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Business Writer
Contango Holdings has said the postponement of the commissioning of the massive coal mine plant in Binga due to unforeseen circumstances will not affect operations as production is being ramped up in line with the company’s plans.

The commissioning has been pushed forward to July 31. The coal mine was initially set to be commissioned this Friday by President Mnangagwa.

The mining house started production recently and is one of the transformative development strides in Matabeleland North province given its impact on jobs, community development and downstream industries.

In a statement yesterday, the mining entity said the formal opening ceremony will now take place on July 31.

“The Board of Contango announces that further to the announcement on 22 June 2023, the Company has been advised by the President’s office that due to unforeseen circumstances the agreed site visit by His Excellency Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s to the Muchesu Mine has been rescheduled to 31 July 2023.

“Accordingly the formal opening ceremony will now take place on that date,” reads part of the statement.

Recently, the London Alternative Investment (AIM)-listed miner said it has clinched another lucrative new 20 000 tonnes per month of washed coking coal offtake arrangement with TransOre International FZE (TransOre) from its flagship Lubu Project in Binga.

TransOre is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) registered entity managing a portfolio of global commodity supply chains and has pledged to play a central role in the Binga coal project for the benefit of Zimbabwe.

The TransOre contract is expected to replace the non-exclusive contract with AtoZ Investments (Pty) Ltd and is intended to complement the expected offtake arrangements being finalised with the global multi-national company which is expected to complete its due diligence shortly.

The first offtake signed with AtoZ Investments (Pty) Ltd was to purchase 10 000 tonnes per month of washed coking coal.

The TransOre Contract is priced at the prevailing Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe coking coal price, at US$120/tonne.

Once steady production is achieved in the third quarter of the year, Contango expects its operating costs to be approximately US$45 per tonne of washed coal, although it continues to explore additional options to reduce these operating costs further, while larger volumes are also expected to bring economies of scale.

The mining firm has been accelerating the assembling of machinery in recent months and this has been facilitated by the successful £7,5 million fundraising in October last year.

Coal is an integral element of the Government’s target to grow mining into a US$12 billion industry by 2023, which would lay a strong foundation for Zimbabwe’s broad vision to transform Zimbabwe to an upper middle-income country by 2030.

The mine is expected to create employment opportunities for locals directly while others will be employed by downstream industries.