Zibulo Colliery falls within the Springs-Witbank Coalfield, that comprises of sediments of the coal-bearing Ecca Group of the Karoo Sequence, which were deposited on an undulating pre-Karoo floor which had a significant influence on the nature, distribution and thickness of many of the sedimentary formations, including the coal seams. Locally the general lithological profile, up to, and including the deepest mine-able coal seam, comprises of soft overburden overlying coal seams 5 (shallowest) to 1 (deepest) (Licebo Environmental and Mining (Pty) Ltd, 2018). Below the No 1 coal seam is the basement, comprising a diamictite of glacial origin (Licebo Environmental and Mining (Pty) Ltd, 2018).

The entire sequence has been extensively intruded by pre-Karoo dolerites (for the regional area). The Ogies dolerite dyke runs in an east-west orientation across the centre of the Zibulo opencast mining area (Licebo Environmental and Mining (Pty) Ltd, 2018). Two other dolerite dyke intrusions were identified on the eastern edge of the project area running in a north to south direction.

Zibulo OC is located in the Witbank Coalf ield where typically f I've coal seams are present. However, at Zibulo OC only three seams occur, ie from bottom, the No 1 Seam, the No 2 Seam and the No 4 Seam at the top. The No 5 Seam has been eroded and the No 3 Seam is not present. The No 4 and No 2 Seams both contribute to the colliery’s export product.

Zibulo OC is sub-divided i ........

Zibulo Colliery consists of two parts, namely an underground development located approximately 25 km South West of Ogies and a small opencast section located immediately North West of Ogies. Zibulo Colliery produces an annual eight million run of mine (ROM) tonnes of export thermal coal, with seven million tonnes per annum coming from its underground sections and the remaining one million tonnes from its opencast pit. Underground operations incorporate bord and pillar continuous miner methods while the contractor-run pit utilises truck and shovel methods.

The Zibulo Colliery opencast operations consist of a single pit operation with a pit length of almost 1 km and is classified as a mini pit. Zibulo Colliery has two active mining cuts, namely the North and East cuts.

Coal mined at the Zibulo Underground Colliery is transported directly to the plant by means of an interconnecting conveyor system, Zibulo Opencast coal is road hauled.

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

Zibulo North Shaft project
Zibulo North shaft aims to establish a new decline shaft and associated infrastructure within the existing Zibulo mining right area. This will enable access to the Zondagsfontein West reserves and improve operational eff iciency through reduced travel distances to the coal face. ........

Zibulo is also part of a 16 Mtpa run of mine joint venture washing plant, known as the Phola Coal Processing Plant. The plant (which is already operational) will be fed equally from Zibulo and BECSA’s Klipspruit Colliery.

The PCPP is a 50:50 joint venture between AAIC and Seriti Power Proprietary Limited. The plant has a nominal capacity of 16 Mtpa, of which the Zibulo colliery is entitled to 8 Mtpa according to the joint venture agreement. The ROM from both the Zibulo OC and the Zibulo UG is processed at the PCPP.

The processing plant has dedicated ROM and product stockpiles for each of the JV partners. There are two rail loops connected to TFR with two load-out facilities, one for export and one for Eskom. Fine coal is fed to spirals and the spirals product stream is split between the export and middlings product, depending on the quality produced.

The coal washing plant separates the coal into two products, i.e. coal for Eskom consumption and coal fo ........