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Location: 42 km SW from Emalahleni, South Africa
Private Bag X5006KrielSouth Africa2271
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Matla mine is situated in the Highveld coalfield, to the south of the Witbank coalfield. The coal seams are developed in the Vryheid Formation of the Karoo supergroup. The stratigraphic sequence in the Matla area includes five coal seams that can be easily correlated with seams found in the Witbank coalfield. The principal economic seams currently exploited are S2 and S4 with mining of S5 terminated in 1998 due to high levels of contamination and a subsequent increase in the abrasive index.Coal seams in the area are generally flat and continuous with subsequent igneous activity resulting in displacements and devolatilisation of coal seams in localised areas. The S5 is most prominent in the Mine 2 and Mine 3 areas and, to a limited extent, in the western limb of the southern part of the mining right area. The roof comprises approximately 0.5m of thick sandy micaceous shale at Mine 2 that thickens up to approximately 1.6m in Mine 3. The seam consists of mixed coal and torbanitic material with an average thickness of 1.5m. Economic S4 exists in the Mine 1, Mine 2 and Southern Reserve areas, and to a limited extent in the Mine 3 area. At Mine 3, the seam splits into two thin, poor-quality horizons towards the west, and is thus excluded from the mineable reserves. The best quality S4 is located at Mine 1 and at the eastern edges of Mine 2. The seam is composed of dull lustrous coal interspersed with bright coal bands. In-seam partings typically consist of discontinuous lenses of shales and siltstones less than 0.1m thick but these may thicken locally to 0.3m. Carbonaceous limestone lenses are also prevalent within the central portion of the Mine 2 area. The S2 at Matla is well developed in the north-western part of the mining area in the Mine 2 and 3 Resource areas. It thins out to the south, where the thickness averages between 1.2m and 2.5m. Much of the coal in this area is mined as a low seam. The S2 between Mine 1 and Mine 2 has been burnt by a prominent dolerite sill and is thus unmineable. S2 in the Mine 1 area is generally poor quality and discontinuous due to sill activity thus it is not mined in this area.The coal was deposited on glacial sediments of Dwyka tillite, which in turn was deposited over a granitic basement. The Matla mining area is characterised by two distinct dolerite types, the B8 (porphyritic) and B4 (olive-rich) types which have varying effects on seam displacements and coal burning and devolatilisation. A dolerite sill with an average thickness of 10m is generally found above S5 in Mines 2 and 3. However, the sill intersects the coal seams and underlies S2 in Mine 1 and S4 on the south-western part of the Reserves. This sill has burned and devolatilised S2 on the southern part of the mining area in Mine 1. Floor rolls have been encountered in S2 workings and created challenges in isolated mining areas. The floor rolls strike north-eastsouth-west, vary in width between 50m and 200m and have amplitudes up to 1.5m. The floor rolls are more prominent if the seam floor is close to the basement contact. Sandstone lenses encountered are generally less than 0.5m in width but can reach up to 1.5m in thickness.
