Mining Intelligence and News
South Africa

Boikarabelo Project

Click for more information

Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusCare and Maintenance
Commodities
  • Coal (thermal)
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Fairy Wing Trading 136 (Pty) Ltd. 26 % Indirect
Resource Generation Ltd. 74 % Indirect
Ledjadja Coal (Pty) Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
Resgen holds various Coal Mining Tenements in South Africa through its subsidiaries Ledjadja (the owner of the Boikarabelo Coal Mine), and Waterberg One. Ledjadja and Waterberg One are ventures between Resgen (74% ownership) and black economic empowerment entity, Fairy Wing Trading 136 (Proprietary) Limited (26% ownership).

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary

Summary:

The interpreted sub-crop of Boikarabelo specifically consists of the following formations:
• the Eendragtpan Formation (Triassic age, within the Beaufort Group) which consists of barren sediments and overlies the coal zones,
• the Grootegeluk Formation (Permian age, within the Upper Ecca Group), which consists of intercalated bright coal (zones 5 to 11) and mudstone,and
• the Goedgedacht (Permian age, within the Middle Ecca Group), which consists predominantly of dull coal (zones 1 to 4) with minor
carbonaceous mudstone and sandstone intercalations.

The Grootegeluk Formation consists of easily identifiable cyclical repetitions of mudstone and coal with the coal seams named from the base upwards. Individual plies are named and correlated according to the known Grootegeluk Coal Mine nomenclature. This comprise of a sequence of sample names that group plies together in each classic Waterberg Zone. These samples can be correlated across the entire Waterberg Coalfield. A typical Waterberg borehole has 11 zones from Zone 1 at the base to Zone 11 at the top. The lower three zones do not comprise of alternating plies but more typical coal seams. The Eendragtpan Formation provides a thin covering of 25-35m thickness over the majority of the area and thus preserved the Grootegeluk and Goedgedacht Formations.

The Grootegeluk Formation was intersected during the drilling programme and varying thicknesses for the coal zones 1 to 11 have been reported. Intra-basin faults affect the coal bearing formations further to the south and north of the Boikarabelo mining area, so that the upper zones are either preserved or destroyed through up-lift and erosion.

The Grootegeluk Formation comprising the top zones (zones 5 to 11) consist of various coal and mudstone seams. These zones are well defined and can be correlated across the coalfield. This formation, from the top of zone 4 through to zone 11, is characterised by an increasing ratio of bright coal to dull coal. The zones typically start with bright coal at the base and the ratio of coal to shale decreases from the base of the zone in an upward direction. The ash content of these zones increases upwards in each zone and generally the “better quality” coals are present in zones 9 to 11 over the majority of the coalfield. The coal zones require beneficiation to produce a primary product of an acceptable coal quality.

The Grootegeluk Formation is underlain by the Goedgedacht Formation of the Middle Ecca Group. This formation consists predominantly of dull coal with minor carbonaceous mudstone and sandstone intercalations. The zones occur within a stratigraphic interval of approximately 40m and have thicknesses ranging from 1.5 metres to 9 metres. Zone 2 and 3 are the best developed coal zones within this formation. Zone 1 has not been developed throughout the Boikarabelo area and occur only in a few isolated intersections. These bottom three zones require limited beneficiation to upgrade the coal quality to be suitable for local power station feedstock.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. Annual
Coal (thermal) Mt 6.3
All production numbers are expressed as clean coal.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Stripping / waste ratio 0.97 *
Annual mining rate 15.1 Mt of ROM coal *
Annual production capacity 6 Mt of clean coal *
Annual processing capacity 15.1 Mt of ROM coal *
* According to 2017 study.

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Operating Costs

Currency2016
Total operating costs ($/t processed) ZAR 182.49 *  
* According to 2016 study.

Financials

Units202020192018
Capital expenditures M USD  ....  Subscribe 5.6   5  

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.