South African coal producer Thungela is set to take operational control of the Ensham coal mine in Emerald, Queensland, Australia, on 1 September 2023 after it met all conditions tied to the deal.

In February 2023, Thungela reached an agreement to acquire the mine by selecting a controlling stake in Sungela, a consortium that also included Mayfair Corporations Group and Audley Energy.

Sungela, will, in turn, acquire an 85% stake in the Ensham business. The deal will effectively close on 31 August.

Thungela considers the deal a key step in its geography diversification plan.

The company expects that the mine will produce 2.7 million tonnes of export saleable production this year at a free-on-board (FOB) cost of between $110 and $120 per tonne.

Terms of the transaction also remain unchanged, except the co-investors need to apply for not less than 90% of all distributions received from Sungela to service the co-investors' mezzanine loans, and the term of the loans has been amended to 18 months.

Thungela CEO July Ndlovu said: “We are delighted to welcome our colleagues from Ensham into the Thungela family as they continue to build on a proud history of safe production in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland. We look forward to learning from them and also to sharing our knowledge.

“Thungela is proud to have concluded a landmark transaction with Idemitsu, a responsible and reputable owner with well-established processes and systems. The transaction delivers on our purpose to responsibly create value together for a shared future, and we will continue to support existing regional communities while also delivering superior returns for the group’s shareholders.”