Name of the Project
Belfast coal project.

Location
Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
Exxaro Resources.

Project Description
The Belfast coal project 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 6 000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and operation over its mine life.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

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

Duration
First production is expected in the first half of 2020.

Latest Developments
Exxaro Resources has broken ground at its R3.3-billion ‘smart’ Belfast mine.

The mine is the first of its kind in South Africa and will have a digital twin – a complete digital replica of the mine that will enable management and the contracted company to connect to and manage it from anywhere.

Further, maintenance teams will be connected to certain machinery to analyse and spot problems early, resulting in increased safety and reduced downtime.

CEO Mxolisi Mgojo has said that the Belfast mine will help take Exxaro to the epicentre of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“There is a misperception that the connected world is about the rise of machines. We believe it is about empowering people and powering lives,” Mgojo has stated.

According to Exxaro, in the future, the digital twin could possibly make operational decisions on its own, where artificial intelligence will manage the mine.

The miner further notes that the possibilities of autonomy will make the mining profession accessible to the disabled, as robotics eliminate the need to go underground.

“This investment is in line with the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has challenged local companies to take the lead in investing in South Africa as part of his drive to raise $100-billion in investment over the next five years,” Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni has said.

The investment will encourage much-needed economic activity in Belfast and in the Emakhazeni municipality, whose economy relies mostly on its agriculture sector.

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); 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); GroundTruth (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of wetland rehabilitation interventions); RCE (detailed engineering design and construction monitoring of the new railway siding) and 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).

The remaining construction packages, other than the coal processing plant and sizing station, have not been assigned to construction contractors yet. Tender processes for some of these packages have been completed, while others still have to start.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

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.