Soutpansberg Coalfield, Limpopo, South Africai

Regional Level Types
Soutpansberg Coalfield	Coal Field
Limpopo	Province
South Africa	Country

The Soutpansberg Coalfield is within the Soutpansberg Basin which has a length of some 200km and and area of some 6,000km2.

The Soutpansberg Coalfield, situated within South Africa's Limpopo Province between latitudes 22° S to 23° S and longitudes 28° E to 32° E, is a geological rift basin of Karoo age formed within an intracratonic region. It is divided into three sub-basins, namely the western (Mopane sub-basin), central (Tshipise sub-basin), and eastern (Pafuri sub-basin).

Coal seams are found in the Madzaringwe Formation, an equivalent of the coal-bearing Vryheid Formation in the MKB. The Madzaringwe Formation comprises alternating feldspathic, often cross-bedded sandstone, siltstone, and shale layers containing coal seams. At its base, the formation consists of a 30-meter-thick unit of carbonaceous siltstone, mudstone, shaly coal, and thin coal seams, overlain by alternating layers of coal, grey-black siltstone, carbonaceous mudstone, and very fine- to medium-grained sandstone. Prominent coal seams occur in the upper third of the formation, interlayered with carbonaceous mudstone. Seven economically viable seams have been identified within the Madzaringwe Formation, with the No. 6 Seam being the primary economic target. This seam is divided into six horizons, the bottom-lower (BL), bottom-middle (BM), bottom-upper (BU), middle-lower (ML), middle-upper (MU), and upper seam. The coal in these sub-seams is typically medium rank-B, with a moderate vitrinite content (avg. 41.5 vol%), and an ash content of ∼ 36 wt% ."

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References