM, will provide further in-country management, as the company moves into the production phase of the mine’s main openpit.

BHR reports that Jose, who is a chartered engineer with over 25 years’ experience in the mining sector, joined the company in November and will be responsible for overseeing the group’s activities in Mozambique and the day-to-day operations of Minas Moatize.

Jose held senior operational and corporate management roles that involved openpit and underground oper- ations and has also worked in Portugal, Papua New Guinea and Australia, latterly, as group chief mining engineer at ASX-listed Aditya Birla Minerals.

Meanwhile, Fernandes has 30 years’ experience in senior financial management roles throughout Mozambique, Angola and Europe and will be responsible for overseeing the group’s finance, accounting, legal and risk-management functions in Mozambique.

“I am delighted to welcome Jose and Fernandes – they will bring invaluable experience and local knowledge to the group as we start the ramp-up of operations and coking coal production at Minas Moatize at the beginning of next year,” Lewis states.

The ramp-up of Minas Moatize will result in about 2.35-million tons of saleable coal being produced a year, which will include about 0.92-million tons of coking coal.

In August, Mining Weekly reported that BHR had successfully completed trial trucking of coal from Minas Moatize.

A logistics trial run was undertaken from the mine to the port of Beira ahead of a maiden export shipment of coal towards the end of the year.

BHR appointed Mozambican logistics company Transportes Lalgy to establish a trucking operation capable of trans- porting up to 500 000 t/y to the port.

The group also continues to conduct discussions with the operators of the $200-million Sena railway line.

BHR corporate development head David Premraj told Reuters that the initial shipment would be around 20 000 t and would focus on thermal coal, while production of coking coal was expected to start in early 2012.

Further, in November, BHR increased its presence in Mozambique by opening a corporate office in Maputo, which Lewis believes signifies the company’s long-term commitment to Mozambique and will enable it to strengthen its presence in the country.