| Fri 29 Jul 2011, 7:25 | | CZA - Coal of Africa Limited - Vele integrated water use licence |
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CZA
CZA
CZA - Coal of Africa Limited - Vele integrated water use licence
suspended
Coal of Africa Limited
(previously "GVM Metals Limited")
(Incorporated and registered in Australia)
(Registration number ABN 008 905 388)
ISIN AU000000CZA6
JSE/ASX/AIM share code: CZA
("CoAL or the "Company")
VELE INTEGRATED WATER USE LICENCE SUSPENDED
Coal of Africa Limited advises that the Integrated Water Use Licence
("IWUL") for the Company`s Vele Colliery has been suspended in terms of
Section 148(2) (b) of the South Africa National Water Act, No, 36 of
1998, due to an appeal to the Water Tribunal submitted by an NGO
coalition on 28 July 2011.
The appeal automatically suspends the IWUL unless the Minister of
Environmental and Water Affairs ("the Minister") directs otherwise. CoAL
has the right to and is in the process of preparing an urgent appeal to
the Minister requesting that the IWUL remains in full force and effect in
this interim period and until the final conclusion of the appeal. If the
Company is successful in its representation to the Minister the Company
will be able to continue all activities, including the water uses per the
IWUL.
In the interim, the Company is therefore unable to continue with
activities at the Vele Colliery that require water use, however in
anticipation of recommencing operations, the planning in relation to
other construction and mining activities that do not require the use of
water are ongoing.
CoAL CEO John Wallington said: "Whilst we acknowledge the coalition`s
right to appeal against the granting of the IWUL, we are equally aware of
our right to make representations to the Minister to lift the suspension.
The NGO coalition has publicly indicated their intention to file an
appeal. The Company is actively engaging with the Minister to resolve
this appeal process as soon as possible. Although the appeal limits our
use of water at Vele, mobilisation continues towards bringing the mine
into production. We are pursuing our right with the firm conviction that
the responsible development of the Vele Colliery is in the interests of
the broadest cross-section of our stakeholders and of South Africa as a
whole.
29 July 2011
Johannesburg
JSE Sponsor
Macquarie First South Advisers (Pty) Ltd
For more information contact:
John Wallington
Chief Executive Officer
Coal of Africa
+27 11 575 7423
Wayne Koonin
Finance Director
Coal of Africa
+27 11 575 4363
Shannon Coates
Company Secretary
Coal of Africa
+61 893 226 776
Chris Sim/Romil Patel
Nominated Adviser
Evolution Securities
+44 20 7071 4300
Jos Simson/Emily Fenton
Financial PR
Tavistock
+44 207 920 3150
Melanie de Nysschen/ Annerie Britz/ Yvette Labuschagne
JSE Sponsor
Macquarie
+27 11 583 2000
www.coalofafrica.com
About CoAL:
CoAL is an AIM/ASX/JSE listed coal mining and development company
operating in South Africa. CoAL`s key projects include the Vele Colliery
(coking coal), the Makhado Project (coking coal) and the Mooiplaats and
Woestalleen Collieries (both thermal coal).
The Mooiplaats Colliery commenced production in 2008 and is currently
ramping up to produce 2 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa"). CoAL`s Vele
Colliery and Makhado Project are expected to start production in the
first half of 2012 and the first half of 2013 respectively. These
operations are targeted to collectively produce an initial 1Mtpa ramping
up to a combined annual output of 10Mtpa of coking coal.
In 2010, CoAL completed the ZAR467m acquisition of NuCoal Mining (Pty)
Limited ("NuCoal"), a thermal coal producer with assets in South Africa
in close proximity to CoAL`s Mooiplaats Colliery. NuCoal owns the
Woestalleen Colliery, which has a number of off-take contracts in place
and processes approximately 2.5Mtpa of saleable coal for domestic and
export markets. The Woestalleen Colliery also incorporates two
beneficiation plants with a total processing capacity of 350,000 run of
mine feed tonnes per month.
In November 2010, CoAL agreed to acquire the Chapudi coal project and
several other coal exploration properties in the Soutpansberg coal basin
in South Africa from the previous owners, including Rio Tinto. When
completed, the acquisition of these projects will significantly extend
the scale and scope of certain of CoAL`s existing projects in the region
and will more than double the resource of the existing Makhado Project.
Date: 29/07/2011 07:25:01 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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