MC Mining pushes Makhado coking coal mine toward startup, shuts Uitkomst

MC Mining, the JSE-listed coal miner now owned by China's Kinetic Development Group, said on 30 April 2026 that its Makhado project in Limpopo was on track for hot commissioning and coal plant start-up the following month, even as it suspended production at its unrelated Uitkomst mine due to operational underperformance and cash losses.

Makhado's promise

Makhado is designed to produce 800,000 tonnes a year of coal at steady state over an estimated 28-year mine life, and MC Mining has billed it as set to become South Africa's largest hard coking coal producer. Kinetic Development Group took control of MC Mining in August 2024, and the Makhado build-out represents the clearest sign yet of the new owner's intent to bring the long-delayed project into production.

Uitkomst suspended, not closed

By contrast, the company's Uitkomst colliery has been placed under care and maintenance. Chief executive Christine He said the suspension "is intended to be a care and maintenance measure and does not represent a permanent closure of the mine; a relinquishment of the mining right nor a decision to place the operation in liquidation or business rescue." MC Mining said it was engaging with interested third parties about possible partnerships or joint operations at the site. Its separate Vele soft-coking coal mine, also in Limpopo, remains shut pending a re-engineered business plan.

Why it matters

The contrasting fortunes of Makhado and Uitkomst illustrate the uneven state of South Africa's smaller coal producers: fresh Chinese capital is pushing a large new coking coal mine toward production even as older, higher-cost operations struggle to stay viable. Coking coal, used in steelmaking rather than power generation, gives MC Mining exposure to a different price cycle than the thermal coal that dominates Mpumalanga's export mines, and a successful Makhado ramp-up would add a new, sizeable source of South African coking coal supply to a market currently dominated by imports.

Sources

• Miningmx: MC Mining advances Makhado but shuts Uitkomst, 30 Apr 2026