North American Gem Inc V.NAG

FYI

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SA coal down in the dumps

Brendan Ryan |Wed, 23 Mar 2011 07:37

[miningmx.com]-- ANGLO American is selling its Kleinkopje multi-product colliery –which still has up to 20 years of economic life left – in the latestexample of disinvestment by a major mining group from South Africa’scoal sector.That follows a string of disinvestments by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto,while another major SA coal exporter – Xstrata – has confirmed it is“conducting a review of its Mpumalanga complex, comprising the Spitzkopand Tselentis collieries near the town of Breyten”.An Xstrata spokesperson said: “This commenced in 2010 and we are considering all our options.”In February I cautioned that Mines Minister Susan Shabangushould be careful what she wishes for after she told Business Daynewspaper she hoped Anglo American would follow the example ofBHP Billiton in selling off coal assets.BHP Billiton is selling various coal projects it no longer intendsdeveloping, in the latest of a string of divestments over the past fewyears by the group which used to be SA’s largest coal exporter. That’sno longer the case, following the disposal of its Optimum andKoornfontein collieries, along with export allocations through theRichards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) totalling 8 million tonnes (mt) peryear.

The story is very long, so I didn't print it...It's on Kitcometals.com

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