article in todays australian, page-3

Universal seeks advice as South Africa attracts interest



UNIVERSAL Coal may appoint a financial adviser after being approached by companies seeking to invest in its South Africa coking coal project.

Universal Coal said interest in the Berenice-Cygnus project from a number of steel companies may prompt it to bring in specialists to help secure a strategic investor. The company said it had not received any formal offers.

A statement to the Australian Securities Exchange came after Dow Jones reported that Chinese and Indian groups made informal approaches about Berenice-Cygnus, and that the appointment of a financial adviser may come as early as this month.

Shares in Universal Coal jumped as much as 2.5c, or 12 per cent, to 24c in Sydney in the wake of the ASX statement, valuing the company at $42 million.

Universal Coal chairman Tony Harwood said last month that the Berenice-Cygnus project in South Africa's Limpopo province had a gross resource of at least 1.3 billion tonnes of soft coking coal, used in steel mills, and the potential to become a mining operation producing between 10 million and 15 million tonnes by 2015. The coking coal projects were "set to be a major focus for the company in 2012", he said at the time.



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The Berenice-Cygnus deposit is 30km from a railway siding linked to the ports of Maputo in Mozambique and South Africa's Richards Bay, the world's largest coal terminal.

Universal Coal also owns thermal coal projects in South Africa.

"The company continues to be in discussions with various equity investors and industrial groups in the steel and power-generation sectors regarding its operations in South Africa as part of its ongoing investor relations and communications programs," Universal Coal said in its statement.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mergers-acquisitions/universal-seeks-advice-as-south-africa-attracts-interest/story-fn91vdzj-1226251725453





I thought the other article mentioning 77m and 2.5Mt pa thermal and UNV in the same paragraph was more speculative and suggestiv. Maybe about Kangala. But CIL being gov owned would be very approval intensive.

Eskom would need some of the lower quality coal though..

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page38?oid=143448&sn=Detail&pid=102055