JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The first phase of a definitive mining feasibility study (DMFS) at dual-listed Kibo Mining’s Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania, has been completed, bringing the project closer to the final stage of its broader mining feasibility study. 

The first phase, carried out in collaboration with Kibo’s advisers Minxcon Projects, mainly entailed a geotechnical drilling programme on the Mbeya coal mine site, with 90% of the work scheduled consisting of the 820 m diamond core drill programme.

The geotechnical drill programme represented a mission-critical component of the DMFS and was required to confirm the ground conditions in and around the final pit position, which, in turn, determined the final slope angles in the pit design. The final slope angles were a prerequisite for final and detailed mine design.
 
The drill programme comprised eight holes, accurately angled and directed at specific strategic positions to penetrate the pit hanging wall at depths varying from 95 m to 120 m. Geotechnical samples were collected from the recovered core and submitted for laboratory analysis and these results would form the basis of the geotechnical input parameters for the final mine design during the DMFS. Visual assessment of the core also reconfirmed all previous geotechnical findings to date.
 
To accelerate development, Kibo designed the geotechnical drill programme to double up as an extensive metallurgical sampling programme. The metallurgical analysis to be conducted from the sampling programme, would verify specific coal properties that were required for detailed design requirements of the MCPP power station component.
 
Combining the two activities also brought about a significant saving on the MCPP feasibility study budget, as a separate drill programme for the purposes of metallurgical testing would now not be required. It also provided a significant amount of new data that would enable a restatement of the Mbeya coal resource, during Phase 2 of the DMFS.
 
The programme was executed and completed within scope, schedule and budget. Laboratory results are expected within eight weeks.

“The MCPP, as an integrated project, is persistently growing in stature. This is best reflected in the continued progress we are making towards concluding critical commercial arrangements on the MCPP, to ensure optimal value creation and realisation on the company's flagship asset. These efforts are, in turn, strongly supported by the ongoing feasibility work that is continuing in parallel and at pace,” Kibo Mining CEO Louis Coetzee said.