The Dundee operations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, consist of two coal processing plants and a rotary kiln for anthracite calcining, with the Magdalena Plant designed at 250 tonnes per hour.
The Dundee coal processing operations, located in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, comprise the original Coalfields Plant, the newer Magdalena Plant, and a rotary kiln designated as the Calcine Plant. The Coalfields Plant, commissioned in 1992 within a decommissioned Consol Glass factory, was originally designed to batch treat coal on a toll basis before primarily processing ore from the Dundee mining operations. The processing configuration at both the Coalfields and Magdalena plants consists of five sections: crushing, large coal washing via Heavy Media Separation (HMS) in a Teska Bath, small coal HMS cyclones, a spirals plant, and slimes handling. The Calcine Plant is used to drive off volatiles in the anthracite, thereby increasing the Fixed Carbon of the saleable product.
Site visits were undertaken in early October 2012 to update performance data from a 2011 report. The washing plants operate on a two-shift cycle of 10 hours per shift, five days a week, with occasional Saturday work and four hours of daily maintenance included. The tailings extension is designed with a 22-year life and a design capacity of 14 million tonnes, with an annual deposition rate of 640,000 tonnes per year. The railway siding is connected to the Transnet grid and has the capacity to load 160,000 tonnes per month, with 50 wagons reportedly loaded in a four-hour period.
Critical Data
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plant capacity (Magdalena) | 250 | tph | Design capacity |
| Crushing stages | 2 | stages | Roll crushers |
| Crushing product size | 50 | mm | Second stage roll crusher |
| HMS large coal feed | 25 x 50 | mm | Teska Bath feed |
| Cyclone plant feed | 1 x 25 | mm | Produces Duff and Peas |
| Spirals circuit feed | Minus 1 | mm | Produces concentrate |
| Kiln capacity | 10 to 11 | tph | Anthracite feed |
| Kiln coal firing rate | 300 | kg/h | Pea coal |
| Kiln operating tonnage | 6,000 to 7,000 | tpm | Historical operating data |
| Tailings design tonnes | 14 | Mt | Extension design |
| Tailings tonnes per year | 640,000 | t | Design specification |
| Tailings rate of rise | 4.5 | m/year | Design specification |
| Tailings life | 22 | years | Design specification |
| Large Nut product | 40 x 90 | mm | Classical product range |
| Small Nut product | 25 x 45 | mm | Classical product range |
| Peas Standard product | 6 x 28 | mm | Classical product range |
| Siding capacity | 160,000 | tpm | Loading and tramming capacity |
| Maintenance | 4 | h/day | Daily included maintenance |
| Shift length | 10 | h/shift | Two shifts per day, five days a week |
Overview
The Dundee Coal processing operations include the original Coalfields Plant and the newer Magdalena Plant. The Coalfields Plant, commissioned in 1992, was built in two parallel strings and was originally designed for toll treatment of coal from different sources. The plant is located at the site of a decommissioned Consol Glass factory. Additionally, a rotary kiln, known as the Calcine Plant, is operated to process anthracite by driving off volatiles to increase the Fixed Carbon content of the saleable product. The kiln operated from September 2010 until it was shut down in April 2011 due to market constraints, and was being re-commissioned at the time of the report.
Key Process Stages
Raw Coal Handling and Crushing
For the Coalfields Plant, raw coal is delivered by truck to a stockpile. From there, it is fed through two stages of crushing for primary sizing before delivery to the plant stockpile. At the Magdalena Plant, raw coal is broken underground by mechanical feeders to a size amenable for conveyor transport to the surface stockpile, where it is then fed through two stages of roll crushers, reducing the size down to 50 mm.
Heavy Media Separation (HMS)
The screened coal at a size of 25 mm to 50 mm is processed through a Teska Bath HMS separator at the Magdalena Plant. The discard is rejected to waste, while the product is screened to the desired size fraction. The 1 mm to 25 mm fraction is upgraded in a cyclone washing plant to produce washed Duff and Peas.
Spiral Circuit
The minus 1 mm material is treated in a spirals circuit to produce a concentrate. The tailings from the spiral circuit are discarded to the residues, although this material may be blended with certain products when necessary.
Dewatering and Slimes Handling
Slimes from the spiral plant cyclone overflow are settled in an Ultrasep high-rate thickener at the Coalfields Plant. This thickener separates solids from water, allowing clean water to be recycled to the plant while the thickener underflow is sent to settling paddocks. At the Magdalena Plant, slimes are settled in a settling dam to recover clean water for return to the plant and to reject settled solids.
Calcination
The Calcine Plant rotary kiln has a capacity of 10 to 11 tonnes per hour of anthracite feed. The kiln is fired by approximately 300 kg per hour of Pea coal to generate sufficient heat for adequate calcining.
Product Handling and Dispatch
The Magdalena Plant produces a range of products including large nuts, small nuts, and export peas, with standard size ranges of 40 x 90 mm, 25 x 45 mm, and 6 x 28 mm respectively. Saleable products are stored in dedicated areas and dispatched by road to the Coalfields siding for rail or road distribution. Final classification and preparation of material for sale is carried out at the Coalfields Plant. Processed coal is stockpiled at the Coalfields siding for export or domestic inland transport, with the railway siding connected to the Transnet grid.
Additional Interesting Data and Summary
The current tailings dam was nearing its end of life, and in April 2012 Forbes Coal appointed African Innovation Solutions and Projects CC to design additional tailings dam space. The proposed tailings extension is situated to the south of the existing discard dam and is designed to handle 640,000 tonnes per year with a 22-year life. The return water dam was designed to adhere to the Nation Water Act and SANS 10286:1998 regulations. The plants were not fully utilised because of the current mining plan. Since May 2011, sidings management has improved considerably, and Transnet Freight Rail service delivery improved from around 23% to approximately 70%. The tailings dam specifications include a design capacity of 14 million tonnes with a rate of rise of 4.5 metres per year.
Key Processes
- Crushing: Two stages of roll crushers reduce coal size to 50 mm
- Heavy Media Separation: Teska Bath for large coal, HMS cyclones for small coal
- Spiral concentration: Spirals circuit treats minus 1 mm material
- Dewatering: Ultrasep high-rate thickener and settling dam for slimes handling
- Calcination: Rotary kiln treating anthracite to increase Fixed Carbon content
- Product classification: Sizing to produce Large Nut, Small Nut, and Peas Standard products
Source: Qualified Persons’ Report on Forbes Coal’s Dundee Operations, 2012.
Project website: Qualified Persons’ Report on Forbes Coal’s Dundee Operations
Consolidated report summaries
The following former standalone pages about this operation were consolidated here on October 25, 2026. They are retained for source traceability; dates and figures reflect each report’s own effective date and may be superseded by the current information above.
Buffalo Coal – Resources and Reserves (2022)
This technical report presents updated coal resource and reserve estimates for the Buffalo Coal Dundee operations as at 1 January 2022.
Report context
This National Instrument 43-101 technical report update was prepared for Buffalo Coal Dundee (Pty) Ltd and covers the Magdalena and Aviemore projects located in Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The effective date of the resource and reserve estimates is 1 January 2022, and the report was signed on 4 April 2022. The report addresses coal resources and reserves, mine design and operations, mineral processing and metallurgical testing, recovery methods, and project infrastructure.
Processing route
Coalfields Washing Plant
The report describes an existing processing facility at the Coalfields complex. A Coal Flow diagram shows the Solids Mass Balance for the operation. The Coalfields washing plant processes run-of-mine (ROM) coal from Aviemore East, Balgray, and the proposed Aviemore North Adit. The report presents a forecast of Aviemore East, Balgray, and Aviemore North ROM production relative to Coalfields processing capacity but does not specify detailed design capacity or individual unit operations within the plant. A summary table of typical ROM and product specifications is provided.
Magdalena Washing Plant
A process flow diagram is presented for the Magdalena Washing Plant. The plant produces a saleable bituminous coal product mix. Raw coal qualities for the Magdalena resources are reported for both the Alfred and Gus Seams, with volatile matter content ranges used to delineate different coal types: volatile matter more than 7.5%, volatile matter between 7.5% and 16%, and volatile matter greater than 16%.
Calcine Plant
The report references a rotary calcine plant located at the Coalfields site. Processing costs for the calcine plant are presented separately from the washing plant costs in the operating cost breakdown.
Key reported parameters
| Parameter | Unit | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aviemore saleable coal reserves (Gus Seam) | tonnes | Reported per Table 1-2 | Proven and probable reserves |
| Aviemore saleable coal qualities (air dried) | various | Reported per Table 1-3 | Design specifications |
| Magdalena bituminous saleable coal reserves (Alfred and Gus Seams) | tonnes | Reported per Table 1-5 | Proven and probable reserves |
| Magdalena saleable bituminous coal qualities (air dried) | various | Reported per Table 1-6 | Design specifications |
| Resource washability float density products | g/cm³ | 1.55, 1.60, 1.65, 1.70 | Testwork (July 2021) |
| Historical anthracite production (Aviemore) | tonnes | Since 2003 | Historical operating data |
| Historical bituminous production (Magdalena) | tonnes | Since 2003 | Historical operating data |
| Typical ROM and product specifications | various | Reported per Table 17-1 | Testwork and historical data |
Project website: https://buffalocoal.co.za/operations/technical-reports-2022
Technical qualifications
The report states that the mineral reserves were prepared by I.A. MacFarlane, BSc.Eng. (Mining), MBL, Retired Fellow FSAIMM, and the mineral resources were prepared by Doulos Advisory Services with Kobus Dippenaar, BSc.Hons. (Geology), Pr.Sci.Nat., MGSSA as the qualified person. The resource classification follows SANS 10320:2004, with classification criteria based on borehole density. Modifying factors applied to convert resources to reserves are defined in the report, including a moisture content adjustment factor and seam height constraints. The report also notes that a comparison with previous estimates from Aviemore and Magdalena is presented.
Source: *Buffalo Coal – Resources and Reserves* technical report, January 2022, effective date 1 January 2022. Relevant sections: Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing (Section 13), Mineral Resource Estimates (Section 14), Mineral Reserve Estimates (Section 15), Mining Methods (Section 16), Recovery Methods (Section 17).
