Coal of Africa ups stake in Strategic Natural to 15 pct

* Strategic Natural says Coal of Africa buys 7.8 mln shares

* Strategic Natural shares rise as much as 15.4 pct

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Strategic Natural Resources Plc (SNRP.L) said South African miner Coal of Africa Ltd (CZA.L) (CZAJ.J) raised its stake in the company to 15.03 percent, sending Strategic Natural shares up as much as 15.4 percent.

Strategic Natural, which is mainly engaged in acquiring and developing natural resources in South Africa, said Coal of Africa had bought 7.76 million more shares in the company on Nov. 8, lifting its total holding to 11.26 million shares.

The two companies will also be co-ordinating engineering efforts on the development of generic smaller mine mouth independent power projects, Strategic Natural said. The company said it was looking forward to future collaborations with Coal of Africa to initiate coal export from Strategic Natural's Elitheni Mine at Indwe in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Strategic Natural shares were up 11.5 percent at 14.5 pence at 1505 GMT. They touched a high of 15 pence earlier in the session. (Reporting by Kumar Alagappan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)