Name of the Project
Belfast implementation project (BIP).

Location
The project is located about 10 km south-west of the town of Belfast, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Exxaro Resources.

Project Description
The BIP contains measured mineral resources of 83-million tonnes.

The first phase of the proposed project entails the development of a new greenfield openpit coal mine, including a coal handling and preparation plant, supporting infrastructure and services.

The project will have a 17-year life-of-mine and will produce an estimated 2.7-million tonnes of A-grade thermal coal a year.

Potential Job Creation
The project will create about 6 000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and operation over its mine life.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Exxaro plans to spend R3.3-billion on building the mine.

Planned Start /End Date
First production is expected in the first half of 2019.

Latest Developments
The BIP is ahead of schedule.

Exxaro Resources hit the 95% completion mark for its Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) and Grave Relocation Plan (GRP) in January, four months ahead of schedule.

In addition to more than 170 graves, 30 households – comprising a total of 190 people – were successfully and safely relocated from mine areas to the Exxaro-constructed village of Phumlani, named by the RAP-affected community. The project has had a strong upliftment focus and has provided the local population with essential services that many community members have never enjoyed before, such as indoor plumbing and a potable water supply, electricity and hot water (generated by solar geysers). Phumlani’s brick dwellings feature modern kitchens and bathrooms, replacing outdoor ablutions and traditional cast-iron stoves. 

Exxaro has spent R71 million on the RAP to date, which equates to a R2.2-million investment in each of the affected 32 households. The mining organisation has also donated close to 300 ha to the community, who will have security of tenure under a communal property association administered by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

The closely-linked RAP and GRP took almost five years to complete, with Exxaro project team members spending close to 100 Sundays in consultation with the community through meetings, workshops and general engagements.

Exxaro’s Belfast RAP is groundbreaking for being a complete implementation according to the International Finance Corporation’s Performance Standard 5.

The Phumlani investment excludes a livelihood restoration plan and associated initiatives that will be implemented over the short-to-medium term to create an economically sustainable community.

Key Contractors and Suppliers
DRA (detailed engineering design, fabrication, construction and commissioning of a 500 t/h coal processing project, including a two-stage dense-medium beneficiation plant, a fine-coal dense-medium section for fines treatment and a system for the filtration of slimes, as well as associated product handling systems); Arup (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of all related infrastructure and services); Concor Infrastructure (construction of all related infrastructure and services); Zest Weg (construction of bulk electrical works); Tyris Construction (construction of all buildings); MMD Africa (detailed engineering design, fabrication, construction and commissioning of the run-of-mine sizing station, including primary and secondary sizers); Epoch Resources (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of the discard disposal facility); Jodan Construction (construction of the discard disposal facility); GroundTruth (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of wetland rehabilitation interventions); RCE (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of the new railway siding); Jodan Construction (construction of the new railway siding); Aurecon (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of the small-scale agricultural village, which forms part of the project’s resettlement programme for the relocation of households directly affected by future mining operations) and Motheo Construction (construction of the small-scale agricultural village).

On Budget and on Time?
The project is well within budget and schedule.

Contact Details for Project Information
Exxaro Resources GM Mpumalanga area Bram van Stelten, email bram.vanstelten@exxaro.com.
Exxaro Resources executive head: strategy and stakeholder engagement Mzila Mthenjane, tel +27 12 307 7393 or email investorrelations@exxaro.com.