Zululand Anthracite Colliery

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Zululand Anthracite Colliery is an operating coal mine in Emakhalathini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Zululand Anthracite Colliery	Emakhalathini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa	-28.2215669, 31.6738147 (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
Operating	–	1987	2027 (planned)

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
–	0.7	–	Underground	–	–	80*	545*

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
–	–	–	–	Anthracite	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Menar	Menar	South Africa

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

Background

The Zululand Anthracite colliery (ZAC) is an underground coal mine owned and operated by the South African-based private investment company, Menar, in Emakhalathini, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Zululand Anthracite Colliery is located in Emakhalathini, about 100 kilometers from Richards Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The colliery is owned and operated by Menar, a South African-based private investment company focused on mineral resources and energy. Prior to Menar’s acquisition of ZAC in 2016, the mine was owned by various other coal companies at different stages of its operation, including BHP Billiton (from 1985), Riversdale Mining (from 2005) and Rio Tinto (from 2011).

ZAC currently operates three shafts (Ngwabe, Deep E, and Outcrop) with a fourth shaft (Mngeni) expected to open in 2022. On average, the colliery produces around 0.7 million tonnes of anthracite product per annum, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its 2020 production only amounted to 230,000 tonnes. (Between March 2020 and January 2021, the mine was put on care and maintenance in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a state of national disaster to mitigate the impact of Covid-19.)

ZAC’s current life of mine extends to the year 2027. While there are no plans for a mine extension, according to the Zululand Anthracite Colliery website, this option is possible as there are "undeveloped known resources still to be considered in the future."

• Operator: Menar
• Owner: Menar
• Location: Emakhalathini, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
• Coordinates: -28.2215669, 31.6738147 (Exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 230,000 tonnes per annum (2020)
• Total Resource:
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Anthracite (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Underground
• Start Year: 1987
• Source of Financing:

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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.