Wescoal to resurrect closed Arnot mine by the end of 2019
The miner and its partner will restart production with the aim of supplying to coal-hungry Eskom
Junior miner Wescoal and a partner will acquire the closed Arnot coal mine from Exxaro, with a plan to restart production before the end of 2019 and supply Eskom. Through investment in a holding company, and for no monetary consideration, Wescoal will indirectly acquire a 50% stake in Arnot while its partner, Innovators Resources, will hold the other half. The shareholders of Innovators Resources include former employees of Exxaro Mpumalanga Coal who were retrenched during the shut-down of the Arnot mine in 2015. It was their initiative to restart the colliery, which has created the opportunity for Wescoal to become a partner. Wescoal and Innovators Resources interest is subscribed for in Arnot HoldCo, whose only asset is its shareholding in Arnot OpCo, which in turn holds one asset only, namely the Arnot Mine. Exxaro shut down the Arnot colliery after the coal supply agreement with Eskom came to an end and the power utility refused to invest further in cost-plus mines. In the past ...
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