Processing low-grade coal to produce high-grade products
GJ de Korte
South Africa’s best-quality coal, located in the central Highveld basin, is
becoming depleted and alternative sources of coal, such as the Waterberg
coalfield, will have to be developed to supply the country with coal in the
future. The quality of the coal being mined in the central basin is gradually
becoming poorer. This necessitates that more of the coal be processed to
improve the quality to meet customer requirements. The challenge to the
coal processing industry is to process low-yielding coals to produce goodquality
products and at the same time ensure that coal mining remains
economically viable. This requires that more cost-effective coal processing
technologies be investigated and implemented.
Keywords: low-grade raw coal, new developments, low-cost coal processing
technologies, dry processing of raw coal.