NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED - Sentula Mining

Environmental Impact Assessment Report: Nkomati Anthracite (Pty) Limited, Madadeni Opencast
Mining Project Page 52
6 . 2 . 1 . 1 Act i vit i e s
6 . 2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . P r i m a r y Ac t i vi t i e s
Construction of Access and Haul Roads
The current existing secondary road and a new access road connecting to the secondary will be used
to access the mine. A new access or hail road will be constructed to connect the existing Nkomati
Anthracite Mine to the proposed Madadeni Opencast mining area. Haul roads will also be
constructed for the haulage of coal from the opencast to the R.O.M. coal stockpile at the opencast
area.
Construction of a run of mine (R.O.M.) coal stockpiling area
A new R.O.M. coal stockpiling area will be constructed within the vicinity of the proposed Opencast
area. This will be used for the stockpiling of run of mine coal. The R.O.M. coal stockpile area will
have enough space to contain approximately 40 000 tonnes of R.O.M.. The stockpiles will not exceed
a height of 4m. Besides the use for loading coal from the mining area, the other reason for the
R.O.M. stockpile will be to cater for coal if any breakdowns or work stoppages within the workings
occur, resulting in a cease in production (financial implications).
As with all other construction sites, topsoil from the new and upgraded R.O.M coal stockpile will be
stripped and stockpiled as per the recommendation from the soil specialist report.
Excavation of initial box cuts
An initial box cut will be constructed at the proposed Madadeni Opencast mining area. Access pit
ramps will be constructed within each of the box cuts for access to the mining pits. These will be
constructed to have a maximum slope of 12°. Topsoil from the initial box cuts will be stripped to a
depth as specified by the soil specialist and will be removed to the relevant topsoil stockpile. Subsoil
from the box cuts will be stripped and stockpiled separately at the subsoil stockpile.
Hard overburden material from the initial box cuts will be drilled, blasted and removed to the hards
overburden stockpile. Finally all coal material will be drilled, blasted, removed to the R.O.M. coal
stockpile and thereafter crushed and screened before being sold to the destined clients.
Preparation and Formation of the Topsoil, Subsoil and Hard Overburden Stockpiles
Topsoil from the overburden (subsoil and hards) stockpiling areas will be stripped to the soil depth of
the particular area as determined by the soil survey. This will be stockpiled as per the
recommendation from the soil specialist report.
Note that topsoil will be removed from all stockpiling areas prior to formation of the overburden
stockpiles.
All topsoil, subsoil and overburden material removed during the construction phase will be stockpiled,
separately.
The topsoil stockpiles will be placed such that they do not exceed a height of 4m. This height is
enough to reduce leaching impacts of the stockpiled topsoil.
6 . 2 . 1 . 1 . 2 . S e c o n d a r y Ac t i vit i e s
Construction of the Pollution Control Dam
A pollution control dam will be constructed at the proposed mining area. The pollution control dam has
been designed by a civil engineer; hence the dam will be constructed to have sufficient capacity to
handle all dirty water emanating from the dirty water areas of the mining area. The pollution control
NKOMATI ANTHRACITE (PTY) LIMITED COMPILED BY GEOVICON ENVIRONMENTAL (PTY) LTD