JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Junior coal miner Resource Generation (Resgen) on Friday reported that it had completed several infrastructure projects at its Boikarabelo mine, in the Waterberg region, during the half-year to December 31.
This included power supply infrastructure, rail installation at the network stabilisation facility (NSF) and a 13-km-long water pipeline for the effluent treatment plant.
EHL Energy erected power poles and transmission lines for the 132 kV power supply, as well as the substation and switch room.
Resgen also installed and commissioned a 26 t axle load switch and signalling system at the NSF, as well as 400 m of rail that enabled the rest of the railway line system to access the mine for construction purposes.
Meanwhile, negotiations with various parties that would provide project finance for the construction of the Boikarabelo mine, including a club of potential financiers, continued during the period.
However, the process of reaching an agreed term sheet had been protracted owing to the variable nature of the envisaged loan structure and the need to maintain deliverable outcomes within the prevailing debt and coal markets.
It was proposed that if this facility went ahead, the existing loan from Noble Group would become part of the above facility.
Resgen expected the project finance to provide all the required funding that remained for the mine construction. While this process was ongoing, the company continued to explore alternate debt funding arrangements to increase the chance of finalising the successful development of the mine.