RICHARDS BAY (miningweekly.com) − South African junior LontohCoal shipped its first 27 500 t of anthracite on Wednesday, marking the company’s entry into the coal export market.

The shipment is headed for China-based Guangdong Chuanhui Group subsidiaries Huang Shan Cement and CH Clinker in Ethiopia via Djibouti.

The anthracite was initially scheduled to be delivered in September, but was delayed because of difficulties acquiring trucks and a ship

CEO Tshepo Kgadima said that the shipment marked LontohCoal’s entry into the South African export market. Up until now, the company has only been supplying coal to the domestic market.

LontohCoal signed a two-year HK$800-million agreement with Guangdong Chuanhui Group for the delivery of 480 000 t/y of coal.

The anthracite coal was transported by truck from its Kwasa Anthracite colliery, in Mpumalanga, to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal for storage.

The 27 500 t shipment will increase to 40 000 t/m. This will require a fleet of 60 trucks.

Meanwhile, the company has also agreed to a five-year supply contract to supply 50 000 t/m of anthracite coal to mainland China.

LontohCoal said it was also negotiating long-term off-take contracts for anthracite and coking coal with several other Chinese coal companies and has launched an aggressive production expansion plan by increasing the yearly output of anthracite coal to 1.2-million tons this year.

Further, the Hlobane View Colliery, in KwaZulu-Natal, will start production in the first quarter of 2012, with a targeted yearly output of 1.2-million tons.

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