The farms lie within the Ellisras Coal Field. The subjacent geology of the Lephalale region consist of quartzite sandstone of the Waterberg Super Group in the south whilst Karoo Super Group is found to the north and east, consisting of sandstone and shale.
Large coal deposits are found in the area, whilst diamonds are found at The Oaks Mine near the small town of Swartwater. Phosphates are mined at the Glenover Mine near Steenbokpan. Fluor spar is also found in the Lephalale area.
The Ellisras/Waterberg coal field was concealed in the heart of the South African bushveld for millions of years. Grootegeluk Mine took the challenge to unleash this hidden treasure, which bold step changed the course of history of the area.
The coal seams mined at the Grootegeluk Mine form part of the Upper (Volksrust formation) and Middle Ecca (Vryheid formation) with an average coal thickness of 115 meters. The Upper Ecca is on average 60 meters thick and comprises interblended shale and bright coal successions whilst the Middle Ecca, on average 50 meters thick, forms the lower part of the coal deposit and contain dull coal, carbonaceous shale, as well as grit and sandstone.
The coal field is fault-bounded along its northern and southern limits. The Eenzaamheid-fault, with a displacement of at least 250 meters, forms the southern boundary, whilst the northern boundary is formed by the Zoetfontein-fault. The Daarby-fault, with a displacement of 250 meters, divides the Waterberg coal field into 2 areas: a shallow western area where it is possible to obtain the coal through open pit mining methods and a deep north-eastern area where the coal occurs at a depth of 250 meters below surface. Although this coal field covers a relatively small surface area, it is one of South Africa`s most important coal fields in terms of insitu reserves.
The invasive prospecting will commence with the geological mapping of the area in question. Drilling and sampling will commence with a planned approach of delineating the deposit by drilling in the furthest points of the licensed area and continuing with infill drilling as required. Environmental Impact Assessment will have to be completed by means of mapping. Geohydrological testing will start with a hydrosensus and proceed with percussion drilling and hydrological testing as required. A model of the geohydrological model will be constructed from this data
It is envisaged that 6 vertical diamond-drill holes with 1 deflection per borehole should be drilled, sampled and assayed.The primary holes will be drilled NQ(47.4mm core diametre) with TNW deflections(60.3mm).The localities of the drill holes will be shown on plan once entry to the property is allowed.
Phase 2
(month 7 to 18)
Reverse circulations and diamond drilling to test defined targetsDiamond core drilling of 3 boreholes to an average depth of 150 meters. This amount to an estimated 450 meters of drilling. The contractor will utilize 2 drill rigs, capable of drilling 60 meters per day and work 5 days per week-however this equates to an estimated 3 days per hole including establishment/moving to the drill site, then include another full day, thus 4 days per hole. This implies that the first phase of drilling will take approximately 12 working days, thus one month.
Phase 3
(month 19 - 30)
Depending
on the results of phase 2, the following preliminary program might be followed:
Further reverse
circulation and diamond drilling aimed initially at a more detailed
appraisal of targets drilled during phase 2 aimed at establishing an
initial resource
Positive results will
lead to additional closer spaced RC and diamond drilling aimed at
progressing the Project to the bankable feasibility stage.
Diamond core drilling of a further
3 boreholes to an average depth of 150 meters. This amount to an estimated
450 meters of drilling. The contractor will utilized 2 drill rig, capable
of drilling 60 meters per day and will work 5 days per week-however this
equates to 1 hole every 3 days including establishment/moving to the drill
site, then include another full day, thus 4 days per hole. This implies
that the second phase of drilling will take twelf working days, thus a month.
A minimum of 3 samples per hole
will be taken, although it May be necessary to take additional samples in
transitional zones. Therefore at least nine (9) samples will be taken for
analysis. Since full wash abilities with proximate, CV, phosphorous and
sulphur analyses will be carried out on all samples, reporting of results
are expected within 15 days of submission, however samples will be taken
and submitted on a weekly basis
Resource
estimation and block modeling will be completed by the geostatistician, whilst
geological interpretation and exploration data analysis will be completed by
the geologist. Resource classification
will be determined by the mining engineer.
