JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and JSE-listed Firestone Energy and its joint-venture (JV) partner in South Africa’s Waterberg region, Sekoko Coal, would have to invest about $400-million to develop an opencast mine at its Smitspan property.

The coal exploration company on Wednesday reported that a prefeasibility study (PFS) had revealed that the Smitspan property could ramp up to production of seven-million tons a year of saleable coal over a 21-year life-of-mine.

About 80% of the output would be appropriate for power station use, with the balance being exportable quality metallurgical coal.

The first stage pit would be 4,2 km long and 1,6 km wide with coal intersected from a 28-m overburden depth down to some 90 m in the selected seams, the Australia-based miner noted in a statement to shareholders.

The JV partners were currently planning to develop a conventional truck-and-shovel operation.

A bankable feasibility study would be completed in the next six months.

“The size and scale of the Waterberg project as indicated by the positive results of the PFS, together with the increasing footprint and opportunity provided by the acquisition of additional, adjoining properties must put the JV partners clearly amongst the leaders for the consideration of major offtake partners,” Firestone Energy nonexecutive director Tim Tebeila commented.

The Waterberg coal JV between Firestone and Sekoko comprised eight properties.

By the end of last year, the coal resource for the Vetleegte, Smitspan, Hooikraal, Minnasvlakte, and Massenberg properties had increased to a collective 3,8-billion tons, with the Smitspan property said to contain the majority of the continuous coal sequence contained under six of the JV properties.