BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa Limited
- Ownership: 100%
- Product: Thermal coal
- Location: Mpumalanga province in South Africa
- Contact: BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa
BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa Ltd, one of the largest energy coal exporters in the world, owns and operates five collieries (Douglas, Khutala, Klipspruit, Middelburg and Optimum) in the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa (see location map). BHP Billiton wholly-owns Khutala, Klipspruit and Optimum collieries. Middelburg and Douglas mines are jointly owned with Xstrata Plc but are managed by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa.
BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa has a 37.43 per cent stake in the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), making it the largest single shareholder. A separate energy coal marketing coal office is situated in The Hague and RBCT is pivotal in the exporting activities of this office.
In the financial year ending 30 June 2006, production totalled 51,948 million tonnes of coal - predominantly steam coal - supplying the export market, Eskom (the local power utility) and the local market.
BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa employes 5 297 people.
Operations
Douglas Mine
Situated 200 kilometres east of Johannesburg and 550 kilometres by rail from Richards Bay, the Douglas / Koornfontein Complex supplies energy coal to export and inland markets.
Douglas Colliery (see location map) is located some 25 kilometres south east of Witbank. It has both opencast and underground sections and is owned by joint venture partners BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa (84 per cent) and Xstrata (16 per cent). The mine is managed by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa.
Douglas produces some 8.5 million tonnes of saleable coal per annum and supplies its products into the export, domestic and local power station markets.
Employment: 1200
Reserves: 15 year mine life
Middelburg Mine
Situated approximately 20 kilometres south of Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province, Middelburg Mine is the largest producer in the BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa group. It is co-owned in a joint venture partnership between BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa (84 per cent) and Xstrata (16 per cent) and managed by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa.
The mine is an opencast operation using five large draglines to produce up to 17 million saleable tonnes of coal per year from the number 2 and 4 seams. The principal products are power station grade coal for Eskom’s nearby Duvha Power station and higher quality export grade products for the seaborne steam coal markets.
Employment: 1800
Reserves: 30-year mine life
Khutala Colliery
With an annual production of 15.1 million run of mine tonnes, Khutala Colliery (see location map) is one of the largest underground coal mines in the world. The first coal was delivered to the adjacent Kendal Power Station in November 1986.
The mine is situated approximately 55 kilometres west of Witbank in the Mpumalanga Province and provides coal exclusively for Eskom’s Kendal power station, situated close to the mine shaft.
5 Seam coal mined from the opencast is exclusively for BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa and is sold inland.
The mining method is primarily underground bord and pillar utilising continuous miners, with a relatively small opencast mine also in operation. The two underground coal seams are being mined at depths ranging up to 110 metres below the surface.
The underground operation has 16 continuous miner sections working on a double shift basis. The opencast operation is designed to mine at the rate of 3.5 million Run of Mine tonnes per annum and is mined using contractors.
Reserves: 24-year mine life
Optimum Colliery
Optimum Colliery is located in the Mpumalanga Province in the Witbank coalfield region of South Africa (see map). It is wholly owned and operated by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa. Optimum is a large opencast coal mine producing 13.5 million tonnes per annum for three main markets. These include supply to the local Hendrina Power Station, as well as other inland destinations and exports of higher quality coal to the overseas steam coal market.
The mine began as an underground operation and produced its first coal in 1970. Optimum is currently a strip mining operation with nine draglines. The coal is crushed, screened and processed through a double stage washing plant. It is then transported either by conveyor belt to Eskom's Hendrina Power Station, or by rail to Richards Bay Coal Terminal and other inland markets.
Employment: 1354
Reserves: 17 year mine life
Klipspruit Colliery
The fledgling Klipspruit Colliery (see location map) is situated in the Ogies District of the Mpumalanga Province. Klipspruit is the first new coal mine to be established by BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa in more than 14 years. This means that the wealth of new expertise utilising the latest technologies and mining procedures will ensure that Klipspruit becomes a leader and a benchmark company particularly in the implementation of the latest production methods, labour practices, environmental and health issues and, most importantly, safety.
Klipspruit has 111 employees and 500 contractors.
The Klipspruit Colliery started in October 2003 and currently mines the box-cut with a BE1570 dragline and produces 3.6 million tonnes per annum. Contractors are responsible for topsoil stripping, overburden drilling and blasting, coaling and parting removal operations. Coal is transported 34 km to the Rietspruit (see location map) wash plant where the export coal is beneficiated, loaded onto trains and railed to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. At the Rietspruit plant inland market coal is also loaded and railed to Majuba Power Station.
Klipspruit is still a project, requiring final approval from the Energy Coal Board of BHP Billiton.
Markets
BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa is one of the largest suppliers to the seaborne energy coal market. This coal is sold into Europe, the Far East, India, Africa and South America. A lower grade coal is sold to South Africa’s local utility company, Eskom. BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa is Eskom’s largest supplier. Relatively small quantities of coal are supplied into the local market (excluding Eskom).
Contact Us
6 Hollard Street
Marshalltown
Johannesburg
South Africa
Postal Address
P.O Box 61820
Marshalltown 2107
South Africa
Tel: (27 11) 376 9111
Fax: (27 11) 834 2228
