Grootegeluk coal mine

The Grootegeluk coal mine is an open-cut coal 25 kilometres from Lephalale, in Limpopo province in South Africa. The mine owned by Exxaro Coal, a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African mining company Exxaro.

Background
On its website Exxaro states that the mine "employs 1 800 people and produces 18,6Mtpa [million tonnes per annum] of thermal and semi-soft coking coal using a conventional truck and shovel operation. This mine has an estimated minable coal reserve of 811Mt and a total measured coal resource of 426 million tonnes, from which semi-soft coking coal, thermal coal and metallurgical coal can be produced."

"Some 15,3Mt of annual production is power station coal, transported directly to Eskom’s Matimba Power Station on a 7 km conveyor belt in terms of the existing supply contract. An additional 1,5Mtpa of metallurgical coal is sold domestically to the metals and other industries on short-term contracts. Grootegeluk produces 2,7Mtpa of semi-soft coking coal, the bulk of which is railed directly to Mittal SA under a long-term supply agreement. Approximately 1,1Mtpa of semi-soft coking coal and thermal coal is exported through Richards Bay Coal Terminal or sold domestically," the company states.

In September 2008 Exxaro signed the Medupi Coal Supply and Off-Take Agreement (CSA) with Eskom. Under the agreement Exxaro would supply "an average of 14,6 million tonnes per annum of power station grade coal" over 40 years for the project from an expansion of the Grootegeluk mine. "At the time, Exxaro’s capital expenditure for the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project was estimated at R9 billion and delivery of first coal was planned to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011 with a ramp-up to full production by 2014," Exxaro stated.

In late March 2010 Exxaro stated the company had "signed a definitive agreement on 26 March 2010. In terms of the revised agreement, the delivery of first coal is planned for the second quarter of 2012 with a ramp-up to full production by 2015. This ramp-up is now in line with the commissioning and commercial operation date of the first unit of the power station."

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * South Africa and coal