Focus on Coal
Issue #37: Focus on Coal
Added Value to an Indonesian Client
PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk recently commissioned SRK to conduct an independent review of the resources, reserves and mining operations of all the company’s coal mining assets in Indonesia, to support an initial public offering of shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. This is the latest step in SRK’s continuous involvement with the parent company, Banpu Public Company Limited, based in Thailand. read full article…
Exploration and GIS
SRK is often asked to provide geological expertise in the early stages of a coal exploration program. In identifying new opportunities and areas for exploration, typically SRK recommends that the first stage in any greenfields exploration should involve a collation of all relevant open-file data, integrating it into a GIS-based work platform or equivalent, followed by an assessment of the data and the construction of a preliminary geological model. read full article…
Griffin Coal – Geological Modeling and Resource Estimation
Since Griffin Coal commenced operations in the Collie Coalfields of Western Australia in 1927, it has evolved into a major open cut mining operation, producing 4 million tonnes a year of predominantly low ash, high volatile thermal coal, from its Muja and Ewington mining operations. read full article…
Caledon’s Revolutionary Cook Colliery
Caledon Coal Pty Limited acquired Cook Colliery, situated 30 kilometres south of Blackwater in Central Queensland, Australia, from Xstrata Coal Australia in 2006. SRK Consulting (Australasia) supported Caledon’s acquisition by completing a due diligence and compiling a Competent Person’s Report to list and raise equity finance on AIM in London. read full article…
Coal Mine Dewatering
Roger Howell and Vladimir Ugorets recently joined SRK (US) bringing with them significant experience in the fields of coal hydrogeology and coal mine dewatering. At the Skyline longwall coal mine in Utah, the two teamed up to determine the source of large, persistent groundwater inflows emanating from fracture intersections. Using forensic hydrology, geochemistry, and heuristic groundwater flow modeling, they showed that the origin of the inflows was within a thick stack of shoreface sandstones underlying estuarine and lagoonal coals and interbedded shales of the Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation. read full article…
Greenfields Coal Exploration in Southern Africa
Mining exploration came to a halt in Mozambique in southern Africa when civil war broke out in the seventies. Only since 2002 have companies started to conduct exploration work again. Last year, SRK began evaluating coal deposits east of the town of Tete, in the Tete province in Mozambique. Tete, which lies just southwest of the Cahorra Bassa Dam on the Zambezi River, boasts summer temperatures that often exceed 50ºC with 90% humidity. read full article…
The Coal Team in South Africa
The SRK Coal Team has a well-established track record in the industry, with a collective 57 years of experience in this industry sector. Andy Birtles is an Associate and Principal Mining Engineer and is registered with The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). He has specialised in the field of coal mining since 1979 and heavy minerals since 1999, and is involved in the management and coordination of multi-disciplinary teams for due diligence exercises, competent persons’ reports (CPRs), valuations and feasibility studies. Andy has worked on projects in South Africa, Africa and internationally. read full article…
Mining Prefeasibility Study for Morupule Power Station, Botswana
With energy demands rising sharply worldwide, Morupule Colliery Limited (MCL) in Botswana, a division of Debswana, is planning to increase its coal production to satisfy the proposed expansion of its Morupule power station, as well as to meet the needs of the local and cross-border markets. In May this year, SRK began a mining prefeasibility study to address this proposed expansion. The study will take place over a three-to-four month period. This is the latest in a number of projects SRK has undertaken involving Morupule. read full article…
Mine Planning Software in the Coal Sector
One of the oldest industries in the history of man, mining has evolved over the centuries. Gone are the days of canaries in cages, pick-axes, and candle-lit headlamps. With Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and automated machinery, today’s operating mines are at the cutting edge of technology – taking the best of space-age advances to drive the industry. The role of the engineer in mining operations has evolved along with the industry. Today’s mining engineer is the link between production and technical services, determining the direction the project will take, and how it will get there. read full article…
Using Magnetic and Gravity Data in Basin and Coal-related Geology Studies
Geophysical data plays an important role in basin studies. In particular, gravity and magnetic data can provide a cost-effective means to assist in interpreting basin to lease-scale structural geology and depth to basement studies. Magnetite is a very minor constituent of sediments, which makes magnetic data valuable for determining the distribution of magnetic sources within the sediments, ranging from heavy minerals deposits (e.g. fans) to basalts. read full article…
Enterprise Risk Management at Work
As regulators, investors and other stakeholders place increasing demands on companies to provide assurance on managing business risk, they face a growing need for effective, auditable methodologies for Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). While an ERM process must satisfy prescribed minimum requirements, it should be designed to complement existing decision making and management activities without placing onerous demands on the time of the organization’s most valuable resource – its people. The system should answer the following question with an emphatic YES: Are you managing business risk effectively; is the answer auditable; are you achieving this efficiently? read full article…
Bringing Coal Basins into Focus
In 2003, SRK initiated a major study of the structural framework for the region that covers the Sydney Basin and the eastern part of Gunnedah Basin. Initially, four coal mining companies supported the study, with release slated for early 2004. In the latter part of 2003 and 2004, interest in the study increased and sponsorship more than doubled, allowing SRK to undertake a major update of the initial work. The updated study has been available for general purchase since November 2005. read full article…
Relating Resource and Reserve Assessments to International Code Standards
In the current boom time for coal mining, SRK frequently receives requests from clients to undertake resource and reserve estimations in line with various internationally recognized codes such as JORC – probably the most widely utilized code within the coal industry. These requests come from a variety of sources – from companies wishing to adhere to IFRS standards, to float on international stock exchanges, or to purchase other companies or licences; from financial institutions lending money for the purchase of new equipment, and so on. read full article…
Managing Risks to Safety, Health, Environment and Sustainable Development Effectively
Today, society expects organizations to address the protection of people and the environment from harm in pursuing their operational strategies and demands assurance that they will take effective action in responding to risk. Consequently, incidents that result in personal harm or environmental damage are often broadly condemned and invariably exert a negative impact on the business. read full article…
Assisting an Emerging Coal Producer in Colombia
Coalcorp Mining Inc (Coalcorp) is a Canadian mining company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), with two producing open pit coal mines in northern Colombia: La Francia and La Caypa, in the Cesar and Guajira departments, respectively. SRK assisted Coalcorp in acquiring the properties and has had an ongoing involvement with both. read full article…
The Russian Coal Industry
Compared to other Russian fuel sources, the coal industry has the best raw material base. Resources are concentrated in 22 coal basins and 118 individual deposits, spread unevenly across the country. Total resources are approximately 200 billion tons (bt); reserves under development, about 105.2bt, with open pit mineable reserves at 74.9bt. read full article…
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