Name and Location
Belfast coal project, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
Diversified resources company Exxaro Resources.

Project Description
The proposed project entails the development of an openpit and underground mine to produce an estimated 2.2-million tonnes a year of A-grade thermal coal and 500 000 t/y of Eskom coal.

The mine will produce coal for export, and supply one of State-owned power utility Eskom’s plants.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
Exxaro plans to spend R3.8-billion on building the mine.

Duration
The mine is forecast to start output in the second half of 2017 and ramp up in 2018.

Latest Developments
Following the integrated water use licence authorisation in 2014, an appeal was lodged, resulting in the suspension of the licence. Exxaro expects the appeal case to be heard by the water tribunal in the second quarter of 2016. It also expects the tribunal hearing on the objection against the project’s rezoning application received in 2015 to be heard in the second quarter of this year.

Only 7% of the approved project start-up capital budget has been released to date, primarily for detailed engineering designs and activities beginning in 2016, until Exxaro has more certainty on the regulatory process for this project.

The group continues to review its portfolio in the Mpumalanga area for optimal reconfiguration.

Key Contractors and Suppliers
DRA (detailed design and engineering 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 (design, tender and construction monitoring); MMD Africa (detailed design and engineering of run-of-mine sizing station); EPOCH Resources (detailed design and engineering of the discard disposal facility) and GroundTruth (detailed design and engineering of wetland rehabilitation interventions).

On Budget and on Time?
The start of the project has been delayed by 12 months.

Contact Details for Project Information
Belfast project manager Johan van der Bijl, tel +27 12 307 7468 or email johan.vanderbijl@exxaro.com
DRA, tel +27 11 202 8600 or email info@DRAglobal.com
Arup, Joe Strydom, tel +27 11 218 7600 or email johannesburg@arup.com.
MMD Africa, tel +27 11 608 4801/2/3/4/5, fax +27 11 608 4848 or email sizers@mmdafrica.co.za.
EPOCH Resources, tel +27 11 656 0380 or +27 11 802 3657, fax +27 11 802 3654 or email projects@epochresources.co.za.