Red Island Minerals

Red Island Minerals Ltd is a Perth-based coal-development company whose principal project is the Sakoa coal field in southwestern Madagascar. The company was established on 2 March 2005 by Sam Malin under the name Petrosearch International and adopted the Red Island Minerals name in 2008. Its corporate identity reflects its focus on Madagascar, sometimes known as the Red Island, rather than a broad portfolio of operating mines or consumer-facing products. The company’s main business is the evaluation and development of the Sakoa coal field. Red Island Minerals operates the project through Madagascar Consolidated Mining SARL, a wholly owned subsidiary in which the Malagasy government agency OMNIS holds a minority interest. The project is located in a region where coal was identified in 1908, while limited small-scale mining took place during the Second World War. Later exploration and drilling indicated the presence of a substantial coal-bearing formation, including seams reported to reach approximately 12 metres in thickness in some areas. The coal associated with Sakoa has been described as thermal coal with specifications comparable to coal exported from South Africa. Its potential end uses are power-generation facilities, with India and Western Europe identified as possible destination markets. A 2015 estimate cited approximately 200 million tonnes of recoverable coal and a broader potential resource of more than one billion tonnes. The development concept described for the field anticipated predominantly open-pit extraction, initially targeting production of around five million tonnes per year. These figures describe project potential and development assumptions rather than confirmed operating output or realized sales. Red Island Minerals is wholly owned by PTT Asia Pacific Mining Pty Ltd, which is a subsidiary of PTT Public Company Limited, the Thai state-owned energy group. This ownership places the Madagascar coal project within a larger Asian mining and energy corporate structure. Public reference material identifies Red Island Minerals primarily as a development vehicle for Sakoa rather than as a diversified mining producer. Information available for this entry does not establish whether the project reached commercial production, whether the company remains active under the same structure, or whether its ownership and development plans have subsequently changed.

Coal was first identified in the Sakoa area of southwestern Madagascar in 1908. The deposit also saw limited small-scale mining during the Second World War, but the modern development history described for Red Island Minerals begins with the incorporation of its predecessor. Sam Malin founded Petrosearch International on 2 March 2005. The company later changed its name to Red Island Minerals in 2008, establishing the identity under which its Madagascar coal-development activities became known. Red Island Minerals subsequently concentrated on the Sakoa coal field. The company developed the project through Madagascar Consolidated Mining SARL, a wholly owned operating subsidiary, while OMNIS, a Malagasy government agency, retained a minority interest in that subsidiary. This structure gave the project a combination of private corporate control and local state participation. Exploration drilling indicated that the Sakoa field could contain a large coal resource, with coal seams reaching up to approximately 12 metres in thickness in some locations. The coal was characterized as thermal coal broadly comparable in specification to material exported from South Africa. The development concept contemplated primarily open-pit mining and an initial production rate of approximately five million tonnes annually. Potential customers were described as power plants in India and Western Europe. In 2015, published estimates associated with the project placed recoverable coal at about 200 million tonnes and potential resources at more than one billion tonnes. These were resource and development estimates rather than evidence of completed mine construction, commercial production, or export shipments. Red Island Minerals is wholly owned by PTT Asia Pacific Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of PTT Public Company Limited, a Thai state-owned company. The available reference material does not provide enough later information to determine the project’s subsequent operating status, permitting progress, production history, or current corporate structure.

• 2015

  Published Sakoa resource estimates

  [1]Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org

  Project estimates cited approximately 200 million tonnes of recoverable coal and more than one billion tonnes of potential resources.

• 2008

  Name changed to Red Island Minerals

  [1]Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org

  Petrosearch International adopted the Red Island Minerals name.

• 2005

  Predecessor company founded

  [1]Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org

  Sam Malin founded Petrosearch International on 2 March 2005.

• 1940

  Wartime small-scale mining

  [1]Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org

  Small-scale mining was undertaken in the Sakoa area during the Second World War.

• 1908

  Coal identified at Sakoa

  [1]Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org

  Coal was first discovered in the Sakoa area of southwestern Madagascar.

A project-focused coal-development company connecting a Malagasy thermal-coal resource with potential international power-generation markets.

• Thermal coal

  Sakoa thermal coal

  The company’s principal prospective product is thermal coal from the Sakoa coal field in southwestern Madagascar. Reference material compares its specifications with coal exported from South Africa and identifies electricity-generation plants as the likely end use. The project’s development concept envisaged predominantly open-pit extraction and an initial production rate of approximately five million tonnes per year, although the available material does not confirm commercial production or sales.

1. 1Red Island Mineralsen.wikipedia.org