Name and Location
Mbeya (formerly Rukwa) coal-to-power project, Tanzania.

Client
Kibo Mining.

Project Description
The project comprises two prospecting licences and two prospecting licence applications in south-western Tanzania, just south of Lake Rukwa.

The development will be implemented to accelerate the development of the project. Stage 1 of the RDP comprises the completion of a bankable feasibility study on the coal mine and a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the power plant by December 2014.

Stage 2 will comprise all development and construction activities relevant to the mine and the power plant, with Stage 3 encompassing the commissioning and operation of the Mbeya coal mine and the Mbeya power station.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The definitive mining feasibility study (DMFS) for Phase 2 of Tanzania-focused mineral explorer Kibo Mining’s Mbeya coal-to-power project remains on schedule and within budget, with early results indicating the potential for signicant reductions in the project’s operating expenditure (opex), the company has reported.

Kibo decided to officially change the name of the Rukwa project to Mbeya to avoid further confusion of the company's coal-to-power project with similarly named projects that are owned by companies that are not associated with Kibo.

Mbeya’s DMFS has now reached the midpoint and trade-off studies have indicated that all overburden material could be mined through free-digging and trucking.

“This will significantly reduce the coal mine opex and will also bring about a significantly safer operating environment, since drilling and blasting will no longer be required, eliminating the necessity for explosives on the mine site.

“Even more exciting is the fact that the use of surface continuous mining equipment, identified as a possible mining method during the concept study, proved feasible at this stage,” the company has noted.

This will allow for precise accuracy in the extraction of the various coal seams and, more importantly, will eliminate the need for washing coal, making it possible to deliver the raw mined product directly to the power plant.

The preliminary geotechnical evaluations have also delivered positive results and have not identified any areas of concern related to the coal mine development or power plant construction.

Kibo CEO Louis Coetzee has said that progress made to date continues to draw attention from third parties, particularly those expressing an interest in investing directly at project level.

In this regard, the company remains in “active discussions” with various investors and notes that regular additional enquiries from new supplementary third-party investment sources are being received.

The company is also pleased with its new joint development partner Shandong Electric Power Construction No 3 Engineering Company, with whom it has a productive working relationship.
Kibo adds that an extensive geotechnical investigation, including a geotechnical drill campaign, is scheduled to start shortly.

Data and findings from the geotechnical study will inform critical mine design criteria that will be required for work planned during Stage 2 of the DMFS.

All other routine activities associated with the ongoing feasibility work are taking place in parallel and remain on schedule. Some of these activities include the establishment of a basic automated weather station and water-testing hole. The latter will be drilled to support the mining environmental assessment.

Similarly, discussions and interaction with the Tanzanian government are ongoing as part of the process to finalise the various critical agreements between the project and relevant government agencies.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Standard Bank (financial adviser).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Kibo Mining, tel +353 91 865367, fax +353 91 755066 or email info@kibomining.com.