Laura Franz Mining Weekly Features Reporter The South African
energy economy is based heavily on coal as an energy carrier, with
more than 90% of Eskom electricity generated by coal-fired power
stations, Sasol Coal’s Gerhard Esterhuizen reported at
‘The Waterberg Coalfield: 2000 and Beyond – Quo
Vadis?’ conference held at the end of July.
The two-day conference, held in Ellisras, was arranged by
geological consultant GeoCoal Services of Northcliff, Johannesburg,
and Clarus Dreyer, of the geological department of Grootegeluk
colliery, under the auspices of the Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF) of
South Africa.
Esterhuizen added that Eskom consumes some 90-million tons of coal
a year, while coal exports amount to about 64-million tons a
year.
Sasol convbritador cone m denver mod size20erts some 46-million tons of coal a year in its oil and
chemicals-from-coal-processes and steam generation.
“These three sectors account for more than 90% of the yearly
saleable production of coal in South Africa, and play an important
role in the overall economy of the country,” he
concluded.
The main coal-producing areas in South Africa have reached
maturity, and large-scale expansions are limited.
Esterhuizen was of the opinion that the Waterberg Coallist of iron ore suppliers in pakistanfield, as an
underdeveloped coal resource or reserve area, offers the potential
to sustain energy development in the long term when coal production
enters a declining phase in the traditional high-production
areas.
The FFF’s aim in arranging the conference was to provide a
forum for the discussion of, among other things, the geology of the
region, options for the utilisation of its coal, the potential of
producing chemicals from Waterberg coal, the future expansion of
generation capaaggregate crusher jaw conecity, the influence of the coal on the Matimba
boiler, coalbed-methane (CBM) exploitation, the South African coal
inventory, and Spoornet’s perspective of the coalfield.
The FFF was first established in the early 1990s in an effort to
centralise all research and developments in the coal industry, as
it had noticed an overlap in research projects among companies, and
a lack of unification of the resultant research findings.
Due to various complications, the foundation only succeeded in
obtaiused sand making equipmentning recognition as a legal entity earlier this year, but has
since proved its worth through the proactive dissemination of
information pertaining to issues and technology in the coal
industry.
One of these trends, CBM exploitation, was discussed at the
conference by GeoCoal Services owner and consulting geologist Dawie
van Wyk.
Fire damp or methane ignitions have probably caused more deaths in
the coal-mining industry than any other single factor.
“As recently as 20 years ago, the coal bare jaw crusher saleindustry regarded
methane gas as a hazardous nuisance to be controlled and removed to
make underground mining safer,” explained Van Wyk.
Methane emitted during mining and exploration had long been
identified as a potential source of energy.
“Amcoal has tied up large tracts of CBM rights in the
Waterberg.
“Sasol and Amoco had signed agreements to explore and
possibly produce CBM, and Ingwe has set up the Majuba CBM project
with Eskom,” said Van Wyk.
He believes that, in Southern Africa, the lack of a natural-gas
industry, together its associated markets and infrastructure, has
impeded the devel opment of a CBM industry.
“CBM could play a part in the future energy needs of South
Africa once offshore gasfields start producing gas, ownership
issues are resolved, and the shallow Witbank coalfield is mined
out, and deeper reserves such as the Waterberg become
productive,” said Van Wyk.
CBM is a much cleaner-burning fossil fuel than coal.
Van Wyk indicated that the new stricter local-emissions policy
could promote the use of CBM as an alternative to burning
coal.
At present, Iscor’s Grootegeluk colliery, the only operating
mine on the Waterberg, extracts about 50-million of run-of-mine
(Rom) tons, while five washing and screening plants beneficiate the
Rom feed from this multiseam, multiproduct coal deposit.
Worth considering is the fact that coal costs R40/t to produce at
the Waterberg, as opposed to R49/t for production in
Mpumalanga.
In the end, the State and all involved in the Waterberg will need
to develop a strategy for the effective development of this remote
coalfield, argued Van Wyk.