The practical application of Vectar Processed densities in proving the lateral continuity of coal Zones and Samples in the Ellisras Basin, South Africa in support of effective Mineral Resource adjudication

Abstract

The Ellisras Basin, with huge coal resources, is fault-bounded along its southern and northern margins and is a graben-type deposit. The study area is situated in the south-western part of the Limpopo Province of the Republic of South Africa and is geologically located in the Ellisras Basin. In this area the basin is influenced by three major fault zones, the Eenzaamheid Fault delineating its southern limit, the Zoetfontein Fault near its northern limit and the Daarby Fault, with a down-throw of approximately 350 m towards the north-east. Sedimentological facies changes also influence the continuity of the coal zones, with deterioration in coal development. The exploration project was a collaboration between two of the large role players in the South African coal mining industry Sasol and Exxaro, for the purpose of identifying whether the coal in the Ellisras Basin could be used for gasification purposes in the Sasol process, and that enough resources exist on the farms on which the two companies have the exploration rights.. The prospecting method used at the Project area, situated 50 kilometer west of the town of Lephalale in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, comprises the drilling of cored exploration boreholes on a random spacing of ± 1 000 m x 1 000 m, together with infill percussion drilling. The use of slimline geophysical methods to log lithologies is a technique which has been used extensively in the mining industry over a number of years. At the Project area the correlation between the measured densities derived from the traditional method of air and water measurement and those derived from Vectar processed derived densities from geophysical logging is better than 95%. As a method of “fingerprinting” the various coal zones and samples it was decided to calculate the distribution of relative densities in the chosen geological intersection. The data was then used to portray geophysically derived relative density cumulative distribution line diagrams (GDCDD) of the various lithotypes on either a sample-by-sample or zone-by-zone basis. Using the classification method proposed, the various coal seams and zones can be correlated to a high degree and discrepancies easily identified. The lateral correlation between lithologies can be accurately described and substantiated, and this would convince a Competent Person that the method proposed is invaluable in classifying coal resources in the coal basins.