Mine excursion
The development of Canyon
Coal’s Khanye Colliery has
elevated the company from
a junior miner to a mid-tier
producer, writes Leon Louw.
K
Although the coal at Khanye is shallow, the
geology presents several challenges.
hanye Colliery, close to
Bronkhorstspruit in Gauteng, will be
Canyon Coal’s fourth mine in 10 years
and is set to produce 200 000 tonnes of coal
per month (tpm) when in full production. In
addition to its current four operating mines,
Canyon plans to bring another seven projects
into production in the coming years. The
company opened its first coal mine in South
Africa, Hakhano Colliery, close to Middelburg
in Mpumalanga, 10 years ago and shortly
thereafter, developed Phalanndwa Colliery, near
Delmas, also in Mpumalanga. Including its
extension, Phalanndwa has a total resource of
nine million tonnes (Mt) of coal, which means
it will still produce coal for the next seven years.
Production at Khanye has commenced
and when Mining Mirror visited the site
recently, work was in full swing on the open
pit, processing plant, and all the associated
infrastructure. Khanye has a total resource
of 39Mt and has a life of 15 years. With a
remaining resource of only about one million
tonnes per annum (Mtpa) at the current
Hakhano site (one-year life of mine), the
opening of Khanye is perfectly timed. In
addition, Canyon owns two proven reserves
close to Hakhano that, on approval of
the relevant statutory requirements, will
supplement the current production rate.
According to Vuslat Bayoglu, executive
chairman at Canyon Coal, the current
production of 320 000tpm will double output
when Khanye — and Ukufisa, another project
in the pipeline — comes online in 2018.
“We are also planning to bring the second
phase of Ukufisa online in 2019, boosting
coal production by another 400 000tpm and
increasing Canyon Coal’s production to more
than 10Mtpa,” says Bayoglu.
Ukufisa promises to be an interesting project,
as it is located in the Springs area of Gauteng,
a part of South Africa better known for its
gold mines. Despite the obvious challenges
of mining where gold miners have already
made a significant impact (the mine is close to
the historical Grootvlei gold mine), Ukufisa
MAY 2018 MINING MIRROR
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