The 1st Limpopo Coalfields conference held in 2012 produced valuable information on the geological, mining and coal processing challenges in these northern coalfields. This second conference examines the development taking place in the region against the present backdrop of the country’s precarious mining industry.

Again, the relevance of the conference has caught the attention of provincial government, such that this year the meeting is co-hosted with the Limpopo Government Economic Development and Tourism Department (LEDET). This is a first for the FFF and the Foundation is very pleased to welcome the Limpopo Government as a partner in this important event.

These northern coal fields host the vast majority of the country’s remaining largely undeveloped, coal resources. Coal analysts describe the Waterberg coalfield as South Africa’s largest resource which could soon become the country’s main source of coal.
In support of this, the topics to be discussed at the conference will include sustainable relationships between mining and environment, transportation, water management, community development and technology.

The conference kicks off with an opening address by Seaparo Sekoati, MEC, Limpopo Economic Development and Tourism. This sets the stage for the following four talks describing ‘The Big Picture’ - the infrastructure, strategy and overview of these important coal deposits.
Four coal basins have been have been identified as the major coal deposits.These are located in the Waterberg region near Lephalale; between the Soutpansberg mountains;    the southern banks of the Limpopo River and the Springbok Flats between BelaBela and Zebedeila and are calculated to hold more than 40% of South Africa's in-situ mineable coal reserves.

In the Mopane area between the Sand River and the Blouberg mountains, exploration over the last two years indicates the potential for extracting coal-bed methane (CBM) gas, as an energy source for domestic, industrial and energy generation applications.
The coal seams at Mopane are similar in quality and formation to those that have been successfully developed in the nearby Waterberg Basin where a trillion cubic feet of CBM has been calculated. Unlike traditional mining operations, the coal is not removed or extracted, as CBM requires that the coal be left in place and only the natural gas extracted.

The Limpopo Province’s coalfields could also provide another source of natural gas through Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) which takes place in undisturbed coal seams. The process entails the gasification of coal in-situ by drilling two or more boreholes into a coal seam.The coal is ignited and the resulting gasification is maintained by injecting air through one of the boreholes. The resulting synthetic gas (syngas) is used for power generation or the manufacturing of key liquid fuels such as diesel fuel or methanol.
The biggest challenges of water availability and the distance from the South African industrial hub are examined by a number of papers to be presented at the conference.

The expected large-scale mining expansion in arid Limpopo will require the province to find an additional 80 million cubic metres of water a year to sustain itself. In the Lephalale area, Eskom's power stations and local farmers rely on the Mokolo Dam near the mining town of Lephalale for the supply of water. (Business Day).
The protection of this area plus the scarcity of water has motivated the need to design new coal handling and processing plants as zero effluent facilities have become an environmental requirement.
Increased concerns around global warming and the perceived effect of industrial activities on climate have put pressure on mining companies to minimise their environmental footprint. Economic and environmental sustainability requirements must be factored into a project’s feasibility.
A paper to be presented indicates that much work has been done in developing international standards to measure the gas emission of various processes including blasting. However, the understanding of measures that can improve the situation at a given mine have lagged behind.  Successful implementation of blasting improvement plans, and selection of more appropriate explosive products have all been shown to decrease the energy output.

The population around Lephalale was 1,000 in 1980 and increased to 44,000 in 2011 but how many are temporary contract workers? What impact do they have on purchasing power and local business development? What is the capacity of the local municipality services? Is housing adequate or will informal settlements spring up?
The conference concludes with a panel discussion ‘The Economic, Environmental and Socio Economic Impact of Coal Mining in the Limpopo Province’, chaired by the mercurial May Hermanus from the CSIR.
These are the issues that mining projects must take into account - the triple bottom line that prioritises the people, the planet and the profitability.