Hlobane View Colliery
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The Hlobane View Colliery was an underground mine in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Location
Background
The Hlobane mine was "previously operated by the former Duiker Mining (now Xstrata Coal) which sold it to Capital Coal which went into liquidation in 1999. The mine has not operated since then."[1] It was then sold to Lontoh Coal, a small unlisted South African company seeking to develop coal mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The company states that it has "an estimated 6.3 Mt of coking reserves. First production is scheduled to commence during May 2010 with 1.2 Mt per annum production estimated from 2011 to 2014 and 1.8 Mt per annum estimated for 5 years thereafter."[2] There is no reporting that the mine is currently in production.
Mine Accidents
The mine was the site of the Hlobane Coal Mine Disasters of 1944 and 1983, which occurred on the same date, September 12. In 1944, during drilling of a dyke in a coal seam, methane built up during the night due to insufficient ventilation in the mine. The explosion was said to have been caused by a miner relighting his lamp. He was in charge of monitoring the methane levels and its high levels had extinguished the lamp. The explosion resulted in the deaths of 57 miners and six serious injuries.[3]
In 1983, another methane explosion in the mine caused burns and poisonous gas that killed 68 miners.[4] Mine Manager Jurie Blom claimed that the accident was caused by the build-up of methane due to poor ventilation over the weekend and ignited by machinery. The mine, owned by the Iron and Steel Corporation, at the time, resumed operations later in the day when miners were "persuaded" to go back down the mine. The inquest found that several regulations of the Mines and Works Act had been ignored, with a lawyer for the deceased highlighting twenty-one ignored regulations.[5]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Brendan Ryan, "Newcomer Lontoh to list on Zim coal plan", Miningmx, May 20, 2010.
- ↑ Lontoh Coal, "The introduction of LontohCoal Limited", Media Release, May 20, 2010.
- ↑ "Hlobane Mine Accident" (PDF). University of KwaZulu Natal. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ↑ "A fiery methane gas explosion tore through a coal..." UPI. 12 September 1983. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ↑ "64 Killed in Blast at South African Coal Mine". The New York Times. UPI. 13 September 1983. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
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Related GEM.wiki articles
External resources
External articles
- "Lubimbi coal project among the biggest", The Standard, June 5, 2010..
