- MC Mining (MCM) is ready to fire up its coal production at its Uitkomst Colliery in South Africa, after the government lifted a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown
- A 21-day national lockdown that was issued by the South African Government in late March, which was subsequently extended on April 23, has now been downgraded allowing some businesses activity in the country
- It means MCM can only ramp up their labour capacity to 50 per cent, to keep in line with exisiting restrictions the local government has implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19
- MCM was forced to implement a ‘no work, no pay’ policy for its non-essential staff, however, a portion of the wages were still paid by the government’s temporary employee relief scheme
- MC Mining’s share price is trading flat, with shares selling for 16.5 cents each
MC Mining (MCM) is ready to fire up its coal production at its Uitkomst Colliery in South Africa, after the government lifted a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The South African government implemented a 21-day national lockdown in late March, which halted work at Uitkomst.
The lockdown was subsequently extended on April 23, but has now been downgraded allowing some businesses activity in the African nation.
MCM is free to ramp up production to 50 per cent of its labour capacity, to keep in line with existing restrictions the local government implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19, which the company says will take between seven and ten days to achieve.
“(The) safety of our people is critical and normalised operating activities at the Uitkomst Colliery and MC Mining’s other sites will only resume when it is safe to do so and in line with Government regulations. Where possible, key activities for (the) rest of the group will continue remotely in isolated, safe environments and we remain very mindful of the economic toll that the pandemic has on our employees and their families.”
MC Mining Chief Executive Officer Brenda Berlin.
MCM was forced to implement a ‘no work, no pay’ policy for its non-essential staff, however, a portion of the wages were still paid by the government’s temporary employee relief scheme.
Their financial position remains steady. MCM reports they have $US1.1 million cash on hand and can draw on US$6.5 million in financial facilities. However, the company is in discussions with their lender regarding the drawdown from existing and potential new finance facilities.
In other company news, MCM is still trying to secure the balance of funding required to start phase one their Makhado hard coking coal project.
MC Mining’s share price is trading flat, with shares selling for 16.5 cents each.