HWANGE – London listed natural resource development company Contango Holdings PLC on Friday reported better-than-expected test results on samples from its Lubu coal project in Zimbabwe.
The Lubu Coal Project covers 19,236 hectares of the highly prospective Karroo Mid Zambezi coal basin, located in the established Hwange mining district in north-western Zimbabwe.
Contango Holdings said the results exceeded expectations and confirm the viability of Lubu’s metallurgical coal for the production of coke.
The company said it received the results from a set of sample analyses conducted by Bureau Veritas of South Africa. The analyses assessed a variety of metrics and properties derived from the metallurgical seams at the Lubu Coal Project, including ash, sulphur and phosphorous contents, as well as yield and calorific values.
The results, which are reported in full below, have exceeded the Company’s expectations and also confirmed the viability of Lubu’s metallurgical coal in the production of coke, the key reactant and fuel in primary steelmaking.
Carl Esprey, chief executive officer of Contango Holdings, explained that the results have exceeded the Company’s expectations and also confirmed the viability of Lubu’s metallurgical coal in the production of coke, the key reactant and fuel in primary steelmaking.
“We are delighted with the results from this study, which have demonstrated the commercial characteristics of the metallurgical coal at Lubu, as well as its viability in the manufacture of coke,” Esprey said.
“This positive news has come at a time when demand for all forms of coal has risen significantly and has led to an increase in the metallurgical coal price from US$161/tonne to US$451/tonne over the last year,” Esprey said.
He added that the price of coke, the product achieved through the ‘cooking’ of metallurgical coals through coke batteries, has also seen dramatic prices rises, with an 70% increase over the same period to current levels of approximately US$670/tonne.
“With current shortages, the price of coke is likely to increase even further,” he said. “With the studies now completed and both a regional and global market identified, I believe Lubu is ideally positioned to benefit from this pricing outlook
“This positive news has come at a time when demand for all forms of coal has risen significantly and has led to an increase in the metallurgical coal price from US$161/tonne to US$451/tonne over the last year,” Esprey said.
He added that the price of coke, the product achieved through the ‘cooking’ of metallurgical coals through coke batteries, has also seen dramatic prices rises, with an 70% increase over the same period to current levels of approximately US$670/tonne.
“With current shortages, the price of coke is likely to increase even further,” he said.
“With the studies now completed and both a regional and global market identified, I believe Lubu is ideally positioned to benefit from this pricing outlook.”- Hourly Hits