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Khwezela Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Khwezela Coal Mine | Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa | -25.926243, 29.155635 (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] | – | 2016[2] | 2029 (planned)[1] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 2.15[1] | 2022[1] | Surface[1] | Strip[1] | – | 60* | 355* |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.3[1] | 2022[1] | 49.3[1] | Witbank | Bituminous | Thermal[1] | Richards Bay Coal Terminal |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Thungela Operations Pty Ltd[1][3] | Anglo American | UK |
Expansion/Extension
Table 6: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Project Phase | Added Capacity (Mtpa)* | Start Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed[4] | Pre-Permit | Extension | – | 4.6 | 2030 (planned) |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.
Background
The Khwezela coal mine is an opencast thermal coal mine operated by Thungela Resources Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American,[5] in Emalahleni, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.[6]
The mine has a proposed life of mine extension, called the Clydesdale project.[7] The Khwezela coal mine formed in 2016 through a merger of the mining operations of the former Landau and Kleinkopje collieries.[6] Today, the mine consists of two distinct opencast operations: Khwezela North (the site of the converted Landau mine and closed Kromdraai mine) where current mining operations are focused, and Khwezela South (the converted Kleinkopje mine site) which was placed on care-and-maintenance in 2021.[8]
On June 4, 2021, previous owner Anglo American completed a demerger of its South African thermal coal assets, including the Khwezela Mine, into a newly incorporated company, Thungela Resources Limited (Thungela).[9]
As of 2021, the reported life of mine (LOM) is 7 years.[8]
- Operator: Thungela Operations Proprietary Limited[8]
- Owner: Thungela Resources Limited[9]
- Location: Emalahleni, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
- GPS Coordinates: -25.926243, 29.155635[6]
- Status: Operating
- Production Capacity: 5.7 million tonnes (2019)[10]; 3 million tonnes (2021)[7]
- Total Resource: 44.4 million tonnes[8]
- Mineable Reserves: 33.7 million tonnes[8]
- Coal type: Bituminous (Thermal)[10]
- Workforce Size:
- Mine Type: Surface, open pit[10]
- Start Year: 2016[6]
- Source of Financing:
Extension
In an effort to extend the life of the Khwezela mine, Thungela has announced the Clydesdale SACE lifex project. The extension project, which lies on the southern boundary of Khwezela North, will target the Clydesdale area as an opencast operation and plans to produce 4.6 million tonnes of coal per annum, which would add an additional 10 years to Khwezela's current LOM. As of May 2021, the project was in the feasibility study phase.[11]
Environmental Disaster
Around Valentine's Day 2022, an acid water spillage from the derelict and un-rehabilitated Kromdraai coal mine site killed three tonnes of fish in the Wilge and Klein Ollifants rivers in Mpumalanga.[12][13][14] It was discovered that a failed concrete seal at one of Kromdraai's abandoned mineshafts caused acid drainage water to spill into water resources. According to the Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism Agency, this is one of the biggest river ecology disasters regarding the deaths of fish that they have experienced in the past 40 years, with 23 indigenous fish species having died from this incident. Fortunately, some of these fish might still be found up and down stream. Experts estimated that it would probably take 15 to 20 years to restore the damaged riverbanks as well as the fish species that perished from this incident.[12]
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
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125042902/https://www.thungela.com/uploads/attachments/clgxee4whrq1wpaufabi74rj7-integrated-annual-report-2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240312012841/https://www.angloamerican.com/our-stories/leadership/welcome-to-khwezela-colliery. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://miningdataonline.com/property/1559/Isibonelo-Mine.aspx.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.miningweekly.com/article/life-extension-on-the-cards-for-ageing-coal-mine-2021-12-10.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Thungela Resources, Where We Operate, Accessed June 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Anglo American, Khwezela Colliery, Company website, February 1, 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Thungela Resources Limited,Integrated Assessment Report 2021, 2022.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Thungela Resources Limited, Integrated Assessment Report 2021, Accessed October 2022.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Integrated Annual Report 2021, Anglo American, Accessed June 2022.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Mining Data Solution, Khwezela-Operation, accessed August 2020
- ↑ "Thungela Resources - A Leading Export Thermal Coal Business", Thungela website, 6 May 2021.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Kromdraai Mine cause biggest ecology disaster in 40 years", Democratic Alliance, 14 March 2022.
- ↑ "Thungela remediating impact of environmental incident", Thungela website, 24 Feb. 2022.
- ↑ "Illegal miners and fouled waterways in Mpumalanga underscore coal’s toxic legacy", Daily Maverick, 24 May 2022.
