JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Goedgevonden colliery, the flagship operation of the joint-venture (JV) partnership between African Rainbow Minerals (Arm) Coal and Xstrata Coal, has signed a 17-year coal supply agreement with South African power utility Eskom.

In terms of the agreement, the 6,7-million ton a year colliery, which is located in Mpumalanga province, would supply about 3,5-million tons a year of thermal coal to the Majuba coal-fired power station, near Volksrust, in Mpumalanga.

The power station, which had an installed capacity of 4 110 MW, was not linked to a specific mine and received its coal from a number of sources.

The colliery was expected to supply about 60-million tons of thermal coal to the power station between 2009 and 2026.

“This is a significant achievement for the Goedgevonden operation and underlines our position as a major supplier of quality thermal coal to both the domestic and export markets,” Xstrata Coal South Africa COO Murray Houston said in a statement.

Arm Coal CE Mangisi Gule added that the colliery was well placed to meet the immediate needs of the Majuba power station, while also maintaining the required flexibility to meet increased demand in the future, if necessary.

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