Aviemore Colliery

This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Aviemore Coal Mine is an underground mine in Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the mine.

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Background

The Aviemore mine is comprised of anthracite resources currently mined at Aviemore East, along with the anthracite resources to be mined at two future coal mining projects: the Balgray anthracite project which is an extension of the Aviemore East reserve, and the Aviemore North Adit anthracite project.

Zinoju (Pty) Ltd operates the mine, which is owned by Buffalo Coal. The mine produces Anthracite coal mostly for domestic steel markets although a weakening domestic situation has led Buffalo Coal to seek export opportunities as well. An estimated 780,000 tonnes of run-of-mine anthracite reserves remain at the main Aviemore East site; these are expected to be depleted by Q1 2023.

After depletion at Aviemore East, operations will be relocated to Balgray, which is situated 4km southeast of Aviemore East. Coal mined at Balgray will continue to be processed at the Coalfields processing plant. According to Buffalo Coal, access will be via a previously abandoned Balgray adit. Balgray has an estimated measured and indicated mineable reserve of 3.23 million tonnes, which will allow the current anthracite production levels to continue to operate until around 2030. Buffalo Coal states it has secured all required environmental authorizations to allow for underground mining through the Balgray adit.

Expansion

After reserves at Balgray are depleted, Buffalo Coal plans to pursue its Aviemore North Adit anthacite project. According to Buffalo Coal, a 30-year mining right covering an area of 1,728 hectares was granted to Zinoju in September 2020 to mine coal primarily from Aviemore resources. However, because the North Adit's opening would require a significant capital injection, the project doesn't fall into the company's short- or medium term planning.

The North Adit is expected to add an additional 13-15 years to the life of mine.

Mine Details

• Operator: Zinoju (Pty) Ltd
• Owner: Buffalo Coal
• Location: Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
• GPS Coordinates: -28.09077222, 30.2379246 (Exact)
• Status: Operating
• Capacity: 0.4 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa)
• Total Resource: 54.5 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves: 0.78 million tonnes
• Coal Type: Anthracite (Met)
• Mine Size:
• Mine Type: Underground
• Start Year: 2000
• Source of Financing:

Expansion Details

• Status: Proposed
• Capacity:
• Mineable Reserves: 10.2 million tonnes
• Start Year:
• Source of Financing: