South African coal miner Thungela will complete its acquisition of a majority stake in the Ensham mine on Thursday and assume operational control from September 1.

The company said all conditions precedent relating to the acquisition had been fulfilled and that the transaction had become unconditional.

“We are delighted to welcome our colleagues from Ensham into the Thungela family as they continue to build on a proud history of safe production in the Bowen Basin region of Queensland,” Thungela chief executive officer July Ndlovu said.

“We look forward to learning from them and also to sharing our knowledge.“

Thungela sees the acquisition of the Ensham business as a significant step in its strategy to pursue geographic diversification.

Thungela has a majority shareholding interest in a consortium called Sungela Holdings, which is acquiring an 85 per cent interest in the Ensham business from Idemitsu Kosan.

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Sungela is a consortium of Thungela Resources (75 per cent), Mayfair Corporations Group (12.5 per cent) and Audley Energy (12.5 per cent).

The purchase price was $340 million, subject to increase or decrease under a working capital adjustment.

The Emerald district mine is expected to produce about 2.7Mt of export saleable coal in 2023.