JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Edenville Energy continues to refine its mining licence application package for the Tanzania-based Rukwa coal project following the release last month of its power plant feasibility study.

Edenville outlined in a project update on Wednesday that it was finalising the compilation of necessary documents and data for the application, which it planned to submit in the second quarter of the year.

A key component of the application – the environmental-impact assessment – had already been completed and submitted to the government in June last year.

“[The] grant[ing] of a mining licence is an iterative process, but we have been advised that the timeline for approval is between three and four months,” it stated.

The granting of a mining licence was a critical requirement for the development of the project, whether it developed into an integrated power plant development or an operation that mined coal for local and regional sales.

Once granted, the licence would give the company the right to commercially mine coal from the licence area and would make the Rukwa project one of only three in Tanzania that had been granted this particular type of coal mining licence.

“The company's base case remains the development of the mine and power plant to operate as an integrated commercial entity as substantiated by the power plant feasibility study. There will also be the opportunity to sell coal to local and regional customers who may be interested,” it said.

In addition to work on the mining licence, the company continued to take part in necessary discussions and the supply of requested data to the relevant Tanzanian government departments to move the process forward.

“I am very pleased with our progress since the release of the power plant feasibility study six weeks ago. Moving to the mining licence stage will enable the project to be production-ready to take advantage of opportunities in this rapidly growing part of Africa.

“Our progress through the Tanzanian regulatory system continues to move forward and we appreciate the solid support received from the Tanzanian government,” commented CEO Rufus Short.