Mpaka Coal Mine

This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Sub-articles:

Global coal mines Coal mines in China Coal mines in India Coal mines in the United States Coal mines in Australia Coal mines in Russia Coal mines in Indonesia

Related-articles:

Largest coal mines in the world Coal mine impacts from Covid-19 Environmental issues of coal Coal mining Coal reserves Coal terminals

Mpaka Coal Mine is a proposed coal mine in Lubombo, Eswatini.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Mpaka Coal Mine	Lubombo, Eswatini	-26.42789, 31.73511 (exact)

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

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Opening Year	Closing Year
Proposed	Pre-Permit	Recommission	1964	–

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
–	–	–	Underground	Bord and Pillar	–	494*	–

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
30	–	–	–	Anthracite	Thermal	Coal Plant

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Lurco Coal Eswatini [100.0%]	Magni Investment Holdings [MiH]	South Africa

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

Mpaka Coal Mine is an underground coal mine in the Lubombo region of Eswatini, Africa.

The mine, which originally opened in 1964, was mothballed in 1992 as a result of its previous owner, Gencor, exiting the Eswatini market.

Recommissioning

Since the 2010s, various companies have taken interest in restarting operations at the long-dormant mine.

In 2021, Lurco Coal Eswatini (LCE), a subsidiary of investment management company Magni Investment Holdings, was granted a prospecting license for coal resources at Mpaka. Since then, LCE's revival plans have been delayed, most recently because a 2025 mine inspection deemed the Mpaka mine unsafe for operations. (According to the Times of Eswatini, the mine violated several safety regulations, including the absence of a lamp room for its miners.) The mine will remain closed to underground access until all requirements are fully met and certified as safe.

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.