Intra Energy Corporation Limited (ASX: IEC) and its partner, The National Development Corporation of Tanzania (NDC) have announced that December sales for the Tancoal Mine in Tanzania were a record 38 877 t.
The result is very pleasing given the rainy season and end of year slow down with Tancoal Energy Limited (Tancoal) fulfilling all domestic customers demand requirements.
Production of 38 601 t was close to the previous record of 39 376 t in November 2015, prior to the increase in imported coal from South Africa. Overburden removed was 189 153 bcm’s giving a strip ratio average of 4.9.
Production is forecast to rapidly increase with the arrival in early January of additional trucking and excavation equipment ordered late November/early December to the minesite.
Tancoal is meeting current sales orders however, as reported on 29 December 2016, the round table discussions with the cement industry, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Tancoal specified that production needed to increase to 60 000 tpm to cater for demand and allow surplus capacity into stockpile.
The increase in working capital is to fund the immediate mobilisation of the new equipment to increase production capacity to Tanzanian requirements. The new equipment includes one 40T excavator, one 85T excavator, four 55T dump trucks and a grader for haul road maintenance. An additional forty 20 t haulage trucks have been contracted to increase haulage capacity from minesite to the sales stockpile.
KCB Bank Tanzania Limited (KCB Bank) has agreed to increase the current working capital facility to Tancoal by US$200 000 for sixty days while an application for an increase of US$1000 000 to the facility is made.
The outstanding debt facilities totalled US$5.119 million at 31 December 2016. An amount of US$100 000 of the bank guarantee is available for use, the balance has been previously applied. The balance of the Term Loan at 31 December 2016 was US$495 000.
KCB Bank is Eastern African’s largest banking institution with an asset base of US$5.045 billion, a market capitalisation US$704.5 billion and broad regional distribution in six Eastern Africa countries.
Tancoal is the leading supplier of coal to the industrial markets in the Eastern African region.
Source: World Coal