Kibo Mining's Mbeya Coal to Power Project moves closer with licence update

A multi-asset energy company in Africa, developing a significant coal to power plant, has announced that a special mining licence application is “ready to be considered.”

Kibo Mining announced in a statement this week that the Mining Commission, a constituent of the Tanzanian Ministry of Mines, is “ready to consider” the company’s application for the Mbeya Coal to Power Project (MCCP).

Kibo’s CEO, Louis Coetzee, said, “This latest development in relation to finalizing the SML for the mining component of the MCPP is most welcome as we now have a clearly defined procedure to follow under the new mining act in order to finalize our existing SML application. Kibo will prioritise providing the Mining Commission with the LCP and IP within the next two weeks, thereby ensuring that our SML application is fully compliant and ready for review. With the LCP and IP regulations now clearly defined and in place there are no outstanding components to the SML application, however in any event Kibo has always been compliant with almost all of the LCP and IP requirements, even before these became statutory requirements.

 “I’d very much like to extend my gratitude to Kibo’s staff for all the hard work done over the past few months, enabling us to enter the final stages of preparation to submit a mining licence application for the Mabesekwa project as well. We are optimistic that both licences shall be approved expeditiously although it should be noted that following submission the progress of the process is not within Kibo’s control.”

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Special Mining Licences are awarded to projects with a capital expenditure requirement in excess of $100 million, following production of a positive feasibility study and meeting all other criteria. They are issued for the life-of-mine, which in Mbeya’s case is 25-32 years.

 The SML will be subject to a comprehensive Mining Development Agreement with the government. On receipt of the SML, the Company can exploit the 121 Mt Coal Resource at the MCPP as part of its strategy to construct a 300MW mine-mouth coal fired power station, which could be expanded to 1000MW.

The Mbeya Coal to Power Project is a twin track development at Mbeya comprising a coal mine based on the existing coal resource and a 250 -300 MW mouth- of- mine thermal power plant.

Kibo is developing the project as a result of the current and anticipated future power generation requirements of Tanzania. The country currently has less than 1,000 MW operational out of the 2,000 MW it requires and with a projected GDP growth rate of 7% per year in the medium term (IMF projection), it is facing increasing power generation under-capacity to meet its economic development needs.