Mining Magazine August 2015 | Page 30

IPC COAL

The South African Mining Company has set itself apart in a congested industry over the past six years , all the while ensuring that it enriches the lives of others as well as its own development

Kromdraai opencast mining area

IPC Coal is differentiating itself in a competitive junior mining market through a combination of turnkey products and services , Blue Sky thinking and an unparalleled devotion to Black Empowerment , both internally and in the surrounding region .

Based in Durban , with its ’ operational centre in Witbank , Mpumalanga ( within 30km of its ’ coal mines ), IPC Coal ’ s progressive history has been driven by a succession of strategic acquisitions and sales , enveloping an expert developmental process for collieries in the surrounding area which have seen large-scale profit enhancements in each individual case .
IPC Coal itself was founded in 2008 as a domestic marketing company for coal originating from Nucoal Mining and its flagship Woestalleen Colliery in Middelburg , Mpumalanga .
Chief Operating Officer at the time , Paul Erskine played a pivotal role in the success of that operation and now , in his role as Chairman of IPC Coal , he can reflect on the platform that Woestalleen provided .
“ I was involved in 2005 with the Investors , where we purchased Woestalleen Colliery for around R65 Million before selling it on four years later for R650 Million , a 1,000 percent increase ,”
Erskine explained . “ We built Nucoal Mining from 65,000 tons a month production to eventually 350,000 tons per month , and IPC was responsible for all the local distribution of the coal to all the guilt-edged , top boiler companies .”
30 August 2015