The company completed the transfer of 25 tonnes of coal from the Sese site in northeast Botswana to the Mozambique port of Maputo via a Botswana Railways freight wagon on the Francistown railway.

Africa Energy called the shipment “an important milestone” for the broader coal sector in Botswana as it demonstrated a timely conduit to east African ports.

Transport from Sese to Grindrod’s Matola coal terminal in Maputo took five days via the city of Bulawayo and southern Zimbabwe.

Upon completion of the coal transport, Botswana Transport and Communications Minister Nonofo Molefhi spoke at a ceremony held at the rail station, with senior members of African Energy, Botswana Railways and National Railways of Zimbabwe on hand.

African Energy said Sese had the potential to be exposed to massive seaborne coal export markets in the long term if new infrastructure was developed.

The company said two consortiums were evaluating two proposed rail routes in the region which would provide 60 million tonnes per annum of export capacity via 30-tonne axle loading.

The recent export trial and the company’s work analysing existing infrastructure possibilities in the region, including the Trans Kalahari and Ponto-Techobanine heavy haul railways, are part of Sese’s ongoing feasibility studies.

Sese comprises one wholly owned prospecting licence and six licence applications.

The company reported an indicated resource for the tenement of 2.5 billion tonnes of coal in February 2012.