Development finance institution the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) has extended the date for the repayment of coal miner MC Mining’s R160-million loan to September 30.
The repayment of the loan, plus accrued interest, was due for repayment by June 30.
As previously announced, the large-scale Makhado project resulted in peak funding of the project increasing to R1.8-billion.
The IDC is a 6.7% shareholder in the Makhado project and remains supportive of the project and its prospects to facilitate industrialisation within the Makhado corridor.
The additional facility of R245-million for the development of the fully permitted Makhado steelmaking hard coking coal project remains subject to the IDC confirming its due diligence, and credit approval has not been extended.
This facility was based on forecast Phase 1 production of 540 000 t of steelmaking hard coking coal and 570 000 t of thermal coal.
As announced in June this year, the increased scale of Makhado has led to significantly improved economics. The project is now targeted to produce an average of 810 000 t of steelmaking coal and 620 000 t of thermal coal over its 28-year life-of-mine, therefore making this facility redundant.
The company continues to advance the fundraising initiatives for Makhado, which are expected to be concluded in the second quarter of this year.