JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Stage 2, Phase 1 definitive mining feasibility study (DMFS) of dual-listed Kibo Mining’s Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania, has delivered better-than-expected results, which would improve the overall economics of the coal mine.
The company said in a statement on Wednesday that the results from the geotechnical programme not only confirmed the slope angles, but also made it possible to further improve the detailed mine design that would be completed during the DMFS.
It was expected that the improvement in the detailed mine design would make a positive contribution at a technical level, the miner added.
The DMFS, which was completed in the third quarter of 2015, comprised an 820 m geotechnical diamond core drill programme, which confirmed slope angles of pit design to be well within safety requirements and confirmed the decision to not do any river diversion as viable and prudent.
“Since announcing the very first set of results from the concept study and, with every announcement since, the MCPP has consistently demonstrated that it is a project with considerable financial and technical substance.
“This will stand us in good stead during the coming weeks when we work on finalising the power purchase agreement and other commercial agreements associated with the MCPP,” CEO Louis Coetzee said.
The company would now focus on a restatement of the Mbeya coal resource based on the technical work that was done on the coal resource during the feasibility studies, to date; the additional geological data gained from the geotechnical drill programme; and the data from earlier exploration drilling, sampling and laboratory analysis that had not yet been incorporated into the Mbeya coal resource statement.