Australia- and Johannesburg-listed MC Mining has started openpit mining at its flagship Makhado steelmaking hard coking coal project, in Limpopo.

An associated coal handling and preparation plant is under construction and on schedule for commissioning by year-end, the company said on August 15.

Rapid progress towards coal production is being made on the back of a clean health and safety record, with zero lost-time injuries since work started in November last year, full regulatory compliance and progress in line with planned capital expenditure.

The principal mining contractor JCI Mining is now established on site and on schedule with the boxcut development, with a mining fleet consisting of five loading excavators and 19 hauling articulated dump trucks, along with a workforce complement that has been augmented to 122 people.

Enprotec, which is building the coal plant on a build-own-operate-transfer contract basis, has completed civil works and has transitioned to erecting structural steel, installing mechanical equipment and platework.

Key mine infrastructure, including bulk power and water supply, mine access bridge and roads, and dirty water containment, are on schedule and in line with the scheduled start of coal production.

Run-of-mine (RoM) production will initially come from the east pit, with a strike length of 5.5 km, at a width of 400 m. Steady-state RoM production is planned at four-million tonnes a year, resulting in sales of 880 000 t/y of primary hard coking coal (HCC) product, over a 14-year pit life.

The central and west pits will extend the mine life to 28 years. Initial HCC production is earmarked for the domestic steel industry, where Makhado coal expects it will have a substantial logistics cost advantage over imports.

"South Africa's continued industrialisation relies on ventures like Makhado, that look to support the country's steel and metal fabrication master plan by quantum input cost reductions.

“Cheaper HCC, along with iron-ore, rail and electricity, are the main levers for producing affordable steel to compete with the increasingly competitive global market,” MC Mining interim MD and CEO Christine He said.