Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Coal Country Notes

The South African WEC Member Committee has reported coal resources for the present Survey based on an assessment published in 1987, adjusted for cumulative production; they thus differ only marginally from those reported for the 2004 Survey.

The proved amount in place relates to a maximum deposit depth of 350 m and a minimum seam thickness of 1 m. The reserve is based on a previous study by the Geological Survey of South Africa (now the Council for Geoscience), completed in 1972 but not published until 1987. While there have been later recalculations of the reserve, these are not yet finalised. If the re-evaluations are found to be correct, the current proved recoverable reserves would be 31 022 mt. However, it is known that significant resources in the Waterberg coal field need to be evaluated and redefined as reserves. These are included as reserves in the 48 000 mt given above but excluded from the figure of 31 022 mt.

The South African Department of Minerals and Energy has initiated a comprehensive survey to re-evaluate the reserve but no report has yet been issued. No information is available as to the progress of the study. What is clear is that South African reserves require an urgent and comprehensive re-evaluation. Alternative exploitation techniques (such as in-situ gasification) may open up currently non-economic resources and thus change the reserve base.

Coal occurs principally in three regions:

• The shaly Volksrust Formation, which covers most of central and northern Mpumalanga province (formerly the Transvaal). The coal is found in isolated basins and troughs which results in the fields being disconnected and widely separated;
• The sandy Vryheid Formation of the northern part of the main Karoo basin (northern Free State, northern Kwazulu-Natal and southern Mpumalanga): this generally continuous area is probably the most important economically;
• The Molteno Formation, which is confined to the north-eastern Cape. It is of minor economic importance compared to other coalfields in South Africa.
  

Some lignite deposits are known along the Kwazulu-Natal and Cape coasts, but are considered to be of scant economic importance.

Coal occurrences have been divided into 19 separate coalfields, 18 of which are located in an area extending some 600 km from north to south by 500 km from east to west. The Molteno field lies some 300 km south of the main coal-bearing region.

South Africa's coals are generally low in sulphur but high in ash. Beneficiation is essential for export-quality coal. Lower-quality coal is for the local power generation market.

Eskom, the South African electric utility, accounts for about 60% of coal consumption. A further large slice is consumed by the Sasol plants in making synthetic fuels and chemicals from coal. The third main user is the industrial sector, including the iron and steel industry. Coal use in residential and commercial premises is relatively small, while demand by the railways has virtually disappeared.

Coal exports are equivalent to about 30% of South African output and are mainly destined for Europe and Asia/Pacific. The main route for exports is via Richards Bay, Kwazulu-Natal, where there is one of the world's largest coal-export terminals.