Anglo, Eskom at loggerheads over coal

[miningmx.com] – ESKOM and Anglo American are at loggerheads over the empowerment status of a proposed coal mine called New Largo which is crucial in supplying coal to Eskom’s next large coal-fired power station, the 4,800MW Kusile power installation.

BDLive reported that Eskom is pushing for suppliers of coal to be black controlled – 50% plus a share – whereas Anglo American’s New Largo is 27% black-owned, the level required by the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).

The empowerment requirement is really motivated by the Department of Public Enterprises to which Eskom reports. The DPE is led by public enterprises minister, Malusi Gigaba.

Further delays in the building of New Largo could be problematic for Eskom which needs coal for Kusile from December next year at the latest. In contrast, New Largo is scheduled to come on line from 2017 at the earliest, BDLive said.

Anglo and Eskom have not signed a coal supply contract for Kusile, but the power utility has agreements for about five million tonnes a year from Universal Coal, an Australian-listed company, and the state-owned coal miner, African Exploration Mining Finance Corporation, BDLive said.

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