Academic literature on the topic 'Coal mines and mining – Mpumalanga – Witbank'

An exploratory survey was undertaken in order to explore the underlying causes of bankruptcy in junior mining companies operating in the Witbank region of Mpumalanga Province based on data gathered from 120 highly experienced employees of junior mining companies operating at Witbank. Perception on barriers to productivity in junior mines was measured based on a scale introduced by Henisz, Dorobantu and Nartey (2014). Data was gathered on 24 socioeconomic variables. Data was analysed by performing logit analysis. The key finding of study was that 74.17% of respondents believed that their mines were profitable and productive. Productivity of mines was found to be undermined high cost of transport [OR = 4.51; P = 0.003; 95% CI = (2.26, 7.58)], low demand for mine products [OR = 2.65; P = 0.009; 95% CI = (1.86, 6.14)] and inability to improve the public images of junior mining companies [OR = 2.53; P = 0.015; 95% CI = (1.80, 5.76)].

The coal mining industry has played a significant role in the development of the South African economy. Coal supplies about 70% of South Africa's primary energy and is likely to remain the country's major source of energy despite the increasing trends towards renewable energy. Even though the industry has significantly contributed to the development of the country, it has also caused significant impacts on the environment with concomitant socio-economic impacts. Historically, once a coal measure was exhausted, mining companies would cease production and abandon the mines without proper rehabilitation of the environmental degradation caused by their mining activities. As a result of this, the South African Government introduced mining and rehabilitation legislation to mitigate the environmental and associated socio-economic impacts of mining. Rehabilitation guidelines for opencast coal mines were developed to provide detailed guidance for achieving successful and sustainable rehabilitation, to mitigate pollution post-mining. Despite the more stringent legislative framework and the development of international standard rehabilitation guidelines, successful mine rehabilitation remains a challenge. This research project aims to develop a better qualitative understanding of the status, challenges, gaps and opportunities pertaining to current rehabilitation practices in the case of opencast coal mines in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa, and in so doing, establish the contributing factors of unsuccessful rehabilitation. The dissertation draws on a comprehensive review of published literature and an analysis of semi-structured interviews with rehabilitation experts. The study found that the current rehabilitation practices in the Mpumalanga opencast mines are not to the standard required by the legislative framework nor prescribed by rehabilitation guidelines. As such, the current rehabilitation practices are not yielding successful and sustainable rehabilitation. According to the findings, the rehabilitation practices are hampered by physical and non-physical systemic challenges that thwart the achievement of successful rehabilitation. The study analysis shows that shortcomings in the application and enforcement of the legislative framework contributes to the legislation not achieving its intended objectives as well as the development of other physical and non-physical systemic challenges that hamper the achievement of successful rehabilitation.

Coal mining on the Highveld has historically served, and continues to serve as an indissoluble cog in South Africa’s development. The study contends that the inherent speculative character of coal as a finite resource results in bearing costs beyond the financial sphere. These costs at some stage of the mine life-cycle have to be accounted for. By using a Polanyian interpretation of double movement and crisis, the study argues that the manner in which natural factors such as coal have historically been inscribed in the production process, alongside labour and technology, to a large degree determine the character of productive relations in a particular society. More fundamentally, it is argued, this interaction between capital, society and nature determines the extent to which the State is able to perform its role of counter-movement against the over-exploitation of society and nature. This is demonstrated by situating the development of a former coal mining village, Rietspruit colliery, within the necessary historical phase of South African development – as hinged upon the accessibility and availability of coal, in particular from the Witbank coalfield. It is however, in a post-coal mining context that the study alludes to the unintended social costs arising from coal-led development, arguing social costs and inequality as evident at Rietspruit colliery, as effectively institutionalised. This is due to the historic function of the State vis-à-vis facilitating mineral extraction. On this basis, the study calls into question recent sustainable development discourse such as the Department of Minerals and Energy’s Sustainable Development through Mining (2009) (SDM) initiative. The study argues the notion of mineral extraction and coal mining in particular, serving as the means de jour for achieving sustainable development, as flawed. This is illustrated at Rietspruit colliery by reflecting upon the manner in which a post-mining sustainability plan was implemented. The core issue concerns the dis-embedding of social costs related to mining, including mine closure, from the necessary historical, socio-political and socio-ecological context. Compounded by a poorly enforced regulatory environment, this approach views mine closure, including the social aspects of mine closure, in a de-politicised, technocratic manner of rationalising closure as cost-effectively as possible. It is here that the utility of the socio-ecological approach is made evident, by opening up the discursive space for social justice discourses relating to the social costs of coal mining, to find common ground with discourses concerned with environmental activism.
Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

PhD (Environmental Management)
Mining and mining-related activities remain the world’s most intensive, primary industrial activity undertaken with severe environmental impact. Coal mining falls within these primary undertakings, while coal burning for energy use further adds to environmental degradation. Coal burning is by far the least expensive and thus the most affordable means of energy supply to the South Africa low-income communities. It is likely that this status quo will continue indefinitely. The use of coal as an energy source in South African communities has been inherited with its resultant environmental (physical), social and economic implications. The physical implications are the actual hazards associated with coal during and after mining activities. “Physical hazards” include processes generating coal dust, coal ash and gaseous emissions, and hazards that manifest themselves from the existence of coal mining at a particular site, such as spontaneous combustion, surface instability and acid mine-water drainage. “Social hazards” are mostly the social and economic effects that are related to health. Social hazards associated with coal mining, coal processing and coal usage include dilution of cultural values, ethics, norms and the growth of informal sectors, for example, settlements and trade. Some of these hazards are immediate, while others are long-term and cumulative. Emphasis was placed on the cumulative effects of mining activities and the need to address issues relating to communities that live close to mining operations. This process of addressing community concerns is known as “creating a sustainable mining community”. South Africa hosted the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and is a signatory of the working plan of action known as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. Therefore, one would expect to see that mining communities in South Africa are acting on and benefiting from this plan of action. The aim of this research is to assess the effectiveness of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation in promoting sustainable mining and sustainable communities through changes in practices, perceptions and community participation in decision making. The research, undertaken during February to June 2007, examines the role of stakeholders and local authorities in basic environmental decisions. Environmental decisions examined were the provision of education and information to the community, uplifting community welfare through corporate social investment and corporate social responsibility. The surrounding communities of eMalahleni (formerly Witbank) in the Mpumalanga (Highveld) coal-mining region – were identified as a suitable area for this case study. Social research tools, comprising multiple-choice and open-ended questions administered to 6 790 respondents (3 930 learners and 2 860 general adult population), 650 voluntary comments, six individual interviews, and a 20 member focus group discussion, were used. Photographic images and personal observation provided meaning to results by presenting the quantitative and qualitative data visually. A blended methodological approach was used to analyse the data using descriptive statistics and a t-test for variance. Tables, bar graphs and pie charts were the various representative techniques deployed during the analysis. Data were analysed comparing statistical input and responses of the learners and the general population. Results presented show that the studied community is aware of some hazards associated with coal from the mining process to indoor combustion. The community studied is aware of the need for pro-active measures to protect their community. Members of the community are not aware of company decisions affecting the community with regard to coal hazards. They are also unaware of the existence and application of environmental legislation. Awareness was not linked to education or information obtained from a reliable source, such as a mining company or a local authority. It was based on personal experience, longevity of dwelling in the community and observation of the health conditions of relatives and friends. Some voluntary comments from the respondents and photographic images are included to support the community’s outlook. The research concluded that there are more unidentified hazards in the community than were covered in the structured questionnaires. The responses received to the questionnaires exposed the mining industry as being dismissive when it came to applying the law. This evasive behaviour emanates from the laxity of the enforcement departments and responsible authorities. More needs to be done to attain the requirements of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation as agreed upon at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2016
Spontaneous combustion of coal may occur when coal is mined, stored or transported and is influenced by a combination of intrinsic and /or extrinsic factors. While it is unusual for intact seams to burn in the highwall, the most common occurrence is when surface mines extract seams previously partially mined by underground bord and pillar operations. The aim of the study is to provide a predictive model (matrix) of the spontaneous combustion potential of remnant pillars at Colliery X. A number of different thermal, chemical and petrographic tests (coal factors) will be undertaken to determine their individual and collective impacts on the sponcom predictive model. The primary geology at the mine is conformable with that of the Witbank Coalfield. Battacharyya (1982) described 3 main factors in the spontaneous combustion of coal, mining factor, coal factor and geological factor which have an aggregate effect. Some of the main historical and present theories of sponcom are the pyrite theory, the bacterial theory, the oxidation theory and the humidity theory. It is important to note that no single factor is responsible for spontaneous combustion. The oxidation of coal occurs constantly. The temperature of the coal is a function of the rate of heat generation versus the rate of heat loss. Fires can start at outcrops and move through interconnected workings with heat transfer by conduction (into the overburden) or convection (between panels).The overburden can also insulate the burning coal seam. Geological factors such as depth of overburden, the degree of fracturing, and the nature of the overlying strata vary between coalfields. A coal seam fire or mine fire is the underground smouldering of a coal deposit, often in a coal mine. Such fires have economic, social and ecological impacts In order to extinguish a fire, one of three elements, fuel, oxygen, or energy, must be removed. The components of the fire triangle can be further subdivided into conventional mine control techniques and more or less unconventional or unproven mine fire control techniques. The thermal techniques discussed include the crossing point temperature, thermogravimetric analyses and oxygen absorption. Macerals, the microscopically identifiable organic constituents of coal, are one of the three basic parameters that define coal. The other two parameters are the coal rank and the mineral matter Vitrinite is the principal maceral group of the No.5 seam and inertinite dominates the No.2 and No.4 seams. The results obtained from the 22 drill-core samples and 2 ROM samples were matched to the existing borehole dataset (2296 boreholes) based on similarity of heat value (figure 3.11). A total of 24 test results (thermal, chemical and petrographic) from borehole A and borehole B were thus assigned to the borehole database which has approximately 1500 samples for each seam. By linking the laboratory datasets (borehole A and B) and the existing borehole database used for resource modelling, the sponcom variables could be modelled in a similar way to the coal resources. The overall risk matrix was calculated on a full seam basis by combining 15 variable scores, each variable having a score of 0, 1 or 2 (low-mod-high probability). The overall results from this research produced clear and unambiguous contour plans of different factors effecting sponcom of coal using single variable and combined variable datasets. In conclusion, it appears that the acceptability of a method for determining spontaneous heating characteristics of coal mainly depends upon how closely it predicts the spontaneous heating behaviour in the field conditions
CK2018

M.Sc.
The decommissioning of mines and mining-related activities brings about the onset of rehabilitation. A legacy that most coal mines must address is the rehabilitation of the coal discard dumps that are generated by the beneficiation process of the raw coal. Rehabilitation involves the shaping and covering with a topsoil layer of these coal discard dumps. The topsoil layer is then revegetated to provide a stable form of protection against erosion. Considerations taken into account regarding the rehabilitation of coal discard dumps include the final slope angle, physical constraints i.e. railways or rivers, a source of topsoil and the grass species to be sown. Once the dump has been shaped, capped and seeded, regular applications of fertilizer take place for a defined period of time. This is to accelerate the growth of the grasses, as well as to stabilise the nutrient levels in the topsoil capping. Ingwe Mine Closure Operations (MCO), part of Ingwe Collieries Limited, is the business unit entrusted with the management and successful rehabilitation of Ingwe’s defunct operations. All of the coal discard dumps sampled in this study are found on such defunct operations. These coal discard dumps have been rehabilitated to a very high standard by MCO, and in most cases exceed the minimum requirements stipulated by law and guideline documents. This study and the results obtained from it reflect this. This study investigated, in terms of defined types of cover, whether or not there is a statistically significant difference between the: • six coal discard dumps from which data were collected; • five different defined slope aspects; • two groups of slope angles; and • slope angle and slope aspect in terms of cover. The data collected was analysed statistically, so as to determine whether significant differences (95 percentile confidence level), in terms of cover, exist. The purpose of this was to determine whether or not a preferred slope aspect or slope angle group could be identified for the six coal discard dumps sampled. By identifying a preferred slope aspect or slope angle group, companies could alter the design of operational or defunct dumps so as to maximise these. This would make the rehabilitation of the dump more sustainable and could possibly reduce aftercare costs. Through statistical analysis of the data collected it was determined that: • of the six coal discard dumps sampled, significant differences did exist between some of the dumps regarding basal cover, plant litter cover and bare ground. As each dump is different with its own specific micro-climate, this can be expected. The age of the dumps could also have played a role in terms of development; • of the five different defined slope aspects analysed, no significant differences existed between any of them; • of the two groups of slope angles analysed, no significant difference existed between them; and • no relationship between slope angle and slope aspect, in terms of cover, could be established. The analysis of the data collected was done by means of ANOVA one-way tests, coupled with Post Hoc Tests and Contrast Tables. The results of the statistical analysis were evaluated by the STATCON Department of the Rand Afrikaans University for accuracy. The data and the statistical analysis thereof were found to be satisfactory and correct. Various other statistical analyses were conducted on the data, but the results obtained from these tests were all the same as that of the original data analysis. These analyses included the Univariate Analysis of Variance, T-tests and Mann-Whitney tests.

The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between sense of coherence, work locus of control and burnout amongst mid-level managers in underground coal mining, and to determine whether sense of coherence and work locus of control can predict the level of burnout in the sample. A cross-sectional survey design was used and three questionnaires were administered, namely the Orientation to Life questionnaire, The Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey and the Work Locus of Control Scale. The sample consisted of 131 mid-level managers from a leading coal mining organisation in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The results indicated low to moderate levels of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy, as subdimensions of burnout, in the sample group. Sense of coherence and internal work locus of control showed statistically significant negative correlations with burnout. The two salutogenic constructs predicted a significant portion of the variance in burnout in the sample group.
Industrial & Organisational Psychology
MCOM (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

MPH
Department of Public of Health
The occupational health and safety of coal mine workers is one of the major occupational challenges in the mining industry. Coal mine workers face the looming perils of potential falls of volatile rocks, the ergonomic challenges caused by bending and lifting heavy objects in their daily work, the challenges caused by inhaling coal mine dust which can cause coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and a plethora of other hazards in both underground and open cast mines on a daily basis. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of coal mineworkers pertaining to occupational health and safety at the Leeuwpan mine in Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative, cross sectional descriptive design. Self-reported questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to the eligible participants. The study targeted the 3200 coal mineworkers who were employed at the Leeuwpan mine in Lephalale. A sample of 356 mineworkers was used as derived from Slovin’s formula and data was collected over a period of 5 days at the Leeuwpan mine. Measures to ensure validity and reliability were ensured and ethical considerations were observed. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was used to analyse the data. Results and recommendations are based on the findings of the study.
NRF