cbm in the springbok flats coalfield: a major untapped ... · a major untapped source of energy...
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BANZI GEOTECHNICS ccP O BOX 72611, PARKVIEW, 2122, SOUTH AFRICA 23 DOVETON RD, PARKTOWN, 2193 TELEPHONE (011) 482-1192 Int. (2711)JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA TELEFAX (011) 726-7744 Int. (2711)
SERVICES IN ENGINEERING, EXPLORATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY,;
CBM IN THE SPRINGBOK FLATS COALFIELD:
A MAJOR UNTAPPED SOURCE OF ENERGY
Fossil Fuel Foundation Limpopo Coal Conference – 25th October 2012
By: Oliver Barker
Session 4: 15h50 – 16h30
AcknowledgementsBanzi Geotechnics cc assisted generously with technical support and allowed me the opportunity to conduct the literature research that gives substance to this paper.Numerous colleagues and friends who have given me advice and assistance over the last 25 yearsThe Petroleum Agency of SA provided assistance with reports on onshore oil and gas exploration.
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Outline of Paper
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IntroductionLocation of CoalfieldGeology, Structure and Resources;The Mineral Rights Situation• Exploration Rights – CBM• Prospecting Rights – Uranium• Prospecting Rights – Coal
q An Integrated Energy Roadmap;q Discussionq Conclusion
INTRODUCTION -
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Regional Review – Springbok Flats Coalfield virgin territory;Significant exploration in the region started in the late 1960’s and continued into the late 1980’s’s;The main players were:
Anglo in the west, south of Bela Bela;Gencor in the central south near Tuinplaatsand Matahanjana/Moretele area;Rand Mines is also understood to have explored the coalfield
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Chemical companies such as Sentrachemlooked at synfuelsin 1978 the Bop Government commissioned a study by Dames and Moore of the Matahanjana/Moretele area;
A mineable deposit was identified covering about 11000ha;Depth from 60m-300m (mean depth 260m);In situ mineable resource of 200M tonnes;Mining height of 1.25m with a mean raw ash content of 25%
The D&M report proposed an integrated development of the coal resource
LOCATION OF COALFIELD
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South Africa’s coalfields names are regionally derived.The differences are gradual between the linked coalfields.Differences are marked between those coalfields that are remote from each other.The Springbok Flats basin is one such coalfield
South Africa’s Coalfields
There are 20 named coalfields in South Africa
Springbok Flats
Coalfield
Detailed Location Map of Springbok Flats Coal
Basin
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1. The Basin lies about 90kmnorth of Johannesburg, 40kmfrom Pretoria
2. The basin covers and area of about 930 000ha
3. It is about 209km in length and 50-60 km in width
GEOLOGY AND STRUCTURE
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Geology of the Springbok Flats
• Significantly the coals are shale-bounded and are of lower Beaufort age
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• Deposition was from the NNE
• A full succession of the typical Karoo sequence is developed, including diamictites (Dwykacontinental tillites) at the base and Stormberg(Letaba) Basalts as a capping to the sequence
Stratigraphy
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• Stratigraphy is after Roberts (1992)
• The stratigraphy comprises all the elements of the Karoo from basal diamictites (Dwyka) to the Letaba Lava Formation
• Letaba lavas covers extensive areas of the basin
• The division between the Warmbad and Turfpan formations is not well defined
• The sequence is shale and mudstone dominant
• The Coal Zone is mudstone bounded
Geology of the Springbok Flats
• Deposition was from the NNE
• A full succession of the typical Karoo sequence is developed, including diamictites (Dwykacontinental tillites) at the base and Stormberg(Letaba) Basalts as a capping to the sequence
• Significantly the coals are shale-bounded and are of lower Beaufort age
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Geology of the Springbok Flats
• Faulting of the western margin and transgressive to the basin east of Bela Bela are post formational and had no affect on the early sedimentation
• The faulting produces “horst and graben” structures with offsets up to 850m in places
• Depth of coal seams of over 1000m occur south of the Warmbad Fault
• Large dolerite sills are developed both above and below the coal seams and are crosscutting in places
• In the Matahanjana and Tuiplaats areas the coals are relatively undisturbed
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Map of Proposed Resource Blocks Springbok Flats
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Matahanjana Sector
TuinplaatsCoalfield
East-West Sections in the Matahanjana Coalfield
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Springbok Flats Target
The coal seams are:Deep +200m to over 1000m from surfaceThe coals are shale and mudstone bounded7m + coal and carbonaceous shale section
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Springbok Flats Target
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Typical Central Region Borehole
Section
Upper Zone Concentration of Uranium.
COAL RESOURCES
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Map of Proposed Resource Blocks Springbok Flats
1
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In-Situ Coal Resource Estimates
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Regions and Areas Areas From Maps1NE Region 3,245,614,3842NE Shallow Area 1,131,701,7933NE Deep Area 2,113,912,591
4Central Region 1,673,598,4905Central Shallow Area 911,118,6996Central Deep Area 762,479,792
7SW Region 2,917,139,8888SW Shallow Area 1,906,749,5999SW Deep Area 1,010,390,289
10Total Resource Area (1+4+7) 7,836,352,763
Area in Hectares324,561.44113,170.18211,391.26
167,359.8591,111.8776,247.98
291,713.99190,674.96101,039.03
783,635.28
In Situ Resource Estimates
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Table 1: In-situ resources for entire coalfield
Parameter Assumption Coal RD 1.55 Carb Shale RD 1.65
Use Table 3 Averages SW Region Central Region NE Region Total Area (m2) Total Area (ha)
Area (m2) 2,917,139,888 1,673,598,490 3,214,809,358 7,805,547,737 780,555Lower seam (m) 0.94 0.94 0.94Middle seam (m) 0.83 0.83 0.83Lower Zone (Shale between Coal Seems) (m) 1.17 1.17 1.17
Upper Zone (Assumed) (m) 0.75 0.75 0.75
Seam or Zone Nominal In Situ Resources by Region and Litho-type
Total Nominal In Situ
Resource
Assuming a 75% loss
over BasinPossible Resource lower seam (Gt) 4,263.76 2,446.17 4,698.84 11,409 2,852.19Possible Resource middle seam (Gt) 3,775.19 2,165.87 4,160.42 10,101 2,525.37Possible Lower Zone Resource (Gt) 5,632.90 3,231.66 6,207.69 15,072 3,768.07Possible Upper Zone Resource (Gt) 3,609.96 2,071.08 3,978.33 9,659 2,414.84Total Nominal Resources 17,281.81 9,914.79 19,045.28 46,241.87 11,560.47
A MINE PLAN HAS BEEN PROPOSED
That would operate between 60 and 300m from surfaceCould produce from a in situ resource of 200Mtonnes over just 11 000haA mine could produce 2.47Mtpa with a raw ash content of 25%A two stage wash would yield:• A high ash feedstock for fluidized bed applications and
power production and uranium separation• for liquefaction by direct/catalytic hydrogenation or
pyrolysis• A coking feedstock for coke manufacture may also be
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AVERAGE MIDDLINGS / DISCARDS QUALITIES - BY SEAM -: MATAHANJANA DISTRICT
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SeamAve.
Thick FractionY%
H2O%
Ash%
Vol%
FC%
C.V.(MJ/kg
)S%
Lower Seam(74BHs) 0,85m
*S1,45-F1,70Discard
27,127,1 2,5
29,963,2 28,4 39,2 22,47 1,46
Middle Seam(87BHs) 1,19
S1,45-F1,70Discard
21,620,5 2,2
27,162,4 30,6 40,1 23,21 3,11
Lower ZoneZone
(16BHs) 3,48mS1,45-F1,70
Discard
25,3
42,4 2,7
31,1
66,2 28,1 38,1 21,56 1,76
*Sink Relative Density C.F. F1,45
Average Quality Parameters by Seam – Matahanjana Sector
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SeamAvg. Thick (m)
RD (Fraction) (Float/Sink
)
Yield % H20% Ash % Vol % FC % C.V. (Mj/kg) S % Raw
RD
Lower Seam 0.85 F 1.45 45.8 2.8 14.8 33.8 48.6 27.96 1.0674 Boreholes F 1.70 72.9 2.7 20.4 31.8 45.1 25.92 1.21
Raw 100.0 2.5 32.0 27.8 37.7 19.60 2.85 1.55
Lower Seam 1.19 1.45 57.9 2.6 14.6 35.4 47.4 28.11 1.5387 BH's 1.70 79.5 2.5 18.0 34.1 45.5 26.78 1.96
Raw 100.00 2.50 27.10 30.70 39.70 21.48 3.36 1.56
Lower Zone 3.48 1.45 32.30 2.70 15.40 34.70 47.20 27.84 1.3116 BH's 1.70 57.60 2.70 22.30 31.80 43.20 25.08 1.51
Raw 100.00 2.60 40.90 24.50 32.00 15.26 2.62
Petrogrpahic Analysis
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Maceral Percentage RoVVitrinite 84% 0.65Exinite 4.5%Inertinite 6.8%Minerals 4.3%V/E Ratio 95%V+E % 84%
Petrographic analyses were conducted on composited F1,40fractions from 55 boreholes, yielding the following * maceraldistributions:
UNCONVENTIONAL GAS RESOURCES
(CBM)
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DISTRIBUTION OF KNOWN GAS ACCUMULATIONS
SOUT
H A
FRICAN AGENCY FOR PROMOTION O
F PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND EXPLO
ITATI
ON
The PASA produces Oil and Gas information for South Africa and very useful maps which assist explorers in locating targets
Springbok Flats Coalfield
Explorer Activity (May 2011)
Springbok Flats Coalfield
Distribution of applications
• As of May 2011 there are over 224 onshore gas and oil applications in SA
• Of these about 124 have been accepted and these now include shale gas and TCP’s for shale gas
• Of these about 73 applications are under evaluation
• Of the 224 some 51 have been converted to exploration licenses
• However there are no production licenses yet for on-shore gas production
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CBM Applications
Almost 90% of the basin area is under applications;6 under evaluation and 3 Exploration Rights . One overlapping three others!
ONSHORE APPLICATIONS(Under Evaluation)
(06ER) - Springbok Flats (Anglo)(50ER) - Springbok Flats (Anglo)(68ER) - Springbok Flats (Badimo)(104ER) - Umbono CBM(175ER) - Msix(216ER) – Umbono CBM
ONSHORE EXPLORATIONRIGHTS
(84ER) – Great Force Investments(96ER) - Vibrant Veterans Energy(118ER) - Msix
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Coal Rank and Gas Generation
South African Coals range in rank from Sub-bituminous through to Anthracite.The rank falls generally from east to west in the main Karoo basin.It is variable in the northern basins but is generally in the high volatile range.Coal seam rank shows slight variations within the bituminous C-Rank (0.6-0.8Rr) range.Where these coals are intruded by dolerite significant rank variations occur due to thermal effects.
Nominal Possible Potential Yield from SA CBM Project Lower Seam
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Parameter Numbers Unit of Measurement
Area 780,555 hectares
Conversion Factor to ha 10,000 m²/ha
Area, m² 7,805,547,737 m²
Avg Thickness 0.94 m
In Situ Nominal Volume 7,360,497,515 m³
Avg SG 1.55 tonnes/m³
Mass 11,408,771,149 tonnes
Avg gas cont 6.0 m³/tonne
RESOURCE 68,452,626,892 m³ GIP (gas-in-place)
Conversion Factor to ft³ 35.3147 ft³/m³
RESOURCE, (Imp) 2,417,383,982,905 ft³
Recovery Factor 50%Est. Nominal Reserve 1,208,691,991,453 ft³Est. Nominal Reserve
1.2 TCF
Nominal Possible Potential Yield: Springbok Flats: Middle Seam
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Parameter Numbers Unit of Measurement
Area 780,555 hectares
Conversion Factor to ha 10,000 m²/ha
Area, m² 7,805,547,737 m²
Avg Thickness 0.83 m
In Situ Nominal Volume 6,517,081,762 m³
Avg SG 1.55 tonnes/m³
Mass 10,101,476,731 tonnes
Avg gas cont 6.0 m³/tonne
RESOURCE 60,608,860,384 m³ GIP (gas-in-place)
Conversion Factor to ft³ 35.3147 ft³/m³
RESOURCE, (Imp) 2,140,383,721,791 ft³
Recovery Factor 50%
Est. Nominal Reserve 1,070,191,860,895 ft³
Est. Nominal Reserve 1.1 TCF
Nominal Possible Potential Yield : Springbok Flats: Lower Carbonaceous Shale Zone
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Parameter Numbers Unit of Measurement
Area 780,555 hectares
Conversion Factor to ha 10,000 m²/ha
Area, m² 7,805,547,737 m²
Avg Thickness 1.17 m
In Situ Nominal Volume 9,134,703,346 m³
Avg SG 2.00 tonnes/m³
Mass 18,269,406,693 tonnes
Avg gas cont 6.0 m³/tonne
RESOURCE 109,616,440,158 m³ GIP (gas-in-place)
Conversion Factor to ft³ 35.3147 ft³/m³
RESOURCE, (Imp) 3,871,071,699,244 ft³
Recovery Factor 50%
Est. Nominal Reserve 1,935,535,849,622 ft³
Est. Nominal Reserve 1.9 TCF
Nominal Possible Potential Yield: Springbok Flats: Upper Zone
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Parameter Numbers Unit of MeasurementArea 780,555 hectares
Conversion Factor to ha 10,000 m²/ha
Area, m² 7,805,547,737 m²
Avg Thickness 0.75 m
In Situ Nominal Volume 5,854,160,803 m³
Avg SG 2.00 tonnes/m³
Mass 11,708,321,606 tonnes
Avg gas cont 6.0 m³/tonne
RESOURCE 70,249,929,634 m³ GIP (gas-in-place)
Conversion Factor to ft³ 35.3147 ft³/m³
RESOURCE, (Imp) 2,480,855,190,045 ft³
Recovery Factor 50%
Est. Nominal Reserve 1,240,427,595,023 ft³
Est. Nominal Reserve 1.2 TCF
Total Estimate: Nominal Resource for the Sprinbok Flats 5.5 TCF
Prospecting for Coal and Uranium
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SAMRAND is not user freindlyNo clear data has been able to be obtained on the current prospecting rights in the coalfieldIt is known that there are prospecting rights issued for Coal Status of Uranium rights is not clearThis situation contrast markedly with Petroleum rights
Prospecting Rights
SAMRAD WEBSITE IS NOT FULLY OPERATIONAL
Search Current Applications Search Back
Province App ID Applicant Type of Right
App Status
View Map Notification Upload
LP 30/5/1/1/2/0106 PR INNOVAGE JV MINING (PTY) LTD
prospecting right
Map Location View N/A
LP 30/5/1/1/2/0119 PR INNOVAGE JV MINING (PTY) LTD
prospecting right
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LP 30/5/1/1/2/0365 PR LIMPOPO COAL COMPANY (PROPRIETTARY) LIMITED
prospecting right
Map Location View N/A
LP 30/5/1/1/2/0365 PR LIMPOPO COAL COMPANY (PROPRIETTARY) LIMITED
prospecting right
Map Location View N/A
LP 30/5/1/1/2/0378 PR COPPER MINE (PTY) LTD prospecting right
Map Location View N/A
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limpopo
If we click the short cut to the “Map Location” Link we get the following error:
SAMRAD WEBSITE IS NOT FULLY OPERATIONAL
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An Integrated Energy Roadmap
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A Roadmap or the Optimization of the Springbok Flats coalfield
CBM/cmm• Energy and chemical feedstockUranium mining • Wash Plant stockpile + (FBC to
Stockpile?)Coal Mining –• FBC feedstock Energy;• Liquefaction – chemical industry• Coke production chars and
briquettesUCG - Possibly much later
Location of Coalfield Relative
to Energy Demand Centres
• It lies midway between the platinum mines of the east and western Bushveld and a less than 50km south of the Mokopane Platinum mine
• This coal basin is thus perfectly situated to supply energy to the new mining and industrial hubs of Steelpoort, Mokopane, and Rustenburg
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• Bushveld Complex • Springbok
Flats Coalfield
Steelpoort
Mokopane
Rustenburg
An Integrated Energy Model
BANZI GEOTECHNICS ccThe Springbok Flats Coal Use Road Map
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The Springbok Flats Coalfield is an enormous untouched source of energyThe methane resources should be realised either as CBM or CMM during coal miningPrevious work has indicated that it is possible to establish a mine that could feed a multiproduct chemical and energy industry.Coal mining would also produce uranium as a by-product
Summary - 1
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At this stage UCG should not be contemplated:• Large Number of Conflicting CBM
Applications• Contamination by uranium• Potential for contamination of critical
near surface aquifers;• Difficulty in burn control ?
Summary 2
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A “Roadmap” for the Springbok Flats coalfield indicates that a combination of mining, CBM/CMM and Uranium Production should precede UCG
CONCLUSION