Feb 7 2008
Rio Tinto has further strengthened its presence in South Africa with the discovery of a open-pittable coal resource of 1.04 billion tonnes in the Limpopo Province. The coal is bituminous, and is suitable for generating electricity.
Where is the deposit
The discovery at Chapudi came through Rio Tinto's coal exploration programme in the Limpopo (Soutpansberg) coal basin of South Africa. The exploration work has been conducted in conjunction with Rio Tinto's BEE partner, Kwezi Mining. Exploration rights over the resource are held by two JV companies; Chapudi Coal PTY Ltd (Rio Tinto 70%) and Kwezi Mining Exploration PTY Ltd (Rio Tinto 49%).
Rio Tinto and Kwezi are continuing with exploration activities for thermal and coking coal east of the Chapudi project.
The chief executive of Rio Tinto Energy & Minerals, Preston Chiaro, said: " This is a significant find in an area that has previously been viewed as having little geological potential. The project's potential to produce thermal coal for electricity generation comes at a time when South Africa needs to rapidly increase its generating capacity. In addition, the basin offers the opportunity to produce a range of products, from thermal to hard coking coal for the export markets. We are currently planning the next phase of the project by beginning our pre-feasibility studies."
Future Direction
The coal has been demonstrated through test work to be suitable for combustion to generate electricity.
Rio Tinto and Kwezi Mining are currently investigating the feasibility and economics of establishing a mining operation to feed coal into a power station. They are currently engaging with Eskom, and a number of Independent power providers to this effect.