Name and Location
Zandbaken coal mine project, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
GlencoreXstrata.

Project Description
The Zandbaken coal mine project proposes to mine bituminous coal, located within the Ermelo coalfield.

The No 2 Seam will be mined and is the only coal seam of economic importance in the area.

The coal depth ranges from an average depth of 55 m in the northern section, sloping down to 155 m in the south, with a total of 77-million tonnes of probable reserves. The seam is, on average, 2.4 m thick.

Underground mining will start in the northern section of the project area and will progress in a southerly direction for a life-of-mine (LoM) of 15 years.

Production is expected to be 1.4-million tonnes a year in the first year, 1.5-million tonnes in the second year from three continuous miner sections and three-million tonnes a year in the third year from five continuous miner sections.

In the fifth year, production will increase to 3.6-million tonnes a year, with the introduction of the sixth continuous miner section. As the operation stabilises, the mine will produce three-million tonnes a year for the remainder of the LoM.

Mining at the proposed project area will involve underground bord-and-pillar mining using continuous miners, with supporting surface infrastructure.

The continuous miners will cut coal from the coal face and will feed coal onto shuttle cars, which will deliver the coal to the conveyor belt system. The coal will be conveyed to the surface, where it will be stockpiled on run-of-mine pads. There will be no coal processing plant constructed on the proposed Zandbaken project area.

The raw coal will be loaded by front-end loaders onto road haulers and transported and sold to domestic markets – Sasol or Eskom.

Blasting and removal of overburden material for the installation of an incline vertical shaft will take place during the initial construction period only. The overburden will be stockpiled in a designated area on the proposed project area.

Ventilation to the underground workings will be provided through a surface ventilation shaft.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The final environmental reports for the proposed Zandbaken mine were released for public comment in August.

The public had until October 7 to comment on the report and environmental management plan.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Digby Wells Environmental (environmental report).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
GlencoreXstrata, tel +41 41 709 2000, fax +41 41 709 3000 or email info@glencorexstrata.com.
Digby Wells Environmental, tel +27 11 789 9495, fax +27 11 789 9498 or email info@digbywells.co.za.