AIM-listed SNR said the MV Mishima sailed today from East London port in South Africa with the company's first ever shipment of coal from its Elitheni mine.

The cargo was thermal coal, SNR said.

"This first cargo is a historic milestone for the company, proving our mining and infrastructure capability and marks the commencement of revenue generation for the business,” SNR chief executive officer Gabriel Ruhan said.

“My thanks to all involved for all the hard work to get us to this point."

The company reported in March that key delivery targets at the mine had been missed, which resulted in a failure to meet planned coal shipments to offtake partner Trasteel International South Africa for late January and early February.

"The SNR board acknowledges and regrets that key delivery targets have been missed due to various factors, including wash plant engineering and commissioning issues and the ongoing optimization and supply chain challenges associated with establishing a mine in the Eastern Cape for the first time in over 100 years," SNR said in March.

In the company’s May interim results, the board set an end of June/early July target for the delivery of coal from the mine to the nearby port of East London for an anticipated initial coal shipment.

In an update in July SNR said it had agreed with Trasteel that the coal would instead be ready at the end of July/beginning of August.

However, SNR said it agreed “the coal will be available for the customer’s collection from the port”, rather than being shipped.