Mine excursion
The core samples arrive at Bureau Veritas’ laboratory in Centurion wrapped in plastic bags. substantial exploration project focused on coking coal recently submitted core samples for testing. Most of the remaining coal in South Africa is unearthed from two coalfields: the Waterberg in the Limpopo province, and the Witbank coalfields in the Mpumalanga province. Although the Waterberg has provided a significant amount of coal over the years, the Witbank basin is more developed, mostly due to a lack of road and rail infrastructure development in the Waterberg. Some of the remaining coking coal found is more prevalent in( but not exclusive to) the Waterberg, with some reserves in Limpopo that is undeveloped at this stage and the depleted Tshikondeni Coal Mine close to the Kruger National Park, while most thermal coal used in South African power stations have their origins in the coalfields of Mpumalanga.
A few years ago, the Waterberg received a great deal of attention, with several companies( large and small) exploring the attractive seams. Hefer confirms the increased interest in the Waterberg a few years ago, but he says that much of that initial excitement has slowed in recent years. However, the area hosts huge reserves of coal, some of it semi-soft coking coal, and is potentially a big money-spinner.
To illustrate the complexities of coal further, Hefer explains that the coal reserves found in the Waterberg differ from the coal found in Mpumalanga.“ The coke in the north( close to Lephalale) is not the same as in the south, as semi-soft coke can be extracted as a product prior to targeting the thermal products. So, these coal mines will typically aim to have three different product streams: coking coal, thermal coal for export, and thermal coal for domestic use( Eskom). In exceptional cases, for example Exxaro’ s Grootegeluk, a mine can have a multi-stream of products by generating additional by-products in the semi-coke process. The biggest conundrum in the coking coal business, according to Carstens, is the Hwange Coal Mine
Geologists from across Africa send in their samples, and we assist the exploration companies with their flow diagrams and with whatever they want to analyse for.
MARCH 2018 MINING MIRROR [ 15 ]