Modern Mining May 2018

COAL

Wescoal gets critical mass

With its flagship Elandspruit mine now a mature operation and performing well and the acquisition of Keaton Energy under its belt, JSE-listed Wescoal has emerged as one of the most significant players in the junior/mid-tier coal mining sector. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently

spoke to Wescoal’s CEO, Waheed Sulaiman, in Johannesburg about the company’s strategy and achievements and followed up with a visit to Elandspruit and the Wescoal Processing Plant, both in the Middelburg area of Mpumalanga.

S ulaiman, who has been at the helm of Wescoal since early 2015 (first as interim CEO and then, from April 2016, as CEO), has presided over a period of growth and profitability for the company, which in FY 2017 record- ed revenues of R2,1 billion and an operating profit of R213 million. “We have a five-year growth average of 115 per cent per annum and, for the past two years, we’ve also being paying dividends,” he says. “We’re approach- ing our medium-term objective of producing 8 Mt/a ROM but we still have an appetite to grow and to diversify into new markets.” While Wescoal’s origins lie in coal trading

(it was incorpo- rated in 1996 under the Chandler name to purchase the

coal trading business and other assets of the Chandler family), the mining division is today the bigger part of the company, accounting for 64 % of revenues and 89 % of operating prof- its. The trading division nevertheless remains an important contributor to Wescoal and ranks as one of the leading coal distributors in South Africa. Wescoal’s entry to mining dates back to 2009 when it started mining at Khanyisa near Kendal, adding a second mine, Intibane near

The Wescoal Processing Complex has a feed capacity of approximately 200 000 tonnes per month.

24  MODERN MINING  May 2018