Shaft headgear at petrochemical group Sasol’s Impumelelo mine, near Secunda, stands sentinel as development work continues to advance a sweeping R15.3-billion project that will replace three of the company’s ageing coal mines across the Secunda coalfields of Mpumalanga. The project continues to progress within budget and will, once fully completed, supply the group’s nearby Synfuels complex with 42-million tons of coal a year for the next 35 years. Sasol explains that the mining of the remaining available reserves, estimated at 1.3-billion tons, remains the most viable way of securing coal supply to Sasol’s adjacent Synfuels operation. The mine replacement project, due for completion next year, will transform the Secunda area into one of the largest underground coal complexes in the world.