Following their acquisition of Rio Tinto’s Chapudi Coal Project, Australian mining company Coal of Africa Limited (CoAL) will start a series of exploration drillings on 41 farms as part of their new Greater Soutpansberg Project.

In effect this will mean that CoAL’s proposed coal mines in the Limpopo Valley and northern slopes of the Soutpansberg will be five times the original size.

These new developments follow the sale of prospecting rights that CoAL is about to finalise with Rio Tinto. The Minister of Mineral Rights, Ms Susan Shabangu, had already given her stamp of approval for the deal in May.

The proposed mine, now named the Greater Soutpansberg Project, will be situated in the Vhembe Biosphere, extending over a total length of 95km from east to west. This is according to an information document about the project that was made available to the Zoutpansberger by Naledi Development, independent consultants for CoAL. Naledi will undertake the public participation process.

The information document was issued to inform the 133 landowners that fall within the project’s boundaries of CoAL's intent to drill 213 exploration boreholes over the next 10 months. This, according to the document, will provide CoAL with a better understanding of “the location, extent and quality of the scarce coking coal resource.”

Additionally, a number of environmental baseline studies will be undertaken in order to perform a high-level environmental screening of the proposed projects. These proposed projects include the Chapudi project (Waterpoort) and the Mopanie Project. Further expansions of CoAL’s Makhado project are envisioned, which will mean that the project could stretch from the N1 up to the citrus farms surrounding the Tshipise area. Chapudi (which include some of the tomato farms of ZZ2) and Mopanie are situated west of the N1 to the north of Musina.

With regard to the whole Soutpansberg Project, the information document claims that the Soutpansberg area is one of the few places where “rare” coking coal, used for the manufacturing of steel, can be mined. International and local companies have also apparently shown their interest, and by exporting coal, CoAL believes that South Africa “can provide good quality coking coal to meet international demand … and strengthen [the] South African economy.”

All three the projects will be opencast mines.

Studies undertaken during the exploration drilling phase will include soil, land use and capability, biodiversity, surface and groundwater, heritage, socio-economic and baseline environmental monitoring studies. Water sources which will be affected will include the dry Sand and Mutamba rivers.

The public who have already registered as affected or concerned parties will once again be afforded the opportunity to comment on the final environmental management plan by the end of July.