Prophecy Coal strengthens its team as it seeks to become major coal power producer in Mongolia
Prophecy Coal Corp. (TSE:PCY) Friday announced the addition of some experienced team members to the positions of directors and advisors, making clear its intent to become a big coal energy provider in Mongolia.
As the company aggressively pursues measures to bring its 600 megawatt (MW) Chandgana power project in central Mongolia online by the first quarter of 2016, it is bulking up the team with some major players in the energy industry as it moves forward with its plan of helping to relieve a major ongoing and growing power deficit in the country.
Joining Prophecy’s board is Harald Batista, an entrepreneur with over two decades of international sales and marketing experience. Batista is a member of the prominent Batista family in Brazil that includes Eike Batista, the founder of EBX Group.
The EBX Group focuses on investment opportunities in infrastructure and natural resources, including energy, and the combined market capitalization of the EBX Group of companies exceeds US $20 billion.
Prophecy also announced the appointment of V.P. Sharma to its advisory board.
Sharma has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. His experience covers all aspects of power generation, including operations and maintenance, construction, planning, engineering, business development, safety, and project management.
The company also appointed to its advisory board, Maree Roos - an independent energy consultant with an understanding of the electricity industry, gained from involvement in numerous major projects across Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and now Mongolia.
To its external council, Prophecy added Lynia Lau, a Hong Kong based partner in the international law firm Clyde & Co. and the Asian head of energy and resources for the firm.
Lau specializes in acquisition, development, financing, operation, sales and governmental regulation of large-scale infrastructure projects including power plant, oil and gas, refinery, and LNG.
Lau’s background in the power sector includes the role of lead lawyer for at least five major Asian power companies, and she was also a core team member advising Electricite de France and GEC Alstom on the first foreign-invested power project in China.
“Our expert team of staff and advisors has been working to implement the Chandgana mine mouth power project in Mongolia,” said Prophecy chairman and CEO John Lee.
“Chandgana is the most mature and the only fully licensed 600 MW independent power project in Mongolia.
“Significant advances have been made in the areas of EPC, PPA, developer sponsorship, and project financing. A progress update will be provided shortly.”
The company's proposed 600 megawatt mine-mouth power plant adjacent to its Chandgana coal deposit has been permitted by the Mongolian government, and would be the first thermal coal power plant in the country in over 20 years.
Prophecy is actively driving the process forward, and recently signed a co-operation agreement with the Energy Authority (EA) of Mongolia, another step toward getting the plant up and running in the next four years. The EA is the agency that implements governmental policy in the power and energy sector of Mongolia.
The co-operation agreement covers the basic rights and obligations of Prophecy as the seller and the National Electricity Transmission Grid Company of Mongolia (NETGCO) as the purchaser of energy.
Prophecy noted that the plant will supply electricity to the central and eastern energy systems in Mongolia, with an expected 100 MW net electric output starting from the first quarter of 2016, up to 200 MW from the third quarter of 2016, 300 MW from the first quarter of 2017, and 400 MW from the third quarter of 2017.
At the start-up date in 2016, the plant will only be able to meet about two thirds of the country's deficit, leaving the government to seek additional power sources.
Prophecy plans on increasing output from its Chandgana plant from 2017 to 2020 by adding 3,600 MW of capacity, selling excess power to Chinese markets and to industrial users, who typically pay a higher rate than governments.
The initial life of the plant is estimated to be around 30 years.
Coal for the Chandgana plant will be sourced from the company's Chandgana deposit, for which it has obtained all necessary permits and licenses to initiate production.
Prophecy Coal also owns the Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia, which is in production, and the company continues to make progress on opening the Zheltura border crossing - 17 kilometres from the mine - to facilitate coal export to Russia, which would increase the total demand for coal from Ulaan Ovoo.
Just over a week ago, Prophecy said it has arranged a $10 million secured debt facility with Waterton Global Value, to complete the purchase of the Tugalgatai, Mongolia coal licenses from Tethys Mining LLC.
The Tugalgatai licenses are contiguous to the company's Chandgana licenses, which host a measured resource of 650 million tonnes and an indicated resource of 540 million tonnes of thermal coal.
According to records reviewed by Prophecy, on March 15 of last year, Tethys applied to register a resource estimate of 2.33 billion tonnes of thermal coal for the Tugalgatai licenses with the Minerals Resource Council of Mongolia. The resources registered by Tethys are not NI 43-101 compliant.
Separately, the company announced Friday that directors Paul Venter and Paul McKenzie have resigned to pursue other interests.
As the company aggressively pursues measures to bring its 600 megawatt (MW) Chandgana power project in central Mongolia online by the first quarter of 2016, it is bulking up the team with some major players in the energy industry as it moves forward with its plan of helping to relieve a major ongoing and growing power deficit in the country.
Joining Prophecy’s board is Harald Batista, an entrepreneur with over two decades of international sales and marketing experience. Batista is a member of the prominent Batista family in Brazil that includes Eike Batista, the founder of EBX Group.
The EBX Group focuses on investment opportunities in infrastructure and natural resources, including energy, and the combined market capitalization of the EBX Group of companies exceeds US $20 billion.
Prophecy also announced the appointment of V.P. Sharma to its advisory board.
Sharma has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. His experience covers all aspects of power generation, including operations and maintenance, construction, planning, engineering, business development, safety, and project management.
The company also appointed to its advisory board, Maree Roos - an independent energy consultant with an understanding of the electricity industry, gained from involvement in numerous major projects across Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and now Mongolia.
To its external council, Prophecy added Lynia Lau, a Hong Kong based partner in the international law firm Clyde & Co. and the Asian head of energy and resources for the firm.
Lau specializes in acquisition, development, financing, operation, sales and governmental regulation of large-scale infrastructure projects including power plant, oil and gas, refinery, and LNG.
Lau’s background in the power sector includes the role of lead lawyer for at least five major Asian power companies, and she was also a core team member advising Electricite de France and GEC Alstom on the first foreign-invested power project in China.
“Our expert team of staff and advisors has been working to implement the Chandgana mine mouth power project in Mongolia,” said Prophecy chairman and CEO John Lee.
“Chandgana is the most mature and the only fully licensed 600 MW independent power project in Mongolia.
“Significant advances have been made in the areas of EPC, PPA, developer sponsorship, and project financing. A progress update will be provided shortly.”
The company's proposed 600 megawatt mine-mouth power plant adjacent to its Chandgana coal deposit has been permitted by the Mongolian government, and would be the first thermal coal power plant in the country in over 20 years.
Prophecy is actively driving the process forward, and recently signed a co-operation agreement with the Energy Authority (EA) of Mongolia, another step toward getting the plant up and running in the next four years. The EA is the agency that implements governmental policy in the power and energy sector of Mongolia.
The co-operation agreement covers the basic rights and obligations of Prophecy as the seller and the National Electricity Transmission Grid Company of Mongolia (NETGCO) as the purchaser of energy.
Prophecy noted that the plant will supply electricity to the central and eastern energy systems in Mongolia, with an expected 100 MW net electric output starting from the first quarter of 2016, up to 200 MW from the third quarter of 2016, 300 MW from the first quarter of 2017, and 400 MW from the third quarter of 2017.
At the start-up date in 2016, the plant will only be able to meet about two thirds of the country's deficit, leaving the government to seek additional power sources.
Prophecy plans on increasing output from its Chandgana plant from 2017 to 2020 by adding 3,600 MW of capacity, selling excess power to Chinese markets and to industrial users, who typically pay a higher rate than governments.
The initial life of the plant is estimated to be around 30 years.
Coal for the Chandgana plant will be sourced from the company's Chandgana deposit, for which it has obtained all necessary permits and licenses to initiate production.
Prophecy Coal also owns the Ulaan Ovoo mine in Mongolia, which is in production, and the company continues to make progress on opening the Zheltura border crossing - 17 kilometres from the mine - to facilitate coal export to Russia, which would increase the total demand for coal from Ulaan Ovoo.
Just over a week ago, Prophecy said it has arranged a $10 million secured debt facility with Waterton Global Value, to complete the purchase of the Tugalgatai, Mongolia coal licenses from Tethys Mining LLC.
The Tugalgatai licenses are contiguous to the company's Chandgana licenses, which host a measured resource of 650 million tonnes and an indicated resource of 540 million tonnes of thermal coal.
According to records reviewed by Prophecy, on March 15 of last year, Tethys applied to register a resource estimate of 2.33 billion tonnes of thermal coal for the Tugalgatai licenses with the Minerals Resource Council of Mongolia. The resources registered by Tethys are not NI 43-101 compliant.
Separately, the company announced Friday that directors Paul Venter and Paul McKenzie have resigned to pursue other interests.
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