(Reuters) – Australian coal miner TerraCom said on Friday a contractor had died at its South African mine on May 6, leading to an 11-day halt in operations at the time.
The company in its production report disclosed that the fatality occurred at its 49%-owned New Clydesdale Colliery mine, but did not give details on how it happened.
TerraCom added that coal sale deliveries were delayed in early July due to the political unrest in South Africa. Earlier this month, the country witnessed its worst violence in years after protests broke out after the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma.
The miner also did not update the market about a $215 million debt refinancing facility, which it previously had said should be finalized by August.
Coal miners are finding it increasingly difficult to secure financing and insurance as pressure grows on their backers to break away from fossil fuels. The biggest banks in Australia, the world’s biggest coal exporter, are working to phase out exposure to thermal coal by 2030.
(Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
