Matla Coal Mine

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Matla Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Kriel, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Matla Coal Mine	Kriel, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.26345, 29.12681 (exact)

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

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1976	–

Table 3: Operation details

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
–	6.16	2022	Underground	Mixed	234.94	100	2500

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
167	2022	835	Highveld	Bituminous	Thermal	Matla power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga Pty Ltd	Exxaro Resources Ltd [100.0%]	South Africa

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	7	6	6	6	5	6	6

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	Construction	Expansion	–	4	2025 (planned)

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 Matla mine is a mining complex comprised of three underground coal mines owned and operated by Exxaro Resources 15 kilometers west of Kriel in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

Exxaro has proposed a 4 million tonne expansion project to enable the mine to produce 10 million tonnes. It expects this project to be complete in the second half of 2025. The Matla mine area has been exploited since the mid-1970s, and a significant amount of exploration and extraction activities have been conducted at the mine. From 1976 to 1990, the mine was owned by Trans Natal Mines. Construction began in 1976, with full production in 1983 and 465 boreholes drilled in this period. In 1990, the mine came to be opened by Eyesizwe Coal (now Exxaro) which took over ownership from Trans Natal Mines with >2,060 boreholes drilled in this period.

Today, the mine is currently owned by Exxaro, and is comprised of three operations — Matla 1, Matla 2, Matla 3 — that provide coal via conveyor belt to the Matla Power Station. Previously, the mines had the capacity to produce a collective 14 million tons of coal per year (Mtpa). However, in 2016, one of the mine's three operations, Matla 1, went into care and maintenance due to safety concerns. When the decision to stop mining Matla 1 was made, it meant the Matla complex could only supply about 6 Mtpa of coal to the power station via Mines 2 and 3.

While Matla was previously "a fully mechanised underground mine employing continuous mining and shortwall methods, geological conditions to support shortwall mining are fast coming to an end, and the remaining coal reserves will need to be mined using continuous mining methods.

Expansion

The Matla Mine 1 relocation project involves the construction of a new decline shaft to gain access to the remaining economical 2-seam reserves. The relocation project also includes plans to supply Mine 1 with five complete suites of underground continuous miner equipment and equipment used to construct supporting infrastructure, interseams between Mine 2 and Mine 3, and a ventilation shaft to supply fresh air to Mine 3’s future production areas.

According to project lead, John Mayer,

"After 42 years, Matla 1’s shaft is too far away from a safety point of view. It took nearly half a shift just to get the workers to the mining face. So, the purpose of the relocation is primarily a safety one and also ensuring that we can get workers and equipment closer to the mining phase to do the work."

The Matla Mine 1 relocation project commenced in August 2020 and is expected to be completed during the second half of 2025.

• Operator: Exxaro Resources
• Owner: Exxaro
• Location: Near Kriel, in Emalahleni Municipality, Nkangala District, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
• GPS Coordinates: -26.26345, 29.12681 (exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 6.16 Mtpa (2022)
• Total Resource: 847 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves: 162 million tonnes
• Coal Type: Thermal
• Mine Size: 23,494 hectares (mine lease area)
• Mine Type: Underground, continuous and shortwall
• Start Year: 1976
• Source of Financing:

Expansion Project Details

• Status: Proposed
• Capacity: 4 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Start Year: 2025 (expected)
• Source of Financing: Eksom

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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.