JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mining operations are proceeding as planned at Aim-listed Edenville Energy’s Rukwa coal-to-power project, in Tanzania, with high-quality, near-surface coal being extracted from the Mkomolo deposit.

In a production update on Wednesday, the coal miner said operations have kept pace with demand and plant capacity, despite seasonal heavy rains. 

“To help fulfil the demand for coal we are experiencing, and to potentially increase the amount of unprocessed coal the company can sell, we have started to also mine the Namwele deposit,” the company noted.  

Namwele, which sits to the south of the Mkomolo deposit, will be mined by Edenville’s Tanzanian partner, Upendo, which has already started clearing the overburden.

“We expect the first Namwele coal to be mined before the end of the first quarter [of this year].”

Coal quality, in terms of both calorific value and ash content, is exceeding management's initial expectations.  

Recent results from the company’s on-site laboratory have given encouraging calorific values for Mkomolo, including 734 gross calorific value (GCV) on an air-dried basis, correlating with previous results. 

“Of note is the energy value contained in our raw coal fines material, recently testing at 4 753 GCV on an as-received basis. This has a positive effect in terms of the value of commercial sales, as well as the long-term economics of the power plant development and related coal supply.” 

The company's wash plant and associated equipment is currently running at a throughput of 30 t/h to 40 t/h, operating for eight to ten hours a day, six days a week.

Edenville is, therefore, able to process 8 000 t/m to 10 000 t/m of mined material.

Further, the company has received additional orders for trial material in the last fortnight.

“These requests include one for 4 000 t of coal from an industrial customer. This customer has indicated that, if the product is demonstrated to be appropriate for its needs in trials, they will seek to increase their order.”  

In aggregate, trial and other orders for about 9 000 t of coal have now been received and these have either been shipped or are in the process of being fulfilled.