JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE- and Aim-listed Kibo Mining on Thursday announced that initial financial modelling at its Rukwa coal mine, in Tanzania, had confirmed robust project economics, with continued surface mining expected to result in further reduced direct mining costs.
The company said initial financial modelling based on conventional mining methods had indicated that the project’s capital expenditure would be well below initial estimates.
The financial modelling also showed the potential for attractive investment return rates over the life-of-mine, and a short indicative capital payback period.
Direct mining costs were estimated at between $1.60/t and $1.90/t.
“A preliminary investigation into continuous surface mining as a possible replacement to traditional coal seam mining through blasting and drilling, on which all modelling has been done thus far, is also expected to bring about significant reductions in direct mining costs,” Kibo said.
Continuous surface mining would also provide the additional advantages of fast, precision mining of the coal seam, as well as a reduction in the crushing requirement.
"The initial robust economics of the Rukwa coal mine are better than expected and bode well for the remaining Rukwa coal to power project feasibility work.
“The results obtained from feasibility work done so far will now be subjected to further rigorous interrogation during the ensuing, more advanced, stages of the feasibility study. Incorporating specific requirements and specifications from the power feasibility study will further refine the economic assessment of the Rukwa coal mine,” Kibo CEO Leon Coetzee commented.