TWP Projects, which claims to be “the biggest EPCM organisation of its kind in Africa and the largest TWP subsidiary,” has entered 2011 with a robust portfolio of coal projects worth in the order of R100-mililon, which will see it well into 2012. Coal projects portfolio manager, Brad Rip, says although mineral projects have been a shrinking market in the wake of the global economic crisis, TWP Projects has actually managed to grow its coal projects’ market share in the last year.“We attribute this not only to our reputation for consistent delivery of superior work, on time and within budget, but also to the creation of a specialist coal projects team populated by people with proven coal industry-specific skills,” says Rip. “This unit enhances our hard-won standing as world-class EPCM consulting engineers. People know that when they come to us they will get a quality project that meets the owner’s objectives. The new specialist commodity business unit allows us to utilise our skills resources optimally, which benefits both the client and our company.”
Rip says TWP Projects has developed a particularly strong long term client/consultant relationship with Total Coal, based on several successful EPCM projects. These include the Forzando South boxcut and pit-head arrangements in 2007 and the Tumelo boxcut and pit-heat arrangements for the Mmakau Mining/Total Coal joint venture in 2008.
“We’re pleased that this relationship will continue into 2011 with the recent award of the Eloff feasibility study to TWP Projects,” says Rip.
Commencing in January 2011, the 18-month Eloff study will cover a large coal resource in the Delmas area of the Witbank coalfields, with the potential to produce an export product as well as power station feedstock. This study is expected to be complex, with some significant challenges, as the resource has multiple seams which will be exploited via a combination of open cast and underground mining in an environmentally sensitive area.
“Rio Tinto became a new client when TWP undertook the Chapudi coal prefeasibility Study for Rio Tinto Energy in 2009 / 2010,” says Rip. This project was part of an Independent Power Producer Project which investigated a supply of energy coal. This project has subsequently been sold to Coal of Africa to increase its portfolio of assets in the Limpopo Province.”
During 2010 TWP Projects also completed a feasibility study on the Penumbra project for Mashala Resources, which was subsequently acquired by Continental Coal, a RSA registered subsidiary of an Australian listed company. This project will be a medium sized underground operation in the Ermelo coalfields, which is expected to produce export grade coal by the end of 2011. Late last year Continental Coal awarded TWP Projects another feasibility study – the De Wittekrans project in the Hendrina region – for completion by June 2011. De Wittekrans will target the export and Eskom markets, exploiting the coal via both opencast and underground mining.
Outside South Africa the company is currently undertaking a feasibility study on the Ncondezi project in the Tete Province of Mozambique for London-listed resources concern, Ncondezi Coal Co. This project, part of current major coal developments in the Tete region and the Moatize Coal Basin, is in the exploration phase and is being considered a priority energy coal producer with the potential to produce coking coal.
In November 2010 Anglo American Thermal Coal awarded TWP Projects a prefeasibility study on the New Vaal Lifex project being developed to ensure the longer term supply of 10 Mt/y of coal to Eskom’s Lethabo power station for a further 20 years. Coal will be resourced from deposits adjacent to the New Vaal Colliery. The study will be completed by September 2011.
“We secured this prefeasibility study based on our Tier 1 EPCM supplier status for Anglo American’s mining projects throughout Southern Africa,” says Rip. “Tier 1 involves supplying EPCM services at the highest level for major mining projects and we were granted this prestigious status following a stringent extended pre-selection process in line with Anglo’s global initiative to transform its procurement and supply chain operations.”
He said providing EPCM services via a framework agreement such as this will allow TWP Projects greater insight into Anglo’s long term project pipeline, giving the company sufficient time to allocate the best available skills resources to these projects.