Wescoal has announced that its Elandspruit mine in Mpumalanga, South Africa will supply 221,000t of coal to electricity public utility Eskom, under contract.
The company’s Elandspruit operations consist of the Elandspruit colliery, as well as the nearby Wescoal processing plant.
The latest short term contract (STC) follows on from the previous ones signed in May 2015 for the supply of 190,000t of coal from Wescoal’s Khanyisa and Intibane mine.
Wescoal acting CEO Waheed Sulaiman said: "Getting to this point is a major milestone and has been achieved through hard work and perseverance.
"Longer than expected delays earlier this year, resulted in us having to enter into sub-optimal coal sale arrangements with other customers while we engaged with Eskom."
According to the company, following the long-term contract for Elandspruit it will also focus on Intibane and Khanyisa.
The Wescoal processing plant is ready to operate at its current capacity of more than 150,000 feed tonnes per month.
"Wescoal has traditionally delivered stronger results in the first half of its financial year, but this year will see a reversal of that trend as we close out our current Eskom negotiations and continue to grow the business," Sulaiman concluded.
In July, Wescoal delivered the first coal from its Elandspruit mine, which has reserves of over 34 million tonnes, and a mine life of 12 to 15 years.
Image: Elandspruit mine will supply a total of 221,000t of coal to Eskom. Photo: courtesy of SOMMAI/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
