Vele Colliery

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Vele Colliery is a mothballed coal mine in Vhembe, Limpopo, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Vele Colliery Vhembe, Limpopo, South Africa[1] -22.173056, 29.680278 (exact)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Mothballed[2]

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
0.9 0.0[2] 2025[2] Surface[3] Open Pit[1] 86.0[4] 60.0* 333.0[1]

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
325.0[2] 2025[2] Tuli[1] Bituminous[3] Thermal & Met

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
MC Mining Ltd MC Mining Ltd [100.0%] Australia

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
0.1[1] 0[2]

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2026 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

Vele Aluwani Colliery (also known as "Vele Colliery") is a coking and thermal coal mine, owned by MC Mining (formerly Coal of Africa Limited), located in Limpopo province, South Africa.

According to owner MC Mining, production at Vele started in 2012; however, it was put on care and maintenance the following year.

Nearly a decade later, in September 2022, the mine's coal production briefly restarted. However, operations were again suspended in December 2023, and remain halted as of the updating of this factsheet.[5] Despite the mine's lengthy and frequent periods of inactivity, MC Mining states that the colliery continues to be maintained in a state of readiness for future development.[5]

Opposing Groups

Resources and articles

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://www.mcmining.co.za/downloads?task=download.send&id=1775&catid=108&m=0. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 https://www.mcmining.co.za/all-categories?task=download.send&id=1878:annual-report-2025&catid=116. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 https://www.dmre.gov.za/API/Evotiva-UserFiles/FileActionsServices/DownloadFile?ItemId=6805&ModuleId=1414&TabId=162. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/vele-colliery-mine-next-to-the-mapungubwe-national-park-in-limpopo-south-africa. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 Annual Report 2025, MC Mining, Accessed 3 March 2026.

External articles

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