Modern Mining November 2015

COAL

mine is on the path to recovery after having being set back due to the fraud and corrup- tion. Located 20 km east of Vryheid in KZN, the mine is a relatively small operation with its infrastructure including two shaft complexes (comprising four underground access portals) and a two-stage 110 t/h anthracite washing plant producing duff, peas and nuts. Keaton reported in late September this year that it had received an offer for the assets of Keaton subsidiary Leeuw Mining and Exploration, including Vaalkrantz (but exclud- ing Braakfontein) so it is possible that the mine will exit the Keaton group. “We are certainly not averse to selling,” says Glad. “Vaalkrantz is not a huge contributor to Keaton and yet it con- sumes huge amounts of management time. It’s a sound asset, though, and could do extremely well in the right hands.” Summing up, Glad expresses the view that Keaton is in a strong position currently. “The international coal market is a disaster area but we have only very limited exposure to it so we’re in a far better position than many of our peers. Vanggatfontein is doing exceptionally well with a viable coal agreement in place with Eskom which still has several years to run and,

as I’ve said, we’re under no pressure to imme- diately develop our assets such as Moabsvelden and Braakfontein. The immediate task ahead for us is really to further fine tune Vanggatfontein and, assuming we end up retaining Vaalkrantz, continue its recovery. Overall, Keaton is an extremely healthy company which deserves a better share price than it currently enjoys.” Photos courtesy of Keaton Energy

A Liebherr 984 hydraulic excavator loading 4-Seam coal onto a Cat 777D rigid haul truck in the VG2 pit.