20th Feb 2008 07:00
Coal of Africa Limited20 February 2008 Coal of Africa Limited ('CoAL' or 'the Company') RAIL COOPERATION AGREEMENT Coal of Africa Limited (ticker "CZA"), the AIM/ASX/JSE listed coal developmentcompany operating in South Africa, is pleased to advise that it has signed aCooperation Agreement with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and is engaged in ongoingdiscussions relating to the development of a pre-feasibility study for the railconveyance of export coking coal from the Company's Thuli and Baobab CoalProjects. TFR is the largest division of Transnet, the South African Government owned railand freight organisation. TFR maintains an extensive rail network across SouthAfrica that connects to other rail networks in the sub-Saharan region, with itsrail infrastructure representing about 80% of Africa's total. TFR includes aspecialised Coal unit that provides world class transport for South Africa'sexport coal from the Mpumalanga coalfields to the Richards Bay coal terminal. The Cooperation Agreement has formalised the interaction between CoAL and TFR inorder for CoAL to acquire freight rights for the transportation of its plannedexport coking coal to Richards Bay and Maputo ports. CoAL has indicated that it will require rail capacity for the following exporttonnage:- • 2009 - 1 to 1.5 Mt PA • 2010 - 4 to 5 Mt PA • 2011 - 4 to 5 Mt PA • 2012 - 10 Mt PA TFR will assist CoAL in acquiring freight rights for the requested railcapacity. Such facilitation will include the allocation of appropriate trainslots, the provision of appropriate wagons and locomotives, the offering ofcommercially competitive freight rates and freight operations under ServiceLevel Agreements ("SLA's") benchmarked against world class competitors. TFR and CoAL will be working together to finalise the outstanding issues,conclude the necessary due diligence and agree all requisite documentation assoon as possible. TFR and CoAL undertake to conduct the negotiations in goodfaith and attempt to complete the pre-feasibility study by the end of May2008. For more information contact: Simon Farrell, Managing Director CZA +61 417 985 383 or +61 8 9322 6776Petronella Gorrie The Event Shop +27 82 827 8815Jos Simson/ Arabella Hobbs/ Leesa Peters Conduit PR +44(0) 20 7429 6603Olly Cairns / Romil Patel Blue Oar Securities Plc +61 8 6430 1631 +44(0) 20 7448 4400 About CoAL: Coal of Africa Limited ("CoAL"), formerly GVM Metals Limited, is primarilyfocused on the acquisition, exploration and development of thermal andmetallurgical coal projects. The Company's key projects, along with its leadingmetals processing company NiMag Group (Pty) Ltd are in South Africa. The Companywas incorporated in Western Australia and listed in 1980. Since 2005, theCompany has also listed on both the AIM and JSE markets, allowing further growthin the Company's coal assets. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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