The No 2 and No 4 seam coal will be mined from an open pit for a seven-year period beginning in April 2011 and will be supplied to various Eskom power stations. Production will start at 50,000 tonnes per month (tpm) and ramp up to 200,000tpm by July 2011.
Last month, Keaton Energy unveiled its plan to spend some ZAR158m, inclusive of surface right acquisitions, on the immediate development of Phase 1 of Vanggatfontein to produce up to 30,000tpm of sought-after, high-quality No 5 seam metallurgical coal from October 2010 for the domestic market.
Paul Miller, managing director of Keaton Energy, said: “The offer to supply Eskom, which remains conditional on the conclusion of a coal supply and off-take agreement between both parties, means we can also proceed with the development of Phase 2 of Vanggatfontein at a cost of some ZAR180m.
“We expect to achieve our targeted sales of two million tonnes of coal a year from the Vanggatfontein Project in 2012.”
