Botswana focused coal exploration company, Shumba Coal, has been awarded to rights to a new prospecting licence for coal exploration in the country, according to a recent notice to shareholders. The new licence – No. 308/2014 – was awarded by the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources for an initial period of 3 years.
The company estimates expenditure over that period of US$330,000.
The area covered by the licence was investigated in the 1970s, identifying large in-site reserves of carbonaceous material. Shumba’s initial efforts will focus on confirming the presence of these resources.
The ministry also extended the validity of the company’s PL053/2005 prospecting licence for a six months from September which it continues to consider a renewal.
Shumba Coal is a Botswana Stock Exchange listed junior coal miner with a focus of becoming a leading producer of sustainable low cost thermal coal. Its flagship Sechaba project has approximately 1 billion t of JORC compliant coal resources with the potential for multiple 300 MW power plant opportunities for domestic and export power markets.
Written by Jonathan Rowland.