SA plans water pipeline to supply northern coal mines
South Africa will begin building a 70 km pipeline this year to supply water from a reservoir in the north to local coal mines, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said last week.
The De Hoop dam, in Limpopo province, is almost complete and water storage has begun, the Minister said in Cape Town. Work on a separate pipeline that would supply other parts of the province was under way, with first deliveries expected by July, she said. The Minister gave no cost estimate.
The mines are in the Waterberg area, which boasts about 75-billion metric tons of coal, or 40% of South Africa’s resources, according to State-owned power utility Eskom. Coal producers, including Exxaro Resources, say a lack of water is the main hurdle for mining in the region.
“Once complete, our government would have invested in excess of R4.5-billion in the project, which will benefit more than two-million people,” Molewa said.
The reservoir will have a gross capacity of 347-million cubic metres.
Molewa also said work to raise the Hazelmere dam, in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, will begin before year-end, permitting supplies to a new industrial park north of Durban and more households. Progress has been made on construction of the Spring Groves dam, which will supply other towns in the province.
About 95% of South African house- holds now have potable water, up from 62% when apartheid ended in 1994, government statistics show.
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