The update follows the acquisition of prospecting rights for properties related to the explorer’s projects the Soutpansberg coalfield.

The projects include nine potential coking and thermal coal assets covering 100 hectares of the northern Limpopo province.

Measured and indicated resources for the area were increased by 404% from 1.3Bt to 6.4Bt while minable tonnes in situ were raised 209% from 600,000 million tonnes to 2Bt.

The acquisition of Soutpansberg property rights from Rio and Kwezi was completed last month and provided for three proximate regions known as Mopane, Makhado and Chapudi.

The total JORC-compliant resource in the Chapudi area is 6.4Bt of coal.

Makhado holds 1.3Bt of coal and includes of the Makhado project which Coal of Africa calls the most advanced exploration project in the Greater Soutpansberg.

Mopane is the smallest region in the acquisition and has not yet produced a JORC-compliant resource.

Coal of Africa chief executive John Wallington said the additional prospecting rights represented an important development in the evolution of the company from explorer to producer.

“With this platform in place, the company is well positioned to achieve its goal of creating a

world-class coking coal business producing in excess of 10 million tonnes per annum of

saleable coking coal over the next 10 years,” he said.

Coal of Africa is an emerging developer and producer of high-quality thermal and coking coal with projects in northern and eastern South Africa.