LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Tanzania-focussed coal developer Edenville Energy updated the market on current mining operations at its flagship Rukwa Coal Project on Thursday, reporting that coal mining had now started in the new northern mining area, following the overburden stripping and exposing of coal.
The AIM-traded firm said the main coal measures that had been exposed and were being mined in the northern area were collectively approximately 20 metres thick, and in certain areas, coal measures up to 40 metres thick starting approximately two meters from surface had been identified.

That compared to coal measures of approximately 3.5 metre thickness in the previously-mined areas.

Edenville said analysis of unwashed northern area coal was returning energy values averaging 6,200 kilocalories per kilogram, with the highest being more than 6,800 kilocalories per kilogram.

Those energy values were said to be "significantly" higher than those seen in previously-mined areas, the board claimed, which averaged approximately 5,000 kilocalories per kilogram.

The average daily washed coal production was increasing as well, with 730 tonnes produced from 1 July to 15 July.

That included a record daily production of 102 tonnes of washed coal on 15 July, from a single shift.

"It has only been three weeks since mining in the northern area commenced and extensive coal measures have already been uncovered," said Edenville Energy chief executive officer Rufus Short.

"This is encouraging and the coal quality has so far exceeded what we expected from measures so close to the surface."

Short said that as the project was developed further, the company believed that "significant quantities" of coal could be extracted from the northern area with its current mining fleet.

"This, coupled with the plant improvements we have made, should enable Edenville to become cashflow positive within the next nine months, as we target an initial washed coal production of 6,000 tonnes per month, which we consider to be a breakeven level, increasing to [at least] 10,000 tonnes per month thereafter."

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