[miningmx.com] — COAL of Africa announced on Monday it has lodged a new order mining right application for its Makhado coking coal project in Limpopo.
In preparing the application, the company completed baseline social and environmental studies, which were conducted by a group of specialist independent consultants, the group said
Consultation with interested and affected parties is underway, which included the formation of the Makhado Project Community Engagement Forum to facilitate consultation with the communities and land claimants affected by the project.
Once the application is accepted by the department of mineral resources, extensive economic, social and environmental impact studies would be prepared as part of the process in formulating an extensive environmental management programme.
The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and National Environmental Management Act processes will be run in parallel during the next phase to ensure all relevant approvals are obtained.
As previously announced, the company received approval from the DMR for the extraction of a bulk sample from the Makhado Project. The sampling involves the extraction of 19,100 tonnes of run of mine coal, to be transported to Tshikondeni Colliery, owned by Exxaro Resources, for beneficiation to produce approximately 4,400 tonnes of coking coal.
The intention is to have the full sample extracted and transported to Tshikondeni for processing by mid-March 2011.
