The Sydney-based miner and explorer yesterday said it had added 200Mt of coal resources to the project’s inventory, after several months of infill drilling at the Benga license.
The project – 65%-owned by Riversdale and 35% by Indian steelmaker Tata Steel – now includes 42Mt in measured resources and 981Mt indicated, with a further 1.09Bt falling into the inferred category.
Having submitted a mining study for a 20 million tonne per annum operation to the government of Mozambique, Riversdale said the resource upgrade confirms there is enough coal in the ground to support its plans.
Additionally, 1.77Bt of the resource are less than 500m deep.
Riversdale is eyeing an open cut operation at Benga to produce coking and thermal coal, with the exact mix of both undecided.
The coking coal could be barged down the Zambezi River to a port facility on the ocean for export, while the thermal coal resource could supply a mine-gate power station.
The Moatize Basin hosts Riversdale’s tenements as well as coal deposits owned by Brazilian giant Vale, while nearby Anglo-Indian steelmaker ArcelorMittal has also signed a joint venture over more coal prospective tenements.
Riversdale plans to complete a bankable feasibility study into developing Benga by the end of this year.
