The development and construction of the Bronkhorstspruit siding for Canyon Coal’s latest mining project Khanye Colliery, situated in Gauteng, has brought with it R12.23 million worth of benefits to the local community through the utilisation of local businesses products, services and labour from surrounding communities.

“The siding cost R35.93 million to develop with 34% of the project’s budget being allocated towards the procurement of local equipment, services and labour. This highlights Canyon’s commitment to empowering local communities by prioritising the procurement of goods and services that are available locally and creating job opportunities for local community members,” states Canyon Coal group project manager Clifford Hallatt.

Canyon Coal project manager Gerhard Cronje, who is responsible for overseeing Khanye-related projects, stated that the development of the siding has been a lengthy process which has been ongoing since 2014, when Canyon initially began its discussions with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).

Construction of the siding began in September 2018 and was completed in June 2019. “The first train, with a full load of coal product, was successfully dispatched on 24 July 2019,” Gerhard explains.

The siding is approximately 619 m long, 30 m wide with two railway lines running parallel to one another. Access to the siding is obtained via a one-way tar road for side-tipper trucks, with a loop leading onto the loading pad, and also allowing the trucks to exit the siding. “New lighting has also been installed at the site, which is vital for undertaking coal loading during the night,” Gerhards adds. Coal train wagons will be loaded by means of front-end loaders. The siding is suitable for access by 100 jumbo train wagons in total. The two railway lines can accommodate 48 and 52 rail wagons, respectively.

“We have put in place several control measures to ensure the accuracy of coal volumes being delivered to the siding and loaded onto the rail wagons. At the siding there is an in-motion weighbridge that is located on the railway line itself. Khanye Colliery makes use of two fixed weighbridges for the side tipper trucks delivering coal to the siding, and as a third control measure, all front-end loaders operating on the siding have been equipped with loadcells on their bins,” Gerhard states.

Furthermore, he highlights that the siding can accommodate sufficient coal product to fill two full train loads.

“This coal siding is of strategic importance to Khanye Colliery as it provides the mine with the shortest possible route to market by connecting it to the rail network that will transport the coal to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), in KwaZulu-Natal,” states Clifford.

Khanye Colliery previously made use of Forfar siding, which is a private siding, located approximately 26 km from the mine. Coal was also transported to the Kendal siding for a short period. These methods of evacuating coal came at high costs and were not sustainable in the long term.

However, the newly developed Bronkhorstspruit siding is situated approximately 8km away by road from Khanye Colliery, which reduces the distance of the coal truck deliveries to the siding substantially.

“It has been a very rewarding experience working on this project. The importance of having our own operational siding in place for Khanye Colliery cannot be emphasized enough, as it has significantly improved the efficiencies and reduced the costs of getting our coal to market,” Gerhard concludes.