Mbali Coal Mine

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

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Mbali Coal Mine is a surface mine in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

As of March 2021, the mine was nearly at the end of its life. Since no expansion or extension plans were made, the mine appears to be closed.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.

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Background

The Mbali Colliery was previously owned by HCI Coal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited, however, in March 2021, Mbali was sold to Kunolwazi Resources for R37 million. According to HCI, the mine was virtually at the end of its life and the sale was "essentially...a sale of the wash plant."

HCI reports that, "Opportunities to extend the life of mine of our second mine, Mbali, withered despite a valiant effort on our side."

Due to HCI's belief that the environmental impacts of mining can be mitigated if rehabilitation is integrated into the mining process rather than left to the end of the life of a mine, the company states that rehabilitation activities were carried out every three months at the Mbali Mine. It is unclear whether or not the mine's full rehabilitation process has been completed.

Mine Details

• Operator: Kunolwazi Resources
• Owner: Kunolwazi Resources
• Location: Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
• Coordinates: -26.1251, 29.1097 (exact)
• Mine Status: Depleted, Closed
• Start Year:
• Production:: 0.873 million tonnes per annum (2020)
• Total Resource:
• Mineable Reserves: 1.37 million tonnes (2020)
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Surface, opencast
• Workforce Size
• Source of Financing: