Vunene Coal Mine

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Vunene Coal Mine is a mothballed coal mine in Msukaligwa, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Vunene Coal Mine	Msukaligwa, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.577649, 30.102459 (exact)

The map below shows the exact 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	–	1960	–

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
–	1.92	–	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
–	–	153	Ermelo	Bituminous	Thermal	Camden Power Station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Ichor Coal NV	IchorCoal	South Africa, Netherlands

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

Background

Usutu Coal Mine (also known as Vunene) is a surface and underground mine in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa. 

It is unclear if the mine is still operating. Vunene operates the mine, which is owned by Ichor Coal. The coal mine has been producing coal on and off since the 1960s, most recently Ichor coal acquired the mine and first began producing coal there in 2015. The primary destination for the coal from this mine is Camden Power Station, a power station 5 kilometres away run by Eskom. The current projected life of the mine is 20+ years according to Ichor Coal

• Operator: Vunene
• Owner: Ichor Coal
• Location: Ermelo, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Coordinates: -26.577649, 30.102459 (Exact or Approximate)
• Status: Mothballed
• Capacity: 1.92 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa)
• Total Resource: 153 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Surface and underground
• Start Year: 1960s
• Source of Financing:

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.