Times Of Swaziland: EEC BAGS LUCRATIVE COAL MINING RIGHTS

EEC BAGS LUCRATIVE COAL MINING RIGHTS
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BY SABELO MAJOLA on 04/10/2020 06:46:00


MBABANE – Mining operators wishing to get a mining licence to open a coal mine
at Lubhuku at Mpaka for the E12 billion coal thermal power plant, will have to
get the green light from the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC).
This is because the mining rights for the opening of the coal mine at Lubhuku
were given to the Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) through an agreement that
was signed between the entity and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy,
which highlights the E12 billion coal thermal power plant project at Lubhuku at
Mpaka, whose feasibility study has just been completed.
The thermal plant will be composed of a single boiler and a single steam turbine
generator with an air cooled condenser.
The boiler will be a Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler and it will be fed
with coal sourced from Mpaka 3 mine, which will be combusted to produce the
heat. This heat will be used to convert water in the boiler into steam which
will be used to drive a turbine housed in turbine-generator building.
turbine
This turbine will produce electricity. The turbine generator will produce
electricity and the turbine generator building will also house the control room.
The type of coal to be used in the project is bituminous coal.
According to Science Direct website, it is the most popular fuel for rotary
kilns.
It is quite abundant in many parts of the world, occurs in sedimentary rock
formations and is often located close to deposits of limestone (also a
sedimentary rock).
It is a black, banded coal that weathers slightly. Weathering is the tendency of
coal to break and crumble as it dries.
According to sourced information, this type of coal, situated closer to the
thermal plant site, is enough to last for the next 30 years.
EEC was given the mining rights on the basis that the coal forms part of the
resources to be utilised in the plant on the electricity generating process.
However, it would be up to the entity to determine whether it would take the
licence or seek the services of an independent mining operator for the mining
aspect.
This was revealed by Eswatini Mining Commissioner Robert Biyela when requested
to give clarity on the matter as Mpaka Coal Mine is currently dysfunctional
having last operated in 1992.
“We have no mandate to issue out mining rights to any company because there is
an agreement between EEC and the ministry which gave the entity the mining
rights and it would be in their discretion on who gets the licence to operate
the mine if they don’t make it their own mandate to operate it,” he said.
consultancy
According to a consultancy company FirstEnviromental, which was roped in the
project to carry out the environmental and social impact assessment, Mpaka Coal
Mine was closed many years ago but the coal mining aspect will be a separate
undertaking independent of the power plant.
The intention of the consultancy company is to formulate a plan on how the
negative impact of the thermal plant will be mitigated while the positive
impacts will be enhanced in the form of a comprehensive mitigation plan.
FirstEnvironmental said the feasibility study was specifically for the power
plant not the mining aspect. EEC Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager
Khaya Mavuso referred all queries to the ministry, stating that the project was
pushed by government and EEC was just an implementing agency.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy Communications Officer Sikelela Khoza
said the mining aspect was a separate issue altogether and needed serious
deliberations on its own.
“For now, there is currently no information on the mining of the coal or which
company will be mandated to do the mining. We have just finished the feasibility
study and the ministry is yet to tackle the other aspect that feeds into the
overall project so it would be premature to divulge information on who does what
as that is yet to be discussed as the project progresses,” he said.
project
The E12 billion coal thermal power plant project is expected to get underway at
least by December 2021.
Worth mentioning is that there are other companies who had expressed desire to
reopen the Mpaka Coal Mine in the quest to do a project similar to the one whose
feasibility study has been finalised.
One in particular is Ubuntu Mining and Energy Ltd whose Director, Ken Van Zyl,
submitted a proposal to the Minerals Management Board for a dense media
separator (DMS) treatment plant at Mpaka which would cost E62.7 million to
erect.
In the proposal document, Zyl said the thermal power station would be
established at Mpaka to produce electricity to be supplied to Eswatini
Electricity Company (EEC) at a subsidised rate.