Comment
Coal – king
for another day
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@LeonLouw3
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D
espite all the talk about renewable
energy projects and nuclear power
generation in South Africa, coal is
still an important cog in the wheel. The South
African energy sector relies on coal-fired
power stations, whether we like it or not. And
there is no shortage of coal in South Africa.
Whatever direction the energy roadmap
takes, coal will remain a critical part of it. The
Witbank coalfield, which has been providing
South Africa with cheap coal for more than
a century, still hosts enough coal to keep the
lights burning for at least the next 50 years,
although it must be said that the quality of the
remaining deposits is not as good as it used to
be. All the shallow, high-quality coal deposits
in the Witbank/Middelburg/Delmas area of
Mpumalanga have been mined out.
But there are still several smaller, more
technically difficult to mine, and lower-quality
extensions of the great coalfields, which will
keep the coal miners in that region busy for
the next few years. In fact, as the great deposits
disappear, and the multinationals depart, the
deposits that remain offer great opportunities
for new, innovative and versatile junior mining
companies to thrive. Many new junior mining
companies have been making their appearance in
the coal dust of Mpumalanga over the past few
years. Some — like Keaton Energy, Continental
Coal and, dare we say it, Tegeta — have not been
that successful. Others, like Seriti Resources,
Wescoal (who acquired most of Keaton’s assets),
and Canyon Coal, are gradually moving into the
mid-tier and major mining space.
What is more encouraging is the arrival of new
companies like Black Royalty Minerals (BRM),
whom we have reported on in previous issues of
Mining Mirror. Moreover, BRM and Canyon
Coal are developing operations in non-traditional
mining regions (Bronkhorstspruit, in this case).
BRM and Canyon Coal’s mines in this area are
the only coal mines currently located in Gauteng.
Mining Mirror visited Canyon Coal’s new Khanye
Colliery this month — there can be no doubt that
Canyon Coal is on the move. Under the dynamic
leadership of Vuslat Bayoglu, Canyon Coal is on
an expansion drive that will see them producing
more than 10 million tonnes of coal per year by
2019. They intend having six mines producing
coal in the next three years. Currently, Canyon
is operating two, with production at Khanye
imminent. However, Hakhano, their first mine
that was commissioned 10 years ago, will run out
of coal in 2019. Canyon has raised the bar when
it comes to developing new projects, but BRM
(Canyon’s neighbour at Khanye) is not to be
outdone. Ndavhe Mareda, chairperson at BRM,
has promised to open another three or four mines
in the next year or two.
The most interesting project in the pipeline is
Canyon’s Ukufisa Mine, close to Springs, which
will increase the number of coal mines in Gauteng
to three. Canyon plans to start producing at
Ukufisa early in 2019. Keep your eyes on this
project: it has a huge resource and promises to
present the innovative team at Canyon with
enough challenges to keep them busy — if their
other four or five projects won’t.
Ukufisa is located in an area pockmarked
by historical gold mining sites and is close to
the old Grootvlei gold mine. There is a lot of
excitement in the coal mining industry at the
moment, and why not? Coal mines are normally
shallow, easy to bring on line, and doesn’t require
complex extraction and processing methods. And,
depending on the coal price, of course, is normally
highly profitable. Ideal for new companies to get a
foot in the door.
Leon
Editor
MAY 2018 MINING MIRROR
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