Vlakfontein Coal Mine

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

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Vlakfontein Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Vlakfontein Coal Mine	Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.012217, 28.959867 (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	–	2011	–

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
–	1	–	Surface	Open Pit	–	60*	300

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
56	–	–	–	Bituminous	Thermal	Kendal Power Station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
African Exploration Mining and Finance Corp	African Exploration Mining and Finance Corp [100%]	South Africa

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
ROM	–	2	–	–	–	–	–

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

Vlakfontein Coal Mine is a surface mine in Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The Vlakfontein mine is owned by the state-owned African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC). The mine produces less than 1 million tonnes, but previously produced 2.496 million tonnes. The mine supplied coal by road to the Kendal Power Station which is run by Eskom. The life of mine is approximately 25 years and there are approximately 300 employees on the site.

• Operator: African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC)
• Owner: African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation (AEMFC)
• Location: Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Coordinates: -26.012217, 28.959867 (Exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 2.496 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa)
• Total Reserves: 56 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Type: Surface
• Start Year: 2011
• Source of Financing: Government of South Africa

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.