CoAL extends Mooiplaats sales agreement to end-June

5th May 2015 By: Megan van Wyngaardt - Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South Africa-focused coal miner Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) and Blackspear Holdings have agreed to extend the sale and purchase agreement for the Mooiplaats colliery to June 30.

CoAL announced in September 2014 that it would sell the colliery, which had been placed on care and maintenance in October 2013, to Blackspear for $23.47-million.

Blackspear had initially been expected to provide proof of funding for the acquisition by October 2014, but this was later extended to April 30. Blackspear would now have until June 30 to meet this condition.

“Despite this delay in the completion of the sale of Mooiplaats, much progress has been made and we remain committed to the completion of this transaction as soon as possible. The company has a number of interested parties at various stages of the due diligence process,” CoAL CEO David Brown said in a statement.

The Mooiplaats thermal coal project, in the Ermelo coalfield, in Mpumalanga, was placed on care and maintenance in October 2013.

The sale formed part of CoAL’s five-point turnaround strategy implemented two years ago, which also included offloading the Woestalleen colliery, near Ermelo, the Mpumalanga-based Opgoedenhoop mining right, coal explorer Lemur Resources and the Holfontein project, in the Witbank coalfield.