Grootegeluk Coal Mine
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Grootegeluk Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Grootegeluk Coal Mine | Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa | -23.657141, 27.566687 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 1980[2] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 51.4[1] | 2024[1] | Surface[1] | Open Pit[1] | 263.25[2] | 60* | 3200[3] |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2469[1] | 2024[1] | 3889[1] | Waterberg[4] | Bituminous | Thermal & Met[5] | Coal Plant[6] |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Exxaro Coal Pty Ltd [100.0%][7] | Exxaro Resources | South Africa |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM[5] | 51.4[8] | 57.2[9] | 56.2[10] | 54.6[11] | 51.5[12] | 56.52[13] | 56.05[5] | 51.4[1] | – |
Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The Grootegeluk coal mine is a surface mine complex near Lephalale, Limpopo Province, South Africa.[14] The mine is owned by Exxaro Coal, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African mining company Exxaro.[15]
Grootegeluk is Exxaro's largest coal mining operation and reportedly holds 50% of South Africa's remaining coal reserves and as much as 80% of Exxaro's reserves.[16]
The mine has multiple plants, including Grootegeluk 1 (GG1), GG2, GG3, GG4, GG5, GG6 (which was recently converted to a double-stage plant), GG7, GG8, and GG10.[16] The Grootegeluk coal mine began operation in 1980. It produces roughly 26 million tons of coal per year (Mtpa), with some 22 Mtpa being consumed by two of Eksom's mine-mouth coal power plants — Medupi Power Station and Matimba Power Station.[14][17]
In September 2008, Exxaro signed the Medupi Coal Supply and Off-Take Agreement (CSA) with Eskom. Under the agreement, Exxaro would supply "an average of 14.6 million tonnes per annum of power station grade coal" over 40 years for the project from an expansion of the Grootegeluk mine. "At the time, Exxaro’s capital expenditure for the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project was estimated at R9 billion and delivery of first coal was planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011 with a ramp-up to full production by 2014," Exxaro stated.[18]
In late March 2010, Exxaro stated the company had signed a definitive agreement on 26 March 2010. In terms of the revised agreement, the delivery of first coal is planned for the second quarter of 2012 with a ramp-up to full production by 2015. This ramp-up is now in line with the commissioning and commercial operation date of the first unit of the power station."[18]
- Operator: Exxaro Coal[19]
- Owner: Exxaro
- Location: 20 kilometers west of Lephalale, Lephalale municipality, Waterberg district, Limpopo province, South Africa.[19]
- GPS Coordinates: -23.671667, 27.528889 (exact)[19]
- Status: Operating[19]
- Production: 28.8 Mtpa (2020)[20]
- Total Resource: 3,902 million tonnes[21]
- Mineable Reserves: 2,580 million tons[21]
- Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal and Metallurgical)
- Mine Type: Surface, open pit[19]
- Mine Size: 8.5 km2[22]
- Start Year: 1980[19]
- Workforce Size: 3200[19]
- Source of Financing:
Expansion
In 2016, Exxaro announced plans to ramp up export coal production by expanding its Grootegeluk operations. Through the GG6 expansion project, Exxaro would increase its production of semi-soft coking coal by converting its existing Grootegeluk 2 (GG2) single-stage beneficiation plant into a double-stage beneficiation complex — Grootegeluk 6 (GG6).
Construction on the project began in 2016 and was concluded in Q4 of 2021.[23] According to Exxaro's 2021 annual report, the project is expected to close by the second half of 2022.[21]
Project Expansion Details
- Status: Operating
- Capacity: 1.7 Mtpa
- Mineable Reserves:
- Start Year: 2022
- Source of Financing:
Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources
Global Energy Monitor researchers have identified coal mine boundary/boundaries and potential sources of coal mine methane (CMM) for this mine. These research results can be used to drive CMM attribution and mitigation efforts, particularly when combined with remotely sensed methane plume locations and mine ownership data. Explore the results with the embedded map at the top of this page by clicking on the mine boundary polygon or the CMM placemarkers to reveal more details. A detailed description of this research can be found in Coal Mine Boundaries and Methane Sources. This data is also available as a downloadable companion dataset to the Global Coal Mine Tracker and the Global Methane Emitters Tracker.
Table SMP1: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data
| ID | Mine feature category | Mine feature subcategory | Description | Coordinates precision | Data source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M0900.B1 | mine boundary | surface | Mining right boundary for Grootegeluk Coal Mine | extracted | 2023-04-14 00:00:00 |
| M0900.P1 | other | preparation plant | Processing plant complex at Grootegeluk Coal Mine | extracted | 2023-08-05 00:00:00 |
| M0900.P2 | other | not coal mine related | Medupi coal-fired power station | extracted | 2025 |
| M0900.P3 | other | not coal mine related | Matimba coal-fired power station | extracted | 2025 |
Table SMP2: Coal mine boundaries and methane sources data (continued)
| ID | Notes |
|---|---|
| M0900.B1 | The boundary is the Grootegeluk mining right, extracted from Figure 5: Grootegeluk LoM on page 7 of Exxaro Resources Limited Consolidated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves report 2022, 14 April 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20250813171947/https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/kvoj3f4e/exxaro-cmrr_2022_hires.pdf. This boundary is also seen in partially obscured Figure 8: Grootegeluk mine on page 46 of the Exxaro Resources Limited Consolidated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves report for the year ended 31 December 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20250813171744/https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/bfcoyft2/exx-2024_cmrr-report.pdf, 15 April 2025. The approximate boundary area is 88 sq km. |
| M0900.P1 | Complex of coal processing plants identified visually from Google Earth Pro satellite imagery. Page 45 of Exxaro Resources Limited Consolidated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves report for the year ended 31 December 2024, https://web.archive.org/web/20250813171744/https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/bfcoyft2/exx-2024_cmrr-report.pdf, 15 April 2025, refers to four dense medium separation (DMS) beneficiation plants and two crushing and screening plants. |
| M0900.P2 | Coordinates of Medupi coal-fired power station extracted from GEM.wiki (https://web.archive.org/web/20250813213412/https://www.gem.wiki/Medupi_power_station) and confirmed visually with Google Earth Pro satellite imagery. Medupi power station is ~1 km beyond the southern border of the Grootegeluk mine rights boundary, and is supplied by Grootegeluk mine (https://web.archive.org/web/20250813214122/https://www.exxaro.com/operations/where-we-operate/#grootegeluk) |
| M0900.P3 | Coordinates of Matimba coal-fired power station extracted from GEM.wiki (https://web.archive.org/web/20250813213421/https://www.gem.wiki/Matimba_power_station) and confirmed visually with Google Earth Pro satellite imagery. Matimba power station is ~2.5 km beyond the southeastern border of the Grootegeluk mine rights boundary, and is supplied by Grootegeluk mine (https://web.archive.org/web/20250813214122/https://www.exxaro.com/operations/where-we-operate/#grootegeluk) |
Articles and Resources
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.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedautoref_0 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20251213230029/https://investor.exxaro.com/integrated-reports2021/cmrr/grootegeluk.php. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220327065550/https://www.exxaro.com/operations/grootegeluk.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.dmre.gov.za/API/Evotiva-UserFiles/FileActionsServices/DownloadFile?ItemId=6805&ModuleId=1414&TabId=162.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/qyidcsuf/exx_2023-ir_hi-res.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.exxaro.com/operations/where-we-operate/#grootegeluk.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125050657/https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/ndpkfoht/information-statement_bond_june_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/a2shsbkr/full-integrated-2017.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/yfqpyod4/integrated-report.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/qv4by5sy/exxaro-ir-2019_final.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/mvinuqmv/exxaro-ir_report-_final_may.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ (PDF) https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/w2wlsaln/exxaro-ir_2021_hi-res.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ exxaro-prod.azureedge.net (PDF). 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125043026/https://exxaro-prod.azureedge.net/sitestorage/media/kk2fcz0q/exxaro_ir_2022_singles_hires.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Grootegeluk", Exxaro website, accessed September 2022.
- ↑ "Our Group Structure", Exxaro website, May 2010.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Grootegeluk - living up to its name Part 1", African Mining, 1 July 2022.
- ↑ Grootegeluk Coal Mine, Wikipedia, accessed June 2019.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Exxaro, "Medupi coal supply and off-take agreement update", Media Release, March 31, 2010.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 Exxaro, Grootegeluk, Company website, accessed August 5, 2020.
- ↑ "Five kargest coal mines in South Africa in 2020", Mining Technology, 21 Sept. 2021.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Exxaro Resources Limited Consolidated Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Report 2021, Exxaro website, accessed September 2022.
- ↑ Grootegeluk Coal Mine Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Programme (EIA/EMP) Report, July 2014.
- ↑ Project Overview: Grootegeluk GG6 Project, Exxaro website, accessed September 2022.
