Exxaro ready to invest R3.3bn in first digital mine in Mpumalanga

SOUTH Africa’s largest coal producer and black empowered mining group, Exxaro, said it had broken ground on a R3.3 billion digital mine in Mpumalanga, the first of its kind.

It said the Belfast Implementation Project – the last good-quality A-grade, high-yield coal deposit in Mpumalanga – would start producing thermal coal in 2020 and would create close to 6 000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and the life of the mine, with almost 20 000 people benefiting.

“It is expected to contribute R39bn to local gross domestic product (GDP) over the life of the mine, with Nkangala district municipality’s GDP estimated to gain as much as R2.1bn per annum, including R966 million – a full one percent increase – of direct impact on the district municipality,” Exxaro said.

The new mine – which is located about 10km south-west of Belfast, is also the first of its kind in South Africa to have a “digital twin”, a complete digital replica of the mine, which will allow management and the contracted company to connect to and manage it from anywhere.

Maintenance teams will be connected to machinery to analyse and pick up problems early, which will result in increased safety and reduced downtime.

Construction, which began seven months ago, is expected to last 24 months and the life of the mine is expected to be 17 years once operational.

The mine will produce 2.7 million tons of A-grade thermal coal a year for export. Thermal coal is burned for steam to run turbines to generate electricity.