Berlin, 20. April 2021: HMS Bergbau AG, a leading independent raw material trading and marketing company in Germany, has reached an important milestone in its strategy to further vertically integrate into the commodity trading value chain by becoming a 51 percent shareholder in Maatla Resources (Pty.) Ltd, a project company in Botswana that aims to mine and market its own coal resources.

Maatla Resources (Pty.) Ltd in Botswana holds a mining license for around 90 million tons of coal. Production and commercialization of the coal is expected to commence within 12 months after the CAPEX funding has been arranged during the course of 2021. In a first phase, around 1.2 million tons of coal will be produced per year – with the option of mining and marketing around 3 million tons of coal per year in a second phase. As the main shareholder in Maatla Resources (Pty.) Ltd, HMS Bergbau AG has exclusively secured the worldwide marketing rights for the entire production.

For HMS Bergbau AG, the transaction represents a strategically important deepening of added value along its value chain while at the same time strengthening activities in a safe and stable investment environment on the African continent.

It was agreed not to disclose any further details of the contract.