BULAWAYO — Mwana Africa and a junior coal miner Coalbrick are set to sign a coal supply agreement yesterday ahead of the planned reopening of its Bindura smelter and refinery, an official said on Wednesday.
In February, Mwana Africa’s chief executive, Kalaa Mpinga said there were plans to raise debt financing that will be used to reopen its smelter in Bindura to refine platinum-group metals, a move that could ease pressure to build a new refinery in the country.
The smelter was closed in 2008, but would take a year to bring back online, Mpinga said.
While there is no timeline for the smelter’s reopening, the agreement signals that Mwana Africa is going ahead with its resuscitation.
“We are meeting tomorrow to sign the agreement,” Coalbrick Mine executive chairman Cephas Mandlenkosi Msipa said, but declined to give more details, citing a non-disclosure agreement between the two parties.
But he said the agreement would ensure that the London AIM-listed resources group has enough coal to provide dedicated power once its smelters start running.
Msipa said Mwana Africa wanted to ensure that they have partners who can supply coal for a planned small power station that will supply its smelters.
Officials from the company visited the Coalbrick mine in Hwange last month to check production at the mine.
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“I am sure they want continuous production as smelting does not need to be disturbed by power shedding,” Msipa said.
Coalbrick is owned by a consortium of companies consisting of Redmagic Holdings, Pan African Energy, Liketh Union, Liketh Finance, Vulner Investments and Blackhealth Investments with a net asset value of R35 billion.
— The Source
