Miranda Mineral Holdings subsidiary, Street Spirit Trading, has been granted a mining right for the Burnside coal project, near Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.
The mining right has been approved for four farms covering 4540 hectares, including portions of Burnside 3287, Izemfene A 9146, Izemfene B 8802 and portions of Davelsberg 3286. With the mining right granted, Miranda now plans to complete all the necessary steps to ensure that mining of the open-pittable portion of the resource can be commenced within the near future.
The company plans to appoint a consultant shortly for mining the underground portion of the Burnside resource which requires some additional mine design work. Miranda Mineral Holdings CEO Andrew Johnson said, “There is no doubt of the value proposition presented by Burnside, and granting of the mining right is a huge step towards unlocking this value for the shareholders.”
Burnside project is estimated to contain about 23.3 million tons of coal in the indicated category. Underground portion of Burnside is expected to be ready for production by the end of 2013.
Street Spirit Trading is owned by Miranda Cal at 77% and Bespaar Trust holds another 23%. Meanwhile, Caracle Creek International Consulting, commissioned to update the geological reports for the Burnside project, is due to complete the work shortly. Further, first coal production from Miranda’s Sesikhona project, also in the Dundee area, is expected to flow before the end of 2012.