Plans were still firmly on track for the listing of coal mining company Continental Coal on the JSE, Don Turvey, CEO of the company already listed on the ASX and London Aim, said last week.

Speaking to Mining Weekly in a video interview, Turvey said strong South African interest in the listing was already apparent, with institutions showing a keenness to hold the company’s stock in South Africa.

This follows JSE-listed Village Main Reef’s take-up of 16% of Continental Coal, which made it the single biggest shareholder of the company that is positioning itself as a mid-tier coal miner.

The restructuring of the company’s con- vertible note is attracting long-term institu-tional shareholder interest in the company, which will balance the strong retail holdings.

Continental Coal’s $16-million of convertible notes require part refinancing this month and the remainder in February.

“We’re quite advanced in talking to parties interested in restructuring/refinancing those notes. That will also expand our investor base and make it more institutional, which is critical for us,” Turvey told Mining Weekly.

Currently, the company has a strong retail following, mainly out of its main listings in Australia and London.

“So it’s really getting the institutional parties on board and, at the same time, dealing with what we call the overhang in the market,” he added.

The overhang, he said, was weighing on the share price, with its market capitalisation languishing at $20-million, while the independently calculated underlying net asset value had been put at well over $100-million.

“There’s a big disconnect,” Turvey said, adding that the number of parties being dealt with currently gave the company confidence that it would be able to report to the market next month on how the overhang would be addressed.

Continental Coal has an annual general meeting in Perth on November 21, when shareholders are likely to be given an update on the company’s progress.

Investec Bank has been appointed sponsor and financial adviser for the proposed listing.