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Isibonelo Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Bethal, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Isibonelo Coal Mine | Bethal, Gert Sibande, Mpumalanga, South Africa[1] | -26.4352762, 29.208912 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[1] | – | 2005 | 2025 (planned)[1] |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 3.674[1] | 2022[1] | Surface[1] | Open Pit[1] | – | 60* | 454* |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.6[1] | 2022[1] | 16[1] | Highveld | Bituminous | Thermal[1] | Sasol Synfuels International[1] |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Thungela Operations Pty Ltd[1][2] | Thungela Resources Ltd [90.0%]; Nkulo Community Partnership Trust [5.0%]; Sisonke Employee Empowerment Scheme [5.0%] | UK |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saleable[3] | – | – | – | 4[4] | 4[4] | 3[3] | 4[3] |
Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.
Background
The Isibonelo coal mine is an active opencast mine owned by Thungela Resources Limited, a subsidiary of Anglo American, near the town of Bethal, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.[5][6] In July 2005, production began at Anglo American's Isibonelo coal mine. When it began operating, it was expected to supply 5 million tonnes per annum of thermal coal to Sasol Synfuels when it reached full production during 2006.[7]
The mine consists of a north and south pit and primarily uses a dragline strip-mining method to remove coal via open cut methods. The extracted coal is ultimately routed to Sasol Synthetic Fuel's Secunda Complex.[8] Although the colliery includes both opencast and underground coal resources, the latter are still pending a sale transaction and are not yet declared.[6]
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Anglo American announced that Isibonelo would operate with a 20% reduced workforce. However, the mine planned to remain open.[9]
On June 4, 2021, previous owner Anglo American completed a demerger of its South African thermal coal assets, including the Isibonelo Mine, into a newly incorporated company, Thungela Resources Limited (Thungela).[10]
As of 2021, the reported life of mine is 5 years.[6]
- Operator: Thungela Operations Proprietary Limited[6]
- Owner: Thungela Resources Limited[10]
- Location: near Bethal, Govan Mbeki Municipality, Gert Sibande District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
- GPS Coordinates: -26.4352762, 29.208912 (exact)
- Mine Status: Operating
- Start Year: 2005
- Production: 4.5 Mtpa (2021)[6]
- Mineable Reserves: 23.6 Mt[6]
- Total Resource: 7.1 Mt[6]
- Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)[8]
- Mine size:
- Mine Type: Surface, open pit
- Number of Employees:
Water Rights
In April 2019, a report by the Centre of Environmental Rights found that found eight coal mining companies in Mpumalanga had failed to comply with water use licenses and threatened the quality and availability of water in the area. This included the Isibonelo coal mine.[11]
According to an article by The Citizen, "The research revealed that not one of the companies took responsibility for the contamination of rivers caused by water leaving their sites during rainy conditions."[11]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240125042902/https://www.thungela.com/uploads/attachments/clgxee4whrq1wpaufabi74rj7-integrated-annual-report-2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240723042901/https://miningdataonline.com/property/1559/Isibonelo-Mine.aspx. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20240528225646/http://www.thungela.com/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2024.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240409071107/https://thungela.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/investors/Thungela_IR_2021.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 09 April 2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Thungela Resources, Where We Operate, Accessed June 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Thungela Resources Limited, Integrated Assessment Report 2021, 2022.
- ↑ "ISIBONELO COAL MINE," "Anglo American website," July 4, 2005.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Isibonelo Mine," "Mining Data Solutions," accessed August 2020.
- ↑ "Anglo American sees lower 2020 S African thermal coal output on coronavirus," "S&P Global Platts," March 27, 2020.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Integrated Annual Report 2021, Anglo American, Accessed June 2022.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sinesipho Schrieber, "Dept must act against coal mines polluting water – CER," "The Citizen," April 12, 2019.
