Shumba Energy has in recent years progressed from an exploration company to a development company and sits on over 4.5 billion tons of thermal coal. As a major industry player, Shumba Energy’s mission is to satisfy the growing energy demand in the SADC region through various strategies. According to Shumba, which is headed by Managing Director (MD) Mashale Phumaphi, “Powering the Future” means addressing chronic power shortages head-on and supplying energy to affected southern African countries in a sustainable and cost effective manner?
Established in 2011, Shumba now owns a significant portion of advanced energy projects in Botswana and is uniquely positioned with its strategy to develop energy projects that are unaffected by the volatility of global coal prices. The Company’s main activities include project development and mining, coal trading, power generation and energy fuels. Shumba Energy has 3 assets in development stage. The first one is the Sechaba Project, that is in the Palapye region and has 1.1 billion tonnes gross in-situ. The project is covered by 2 prospecting licenses both of which are up to date and current with the department of mines. The coal is of a quality suitable for both power generation and coal exports. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the mine feasibility studies for the project were completed in the previous quarter ended 30 September 2019. The project is 100 percent owned.
Further, Shumba owns 97.5 percent of Morupule South Resources Project which is also based in the Palapye region, 5km from the railway siding and has 2.45 billion tonnes gross in-situ. The project is covered by 1 license which is up to date and current with the department of mines. The coal is of a quality suitable for use in both the coal exports and for power generation. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the mine feasibility study for the project are both underway. During the previous quarter ended 30 September 2019 Shumba increased its shareholding in the project to 97.5 percent from 75 percent.
Shumba also operates Mabesekwa Project based in the Francistown region, but its ownership is only 15 percent. The project has a total of 0.9 billion tonnes gross in-situ. In 2018 the company entered into a partnership agreement with Kibo Energy plc, an AIM listed entity whereby Shumba retained 15 percent of the prospecting license. The project is covered by 1 license which is up to date and current with the department of mines. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and mine feasibility have been completed and a mining license application has been submitted to the department of mines. As reported in the previous quarter Shumba signed a heads of agreement with Kibo Energy PLC to reposition and strategically leverage the Mabesekwa project. Under the agreement the parties will jointly manage and oversee the development of a bespoke 300MW power station which will power a PetroChemical plant which provide Botswana and Southern Africa with liquid fuels.