Zibulo Coal Mine

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

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Zibulo Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Ogies, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Zibulo Coal Mine	Ogies, Nkangala, Mpumalanga, South Africa	-26.0437291, 29.0407323 (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	–	2012	2032 (planned)

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
–	4.479	2022	Underground & Surface	Mixed	–	195	656*

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
62.2	2022	329	Highveld	Bituminous	Thermal	Richards Bay Coal Terminal

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Anglo American Inyosi Coal Pty Ltd	Thungela Resources Ltd [92.7%]; Nkulo Community Partnership Trust [3.6%]; Sisonke Employee Empowerment Scheme [3.6%]	UK

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

ROM or Saleable	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Saleable	–	–	–	5	5	4	4

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	–	8	2026 (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 Zibulo coal mine is an operating opencast and underground coal mine near Ogies, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

The mine has a proposed expansion to increase production a further 8.4 million tonnes. Construction of the Zibulo Colliery began in 2008 and the mine officially launched in 2012. The mine was planned to deliver 8 million tons per annum (Mtpa) over a life of 20 years, with 7 Mtpa from its underground mine and the remaining 1 Mtpa from its opencast pit. Saleable production was approximated to be 6 Mtpa. The Zibulo mine includes Zibulo OC, UG

Zibulo was previously owned by Anglo Inyosi Coal Pty Ltd, a broad-based black economic empowerment company. However, on June 4, 2021, Anglo American, which owned 73% of the mine, completed a demerger of its South African thermal coal assets, including the Zibulo Mine, into a newly incorporated company, Thungela Resources Limited (Thungela). While 73% of the mine's shares are now held by Thungela Resources Limited, the remaining 27% are held by Inyosi Coal.

Based on the current LOM plan, mining operations at the opencast operations are expected to cease in 2026/27, with the remaining underground operations expected to cease in 2029.

• Operator: Anglo American Inyosi Coal Proprietary Limited
• Owners: Thungela Resources Limited (73%), Inyosi Coal (27%)
• Location: near Ogies, Emalahleni municipality, Nkangala district, Mpumalanga
• GPS Coordinates: -26.0437291, 29.0407323 (exact)
• Status: Operating
• Production: 7.4 million tonnes per annum (1.3 Mtpa opencast, 6.1 Mtpa underground; 2021)
• Total Resource: 342 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves: 58.7 million tonnes
• Coal Type: Bituminous (Thermal)
• Mine Size:
• Mine Type: Surface and underground (bord and pillar)
• Start Year: 2012
• Source of Financing:

Expansion

In an effort to extend the life of the Zibulo mine, Thungela has announced a two-seam extension project which will produce 8.4 million tonnes of coal per annum and could add an additional 10 years to Zibulo's current LOM, extending it from 8 to 18 years. As of May 2021, the project was in the feasibility study phase. It is expected to be submitted for board approval in early 2023.

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.