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MODERN MINING
October 2015
feature
COAL MINING
T
he Mbeya (previously Rukwa) coal
project comprises 16 tenements
located in south-western Tanza-
nia. What is known as the Central
Block contains the 109 Mt Mbeya
thermal coal mineral resource and will host
the MCPP. The Central Block covers 1 873 km
2
and is situated approximately 70 km north-
west of the regional town of Mbeya and just
south of Lake Rukwa.
Kibo, which also has gold projects in
Tanzania as well as the Haneti project, pro-
spective for nickel, PGMs and gold, launched
a Definitive Mine Feasibility Study (DFMS) on
Mbeya in the second half of last year. The com-
pany is planning an open-pit mine at Mbeya
allied to a ‘mine mouth’ power station of 250 to
300 MW capacity (probably using Circulating
Fluidised Bed technology). It believes there
would a ready market for the electricity gen-
erated by the project, given that Tanzania’s
national installed generation capacity is
1 500 MW (with only 780 MW operational)
while demand is currently in the range of 1 500
to 1 800 MW and expected to grow by at least
10 % per annum over the next several years.
The project received a boost earlier this
year with the signing of a ‘Joint Development
Agreement’ which will see Kibo collaborating
with SEPCOIII, a China-based EPC contractor
specialising in the construction of power plants.
SEPCOIII has an impressive track record, hav-
ing installed 37 000 MW of generating capacity
since being founded in the mid-1980s. It is
estimated that the power station component
of the MCPP could cost between US$640 and
US$760 million to develop, depending on the
plant configuration adopted.
The findings of a Pre-feasibility Study (PFS)
– part of the overall DFMS – on the mine were
released in August this year. The project was
assessed for a 28-year mine life, with an annual
average coal production of 1,48 Mt over the
life of mine. The PFS identifies the preferred
mining method as modified terrace mining,
with over-burden removal by means of a
free dig (truck and shove) method and coal
seam and inter-burden mining by means of
the mechanised continuous surface mining
method.
According to the PFS, only limited
processing in the form of destoning of the
product would be required, as the surface
miners would ensure the delivery of coal on
specification to the power station, with no
need for crushing and washing. In addition,
a river diversion which was identified in the
Concept Study as being needed has proven
unnecessary in the PFS pit optimisation.
The PFS estimates the capital cost at
between US$38 million and US$73 million
depending on the development options
chosen. The mine would generate annual
estimated coal sales of between US$48,4
million and US$48,6 million.
In the latest financial optimisation
study for the MCPP coal mine, the impact
Optimisation study
strengthens
case for
Tanzanian coal project
Drilling at the Mbeya Coal
to Power Project site in
Tanzania (photo: Kibo
Mining).
Kibo Mining, the Tanzania focused mineral exploration and
development company listed on London’s AIM and Johan-
nesburg’s AltX, has announced what it describes as “signifi-
cantly improved financials” for the coal mine component
of its Mbeya Coal to Power Project (MCPP). The company
and its advisers, South Africa’s Minxcon Projects, have now
completed a financial optimisation study for the MCPP coal
mine, based on feasibility results received to date.