South Africa’s Wescoal said on Tuesday it was awarded a prospecting right over parts of Vlaklaagte, a farm located in the country’s coal-rich Witbank area.
Wescoal, which focuses on the mining, buying, selling and processing of coal, said Vlaklaagte has an inferred resource of 20,1-million tonnes of coal.
Vlaklaagte lies close to Anglo Coal’s Greenside colliery and Xstrata Coal’s Tweefontein colliery.
“Being awarded the new order prospecting right is another step in Wescoal’s strategy to further develop the coal-mining segment of our business and increase our resource base,” chief executive Andre Boje said in a statement.
The company said further exploratory drilling will start in 2011, after which an application for a mining right will be submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources.
Wescoal said the new prospecting right brings the total resource under prospecting rights held by the company to an estimated 97,2-million tonnes. — Reuters