[miningmx.com] — Johannesburg – Power utility Eskom said on Wednesday it was in talks with Vunene Mining to secure a five-year coal supply deal for its Camden power station.
Spokesperson Hilary Joffe said Vunene had supplied Eskom with around 30 000 tonnes of coal in recent months as part of a test phase.
“We’ve been in talks for a while with Vunene on a five-year supply contract,’ said Joffe, but declined to give a date by which the company would like to finalise the deal.
Eskom supplies around 95% of South Africa’s electricity, most of which is generated from coal.
Vunene holds the mining rights for Usutu colliery, which is linked by a conveyor belt to the once-mothballed Camden plant.
The mining rights previously belonged to Eskom, but the state-owned utility failed to convert the right to a new mining right as required by law.
Joffe declined to comment on whether Eskom was interested in again securing the mining rights for Usutu, but said the utility was “engaging with the department of mineral resources’ regarding the colliery, yet did not give any details.
“Our priority is to secure supplies of coal for all our power stations at a cost that South Africa can afford,’ she said.
