International coal developer Acacia Coal Ltd has achieved another significant milestone towards the development of the Riversdale Anthracite Colliery (RAC) project in South Africa after commencing the process for transferring the key project licences from the project vendor, Rio Tinto.
Acacia has an exclusive option, in partnership with African Onca Ltd, to acquire the Mining Right for the RAC Project from a subsidiary of Rio Tinto and its partner Khulani Resources.
The application for the transfer of these licences under Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act has been submitted to the relevant authorities this week and marks an important milestone in the eventual development of this project.
Since securing the exclusive right to purchase the RAC Project, Acacia has maintained an aggressive schedule to de-risk the project and move it towards production, delivering an updated Resource and Reserve estimate in April and a positive Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on 1st May 2017, two months ahead of schedule.
The recently announced PFS has confirmed a low capital and cost project development opportunity with strong economic returns and a clear pathway to near-term production. A feasibility study is planned for the second half of 2017, which will build on the extensive amount of work already completed on the RAC project.
The feasibility study is due for completion early next year and will pave the way for a Final Investment Decision.
Acacia Coal Managing Director, Hugh Callaghan, said the company was also highly encouraged by recent positive meetings with potential customers of the RAC project in South Africa.
“These discussions have highlighted both current and future market demand for the high-quality anthracite product that we will be able to deliver,” Callaghan said. “There is no doubt that there is a current and growing shortage of supply in the market, and we expect that this will be reflected in pricing – providing a very strong backdrop for the development of this project.
“We have a significantly de-risked project which enjoys very strong economics and which is now moving rapidly towards production and, importantly, we have a world-class management team in place with the track record and capability to deliver,” Callaghan added.
