The London Stock Exchange-listed company has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as its financial advisor for the search.
Ncondezi said it was reviewing potential options for bringing on board a partner, which included corporate and/or equity, offtake and financing and construction capabilities.
Given the definitive feasibility study for the project is slated for completion in September 2012, Ncondezi believes the launch of the strategic partner initiative is now opportune.
Ncondezi chief executive officer Graham Mascall said he was upbeat about the prospect of having a new partner on board.
“I believe that it is timely for the company to launch a strategic partner search for our exciting Ncondezi coal project and am very pleased that we have appointed Standard Chartered to assist us in this important process,” he said.
The company recently increased the Ncondezi project’s JORC coal resource to 4.655 billion tonnes, up from 1.8Bt.
The project has the potential for open cut mining and is targeting first production in 2015.