| Foreign miner buys |
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| Written by Chamwe Kaira | ||||
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Mining of the coal deposits in Aranos is fast gaining momentum with several of the players heading for a head-on clash. A South African coal-mining magnate, Kobus Smit, is reported to be in the process of acquiring mining rights on 10 farms in the Aranos District, with the aim of exploiting the deposits first discovered by Anglo American in the 70s.
The Aranos coalfields attracted attention last year in
March when the Economist reported that a business consortium, which
includes Kumba Resources, Sekunjalo Investments from SA and Falcon
Holding Investments from Namibia, intended to start a coalmine and to
construct an electric railway line linking Aranos to Lüderitz. High quality coal, fit for blast furnaces and power plants, was discovered about thirty years ago during one of Anglo American’s regular drilling surveys. In a 1991 study, the coal resource was estimated at 370 million tonnes. A mine life of 300 years was then mentioned at an extraction rate of 600 000 tonnes per year. The same study described the coal as having high carbon and low phosphorous qualities. Smit is the CEO of the mining company, Umcebo Mining, operating in the Witbank and Delmas areas on the so-called Witbank Basin. Smit could not comment on the matter when contacted by the Economist saying he was about to fly to Port Elizabeth. He promised to contact the Economist at a later date. |
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