JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African coal junior Miranda has appointed Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services as the contractor to conduct the opencast mining at the Sesikhona project, in KwaZulu-Natal.

Miranda said in a statement on Monday that it was finalising a mine plan for Sesikhona and that it was in “advanced discussions” to complete an anthracite off-take agreement, after which mining could start in 30 days.

A life-of-mine and detailed production plan would be finalised in February. Miranda would then enter into a new engineering contract with Stefanutti Stocks on the first phase, open pit section, which is subject to the off-take deal.

The current stated target is to produce 480 000 t run-of-mine a year, subject to the final mine plan.

Stefanutti Stocks had made a large investment in its plant, equipment and fleet, ensuring it would have the capacity to extract coal optimally at Sesikhona, Miranda stated.

“We are pleased to have partnered with Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services to launch and conduct our mining operation and we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship with them. Stefanutti Stocks have bought into Miranda’s vision to lead the re-development of the KwaZulu-Natal coal fields, which have been of strategic importance for over one hundred years,” said Miranda CEO Ron Nel.