The Australian company said excavation of the bulk sample of coal from a 320m long box-cut was nearing completion.

When complete, approximately 15,000 tonnes of coal will have been placed on stockpiles, including coal from both the upper and lower sections of the Sese main seam.

Coal from the bulk sample will be used for a series of large-scale tests, including wash studies and combustion tests for power station boilers.

African Energy said the first 60t batch of coal for processing had been despatched to a processing facility in Witbank, South Africa by truck.

Bulk sampling at Sese commenced in October.

African Energy’s Sese coal project will commence stage 1 production in 2013, producing 1-2 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal.

The Sese project, which African Energy discovered in mid-2010, has over a 2.5 billion tonne coal resource.

The project is located 50km to the south of the mining hub of Francistown and will have access to nearby existing rail and road infrastructure connecting through to neighbouring Zimbabwe and South Africa.