Shumba Resources, the citizen-led junior coal outfit, is engaging consultants in a bid to help it list its shares on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE).
“The Board of Directors has finalised that, in order to provide liquidity to investors and increase funding for our projects, the company should sell shares through BSE,” the company Managing Director, Mashale Phumaphi, said in an interview this week.
He said all the procedures necessary for listing were started recently and it is expected the company shares will commence trading by October this year.
“The majority of the auditing and compilation of technical reports is complete. We have identified a broker who is in liaison with the Stock Exchange. Our lawyers and accountants are also busy preparing admission documents to be submitted to BSE,” Phumaphi said.
He added that after vetting the company reports and documents, BSE will finalise the listing. He said under a normal procedure it should take the company four months to have the shares listed, but due to delays associated with preparation of documents and liaison with BSE, it can take six months.
Phumaphi noted that after realising that locals have a limited investment opportunity in mining in the country, they have decided to go for listing in the local bourse and would later consider listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The company has reserved 10 percent of its shares for Batswana investors.
┬á“Although, we are a Batswana led and majority owned company, we want more Batswana shareholders who will be part of the company.” He said as more mining projects are developed, it is important for Batswana to be included as shareholders.
He said while neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe have programmes intending to ensure local beneficiations from economic projects such as mining, Botswana, has no such programme. “As coal mining projects take off more revenues could go outside the country instead of circulating among the locals,” Phumaphi said.
He indicated that although the company wants to produce coal for power generation, a scoping study has confirmed the potential to mine coal for export. The company has decided to complete a preliminary feasibility study and environmental impact assessment in the coming 18 months. 
Shumba is currently focussed on developing Sechaba Thermal Coal project which has approximately 1 billion tonne of coal resource. The project covers 250 km and is located in the north east of Serowe in the central district of Botswana.
