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Boikarabelo coal project, South Africa

26th July 2013

By: Creamer Media Reporter

  

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Name and Location
Boikarabelo coal project, Limpopo, South Africa.

Client
Resource Generation (ResGen).

Project Description
Boikarabelo has probable reserves of 745-million tonnes, a measured resource of 1.1-billion tonnes, an indicated resource of 551.7-million tonnes and an inferred resource of 1.5-billion tonnes.

The Boikarabelo coal seam is between 20 m and 30 m below surface, enabling low-cost, opencut mining. The seam is between 120 m and 130 m thick, with zones of varying quality thermal and soft coking coal.

The mine will be developed using a two-phased approach to limit upfront capital expenditure. The first phase will deliver about 12-million tonnes of run-of-mine coal a year, which will equate to about six-million tonnes of product coal. Of this, three-million tonnes will be exported and three-million tons will be used domestically.

Phase 2, planned for 2018, will involve ramping up production to 20-million tonnes of product coal.

The project includes a 36 km rail link to the existing rail network.

Boikarabelo hosts a life-of-mine of up to 100 years.

Value
ResGen has reported that it will save about $120-million in construction costs at its Boikarabelo mine, after it secured electricity supply from the grid.

The estimated capital cost for the project has now been reduced to $630-million, reflecting the flexibility of State-owned power utility Eskom and its commitment to supply power to Stage 1 of the mine development as early as 2014.

Duration
ResGen’s black economic-empowerment subsidiary, Ledjadja Coal, received the Boikarabelo mining rights from the Department of Mineral Resources in April 2011.

Construction of the mine is scheduled to start by the first quarter of 2013 and will take about 24 months to complete.

The mine is expected to begin production in 2015.

Latest Developments
ResGen is preparing to start the construction work of a 38 km rail line connecting its Boikarabelo mine to the existing Transnet Freight Rail network, in the Waterberg area of Limpopo.

The construction of the rail link is considered to be one of the longer lead-time items in the construction of the mine.

Construction will entail the development of the pad for the base of the construction camp, associated access roads and further infrastructure for the mobilisation of site activities.

The rail link is considered an important step towards facilitating the total construction of the Boikarabelo mine and it will also enable site operational procedures to be tested and optimised before full-scale construction starts.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Digby Wells Environmental (mining right application, mine-waste licence, environmental authorisation process for power plant), RSV Enco (engineering, procurement and construction management for mine construction) and RCE (rail design and construction).

On Budget and on Time?
First production has been delayed to the first half of 2015.

Detailed mining and engineering plans have reduced the estimated first-stage cost of the mine to $630-million.

Contact Details for Project Information
ResGen (Australia), tel +61 2 9376 9000, fax +61 2 9376 9013 or email info@resgen.com.au; or (South Africa), tel +27 12 345 1057 or fax +27 86 539 3792.
Digby Wells Environmental, tel +27 11 789 9495 or +27 11 504 1400, fax +27 11 789 9498 or +27 11 504 1446, or email info@digbywells.co.za.
RSV Enco, tel +27 11 498 6010, fax + 27 11 498 6210 or email enco@rsvenco.com.
RCE, tel +27 12 450 0040 or fax +27 12 450 0060.4

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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