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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (30936)	1/8/2009 12:52:10 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 194794

Cash flow, growth for Miranda Lauren Cole Posted: Wed, 07 Jan 2009 miningmx.com [miningmx.com] -- Miranda Minerals, a mineral exploration and holding company, has secured mineral rights for its Sesikhona coal project that will generate cash flows and allow it to expedite the development of at least two other projects nearby, financial director Wayne Ison said on Wednesday. The Sesikhona Project refers to a joint venture with Ilhosi Project Mining (Ilhosi), and is the first of a number of Miranda’s coal projects in Kwazulu-Natal to come into production. “The award of our first mining right will unlock value at Sesikhona and move Miranda into a revenue producing exploration company with positive cash flows,” said Ron Nel, Miranda's CEO. Ilhosi will be doing the actual mining at Sesikhona, and will pay Miranda R50 per tonne, equating to income generation of approximately R2.2m per month, taking into account a 12% stake in the project by empowerment partners, the Kliprand Community. Ilhosi will make an immediate upfront payment of R5m on top of the R1m it's already paid to Miranda. It is anticipated that production will start within the next 60-90 days as the bulk of the infrastructure has already been put in place. Domestic versus local offtake, whilst not yet finalised, is expected to be split 50/50 said Ison. Given the high quality of the coal at Sesikhona none would be sold to South African power utility Eskom, but that offtakers were more likely to be those in the metallurgical and steel industries, he said. Cash flows generated from the Sesikhona Project will be used to speed up the transition from prospecting to mining on at least two of the most advanced projects, notably those of Amajuba and Uithoek, with mining right applications already submitted to the Department of Minerals and Energy for both projects. These rights were likely to take between six to twelve months to be issued, with production at these mines likely to start in late 2009/early 2010. Output is expected to average between 30,000 and 50,000 tonnes per month each once operational, similar to Sesikhona. All of Miranda’s coal interests have been restructured under its wholly-owned subsidiary, Miranda Minerals (Pty) Limited. Asked of intentions for a separate listing, Ison confirmed that this was on the cards, but that “now was not the right time”. The main focus of the group has been on the development of its coal assets thus far, however, more focus will be given to the group’s diamond division, in particular, in 2009, with increased levels of active exploration planned for a number of properties.