JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed coal miner Ncondezi Energy has raised an additional $582 000 from existing lenders and senior management to fund the search for a new partner and to provide working capital for the group.
The miner, which is developing the Ncondezi coal mine, in Mozambique’s Tete province, is seeking a new joint venture development partner for the coal-to-power project after it suspended exclusive discussions with Shanghai Electric Power (SEP) in May.
The suspension followed more than three years of negotiations and work alongside SEP and, notwithstanding SEP’s assurances that it was committed to the project, it did not provide the much-needed funding for the project.
The search for a new partner formally started in early June, with Ncondezi encouraged by the “quality of the participants” to date, which represent a broad set of well-known international names as well as proven regional players.
While the initial results are encouraging, there can be no certainty that the process will be successful. “The process remains on track [for us] to provide an update to shareholders in July,” the company noted.