The jobs were shed as the company must address government regulatory concerns, although production from Vele is expected to start up in the December quarter.

Three weeks ago the company was issued with compliance notices from South Africa’s environment and water affairs departments.

Coal of Africa said it has adhered to the environmental compliance notice in full and was in the process of submitting rectification applications to the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The company seeks to make another Integrated Water Use License application, but the government needs to appoint an assessor to evaluate the proposed development of the mine and the possible impact on the water resource in the area.

In February, the company gained full ownership of the Vele open cut project and the development’s phase one was aiming for first coal by the end of September.

Phase one is targeting 1 million tonnes per annum of coking coal while a later second phase will lift production to 5Mtpa of saleable coking coal.

Coal of Africa shares are unchanged at $1.30 this morning.