Production kicks off at Maatla Resources’ Mmamabula Coal Project
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday February 9, 2026 06:20
Maatla thus becomes the third licensed colliery in the country, its production coming at a time when prices for the mineral are depressed. Morupule Coal Mine and Minergy, the other two producers, have battled a prolonged downturn in the past three years, with the latter suspending operations last year whilst a major creditor sued for judicial management.
This week, HMS Bergbau AG announced that the company has completed the acquisition of 51% of Maatla Resources, which holds a mining licence for metallurgical coal covering approximately 45 square kilometres. Located in a well-established coal mining region with strong existing infrastructure, the licence area hosts expert-confirmed coal resources exceeding 94 million tonnes, based on exploration drilling conducted to date.
Maatla Resources controls the Mmamabula Coal Project on the well-explored eastern coalfields, which contains over 90 million tonnes of high-grade thermal coal.
Commenting on the development, HMS Bergbau CEO Dennis Schwindt said that in recent years, Maatla has developed a modern, state-of-the-art coal mine on the site, including an integrated and highly efficient processing plant.
“Production of high-energy export coal has now commenced and is being progressively ramped up,” he said. “Once full planned capacity is reached later this year, the operation is expected to produce approximately 1.2 million tonnes of high-quality metallurgical coal annually through open-cast mining.”
The coal will be processed onsite and exported to international markets. HMS Bergbau has secured an exclusive marketing agreement for 100% of the coal produced by Maatla, strengthening its position across the coal value chain.
In the medium term, annual production is planned to expand to up to 3.6 million tonnes, reflecting the company’s long-term growth strategy.
The transaction represents a key milestone in HMS Bergbau’s strategy to expand its value chain by moving further into upstream activities. The company anticipates positive impacts on both revenue and consolidated earnings as early as the current financial year. By 2026, operations in Botswana are expected to contribute a low double-digit million euro amount to group revenue, Schwindt said.
He further added that Africa is emerging as a major driver of global coal demand alongside Asia.
“With Botswana’s political stability, strong governance, and favourable economic environment, the new mine enables the company to serve customer needs directly from source. The stake in Maatla provides HMS Bergbau with direct access to coal deposits that can be mined, processed, and marketed within the group,” he said.
In previous interviews, Maatla officials told BusinessWeek that the mine was planning an initial output of between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes of product monthly for about six months, before ramping up to 100,000 tonnes under a 24-hour operation.
HMS Bergbau, which joined Maatla’s share registry some years ago, long held an agreement for 100% offtake from the mine.