JSE-listed Wescoal has delivered the first coal from its Moabsvelden mine, in Delmas, Mpumalanga, to power utility Eskom.
“The operationalisation of the Moabsvelden project under a difficult operating economic environment represents a significant milestone in the history of Wescoal, since the acquisition of Keaton Energy Holdings in 2017.
"The first truckload to the power utility was a momentous event for everyone involved in the project implementation,” says Wescoal Mining CEO Thivha Tshithavhane.
The project development work commenced in June 2020 pursuant to a ten-year coal supply offtake award by Eskom in July 2019.
Moabsvelden is expected to contribute three-million tonnes a year of mined coal towards Wescoal's production capacity and presents a new growth opportunity for the company and its stakeholders.
The early-works auxiliary infrastructure projects have been completed and the construction of a pollution control dam is under way.
Additional development workstreams planned for the next few months include a road intersection, weighbridge, workshop and office prefabs construction. These will support the ramp-up plan to 160 000 t a month of saleable product by July 2021.
“The operationalisation of Moabsvelden is in line with the scalability strategic pillar of the business. Management’s priorities also remain to strive for safe and reliable operations, solid and predictable financial performance and to maximise value from the existing asset base. Planning and executing projects in a conservative, risk-based manner will continue to form the basis on which Wescoal will manage and realise value from its growth plans,” notes Wescoal Group interim CEO Robinson Ramaite.