Modern Mining May 2018

COAL

Ogies, to its portfolio in 2013. The real break- through for Wescoal, however, in establishing its credentials as a serious player in the coal space was the development of Elandspruit, a greenfield project, within a matter of months for a capital cost of around R250 million. “Elandspruit, which is a far bigger operation than either Khanyisa or Intibane, gave us scale and sustainability, with its ability to produce at up to 3 Mt/a ROM and its long life of between 12 and 15 years,” says Sulaiman. “With the

Above: Opencast mining at Elandspruit. The mine has an underground section but the bulk of produc- tion is from the opencast operation. Left: Seen here at the processing plant are Thivha Tshithavhane (CEO Mining) with Jaap Kruger, Wescoal’s Processing Manager.

Keaton acquisition, we now have a second large operation in the form of Vanggatfontein, near Delmas, which is similar in size to Elandspruit and which has a remaining life of around 15 years.” Vanggatfontein, which started operations in 2010, is currently producing at a rate of approximately 3 Mt/a and has been success- fully integrated into the Wescoal group with the change of control being effected without inter- ruption to operations or production. Mining is undertaken on a contract basis by Liviero Mining. The coal is treated in two plants – a 500 t/h 2- and 4-Seam plant, which produces thermal coal for Eskom, and a 100 t/h 5‑Seam plant, which has in the past been used to toll treat external material and also produce metal- lurgical coal. One of the assets forming part of the Keaton deal is Moabsvelden, which is adjacent to the Vanggatfontein property. With a 47,8 Mt resource, it has the potential to be developed into

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