Buffalo Coal’s combined anthracite resources are referred to as the Aviemore Mine and include the anthracite resources currently mined at Aviemore East, along with the anthracite resources to be mined at the Company’s two future coal mining projects, the Balgray anthracite project (“Balgray”) which is an extension of the Aviemore East reserve and the Aviemore North Adit anthracite project (“North Adit”).  The Aviemore Mine has an estimated Measured and Indicated GTIS Coal Resource of 28.25 million tonnes of anthracite coal.

Aviemore East

Aviemore East is located seven kilometres from the town of Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal and coal mined here is processed at the Coalfields processing plant.  It is anticipated that the current mining reserves at Aviemore East will be depleted by Q1 2023.

Aviemore East’s operations will then be relocated to Balgray which is situated some four kilometres southeast of Aviemore East. Coal mined will continue to be processed at the Coalfields processing plant.

Balgray

Balgray provides access to a resource that is contiguous to the current Aviemore East mine. Access will be via a previously abandoned Balgray adit. Balgray is planned to be the medium-term replacement for the Aviemore East reserve and has an estimated measured and indicated mineable reserve of 3.23 million tonnes, which will allow the current anthracite production levels to continue to operate economically for a further 7 years from 2023.

Buffalo Coal has secured all of the required environmental authorizations to allow for underground mining through the Balgray adit.

Buffalo Coal plans to start mining at Balgray from Q1 2023, which will coincide with the gradual depletion of the reserves at Aviemore East.

North Adit

The North Adit has an estimated measured and indicated reserve of 10.2 million tonnes. On September 22, 2020, Zinoju was granted a 30-year mining right by the DMRE covering an area of 1,728 hectares, to mine coal primarily from Aviemore resources, accessed through the North Adit. The opening of this adit would require a significant capital injection and hence does not fall into the short to medium term planning of operations.

Under the existing declaration of tonnes, the North Adit will add an addition 13-15 years to the life of mine.  All the legal and environmental and IWUL requirements for the North Adit project have been granted.