Sasol Form 20-F for the year ended 30 June 2021 - Book - Page 54
(4)
Off-shift production is a legally permitted, voluntary shift system allowing mine workers to produce coal on their non-working shifts. This
shift system provides the mine with a flexibility option to catch up on production shortfall. The mine workers are remunerated for this
production on a cost per ton basis.
(5)
The transition phase, of replacing Brandspruit Colliery with Impumelelo Colliery, was completed and the last coal was produced from
Brandspruit Colliery during 2019.
Processing operations
Coal export business—Secunda operations.
We started the coal export business in August 1996.
Run of mine coal is sourced from Twistdraai
Thubelisha Colliery (nominated capacity 9,4 Million
tons (Mt)). The export beneficiation plant has a design
throughput total capacity of 10,5 Mt per annum. In
2021, we produced 8,2 Mt from Twistdraai Thubelisha
Colliery; of which we beneficiated 7,5 Mt, and 0,7 Mt
was bypassed to Sasol Coal Supply.
to perform a reconciliation of business
with regard to quantity and quality.
Core recovery exploration drilling. This is the
primary exploration technique that is applied in all
exploration areas, especially during reconnaissance
phases. In and around operational mines, the average
vertical borehole density varies from 1:10 to 1:15
(boreholes per hectare), while in medium-term mining
areas, the average borehole density is in the order of
1:25. Depths of the boreholes drilled vary, depending
on the depth to the Pre-Karoo basement, from 160
metres (m) to 380 m. The major application of this
technique is to locate the coal horizons, to determine
coal quality and to gather structural information about
dolerite dykes and sills, and the associated
de-volatilisation and displacement of coal reserves.
This information is used to compile geological models
and forms the basis of geological interpretation.
The operation has a live stockpile capacity of
720 000 tons, which is turned over around 1,2 times per
week. In addition, there is a targeted strategic stockpile
capacity of more than 2,0 Mt. The objectives of this
facility are:
to keep mine bunkers empty;
to maintain a buffer stockpile to ensure
even supply; and
Mining’s geology department employs several
exploration techniques in assessing the geological risks
associated with the exploitation of the coal deposits.
These techniques are applied in a mutually supportive
way to achieve an optimal geological model of the
relevant coal seams, targeted for production purposes.
The Highveld Basin is considered to be structurally
complex when compared to the other coalfields in
South Africa where mining activities take place. As a
result, Mining bases its geological modelling on
sufficient and varied geological information. This
approach is utilised in order to achieve a high level of
confidence and support to the production environment.
Sasol Coal Supply—Secunda operations. Sasol
Coal Supply operates the coal handling facility between
our Mining segment and Secunda operations by
stacking and blending coal on six live stockpiles. The
overland conveyors from the mining operations to the
coal handling facility are, in total, approximately 100
kilometres (km) long and also form part of the Sasol
Coal Supply operation.
Coal exploration techniques
Sasol Mining (Pty) Ltd has a 4,2%
shareholding in RBCT, which corresponds to the
existing entitlement of 3,6 Mt per year. Actual export
volumes for 2021 were 2,6 Mt. For the foreseeable
future, we anticipate exports of approximately 3,5 Mt
per year.
to homogenise the coal quality supplied to
Secunda operations;
to keep the Secunda operations bunkers
full of a product that conforms to
customer requirements;
The daily coal supply to Secunda operations is
approximately 110 000 tons.
The run of mine (ROM) coal is transported via
an overland conveyor belt to the export beneficiation
plant from the Twistdraai Thubelisha Colliery. The
export product is loaded onto trains by means of a rapid
load-out system, and then transported to the Richards
Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) in KwaZulu-Natal.
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