Name and Location
Ncondezi coal project, Tete, Mozambique.

Client
Ncondezi Coal Company.

Project Description
The 38 700 ha Ncondezi licence area is located in the coal-bearing Tete province, one of the largest undeveloped coal mining regions in the world. The project has a total Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 4.7-billion tonnes.

The Ncondezi mine forms part of the 300 MW integrated thermal coal mine and power plant project, located near Tete. The power plant will be located about 90 km from the local transmission network and can be expanded to a capacity of up to 1 800 MW.

The Ncondezi mine will be an openpit operation, targeting production of 1.5-million tonnes a year of saleable product to the proposed mine mouth power plant, at an average yield of 92% and an average strip ratio of 0.61-billion cubic metres a tonne using contractor mining.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
$376-million.

Duration
Mine commissioning is planned for the second half of 2016 to meet the power plant stockpile requirements ahead of its commissioning in the first half of 2018.

Latest Developments
Ncondezi Energy has been granted another extension to meet certain conditions pertaining to the conditional commercial deal signed between it and power utility Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) for its 300 MW power plant.

Ncondezi was granted an extension in March this year to meet the conditions by September 30. However, following discussions with EdM on September 29, the deadline was extended to December 31.

The extension will enable Ncondezi to finalise its development pathway, which includes the selection of funding partners and concluding engineering, procurement and construction, as well as operations and management agreements for the power plant, mine and common infrastructure.

The company will also use the extension to reconfirm the project’s economics, which support the commercial deal with EdM.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
KPMG (mine feasibility study); Impacto and Environmental Resources Management Southern Africa (environmental- and social-impact assessment) and the Mineral Corporation (geological consultant).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ncondezi Coal Company corporate development manager Hanno Pengilly, tel +44 20 7183 5402 or email info@ncondezicoal.com.