Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) has completed its acquisition of Rio Tinto and Kwezi Mining’s shares in both Chapudi Coal and Kwezi Mining and Exploration (KME).
The acquisition has been carried out by Keynote Trading & Investment 108, a subsidiary of CoAL.
Chapudi and KME hold the prospecting rights for the Chapudi Coal Project and related exploration properties in South Africa’s Soutpansberg coalfield in the Limpopo Province. CoAL originally agreed to acquire the Chapudi coal assets from the previous owners in November 2010.
CoAL is a coal exploration, development and mining company operating in South Africa, with key projects including the Vele Colliery (coking and thermal coal), the Makhado Project (coking coal) and the Mooiplaats and Woestalleen Collieries (both thermal coal).
Commenting, CoAL’s CEO John Wallington said: "The transaction provides significant scale and optionality in the planning of future mining projects, and will enable the consolidation of several contiguous tenements in the Soutpansberg coalfield. The detailed planning and technical work required as part of this process has commenced with our partners, while the reserve and resource calculations of these newly-acquired coal assets are being evaluated and a further update will be issued to the market in due course.”
Mashudu Ramano, chairman of Rothe Investments (Keynote’s BEE shareholder with 26 per cent), added: “We will seek to develop these assets responsibly, and in the interests of all stakeholders. The consolidation of the various tenements will provide further long-term potential for the economic development of this region. Communities in close proximity to Chapudi hold a 40 per cent interest in Rothe, the structure of which will be finalised in consultation with the relevant communities, making this a truly broad-based BEE project.”
The acquisition of the Chapudi coal assets is expected to strengthen CoAL’s position as one of the most substantial holders of prospecting and mining rights for coking coal in the Soutpansberg coalfield.
