NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED - Sentula Mining

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Environmental Impact Assessment Report: Nkomati Anthracite (Pty) Limited, Madadeni Opencast Mining Project Page 12 3. BASELINE INFORMATION 3.1 S E C T I O N 39(3)( A) O F MP RDA, R E G U L A T I O N 50 ( A) A N D R E G U L AT I O N 51 ( A) O F R E G U L AT I O N S U N D E R T H E M PRDA: D E S C R I P T I O N O F T H E E N V I R O N M E N T L I K E L Y T O B E AF F E C T E D B Y T H E P R O P O S E D M I N I N G 3.1.1 G e o l o g y 3 . 1 . 1 . 1 R e g i o n a l G e o l o g y Nkomati Anthracite Mine falls within the Lebombo Coalfield. The Lebombo coalfield stretches from a point some 35 km south of Komatipoort up to the Swaziland border and consists of a fairly narrow north/south elongated development of coal-bearing Vryheid Formation sediments, which have been warped by the Lebombo Monocline and are overlain by the Upper Ecca and Cave Sandstone formation sediments. The Drakensberg formation Volcanics caps the entire succession. This volcanic formation forms the prominent topographic feature that constitutes the border between Kangwane and Mozambique. Nkomati Anthracite mine is situated in the middle of this coalfield in the area commonly known as the Komatipoort sector. Lebombo coalfield – Komatipoort sector Exploration boreholes drilled in the southern portion of the Komatipoort sector indicate the following succession: The upper 34 meters consists of fine-grained sandstone – Cave Sandstone Stage. The cave sandstone Stage is underlain by a 21 Meter package of Red Beds Stage that consists of red mudstone that goes over to a bluish mudstone in the lower third of the succession. The Molteno Stage underlies the Red Beds Stage. This stage consists of a 47 meter thick succession of white medium to course grained sandstone with subordinate shale and mudstone layers. A 98-meter thick zone of the Upper Ecca Stage consisting of carbonaceous shale, sandstone and coal layers. Three relatively thick layers of carbonaceous shale occur at the top middle and bottom of the zone with the lower layers each containing a thin layer of coal and the upper containing a cluster of coal seams near the top. Seamlets of coal also occur within the sandstone layers. As seen above, numerous coal horizons are developed within the areanaceous sediments of the Vryheid Formation. However, only three of these seam units appear to be laterally persistent and therefore of economic significance. Regionally the coal horizons thicken from south to north, whilst thinning from west to east. On the western margin, deposition and contemporaneous erosion occurred. The shape of the pre-Karoo floor also influences the deposition of the coal seams. This depositional influence is due to mainly gully (or trough) infilling giving rise to areas devoid of coal. The break-up of the Gondwanaland during the Jurassic period has left the greatest in print on both the structure and rank of the coal horizon in the Lebombo Coalfield. The vast outpouring of basaltic and ryolitic lavas that preceded the continental break-up gave rise to the regional anthracitization of the coal horizons. NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED COMPILED BY GEOVICON ENVIRONMENTAL (PTY) LTD
Environmental Impact Assessment Report: Nkomati Anthracite (Pty) Limited, Madadeni Opencast Mining Project Page 13 North-south tensional faults occurred sub-parallel to the main rift valley due to movement of the “new” continents. These tension faults were intruded and filled with dolerite intrusions. Vertical displacements exceeding 50 meters are also associated with these dolerite intrusions. Late stage east-west trending faults occurred post-continental break-up. Regionally the strata dip eastwards at angles that vary from 5-12 o . A pronounced steepening of the dip to + 20 0 takes place further to the east as the Lebombo monocline, which formed as a response to the isostatic re-adjustment in the newly formed continental margin. These structural features from the natural demarcation of the reserve blocks within the Nkomati Mineral lease area. 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 L o c a l g e o l o g y A number of boreholes were drilled over the Nkomati Anthracite Mine to determine the potential coal reserves. The results of the exploration revealed that the mining area has three major coal horizons i.e. C1 (lower), C2 (middle) and C3 (upper). The C1 (lower), varies in width from less than one meter up to a maximum of 8.25 meters. This unit is distinctly zoned into three roughly equal leaves, namely C1A1, C1B1 and C1C1, the basal unit (C1A1) of which contains the highest quality coal with the best washability characteristics. The C2 (middle) can be sub-divided into a lower unit (C2B) and an upper unit (C2A) separated by up to three sandstones and shale. The C2A seam exhibits the better quality characteristics. Both units vary in width from a stringer, centimetres in width, up to a maximum of 2, 50 meters. C3 (upper) consists of an upper unit (C3A) and a lower (C3B). The lower unit is more persistently developed reaching a maximum thickness of two meters. This lower unit also exhibits the better washability characteristics when compared to the upper. The No. 1 and No. 2 coal seams are the target coal seams that will be mined at the proposed mining area. Figure 4 indicates the typical stratigraphic column of boreholes drilled over the proposed mining area. 3.1.2 Cl i m a t e 3 . 1 . 2 . 1 R e g i o n a l C l i m a t e Nkomati Anthracite Mine falls within the summer rainfall region of South Africa, in which more than 80% of the annual rainfall occurs from October to March. 85% of the rainfall falls during summer thunderstorms. Such thunderstorms generally occur every 3-4 days in summer. They occur as conventional thunderstorms and are usually scattered and of short duration and intensity. The rainfall events are highly localised and can vary markedly over short distances. The gross annual “A” pan evaporation for the region, measured at Barberton, is 1635 mm. During the seven summer months from September to March the mean monthly evaporation is 157 mm. This equates to 67% of the total mean annual evaporation. Evaporation is lowest between the months of May to July when the average monthly evaporation of 90 mm occurs. NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED COMPILED BY GEOVICON ENVIRONMENTAL (PTY) LTD
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NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED - Sentula Mining

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