Magdalena Colliery

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

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Magdalena Colliery is an operating coal mine in Kilpriver, Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Magdalena Colliery	Kilpriver, Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa	-27.95985233, 30.18051493 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	–	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	0.096	–	Underground	Bord and Pillar	18.44	80*	#REF!*

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
–	–	44.04	–	Bituminous	Thermal	–

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Buffalo Coal	Buffalo Coal	South Africa

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.

Status	Status Detail	Project Type	Project Phase	Added Capacity (Mtpa)*	Start Year
Proposed	Pre-Permit	Expansion	Stage 1	0.24	2022
Proposed	Pre-Permit	Expansion	Stage 2	0.516	2024

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September and December supplements.

Background

Magdalena Coal Mine is a surface mine near Dundee, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, owned by Buffalo Coal.

The mine currently has a proposed two-phase expansion underway. Zinoju Coal (Pty) Ltd operates the Magdalena mine, which is owned by Buffalo Coal Dundee, a subsidiary of Buffalo Coal Corp (Ontario).

The mine's operations were suspended in 2018, restarted in early 2020, then suspended again in late 2020 due to a lack of a reliable and economically attractive market for the Group’s bituminous coal at the time. Mining activities resumed on a smaller scale in February 2021, with the mine producing 8,000 tonnes per month.

The reported life of the mine is 25+ years.

• Operator: Zinoju Coal (Pty) Ltd
• Owner: Buffalo Coal Corp
• Location: 22 km outside of Dundee, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
• Coordinates: -27.95985233, 30.18051493 (Exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 0.96 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa; 2021)
• Total Resource: 44.04 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Surface
• Start Year:
• Source of Financing:

Expansion

In 2021, a ramp-up strategy was developed for Magdalena whereby production would be increased in a phased approach. According to Buffalo Coal, phase 1 will increase production to one full section (20,000 tonnes per month) during Q2 2022, followed by phase 2 of the ramp-up, which will increase operations to two full sections (36,000-43,000 tonnes per month) as of Q1 2024.

Project Expansion Details

Phase 1

• Status: Proposed
• Capacity: 0.24 Mtpa
• Mineable Reserves:
• Start Year: 2022
• Source of Financing:

Phase 2

• Status: Proposed
• Capacity: 0.516 Mtpa
• Mineable Reserves:
• Start Year: 2024
• Source of Financing:

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.