Vedanta seeks $1 billion in upsized share placement
Vedanta is joining a slew of Indian companies tapping stock investors amid surging valuations and increasing demand for equity investments in the country.
Prophecy Coal Corp. announced on Tuesday it has entered into an arrangement with the Port of Sovgavan in the State of Khabarovsk, Russia whereby Prophecy will have initial access to port allocation of 25,000 tonnes per month starting in June, potentially expandable to 50,000 tonnes per month, representing 300,000 to 600,000 tonnes annually.
Prophecy will also be assigned a coal storage area at the port. This arrangement provides Prophecy’s Ulaan Ovoo thermal coal mine with immediate access to the Asian seaborne export coal markets. The Sovgavan Port is strategically located at the Russian Far Eastern seaboard. The port is privately owned and can accommodate seagoing vessels up to 160 meters in length with the depth of loading site of 9.5 meters. The port has loading capacity of 6,000 tonnes per day and direct connections to Trans-Siberian railroads and uncongested Russian state highways.
Securing of the port opens Prophecy to a significant number of coal buyers, and the Company is currently placing top priority to conclude rail transport within Russia and coal off take contracts.
Prophecy’s Ulaan Ovoo mine commenced production in 2011. Year to date the mine has produced a total of 200,000 tonnes of coal, currently being stockpiled. The average quality is 4,200 kcal/kg NAR with 5% ash and 0.5% sulphur. Those attributes compare favorably to the coal being purchased by local Russian and Mongolian power plants. Within the inventory, there are 50,000 tonnes of 5,200 kcal/kg NAR coal with 5% ash and 0.5% sulphur, which are stockpiled separately at the mine and at the Sukhbaatar rail siding, destined for Sovgavan port.
In total, over $25 million has been committed or invested in the equipment and commissioning of the mine. In May, Prophecy received its second full set of mining fleet. The Company expects to receive by June 30, 18 Skania coal transport trucks, which are expected to reduce transportation costs from hauling coal from the mine to the Sukhbataar rail station. The company going forward expects higher production ratio of 5,200 NAR coal in relation to total production as the mine gradually reaches steady state.
With respect to the diesel rationing currently being undertaken by the Mongolian government, Prophecy is monitoring its diesel supply closely and optimizing production rates to sustain mining and coal transportation activities for the remainder of 2011.
Prophecy’s Ulaan Ovoo coal mine has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 208 million tonnes (Measured 174 mt, Indicated 34 mt) detailed in a NI-43-101 technical report by Minarco Mine Consulting dated May 8, 2009.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Christopher M. Kravits, P.Geo who is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Kravits has 34 years of US and international relevant coal geology experience. He has been active in Mongolia since 2007.
About Prophecy Coal
Prophecy Coal is a Mongolian thermal coal producer with over 1.4 billion tonnes of surface minable thermal coal resources. Prophecy’s Ulaan Ovoo coal mine is operational. Prophecy’s Chandgana 600MW mine mouth power plant project has received a mining license and Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) approval. The Company is in the process of obtaining a power plant license from the Mongolian Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy. Prophecy Coal also owns equity stakes in Prophecy Platinum Corp., Victory Nickel Inc., and Compliance Energy Corp. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
via Prophecy Secures Far East Russian Sea Port Allocation and Provides Ulaan Ovoo Mine Production Update.
