Droogvallei Coal Mine

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Droogvallei Coal Mine is a mothballed coal mine in Carolina, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Droogvallei Coal Mine	Carolina, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.10267826, 30.1528895 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Mothballed	Care and Maintenance	2001	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	0.12	–	Underground & Surface	Mixed	–	60*	*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
0.756	–	–	Ermelo	Bituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Coastal Fuels	Coastal Fuels	South Africa

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Background

Droogvallei Coal Mine is a surface and underground mine in Carolina, Mpumalanga, South Africa. 

The status of the mine is unclear, but it appears to be mothballed. Droogvallei Colliery is located about 245 kilometers east of Johannesburg (via N12 and N4) and 7 km southeast of Carolina. Estrapade (Pty) Ltd operates the mine, which is owned by Coastal Fuels (Pty) Ltd. The mine opened in 2001. Underground mining ceased in 2011. The mine and wash plant have been on care and maintenance for a number of years.

In 2020 Geo Soil and Water, acting on behalf of the owners, prepared a water and waste management plan in order to renew the mine's water use license. There are currently plans to resume mining of the remaining 0.756 million tonnes of underground resources. The mine is situated on a watershed between two river catchments and there is a significant risk of groundwater contamination from the wash plant.

• Operator: Estrapade (Pty) Ltd
• Owner: Coastal Fuels (Pty) Ltd
• Location: Carolina, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Coordinates: -26.10267826, 30.1528895 (Approximate)
• Status: Mothballed
• Capacity: 0.12 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa)
• Total Resource: 0.756 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Surface (previously surface and underground)
• Start Year: 2001
• Source of Financing:

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Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.