An Overview of The Permian (Karoo) Coal Deposits of Southern Africa

African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562
www.elsevier.com/locate/jafrearsci
An overview of the Permian (Karoo) coal deposits of southern Africa

B. Cairncross
Department of Geology, Rand Afrikaans University, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Gauteng 2006, South Africa
Received 31 January 2001; accepted 12 June 2001
Abstract
The coal deposits of southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and
Zimbabwe) are reviewed. The coal seams formed during two periods, the Early Permian (ArtinskianKungurian) and the Late Permian
(UfimianKazanian). The coals are associated with non-marine terrestrial clastic sedimentary sequences, most commonly mudrock and
sandstones, assigned to the Karoo Supergroup. The Early Permian coals are most commonly sandstone-hosted while the younger coals
typically occur interbedded with mudstones. The sediments were deposited in varying tectono-sedimentary basins such as foreland,
intracratonic rifts and intercratonic grabens and half-grabens. The depositional environments that produced the coal-bearing successions
were primarily deltaic and fluvial, with some minor shoreline and lacustrine settings. Coals vary in rank from high-volatile bituminous to
anthracite and characteristically have a relatively high inertinite component, and medium- to highash content. In countries where coal is
mined, it is used for power generation, coking coal, synfuel generation, gasification and for (local) domestic household consumption. 2002
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Karoo; Permian; Coal
1. Introduction
Coal is the main source of energy in southern Africa. In
1997, 68% of the regions energy consumption was coalbased, while the rest of Africa depended primarily on oil
for its energy needs (Energy Information Administration,
2000). In particular, coal consumption in South Africa
accounts for 74% of the countrys energy usage and in
Zimbabwe, 51%. The remaining southern African countries
consume and mine considerably less coal than these two
countries (Table 1). With very few exceptions, all of the
sub-continents coal seams are hosted in Permian-aged
rocks of the Karoo Supergroup (Langford, 1992). One
exception is the Triassic Molteno coalfield in South Africa
(Christie, 1981, 1986), but coal is not presently mined from
this deposit. Coal is exploited with varying degrees of
sophistication, from one-man spadeand-shovel diggings,
South Africa also leads the southern African countries
E-mail address: bc@na.rau.ac.za (B. Cairncross).
with respect to volumes of coal mined and exported,

having produced 224.3 million tons and exported 67
million tons during 1998, ranking the country number
five in the world (South Africas Mineral Industry, 2000).
Some southern African countries, for example Namibia,
are not presently commercially exploiting coal at all.
The lithologies that contain the coal deposits are
Permian in age and assigned to the Karoo Supergroup
(SACS, 1980; Johnson et al., 1996), and Karoo-type
deposits are known from all of the countries described in
this paper (Fig. 1). The Karoo basin in South Africa is
regarded as the type-locality for the southern African
0899-5362/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0899-5362(01)00088-4
providing fuel for rural households, to some of the worlds

largest opencast and underground coal mines. South Africa
is particularly well endowed with coal resources, this partly
due to the existence of the Karoo basin within the country
(Cadle et al., 1993).
coals (Cadle et al., 1993). This is somewhat misleading

because although the Karoo basin contains the most
complete succession of sedimentary strata and the largest
coal resources, the tectonic setting and some of the
sedimentary facies in other southern African Karoo coal
B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562
basins exhibit different traits to those of the main Karoo

basin (Cairncross, 1987). The distribution of Permian
Karoo strata is relatively widespread in southern Africa,
but the distribution of coal within these strata is far less
common. Therefore, not all potential Early Permian
Karoo lithologies contain coal (Fig. 1). Most of the East
African coals are preserved in downthrown grabens that
post-date the deposition of the Karoo sediments and peat,
and many are only small erosional artefacts of once
Swaziland
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe
128
980
61
809
Total
67,993
530
MMST: Million short tons; n.d.: no data.

Source: EIA Energy Information Administration (2000).
2.
Database
Fig. 1. The outcrops of Karoo Supergroup Permian strata in southern Africa. Numbers in circles refer to the columns featured in Fig. 2(a)(c). They are
generalised reference profiles for each of the coalfields.
larger successions.
Table 1
Southern African fossil fuel reserves (recoverable) as at January 1999
Country
Coal (MMST)
Botswana
4754
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
2
265
n.d.
60,994
The availability and quality of geological data pertaining

to coal in southern African countries is highly variable.
There is a wealth of information published on South
Africas coal deposits. Zimbabwe and Botswana coal is
fairly well documented and some of Tanzanias coal has
more recently been the focus of some research. In contrast,
Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi are somewhat under
investigated. Information on Namibian coal rests primarily
in company and open-file reports and a similar situation
exists for Swaziland. For these reasons, some of the

countries in the region receive somewhat cursory
descriptions in this review, while others are treated in more
depth because of the comprehensive, published database.
However, for countries such as
531
532
Namibia, which have detailed coal data in relatively

inaccessible reports, these have been summarised in some
detail in this review. In contrast, the coal deposits of South
Africa are only briefly summarised here, as most of the
data is easily accessible in journals. Detailed descriptions
of the stratigraphy and coal seam distribution and quality
for all of the southern African countries can be found in
Cairncross (1987), and to a lesser degree in Langford
(1992). In all cases, coal resources are quoted as total tons
in situ. In some instances, the confidence level of the
figures quoted may be low, particularly for areas where
geological data are limited. Furthermore, all coal quality
values are reported on a raw coal, air-dried basis, unless
otherwise noted.
3.
Age and correlation
The absolute age of the coal-bearing units in southern

Africa is not well constrained and most, if not all Permian
age determinations and correlation rely on palynology.
Radiometric ages have recently been published for the
lowermost units of the Karoo Supergroup, namely tuff beds
in the Dwyka Group of Namibia and similar tuff beds in the

basal section of the Prince Albert Formation in the southern
Karoo basin. These ages are
302 3:0 Ma and 299 3:2 Ma for the Namibian Dwyka,
and 288 3:0 Ma and 289 3:8 Ma for the
Prince Albert Formation (Bangert et al., 1999). These
absolute ages are somewhat older than the Sakmarian age
proposed from palynomorphs (McLachlan and Anderson,
1973; Loock and Visser, 1985; MacRae, 1988; Visser,
1990). Therefore, these absolute ages act as maximum
ages for the coal-bearing strata located stratigraphically
above. A generally accepted age for the Permian coal
deposits is ArtinskianKungurian and UfimianKazanian
for some of the slightly younger coals (Figs. 2(a)(c)).
These palynological ages apply to South Africa (MacRae,
1988; Millsteed, 1994; Visser, 1992), Botswana (Key et
al., 1998) Zimbabwe ( Kreuser, 1994; Oesterlen and
Millsteed, 1994), Zambia ( Utting, 1978a; Kreuser, 1994)
and Tanzania (Kreuser, 1994 ; Semkiwa et al., 1998;
Kalkreuth et al., 1999; Wopfner, 2000). Millsteed (1994)
gives specific Aktasinian ( early Artinskian) to lower
Baigendzhinian (mid-late Artinskian) ages for the
Vryheid Formation, this specifically
Fig. 2. (a)(c). Reference profiles for each of the southern African coalfields described in the text. Refer to Fig. 1 for the profiles geographic location. The
various lithostratigraphic units are depicted with respect to their relative ages, and there is no thickness connotation to any of the profiles. Black squares
represent the main coal-forming periods for each locality (adapted from Cairncross, 1987 and Langford, 1992).
533
Fig. 2 (b). (continued)
for the two coal seams in the Vereeniging region of the

Karoo basin.
PermianTriassic extension, which ultimately led to the

break-up of Pangaea and Gondwana (De Wit et al.,
1988; Scotese, 1990).
The coal deposits of southern Africa occur in three
Fig. 2 (c). (continued)
4. Karoo tectonic framework, depositional systems and

coal type
During the Permian, Gondwana formed part of
Pangaea, which had assembled by the Late Palaeozoic
continental collision between Gondwana and Laurussia
and between Laurussia, Kazakhstania and Siberia
(Langford, 1992). During the Late Permian, the relative
movement between Gondwana and Laurasia changed
from the mid Carboniferous-Early Permian suturing,
which resulted in the formation of Pangaea, to Late
tectonic basin types:

Foreland (e.g., Karoo basin, South Africa).
Intercratonic rifts (e.g., Livingstonia, Malawi).
Intracratonic rifts (e.g., Waterberg basin, South Africa).
Apart from the Karoo basin in South Africa which is a
retroarc foreland basin (De Wit et al., 1988; Johnson, 1991;
Catuneanu et al., 1998), all of the remaining southern
African coal-bearing basins are extensional rift-related
534
basins, either intra and intercratonic grabens or halfgrabens (Cairncross, 1987). The overall depositional
systems of the Karoo Supergroup in southern Africa are
relatively well understood (see Smith et al., 1993 for an
overview). To some degree, coal parameters such as rank,
distribution and lateral extent, can be explained in terms of
their respective basin setting, original palaeoflora (Falcon,
1989) and associated depositional palaeoenvironments in
which the peat accumulated (Hobday, 1987; Tavener-Smith
et al., 1988 ; Cairncross, 1989; Holland et al., 1989;
Snyman and Barclay, 1989; Cadle et al., 1993; Snyman and
Botha, 1993; Galloway and Hobday, 1996; Nyambe, 1999).
It is well established that the Permian Gondwana coal types
are markedly different from the Carboniferous coals, this
due primarily to the post-glacial climatic setting (Crowell
and Frakes, 1975; Le Blanc Smith and Eriksson, 1979)
under which the Permian coal originated and which
resulted in distinct floral assemblages from those of the
northern hemisphere (Falcon, 1986a; Falcon et al., 1984).
One of the main differences in the coal type is the presence
of non-reactive inertinite in the Gondwana coals, a
relatively rare component in the European coals. The origin
of inertinite has been ascribed to various parameters
including varying plant origins, variations in climate,
exposure of the peat to premature oxidation (Falcon and
Snyman, 1986), and different tectonic settings (Hunt and
Smyth, 1989).
5.
Angola
Although Karoo Supergroup strata occur in Angola

(Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 22), and, specifically Permian
strata, (Rocha-Campos and Bernardes de Oliveira, 1972) no
coal has been reported to-date from this country.
6. Botswana
6.1. Introduction
Areas prospected for coal in Botswana are centred
primarily on the eastern flanks of the KalahariKaroo
basin and more recently in the south-western regions
(Figs. 1 and 2(a)). This basin underlies over half of
Botswana and is continuous with the Karoo Supergroup
in the northern Cape Province of South Africa, Namibia
and Zimbabwe.
6.2. Regional geological setting
Smith (1984) has described the lithostratigraphy of the
Karoo Supergroup in Botswana in detail. The dominant
geological feature in Botswana is a central depositional
basin infilled with Karoo sediments, covered by
unconsolidated Kalahari sand. This KalahariKaroo basin
is elongate northeastsouthwest, a trend mirrored in the

basins of Namibia to the west.
Correlation of the Karoo Supergroup is possible in
neighbouring countries. In the northeast, the strata are
continuous with those in the Wankie area of Zimbabwe,
in southwest Botswana, with Karoo rocks in Namibia and
South Africa, and in the east with the Waterberg coalfield
in the northern Province. Clark et al. (1986) have
subdivided the KalahariKaroo basin into several
provinces or sub-basins. Data from coal exploration and
geophysical surveys indicate that a single depository is an
over-simplification and that local facies discontinuities,
structural highs and faulting create stratigraphic
complexities in the Karoo Supergroup. For this reason,
new stratigraphic nomenclature has been formulated for
the various coalfield sub-basins. The maceral
compositions of Botswana coals reflect Gondwana trends
with a predominance of inertinite over vitrinite.
6.3. Morupule and Moijabana coalfields
The Morupule and Moijabana coal deposits occur in
the eastern Botswana region and are hosted in the
southeast central Kalahari sub-basin (Figs. 1 and 2(a),
column 12). Considerable tonnages of coal are contained
in this area with the in situ resources being 9210 million
tons (Clark et al., 1986). Palynological investigations
from the Morupule Main seam yielded an Aktastinian age
for the coal (Stephenson and McLean, 1999).
6.3.1. Stratigraphy and geology
Two depositional sub-basins have been identified in
the MorupuleMoijabana area (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column
12). These are separated by a structural high over which
the Karoo succession has been condensed and coals in
this position are thin and poor in quality.
Three seams of economic importance are best
developed in the Morupule area. These occur in Ecca
Group equivalent formations, namely the Morupule
Formation and the overlying Serowe Formation, which
overlie the Kamotaka Formation (Fig. 3). The coalbearing formations comprise siltstone, mudstone,
sandstone and conglomerate and attain a maximum
thickness of 160 m. Dolerite dykes, with a westnorthwest trend, have invaded the Karoo Supergroup in
this region. These have intruded along faults that have
throws of several tens of metres.
6.3.2. Coal
The Morupule main seam (Fig. 3) is laterally persistent
over a wide area with thicknesses of 6.59.5 m. The
thickness of the coal decreases northwards and
southwards, to where the coal is about 1 m thick. The
Lotsane seam above varies from 0.6 to 4.5 m and is
interbedded with carbonaceous shale. Siltstone and shale
separate the uppermost Serowe bright seam from the

Lotsane seam below. The uppermost Serowe seam
averages 1.8 m in thickness. At present, only the
Morupule main seam
535
Middle seam the thickest and most laterally extensive. The

coal from the central block would yield, after beneficiation,
a moderate to good medium-ash coal suitable for export.
Average qualities (raw data) for the Middle seam are ash
20:8%, volatile matter 25%, calorific value 23:95
MJ=kg and sulphur 2:19%
(Clark et al., 1986).
6.5. Letlhakeng coalfield ( Southern end of Morupule)
The Letlhakeng coalfield is located to the west of the
Mamabula area.
Fig. 3. A lithostratigraphic column for the Morupule coalfield, Botswana

(after Clark et al., 1986).
is being exploited. Average qualities (raw coal) of the

Morupule main seam are ash 21:1%, volatile matter
24:3%, calorific value 24:4 MJ/kg and sulphur
1:44% (Clark et al., 1986).
6.4. Mamabula coalfield ( southern Morupule)
The Mamabula coalfield is situated 130 km south of
Morupule (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column 11).
A feature of this coalfield is the structural complexity
caused by extensive faulting. Several major faults affect the
stratigraphy with the northern limit of the coalfield defined
by the east-northeast trending Zoetfontein fault which has a
downthrow to the north of at least 250 m (Clark et al.,
1986). A second and later fault system transects Karoo
strata, forming fault-bounded blocks, which, as separate
structural units, contain coal deposits. These are termed the
south, central, east and Tuli blocks.
6.4.2. Coal
The central block contains the largest coal reserves in the
Mamabula area. Three coal seams are present with the

The Ecca Group consists of lower basal mudstones 60 m
thick, overlain by sandstones and coal seams. The upper 80
m of the Ecca comprises carbonaceous shales, coal and
sandstone. The coal and shale increases eastward in the
upper portions, with the western region characterised by
intercalated sandstone.
Borehole and aeromagnetic data confirm the existence of
two generations of faulting with trends similar to the
adjacent Mamabula area. Northwestsoutheast faults divide
the region into horsts and grabens. The sediments contained
in each faulted block are undeformed and flat-lying with
dips seldom exceeding 3. The lower Karoo strata are
faulted against the Drakensberg Formation lavas in the
north by an extension of the Zoetfontein fault. This has a
downthrow to the north of 500 m.
6.5.2. Coal
Coal occurs in four localities, with two each either side
of an upthrust block of pre-Karoo-basement. The qualities
(raw coal) for the two main economic seams E2b and G1,
respectively, are ash 18:7% and 23.3 %, volatile matter
28:3% and 25.3%, calorific value 25.04 MJ/kg and
22.83 MJ/kg and sulphur1.86% and 1.41% (Clark et al.,
1986).
6.6. Other Botswana coalfields
6.6.1. Dutlwe coalfield ( Kweneng)
This deposit is located west of Letlhakeng where the
Karoo strata are completely covered by unconsolidated
Kalahari sands. Faulting is present, with local structural
highs causing abrupt lateral variation in the Karoo strata.
The known stratigraphy is shown on column 10, Fig. 2(a).
The Ecca Group equivalents contain coal, but seams are
relatively thin in the upper part of the coal zone. Below this
zone, six to seven coal seams have been intersected. Two
mineable seams thicken eastwards, with thickness
variations of 1.54.0 m. Borehole data estimates of reserves
536
are 2000 million tons, with cut-off widths of 1.25 m and

depths less than 300 m. The coals are low-grade, high-ash
with low- to medium-sulphur content (Clark et al., 1986).
6.6.2. Serule coalfield
Serule coalfield is located north of Morupule and has
previously been investigated as a source of coking coal.
Serule lies on the eastern margin of the KalahariKaroo
basin and includes Dwyka and Ecca Groups overlain by
the Tihabala Formation. Faulting is common in the
southern region as well as rapid facies variations making
lithostratigraphic correlation difficult with the
neighbouring Morupule region. The main coal
occurrences are in two seams; raw coal data for the upper
and basal seams indicate a high-ash (>30%), medium
volatile (>20%) bituminous coal (Clark et al., 1986).
6.6.3. Foley/Dukwe/Pandamatenga/Bobonong ( Tuli)

coalfields
These coalfields are present in eastern Botswana and
have been drilled by several exploration companies and the
Botswana Geological Survey.
Foley coalfield contains coal at relatively shallow
depths and is suitable for local power consumption.
Quality parameters include: volatile matter 25%; ash
17:7%; sulphur 0:7%; fixed carbon 57:3 %;
calorific value 24:65 MJ=kg; seam thickness 2 m;
seam depth 180 m (Clark et al., 1986). Dukwe coalfield
is characterised by faulting and dolerite sill and dyke
intrusions. The coal zone is hosted in carbonaceous
mudstone, up to 70 m thick. The best sample analysed
from borehole core was: depth 120 m; thickness 2.1 m,
ash 22:1%, volatile matter 25:4% and calorific
value 24:8 MJ/kg. One borehole is known to have
intersected a seam 8.7 m thick, south of Dukwe.
Pandamatenga (Fig. 2(a), column 13) was investigated as
a possible extension of the Wankie deposit in Zimbabwe.
Excessively thick cover sequences were found in this
area, with Kalahari beds and the Drakensberg Formation
volcanics reaching 200300 m in thickness respectively.
As a result, the coal-bearing formation would occur at
depths of 500700 m below surface. The Bobonong
(Tuli) area in the extreme eastern sector of Botswana
(Figs. 1 and 2(a), column 15) was investigated for coking
coal, but only two holes were drilled intersecting poor
quality seams of 1.0 m in thickness and 38 % ash.
6.6.4. Ncojane coalfield

Shell Coal Botswana drilled this region of
southwestern Botswana (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column 9) to
investigate the coal potential of this relatively unknown
area. A minimum thickness of 450 m sub-horizontal
Karoo strata was described. Coal was intersected in two
zones, each present at the top of upward-coarsening
progradational deltaic cycles. The coal seams are less
than 1.6 m thick and are typically very low calorific

value, high-ash, high-moisture seams.
6.6.5. Northwest Botswana
Ecca Group lithologies are known from the northwest
sector of Botswana, located north-west of the Ghanzi
Chobe foldbelt (Smith, 1984). Although Ecca equivalent
strata have been described from this region, no coal exists
(Fig. 2(a), column 14). The only evidence of organic
material is scattered carbonaceous debris in the
Marakwena Formation, associated with conglomerate,
siltstone and sandstone.
Many of the company reports detailing Botswana coal
exploration are available on open file at the Botswana
geological survey in Lobatse.
7.
Malawi
Malawi lies within a Palaeo to Neoproterozoic belt,
east of the Zambian craton. The strata of the Karoo
Supergroup all occur within fault-bounded half-graben
outliers within the Precambrian basement (Cooper and
Habgood, 1959; Habgood, 1963; Ortlepp, 1977; Chamber
of Mines, undated; Kreuser, 1994). The areas with coal
are situated in the northern and southern extremities of
the country (Figs. 1 and 2(c)) and comprise the
Southern coalfields containing the Sumbu and
Chiromo deposits, and the northern localities near
Livingstonia and Ngana about 200 km to the north of
Livingstonia (Cairncross, 1987). The deposits in the
south occur in the mid-Zambezi Karoo outlier while the
northern deposits have closer affinities with the adjoining
Tanzanian deposits.
7.1. Southern coalfields (Fig. 2(c), column 30)
The Sumbu and Chiromo coal deposits are located
close to the Moatize coal district in Mozambique. The
Karoo strata occur in a complexly structured northwest
southeast striking graben 135 km long and 15 km wide
(Chamber of Mines, undated). The coal-bearing region is
situated in the Shire and Zambezi river valleys. The
north-eastern margin of the Shire rift forms a dominant
structural and topographic unit relative to the adjacent
low-lying valley.
The stratigraphy of the Sumbu and Chiromo coal
deposits are similar. The lowermost member of the Karoo
Supergroup, the Coal Shales, overlies a basal
conglomerate. This argillaceous succession is 650 m
thick and is composed of black, carbonaceous mudstone,
sandstone and thin interbedded, high-ash coal seams.
This is overlain by the Lower Sandstone, 1300 m of
coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate, the 1000 m

thick Mwanza Grits and Shales, and the Red Beds, all
three of which are Beaufort Group equivalents.
The coal-bearing Coal Shales succession overlies
preKaroo basement without any intervening Dwyka Group
glacial deposits. Stratigraphic duplicity is known from the
Shire Valley where repeated faulting caused repetition of
the Coal Shales in various outcrop areas (Habgood, 1963).
The intercalated poorly sorted, coarse-grained sandstone
units are lenticular and up to 3 m thick. These are spatially
related to local basement topographic highs that provided a
local source of coarse clastic detritus that was periodically
and sporadically flushed into the adjacent lacustrine
swamp. On the basis of several species of plant fossils,
notably G. obovata and N. hislopi, the deposits have been
assigned a Late Permian age (Chamber of Mines, undated;
Langford,
1992).
7.2. Sumbu coalfield
Coal occurs as thin (<5 cm), discontinuous bands of
vitrinite-rich laminae within the carbonaceous shale.
Rarely, the coal may thicken into lenses of 3 m, but these
are laterally, highly discontinuous. Faulting is ubiquitous
and dolerite intrusions are prevalent in the sequence
(Chamber of Mines, undated). If coal is isolated from the
enclosing shale, it yields the following analytical results:
moisture1.4%; ash8.9%; volatile matter 21:8%;
sulphur 0:85 %.
7.3. Chiromo coalfield
Coal in the Chiromo area occurs in a downthrown fault
block. Millimetre-thin coal laminae are interlaminated with
carbonaceous shale, and the sequence is faulted. These
carbonaceous deposits are at depths of 230260 m below
surface. Two isolated coal layers yielded ash values of 17%
and 21%, and volatile matter content of 10% and 5.4 %.
7.4. Discussion: comparison with neighbouring Moatize
( Mozambique )
Only 80 km to the west of the southern Malawi
coalfields, the Permian Mozambique deposits of the
Moatize region contain thick bituminous coals with coking
properties (see below under Mozambique). These are
assigned to the Productive Series, the stratigraphic
equivalent to the Malawian Coal Shales. The marked
difference in coal distribution and quality between the two
areas is due to different tectonic and sedimentological
regimes affecting the Karoo sediments (Cairncross, 1987).
Deltaic progradation took place from source areas to the
north, north-east and west. In Mozambique, the coal occurs
in separate basins within which coal thickness and quality
537
deteriorate towards the east. The six coal-bearing zones

present in Mozambique are recognised in the Sumbu
coalfield, but are not economic in this area. The intensity of
faulting was greatest along the north-east scarp of the Shire
Valley (Habgood, 1963). This region was undergoing
greater rates of sedimentation due to the nearby active
source terrain, and simultaneously undergoing more rapid
subsidence than in Mozambique. In the Chiromo coalfield,
coal is somewhat better developed due to less rapid
sedimentation rates in distal sections, but structural
complexities offset the more favourable depositional
conditions.
7.5. Northern coalfields
The northern located coal deposits (Fig. 1) are
considered the most important in Malawi (Kreuser, 1994).
They occur in separate sub-basins with the Livingstonia
basin considered economically the most important, with the
Kaziwizi coal mine operating in this area since 1985. The
Karoo strata are structurally less deformed in these northern
deposits compared with the southern coalfields. They occur
in a series of disconnected outliers in down-faulted halfgrabens on the western and eastern flanks of a major
basement high (horst). Livingstonia and Ngana, the two
most significant deposits are located on the eastern flank of
the uptilted block. The lithostratigraphy is very similar to
that of neighbouring Tanzania.
7.6. Ngana coalfield (Fig. 2(c), column 31)
The Ngana coalfield has received the most attention in
northern Malawi due to the high quality of the coal and the
relative low topographic relief in the area. The coalfield
straddles the Malawi/Tanzania border and is a southern
extension of the SongweKiwara coalfield. The Ngana
coalfield is fault-bounded on all sides, except in the west.
Similar K1K5 stratigraphic terminology, as applied to the
Tanzanian deposits, is applicable (Bloomfield, 1957):
K5 Green mudstone, argillaceous
limestone, calcareous sandstone
*
Karoo
K3 Red, purple mudstone, red
arkose, granulestone. Calcareous
concretions
Supergroup
K2 Coal measures
[* No upper Coal measures (K4) are present in the Ngana
coalfield, and a conformable relationship exists between the
K3 and K5 beds (Chamber of Mines, undated).]
This subdivision follows that of Stockley and Oates
(1931) for the Tanzanian Ruhuhu coalfield and the
Mhukuru area (Harkin, 1952). The Karoo strata are divided
into two broad zones (Bloomfield, 1957): an eastward
538
dipping succession (2530) underlying the Makaye stream,

and a southerly dipping sequence (12 30) forming the
Kapembe Hills. The K2 coal-bearing beds rest conformably
on the underlying K1 sandstone and comprise alternating
mudstone, shale and intercalated thin coal seams with
sandstone. The K2 beds have been subdivided into a Lower
Shale Series, Middle sandstones and Upper Shale Series.
The coal occurs in the upper unit. At Kampembe Hills, nine
thin seams occur, interbedded in 20 m of shale and
mudstone. Individual seams vary from 1 m thick to a few
centimetres (Fig. 4). The lower seam is typically split while
the middle and upper seams are too thin to be exploited via
underground mining operations. The area has opencast
potential down to a maximum depth of 100 m, with a
postulated 7.1 million tons. The average stripping ratio
(run-of-mine) for m3/t is between 5.7 and 6.8 ( Ortlepp,
1977). The composited lower middle upper seams
yield the following raw coal analyses: moisture4.6 %;
ash35.1%; volatile matter27.5%; calorific value MJ/
kg19.67; sulphur2.19%. The coal can be considerably
upgraded by washing.
7.7. Livingstonia coalfield (Fig. 2(c), column 32)
Cooper and Habgood (1959) have described the
geology of the Livingstonia coalfield. The coalfield is
contained in a half-graben delineated by a major
bounding fault along the south-western graben margin.
The stratigraphy is presented below and relates to the

K terminology defined from the Tanzanian Ruhuhu
coalfield located approximately 65 km to the east:
Karoo
Supergroup
K5 Calcareous siltstone, beigeyellow mudstone

K3 Arkose, browngreen calcareous
mudstone
K2 Coal measures and sandstone
K1 Green siltstone, arkose, basal
conglomerate
The K2 coal-bearing unit is composed of varying

amounts of carbonaceous mudstone, sandstone and
interbedded coal seams (Chamber of Mines, undated;
Chatupa, 1983; Kreuser, 1994). This coal-mudstone
sequence varies abruptly, both vertically and laterally.
Correlation of coals between closely spaced boreholes is
even problematical and the high quality coal is present in
disjointed lenses or pods (Chamber of Mines, undated).
In the eastern section, the K1 sequence may be absent in
which case the K2 coal-bearing strata rest directly on the
pre-Karoo basement (Cairncross, 1987). Relatively high
quality coal has been reported from boreholes drilled near
the Ruatzi River. The thickest seam, 1.4 m, occurs at a
depth of approximately 200 m below surface and yielded
the following results: moisture1.2%; ash14.1%;
volatile matter28.7%; calorific value MJ/kg27.9;
sulphur0.5%; fixed carbon56%. Kreuser (1994)
summarises Malawi coal as being sub-bituminous to
bituminous, low-sulphur/high volatile, but with moderate
to high ash contents. Although total Malawian coal
resources are estimated at 540 million tons (Chatupa,
1983), only 70,000 tons were mined for the year ending
1997 (South Africas Mineral Industry, 2000).
8.
Mozambique
8.1. Introduction
Fig. 4. The main coal-bearing sequence in the Ngana coalfield, Malawi

(after Ortlepp, 1977).
The main coal deposits of Mozambique are located in

the mid-Zambezi Valley in an area west of southern
Malawi (Figs. 1 and 2(c)). Other less well-known
occurrences are Chiromo, close to the eastern Zimbabwe
border, and Itule and Metangula in northern
Mozambique, west of Malawi. The latter locality extends
into Tanzania where the Lower and Upper Coal Measures
are correlated with the known coal deposits in northern
Mozambique (Figs. 1 and 2(c)). The Msanbansovu
deposit, west of Tete, now occupies the area of the
Cabora Bassa dam. As a result, the extent and reserves of
coal in this region are no longer certain. The regions
close to Moatize and Tete, however, have considerable
coal deposits and reserves, some of which have been
exploited.
Information on this deposit and prospective areas north

and east of Moatize is provided in the Reconnaissance
Report: Mozambique (1986). Rocha-Campos and
Bernardes de Oliveira (1972) describe the regional setting
of the Mozambique deposits and compare these with Karoo
equivalents in Angola.
8.2. Moatize/Tete coalfield
8.2.1.
Structure
The Zambezi valley, which contains the Tete province
coalfield, consists of a structural depression with a
longitudinal axis oriented north-west to south-east
(Kreuser, 1994). Like the other mobile belt coal basins, the
Mozambique depository consists of a downfaulted central
area of an originally larger trough. The basins in the
Zambezian terrain were most likely initially asymmetric
downwarps, far more widespread than the present
dimensions of the coalfields indicate. Syndepositional
faulting (growth faults) in zones of crustal weakness,
paralleling the mobile belts, produced the elongate graben
basin. Preferential sedimentation into these subsiding areas
would have further enhanced crustal loading and caused a
greater rate of subsidence accompanying basin margin
faulting. Evidence for this rapid rate of subsidence is
obtained from the thickness of the sediment pile, which is
five times as thick as the formations of Wankie in
Zimbabwe and those in Zambia.
The Lower Zambezi Valley in Mozambique comprises
fault-bounded blocks aligned more or less eastwest, parallel
to the present-day Zambezi River in the western areas.
These rotate into a northwestsoutheast trend in the eastern
areas in the region of Moatize. The tilted blocks rapidly
change dip and strike directions and the sequence is
intruded by dolerite (Alfonso, 1976). The Moatize basin
consists of a downfaulted basin of several structural blocks
and is approximately 30 km long and 8 km wide.
8.2.2.
Stratigraphy and geology
The stratigraphy of the Karoo sequence in the Tete/
Moatize has been divided into six formations ( Real, 1966)
with the coal seams occurring in the Early Permian
Productive Series. This is of equivalent age to the
corresponding coal units of the other southern African
countries (Fig. 2(c), column 33). The lower part of the
Karoo succession is subdivided into the Tillite, overlain by
the Productive and Matinde Series. These are overlain by
the Cadzi sandstones (equivalent to the Beaufort Group)
and the Carumacafue sandstones and equivalents of the
Drakensberg volcanics.
The Productive Series is 300400 m thick in the Moatize
area and consists of feldspathic carbonaceous sandstones,
carbonaceous mudstones and coal. Six coal zones are
named, from the base upwards, Sousa Pinto, Chipanga,
Bananeiras, Intermedia, Grande Falaise and Andre (Neto,
1976). These have been correlated with equivalent AE
539
horizons in the Ncondedzi area 20 km to the north. The

Chipanga is the main coal zone and has been mined at
Moatize. The zone comprises alternating coal and
carbonaceous shale between 25 and 60 m thick and
averages 30 m in thickness (Fig. 5). The lower 36 m
consists of coal of coking quality, with a relatively high
swelling index, and averaging values of moisture1%;
volatile matter18%; ash20%; sulphur1%; calorific
value28.5 MJ/kg (Neto, 1976). Neto (1976) states that
the ash fraction of Moatize coal has high germanium
values, an undesirable element if present in any large
amounts in the coal.
In the Ncondedzi area, the sedimentary succession is 450
m thick (Reconnaissance Report: Mozambique, 1986) and
consists of the lowermost Dwyka tillite with overlying
glaciofluvial conglomerate and coarse, poorly
sorted sandstone. The tillite is only present in palaeolows

attesting to irregular pre-Karoo basement topography.
The lowermost coal zone (A) averages 60 m in thickness
and offers the best economic potential of this area (Fig.
540
6). The coal-bearing successions of Moatize and

Ncondedzi are correlatable (Fig. 7), with some minor
thickness variations between individual packages
between the two areas.
In the southern area of the Metangula graben in
northern Mozambique, coal outcrops in the Lunho River
valley (Verniers et al., 1989). The coal-bearing zone

consists of interbedded thin coal seams and carbonaceous
mudstone and siltstone. Most of the coal is relatively
shallow, less than 300 m below surface. The coal is highvolatile (39%), bituminous, with an average calorific
value of 21 MJ/kg, but high in ash content.
Fig. 5. A typical section of the Chipanga coal seam from the Moatize coalfield, Mozambique (after Neto, 1976).
9.
Namibia
9.1. Introduction
Five regions of Karoo-age strata are known in Namibia, four of which are coal-bearing ( Stavrakis, 1985; Hegenberger,
1992). These are located in the Kaokoveld, western Damaraland, Owambo, Otjiwarongo (Omatako), the Kalahari basin and
the Karasburg basin (Figs. 1 and 2(b)). No coal mining is undertaken at present in Namibia. The area that has been the most
extensively drilled and sampled is the Aranos coalfield (Marsh and McDaid, 1986; Kingsley, 1985).
9.2. General stratigraphy
The major subdivisions of the Karoo Supergroup in the Namibia are the basal Dwyka Formation, overlain by the Prince
Albert Formation, which contains the coal seams and then formations that are named differently in their respective
geographic areas (Fig. 2(b), columns 16 21). The coal seams are Artinskian in age and occur interbedded with argillaceous
and arenaceous strata.
9.3. Aranos coalfield ( Kalahari basin)
In south-eastern Namibia (Fig. 1), in the Kalahari basin, the Karoo Supergroup rocks cover an area of 80,000 km 2. Most of
the Karoo rocks are covered by younger Kalahari sand that is up to 250 m thick.
9.3.1.
Stratigraphy and structure
The Ecca Group is subdivided into the Dwyka Group, Price Albert, Whitehill and Vreda Formations (Fig. 2(b), column 17)
and these collectively attain a maximum thickness of 1200 m (Marsh and
541
Fig. 6. The coal-bearing unit from the Ncondedzi coalfield in Mozambique (after Reconnaissance Report: Mozambique, 1986).
McDaid, 1986; Kingsley, 1985). The Dwyka Group

consists of a basal diamictite overlain by a succession of
mudstones that contain dropstones and fossils such as
starfish, bivalves, crinoid remains and gastropods
(Stavrakis, 1985). The Prince Albert Formation has been
subdivided into three members, the arenaceous lower
Nossob Member, the overlying shaly Mukorob Member
and the uppermost sandstone-rich Auob Member, which
also contains the coal seams (Fig. 8). The main coal seam
is located approximately 30 m above the base of the
Auob sandstone, and the so-called Upper seam, 50 m
above the main seam (Kingsley, 1990). The two
arenaceous members (Nossob and Auob) thin and
shaleout towards the south, becoming distally laterally
replaced by shale and limestone. The Auob is overlain by
the Whitehill Formation, which is in turn overlain by
sandstones and minor shales assigned to the Vreda
Formation. Dolerite sills have extensively intruded the
sequence, particularly the upper part of the Auob
Member.
9.3.2.
Depositional environments
The sediments were deposited initially under glacial
conditions (Dwyka). This was followed by marine
conditions during which the fossiliferous mudstone was
deposited.
Shallow-water
conditions
were
then
characterised by upward-coarsening successions in the
Prince Albert Formation that are ascribed to prograding
shallow-water deltas (Kingsley, 1985). Palaeocurrent

directions indicate sediment movement towards the south/
south-west down the axis of a pre-carboniferous trough.
This was a linear depression 400 km long and 100 km
wide, trending north-east/south-west down the centre of the
basin (Stavrakis, 1985). Within the Auob Member,
coarsening-upward deltaic sequences are overlain by
upward-fining fluvial sequences. Kingsley (1985) has
concluded that the most favourable coal facies occurs in a
50 km strip centred on latitude 24S from the Botswana
border in the east, to the town of Aranos in the west. South
and west of this line, the coal seams thin and become
lenticular. The peat swamps that gave rise to the
542
Fig. 7. Stratigraphic profiles between Moatize and Ncondedzi in

Mozambique (after Reconnaissance Report: Mozambique, 1986).
main seam are considered to have formed behind

beachbarriers that fronted the lower delta plain (Kingsley,
1990). Gypsum is present in some sections of the
stratigraphy; beds of columnar, honey-coloured gypsum
crystals can be correlated laterally up to 100 km.
9.3.3.
Coal resources
The main coal zone in the Prince Albert Formation
occurs between depths of 30500 m below surface. Coal
occurs at two zones, a lower coal seam in the Auob
Member, called the Impala coal seam, and an upper coal
zone that is found in the Whitehill Formation. These two
coal-bearing units are separated by approximately 50 m of
intervening clastic sedimentary strata (Hegenberger, 1992)
but this parting can be thicker where dolerites have
intruded. All of the meaningful coal resources are found in
the Auob Member in the northeastern, central part of the
basin in the Aranos area,
Fig. 8. A summarised stratigraphic profile form the Aranos coalfield in

Namibia (after Kingsley, 1985).
adjacent to the Botswana border. (The coals in the

Whitehill Formation are thin (tens of centimetres) and
separated by carbonaceous shale and sandstone.)
Individual seams in the Impala coal zone average 1 m in
thickness. Average qualities (raw data), based on 12
borehole samples yielded the following results:
moisture2.7% (min. 1.3, max. 4.9); ash 37% (min.
15.4 , max. 64.0); volatile matter15% (min. 5.8, max.
24.3) ; sulphur0.96% (min. 0.20, max. 2.10); calorific
value MJ/kg18.18 (min. 7.70, max. 27.09) (Stavrakis,
1985). Some of the coal has been devolatilised by
dolerite. Marsh and McDaid (1986) state that the raw
coal in the lower unit could provide an acceptable power
station feedstock and that the washed product upgrades to
a B grade coal with a calorific value of 27 MJ/kg.

Sulphur is low, averaging 0.97%. A total in situ tonnage
of 371.9 million tons has been calculated (Marsh and
McDaid, 1986) with a sales tonnage, washed to 27 MJ/
kg of 74.4 million tons. However, any mine plan would
have to navigate around the artesian aquifers prevalent
above and below the lower coal zone, widespread poor
roof and floor conditions and a minimum overburden of
at least 250 m over most of the potential target areas.
10. Karasburg basin

The Karasburg basin is situated in the southern
extremity of Namibia and covers approximately 900 km 2.
(Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 16). More than 1000 m of
Karoo strata occur in the Karasburg basin. North-east
trending block faulting associated with the Cretaceous
break-up of Gondwana produced graben structures in the
basin (Schreuder and Genis, 1975; Visser, 1983). No coal
is known from this deposit, but torbanite has been
reported (Stavrakis, 1985).
10.1.Waterberg basin (including Okatjise subbasin and Erongo outlier)
The Waterberg basin includes the strata of the Okatjise
sub-basin and the Erongo outlier ( Horsthemke et al.,
1990; Hegenberger, 1992) (Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 18).
10.1.1.
The lithostratigraphy of the Waterberg region consists
of a rare basal conglomeratic unit (Dwyka) overlain by
the Tevrede Formation (Hegenberger, 1992). This
consists of sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate and coal.
The thickness of this Formation varies between 6 and 94
m (Stavrakis, 1985). Within the Okatjise area (Lombard,
1982), the coal-bearing unit consists of interbedded
mudstone and coal 18 m thick. The uppermost coal is up
to 1.7 m thick. Overlying the Tevrede Formation is the
Triassic Omingonde Formation composed of red, purple
and green mudstone, shale, siltstone, sandstone (arkoses),
and conglomerate. The thick sandstones of the Etjo
Formation terminate the Karoo lithologies, which have
all been extensively intruded by dolerite.
10.1.2.
543
The sediments were deposited in a marginal marine

setting with fluvial systems feeding into a strandplain
system. Repeated faulting caused continuous basinward
migration of the fluvial tracts, producing a series of
stacked, upward-fining cycles (Holzforster et al., 1999).
Stavrakis (1985) is of the opinion that the coal may be
allochthonously derived (washed-in), based on its high
intertodetrinite composition.
10.1.3.
Coal
The coal-bearing sequence lies at varying depths below
surface, and only the uppermost portions have economic
potential. The remaining seams are thin and poor in quality.
In the northern so-called Tevrede subbasin, a 418 m thick
carbonaceous succession is present, enclosing up to 5 coal
seams. These vary in thickness from 10 cm to 1.7 m and
cumulatively are almost 3 m thick. Lombard (1982) gives
the following raw coal analyses from four boreholes:
moisture6 % (min. 3.4, max. 8.9); ash35.2% (min.
27.4, max. 39.4) ; volatile matter24.2% (min. 23.2, max.
26.1); sulphur 2:75% (min. 1.51, max. 2.77); calorific
value MJ/ kg17.1 (min. 15.34, max. 19.56). Coal from
other sections of the basin is generally of more inferior
quality than that described above. A reserve of 19 million
tons has been calculated for the Okatjise sub-basin
(Hegenberger, 1992).
10.2.Ovambo basin
The Ovambo basin is located in the northern extremity
of central Namibia (Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 19). Here, the
Karoo strata, estimated to cover approximately 20,000 km2 ,
are covered by younger Kalahari deposits that are up to 450
m thick.
10.2.1.
Stratigraphy and structure The
Karoo Supergroup is divided into the
lowermost Dwyka Group consisting of
diamictite, sandstone and siltstone
(Schall et al., 1980). As with other
Namibian Karoo-type occurrences, this
is overlain by sandstone, siltstone,
shale and coal of the Prince Albert
Formation (180225 m thick), which is
in turn overlain by sedimentary strata
of the Omingonde Formation. The
Prince Albert Formation is subdivided,
lithologically, into three units (Hugo,
1969). A lower shale sequence
containing minor limestone, siltstone
and sandstone (90150 m thick), a
middle shale unit interbedded with
sandstone and siltstone (4560 m
thick), and an upper carbonaceous shale
with subordinate sandstone (44 60 m
544
thick). Coal occurs in this uppermost

sequence.
The basin is an east-west striking depression (Momper,
1982; Stavrakis, 1985). Geophysical data reveal a
downthrown graben or trough to the south-east of
Ondangwa, while the eastern and western margins are
terminated by north-south faults located at longitude 1615 0
and 17E. These faults therefore delineate a graben of
approximately 80 km. The southern margin of the graben is
faulted, which decreases at depth, and this tectonic feature
is important because the lower Karoo strata of the Dwyka
and Prince Albert Formation only occur in the downfaulted
sections.
10.2.2.
The overall depositional environments are interpreted as
fluvio-deltaic systems that were prograding down the axis
of the graben (Stavrakis, 1985).
10.2.3.
Coal
In the Ovambo basin, coal is confined to the eastern
section of the graben. Individual seams vary from 10 cm to
1.0 m in thickness and occur between 320360 m below
surface. The overall quality of the coal is inferior, with
average raw values as follows: moisture 9:8%; ash%
43% (min. 15%, max. 57.8%); volatile matter 21:3%
(min. 15.5%, max. 52.2%); sulphur 1:8% ( min. 0.9%,
max. 4.5%); calorific value MJ=kg 12:2 MJ=kg (min.
10 MJ/kg, max. 16.3 MJ/kg) (Hugo, 1969; Schall et al.,
1980; Stavrakis, 1985). The coal is markedly uraniferous,
with secondary enrichment of U3O8.
10.3.Kaokoland basin
The Kaokoland basin is located in the north-west region
of Namibia (Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 21). The lithologies
are limited by the Engo and Hoarusib River valleys and the
sedimentary strata are confined to narrow troughs in a
region of high relief.
10.3.1.
The distribution of the Karoo lithologies is controlled by
ancient valleys that have been variously described as
graben structures (Stahl, 1932) and/or re-excavated, preKaroo river valleys eroded into an older pre-Karoo
peneplain (Martin, 1953; Martin and Schalk, 1957). The
Karoo rocks are lithostratigraphically subdivided, from
oldest to youngest, into the Dwyka Group, Engo, Etjo and
Etendeka Formations. The Engo Formation is considered
correlatable with the Ecca Group (Hegenberger, 1992).
10.3.2.
Coal
No extensive coal seams are reported from the Engo

Formation in Kaokoland. The only mention of anything
with fossil fuel potential is a reference to a carbonaceous
seam in the Sechomib valley, west of Orupembe (Stavrakis,
1985).
10.4.Western Damaraland (Huab Basin,
Toscanini Basin)
The Karoo lithologies of western Damaraland are
located on the north-western Atlantic seaboard of Namibia
(Figs. 1 and 2, column 20). The uppermost basaltic
succession covers an area of approximately 15,000 km2.
10.4.1.
Outcrops of Karoo-age strata underlie basalts along
the eastern margin of the main volcanic pile. Post-Karoo
plutonic intrusives have caused slight doming of the
Karoo strata adjacent to the intrusives contacts. The
distribution of the sedimentary strata is controlled by
ancient pre-Dwyka valleys as well as structurally
produced horsts and grabens (Stavrakis, 1985).
The lithostratigraphy of the Karoo Supergroup in
western
Damaraland
is
listed
below.
The
lithostratigraphic units from the Verbrande Berg
Formation to the Gai-as Formation represent the Ecca
Group in the Huab basin (Hegenberger, 1992).
Formatio
n
Etendeka
Etjo
Gai-as
Huab
(White
hill)
Lithology
Thickness ( m )
Basalt, latite,
>1000
quartz latite, minor
Aeolian sandstone
Aeolian
<50
sandstone,
minor
125
conglome
rate lenses
Red and
<50
purple
mudrock
180
and purple
siltstone,
red
sandstone
Grey,
10
orange
100
and
yellow
limestone,
interbeds
of
siltstone
and shale
Tsarabis
Sandstone
3
, siltstone,
40
(Upper
shale
m
Prince
Albert)
Verbrande Berg white sandstone,
<60 m
(Lower
white nodular shale,
Prince Albert) black, carbonaceous shale, COAL
grey shale
Dwyka (Group) Tillite, diamictite, 0 10
fluvioglacial conglomerate
(From Stavrakis, 1985; Hegenberger, 1992.)
10.4.2.
Coal
The coal-bearing unit occurs in the Verbrande Berg
Formation. The coal seams vary considerably in
thickness, averaging 1020 cm, although some are up to
1.5 m thick. In the Toscanini area, the coal zone is
between 62 to 725 m below surface. The coal is on
average inferior, poor quality, displaying high ash and
low volatile matter values. Dolerite has also intruded the
sequence and locally produced anthracite. Schommarz
(1988) published analyses of nineteen samples of coal
from the Toscanini area and these show an average (raw)
qualities value of moisture1.8%; ash56% (min.
16.9%, max. 90.3%); volatile matter6.5% (min. 4.2%,
max. 13.7%).
11. Republic of South Africa

11.1. Introduction
A detailed description of the Republic of South
Africas coal deposits is beyond the scope of this review
paper. Research of South Africas coal deposits began at
the beginning of the 20th century (Kynaston, 1906) with
some benchmark papers appearing in the 1920s
(Wybergh, 1922, 1925). During the past 15 years, there
were intensive geological investigations into the mode of
formation and occurrence of the Karoo basin coals. This
research is best summarised in Tavener Smith et al.
(1988), Cairncross (1989), Cadle et al. (1993), Snyman
and Botha (1993) and Snyman (1998). Specific studies
that focussed on the Witbank coalfield were by
Cairncross (1979, 1980), Le Blanc Smith (1980),
Cairncross (1986). Winter (1985) investigated the
Highveld coalfield, while Christie (1988), Turner and
Whateley (1983) and Roberts (1986, 1988) investigated
portions of the KwaZuluNatal coal deposits. Cadle
545
(1995) subsequently added more recent data for the

Highveld coalfield, and Stavrakis (1989) presented a
regional overview of the coal in the eastern sector of the
Karoo basin. An overview of all of the coalfields, plus the
coal quality and utilisation is presented in Snyman
(1998). Some sedimentological investigations have also
incorporated palynogical data (Venter, 1995). Applied
studies such as Weber (1996) and Weber et al. (2000)
have examined geological and mineralogical controls on
metallurgical aspects such as coal ash fusion
temperatures. Coalbed methane has, within the past 10
years, also become the focus of attention for some of the
more deeply buried South African coals (Billenkamp,
1988; National Energy Council, 1991; Hobday et al.,
1991; Cairncross, 1995; Sanderson, 1997).
The regions largest proven coal reserves occur in the
north-west, north and north-east section of the Karoo
basin (Cairncross, 1989). When the coals of the outlying
basins such as Waterberg (Botha, 1984; Siepker, 1986;
Dreyer, 1994; De Korte, 1995), Springbok Flats (Visser
and Van der Merwe, 1959; Kruger, 1981), and Limpopo
(Van der Berg, 1980; Sullivan, 1995; Sullivan et al.,
1994) are included, the reserves are calculated at 60,994
million tons (Energy Information Administration, 2000).
11.2. General stratigraphy and coal
characteristics
The coals are assigned to the Early Permian Vryheid
Formation, which forms part of the Ecca Group (SACS,
1980; Johnson et al., 1996). In the Karoo basin, the
Vryheid Formation forms a clastic wedge in the northern
part of the basin, and this pinches-out basinward, down
dip (Tankard et al., 1982). The strata consist primarily of
sandstone, carbonaceous siltstone, shale, minor
conglomerate and several coal seams. Different
stratigraphic terminology is applied to the coal
formations in the Waterberg coalfield (Dreyer, 1994;
Faure et al., 1996), the Springbok Flats coalfield
( Snyman, 1998) and the northern Limpopo deposits
( McCourt and Brandl, 1980; Sullivan, 1995; Sullivan et
al., 1994).
The major tectonic differences between the Karoo basin
and the northern Springbok Flats, Waterberg, and
Soutpansberg/Limpopo basins relate to their structure. The
Karoo basin is a foreland basin (Catuneanu et al., 1998)
while the others are structurally controlled intra and
intercratonic grabens and half-grabens ( Cairncross, 1987).
The clastic sediments and peat deposits in the northern
Karoo basin originated on the passive margin of the
foreland basin and have been tectonically, virtually
undisturbed since their deposition 280 million years ago.
The coals are seldom more than a few 100 m below surface
in areas where they are actively mined. The only major
disturbances are in the form of intrusive dolerite sills and
dykes, particularly in the eastern regions in KwaZuluNatal
546
(Whateley, 1980a,b; Bell and Spurr, 1986a,b; Spurr et al.,

1986; Snyman, 1998). In contrast, the Karoo strata in the
outlying depositories can be intensely faulted and intruded
by dolerite and some seams, such as in the Waterberg
coalfield can be well over 500 m below surface. Dolerites
have further played an important role in effecting the
distribution and quality of coal (De Oliveira and Cawthorn,
1999).
The coals are primarily high- to medium-volatile
bituminous although anthracite does occur in the eastern
sections of the Karoo basin as well as in the Limpopo area
(Falcon, 1986a,b; Falcon and Ham, 1988; Snyman and
Barclay, 1989). There is also a trend, west to east, across
the South African coalfields, of an increase in the vitrinite
content of the coals, and an increase in rank, although the
Limpopo coals are generally higher in rank overall
(Sullivan, 1995).
There are marked differences between the total coal
package in the Karoo basin and that in the outlying basins
in the northern Province. For example, the six coal seams in
the Vryheid Formation of the WitbankHighveld deposits are
not entirely represented in the Waterberg depository that
has, in addition, an overlying coal-shale sequence that is up
to 80 m thick, assigned to the Grootegeluk Formation.
11.3. Karoo basin
The Permian coal deposits in the Karoo basin ( Smith
and Whittaker, 1986a) define an arc extending from west to
east in the northern section of the depository (Fig. 1 ,
localities 1, 2, and 3). The depth below surface of the coal
seams in this area is relatively shallow with most coal being
less than 200 m below surface. This depth increases in the
south, south-west and west in the Free State area where
younger Triassic cover rocks overly the coal-bearing Ecca
Group strata. In the main coal mining regions of the
Witbank, Highveld and KwaZuluNatal coalfields (Fig.
2(a), columns 13), opencast operations are utilised to
extract the shallow coals while underground operations
exploit deeper coal, but seldom deeper than 200 m.
On the basis of stratigraphic markers such as the
presence of glauconite above the upper seams, a
semibasinwide bioturbated unit above the lower seam (No.
2 seam) and the association of the coals with fluvial facies,
the various coal seams can be correlated across the basin
(Cadle et al., 1993). The Vryheid Formation comprises a
series of vertically stacked upward-coarsening and upwardfining facies assemblages that represent lobate deltaic and
fluvial deposits, respectively (Cairncross, 1982, 1987,
1989; Cairncross and Winter, 1984; Cairncross and
Hobday, 1985; Cairncross and Cadle, 1988a; Cadle and
Cairncross, 1993; Hobday, 1978). The deltaic systems
originally deposited clastic sediment upon which peat
swamps developed, and these sediments were later
modified, either partially or entirely eroded away, by
superimposed fluvial systems that cut down through the

previously deposited deltaic sediment (Fig. 9).
547
Marine transgressions usually terminated peat-forming

periods. The coals below these marine strata were
influenced by these events, because certain elements such
as boron, chlorine and bromine, that are known to have a
general marine affiliation, are more concentrated in coals
overlain by marine strata than coals overlain by
freshwater fluvial sequences (Cairncross et al., 1990). In
certain areas of the Karoo basin, such as the Witbank
coalfield (Le Blanc Smith, 1980), the coal-bearing
sequence lies either directly on the pre-Karoo basement
or on the Dwyka Group glacial strata. A consequence of
this is that the pre-Karoo topography of these marginal
basin areas was rugged and undulatory, consisting of
palaeovalleys and palaeohighs, sculptured by the
preceding ice age. The distribution of the coal seams and
Fig. 9. Three stratigraphic profiles through the coalfields of the northern Karoo basin, South Africa (after Winter et al., 1987).
the enclosing strata, therefore, is strongly influenced and

controlled by this ancient topography. In areas where the
Karoo strata are underlain by Proterozoic dolomite, karst
sinkholes have become sites of anomalously thick coals
(Stuart-Willams, 1986). The sedimentary sequences are
thickest in the palaeovalleys and pinchout against the
flanks of these valleys. The palaeohighs, in some
instances, projected up through the entire Karoo
sequence, and were probably present as archipelagos at
the time of deposition (Winter, 1985). An interplay
between the deltaic and fluvial depositional
548
palaeosystems associated with the coal seams, produced

marked differences between adjacent coalfields in the
northern Karoo basin (Fig. 9). Most noticeable are the
effects of post-depositional fluvial channels that erosively
overlie and removed portions of the underlying
stratigraphy, including coal seams.
11.3.1. Coal
Average qualities for coals from the Karoo basin are
shown in Table 2. Detailed analyses for Karoo basin coals
can be found in Schoeman and Boshoff (1996). The coals
are generally high in mineral matter and display highly
variable type (Falcon, 1986a,b). The coals of the Vryheid
Formation contain a much greater proportion of inertinite
compared with northern hemisphere carboniferous coals
(Cadle et al., 1993) implying high rates of oxidation and
microbial degradation during peatification (Falcon and
Snyman, 1986). Even so, a large proportion of the
inertinite maceral group are classified as semi-reactive
(Falcon, 1986b). Several trends in coal composition and
coal characteristics are present in the Karoo basin coals:
KwaZuluNatal coals contain the highest vitrinite

content, typically (6080%) coinciding with relatively
low-ash coal, averaging 21 %.
The coal rank shows a steady increase from west to east
across the coalfields, with Free State coals averaging R oVmax
0.490.62%, Witbank/Highveld coals RoVmax 0.610.89%
and the KwaZuluNatal coals averaging RoVmax of 0.74 to
>4.0% (Cadle et al., 1993). The coals therefore commonly
range from sub-bituminous to mid-bituminous, but some, in
the eastern areas are meta-anthracite. The west-to-east
increase in rank is explained by greater geothermal
gradients in the east where the lithosphere was relatively
thinner, coupled with outpourings of dolerite during the
subsequent break-up of Gondwana (Snyman and
Barclay, 1989).
Coal with vitrinite contents of 510% are most common in

the Free State coal seams (Stavrakis, 1986), coinciding with
high mineral matter content (30 40%) (Cadle et al., 1993).
11.4. Other South African coal deposits

To the north of the Karoo basin, several other coalfields
are located on the Kaapvaal Craton and within the Limpopo
Belt (Figs. 1 and 2, columns 57). These are the Waterberg
(Ellisras), Springbok Flats and Limpopo (Mopane, Tshipise
and Pafuri and Tuli) and Kangwane coal deposits (De Jager,
1986; Snyman, 1998).
Table 2
Locality (coalfield)
Seam
H2O (%)
Ash (%)
VM (%)
CV (MJ/kg)
References
Witbank
1.7
25.4
21
24
Smith and Whittaker (1986b)
2
4
5
5.3
2.6
2.5
23.3
27.6
13.1
21.5
20.7
32
21.2
22.2
28.7
3.8
29.3
19.9
20.5
4
5
2.5
3.2
27.9
17.1
20.2
32.7
21.9
25.9
2.7
20.4
31.5
25.5
D
C
B
2.5
3.6
2.8
23
19.9
29.5
26.7
32
23.7
24
25.3
21.1
Vereeniging
Composite
4.4
40.8
18.6
16.3
Prevost (1997)
Free State
Utrecht
Bottom
Coking
Dundas
Gus
Alfred
5.6
1.6
1.9
1.4
1.2
27.7
9.1
10.3
14.2
40.3
21.4
23.8
28.3
10.6
11.7
20.5
31.4
30.2
29.5
Gilligan (1986)
Spurr et al. (1986)
Vryheid
Gus
2.1
16.5
20.8
28.9
Bell and Spurr (1986b)
Viefontein
Koppies
Kroonstad
Bottom
1 and 2
Bottom
6.7
4.5
4
25.8
32.6
39.1
21.1
21
21.2
20.7
18.7
17.2
Stavrakis (1986)
Stavrakis (1986)
Stavrakis (1986)
Welkom
Bottom
4.5
36.7
20.5
16.73
Stavrakis (1986)
34.1
38.6
21.8
22.3
20.71
17.6
Highveld
Mpumalanga
Top
3.9
Dwyka
3.9
Typical analyses of raw coal for coalfields in the Karoo Basin
Jordaan (1986)
Greenshields (1986)
11.4.1.
Waterberg coalfield (Ellisras)
The Waterberg (Ellisras) coalfield is situated northwest
of the Karoo basin in the northern Province (Figs. 1 and
2(a), column 5). The coal deposit has been extensively
drilled and is currently being mined at the Grootegeluk
colliery, so there are several sources of information on the
geology, sedimentology and characteristics of the coals and
associated strata (De Korte, 1995; Dreyer, 1994; Faure et
al., 1996; Siepker, 1986).
The coalfield is structurally deformed, being dissected
by numerous east-west and northwestsoutheast trending
faults. These have produced a series of horsts and grabens,
which, in some areas, allow shallow coal to be mined, but
in other areas, coal is too deeply buried to be economically
mined. However, these inaccessible coals have been tested
for coalbed methane potential. The coal seams are
contained within the Ecca Group, specifically within the
Vryheid Formation and the Volksrust Formation, which in
the Waterberg area is named the Grootegeluk Formation
(Siepker, 1986). The latter contains the main coal reserves
and consists of a finely interlayered coal-mudstone
sequence. The entire coal sequence attains thicknessess of
up to 115 m. The underlying Vryheid Formation coal seams
(numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4) are interbedded with sandstone
and shale. Metallurgical coal may be produced from these
lower seams by beneficiation (Prevost, 1997). The
overlying coal-mudstone sequence displays some vertical
trends with respect to coal quality. For example, the raw
ash content shows a general upward increase in value from
43% in the lower coal to approximately 60% in the
uppermost seams (Snyman, 1998).
11.4.2.
Springbok flats
The Springbok Flats coalfield (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column
4) occupies an area of approximately 160 km striking
north-east to south-west and is 30 km wide. The deposit has
been extensively drilled (Visser and Van der Merwe, 1959)
and has been the subject of considerable research (Kruger,
1981). The coal-bearing sequence is assigned to the
Turfpan and Warmbad Formations (Roberts, 1992). The
former consists of high-ash coal (>30%) and is not of major
economic significance. The overlying Warmbad Formation
is the main target of economic interest and is up to 12 m
thick. This is tentatively correlated with the Volksrust
Formation (Snyman, 1998). The sequence consists of
interlaminated thin coal seams and mudstone. The coals in
the Springbok Flats are known to be highly uraniferous,
containing 1601000 ppm uranium (Snyman, 1998).
11.4.3.
Limpopo coalfields (incorporating Tuli,
Mopane, Tshipise and Pafuri)
The only area where the Limpopo, extreme northern
Province coals are being exploited is at the Tshikondeni
colliery (Sullivan, 1995; Sullivan et al., 1994) in the Pafuri
deposit (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column 7). The sequence has been
extensively faulted, with structures being pre-, syn- and
549
post-depositional (Thabo and Sullivan, 2000). Dolerite

intrusions are also commonplace. Coals occur in the
sandstone-rich Madzaringwe and overlying Mikambeni
Formations (McCourt and Brandl, 1980). The Main seam is
up to 3.5 m thick and is a composite seam made up of
several coal bands interbedded with carbonaceous
mudstone. The rank of the coal tends to increase with
increasing depth (Sullivan, 1995). The Tshipise coalfield
has a similar stratigraphy to the easterly located Pafuri
deposit, except that the coal-bearing sequence is thinner
and the coals are more intimately interlaminated with the
mudrock. Even so, if the raw coal is isolated from the
partings, it yields an ash content of 25% (Snyman, 1998).
The so-called Mopane coalfield is located west of Tshipise,
northwest of Waterpoort. The arenaceous Madzaringwe
Formation is not present here, either due to non-deposition
or pinch-out of this unit, from east to west. This deposit is
also block faulted (De Jager, 1986).
12. Swaziland
12.1. Introduction
Swaziland is located alongside the border of
Mpumalanga in South Africa and shares a common
border with Mozambique (Figs. 1 and 2(a), column 8).
The overall structure of the Karoo strata in Swaziland is
that of eastward dipping sequences (Fig. 10). This has,
however, been complicated by large-scale strike faults.
These have downthrows of up to 300 m in places. In
unfaulted areas, the strata dip up to 20, but this tends to
shallow towards the basin centre. Faulting is invariably
accompanied by dolerite dyke and sill intrusions.
The Ecca Group outcrops in a narrow belt, striking
north to south across the country. The known and
potential coal deposits define a similar trend in the
eastern area of the country. This distribution reflects the
extent of the coal-bearing Ecca Group in this region (Fig.
1). Dolerite sills have extensively intruded the strata,
causing devolatilisation of coal and vertical
displacements. The coal in the southern regions, to the
west of the Lebombo Mountains, has been particularly
affected, with volatile matter content in the Maloma area
averaging 6 %.
12.2. Stratigraphy and geology
The Karoo Supergroup in Swaziland attains a
thickness
of
approximately
1000
m.
The
lithostratigraphic subdivisions are listed below, together
with approximate maximum thicknesses of the
constituent groups:
Thicknes
s
550
(m)
Younger
Formations
Beaufo
rt
Group
125
40
Volksrust
Formation
Vryheid
Formation
160
Karoo
Ecca
630
Supergrou
Group
p 10. A generalised cross-section through the Karoo Supergroup in north-east Swaziland (after Scogings and Lenz, 1961).
Fig.
Pietermaritzbu
40
value25.5 MJ/kg; fixed carbon80.3 % (Hunter, 1962).
rg
An area north and east of Mpaka ( the Mtendekwa region)
contains coal in the Volksrust Formation.
Formation
Dwyka Group
012
(After Davies, 1961; Hunter, 1962).
Accumulations of Dwyka tillite are thickest in southern
Swaziland relative to that in the northern regions where
thicknesses of up to 50 m are reported (Scogings and Lenz,
1961). The Pietermaritzburg Shale Formation consists
primarily of shale, which is also thickest in the south. The
Vryheid Formation contains the main mineable coal
deposits and comprises arkosic sandstone, shale, siltstone
and several coal seams. Up to 18 seams can be present with
three, the Main, Nos. 1 and 2 (Upper) seams the most
important. These have been correlated with the Dundas,
Gus and Alfred seams of the KwaZuluNatal coalfield. The
overlying Volksrust Formation consists of carbonaceous
shale, some sandstone and also contains coal seams (Fig.
2(a)). Average analyses for the best (Zone 4) Volksrust
Formation seam is: ash22%; volatile matter6.3 %;
moisture1%;
calorific
value23.48
MJ/kg;
sulphur0.98%; fixed carbon74.2 %.
12.3.
Coal
Coal has been mined at Mpaka from the Main seam.

This averages 3 m in thickness with variations of between
1 and 8 m. The lower half of the seam is brighter coal
while the upper portions tend to be duller. Composite
quality values for the Main seam at Mpaka are:
moisture1.4%; ash12.3%; volatile matter11.4 %;
sulphur0.4%; calorific value 25:58 MJ/kg; fixed
carbon75%. The upper seam occurs 1530 m above the
main seam and averages 1 m in thickness.
Other potential areas are those near Mhlume in the north
and the anthracite deposits near Maloma. The Mhlume
deposit was prospected by Shell Coal and 380 million tons
of power station grade coal was proven (Stavrakis, pers.
comm.). The region around Maloma has 250 million tons of
anthracite. The main seam in this area averages 3 m and has
the
following
characteristics:
ash13.6%;
moisture1.5%; volatile matter 4.4%; calorific
13. Tanzania
13.1. Introduction
Four main coal deposits of Permian age have been
described from Tanzania and these are situated in the
vicinity of Lake Malawi (Figs. 1 and 2(c), columns 34
36). These are the Mhukuru and the Ketewaka
Mchuchuma coalfields (McKinlay, 1954) and Ngaka
coalfields, known collectively as the Ruhuhu coalfield. This
is the main area of interest for Tanzania coal and the region
holds 700 million tons reserves ( Kreuser, 1994). The
SongweKiwira coalfield is situated northwest of the
Ruhuhu field and overlaps into northern Malawi,
correlating with the Ngana deposits (Cairncross, 1987). The
Luwegu deposits (Figs. 1 and 2( c), column 36) are located
to the east of Mhukuru. These do not contain coal as the
sediments post-date the coalforming period (Kreuser,
1994). The petrographic character of the Tanzanian coals,
coupled with data from coal seam palynomorph
assemblages, suggest that the peat originated in upper delta
plain and braided (bedload) fluvial palaeoenvironments
(Semkiwa et al., 1998; Kalkreuth et al., 1999). The
Tanzanian coal tends to be medium-volatile to high-volatile
bituminous coal, with vitrinite reflectance values of R oVmax
of between 0.49% and 1.2% (Kreuser, 1994). Inertinite is a
relatively common component in all seams.
13.2. Ruhuhu coalfields (incorporating the Ketewaka

Mchuchuma, Mbalawala and Ngaka coalfields)
The Ruhuhu coalfield (Fig. 2(c), column 34) is bounded
and defined on the southern, western and northern margins
by faults. The Karoo Supergroup attains a thickness of
approximately 1900 m and has been subdivided by
Stockley and Oates (1931) into eight constituent sequences
that lie unconformably on a preKaroo basement. These are:
Thickness
(m)
150
K8. Manda beds: pink feldspathic sandstones

and marls one fossiliferous unit
K7. Kingori sandstones: coarse, granule-grade, 400
conglomeratic
K6. Lower bone bed: greengrey
100
mudstone, sandstone, reptilian bones
and fossil wood ( local disconformity)
K5. Ruhuhu beds: fine-grained sandstone,

230330
siltstone, mudstone, shale,
calcareous, limestone beds, nodules, fossil
wood
K4. Upper coal measures: grey shale, coal, 110
ironstones, sandstone
K3. Intermediate Marls and sandstones:
150
coarse, gritty, green marls
K2. Lower coal measures: gritty sandstone 150
with coal seams, carbonaceous shale, limestone
K1. Basal sandstones and conglomerate: 560
(unconformity) pre-Karoo basement
A continuous gradation from K1 to K8 exists with minor
discontinuity surfaces present. The Lower Coal Measures
are characterised by gritty sandstone and carbonaceous
shale that grade vertically into green sandstone and sandy
mudstone. A coarse-grained sandstone splits the Upper
Coal Measures. The upper portion of the Ruhuhu Beds is
fossiliferous with mudstone and limestone beds containing
fossil floral remains. The Lower Bone Bed contains
reptilian bones. Magnesian limestone horizons also occur at
the top of the Ruhuhu Beds. Stockley and Oates (1931)
believe all of the sediments to be essentially fresh water in
origin with the limestone and marls originating by
carbonate precipitation in lacustrine settings.
The tectonic setting is analogous to the East African
Rift Valley. Fault trends vary from north-east to
northwest. Faults are normal and vertical, producing
grabens of Karoo strata faulted against pre-Karoo
basement. The Lower Ruhuhu fault has a throw of 3300
m near Gingama, where thicknesses of Karoo lithologies
reach 2000 m.
The KetewakaMchuchuma coalfield consists of a
down-warped faulted block tilted to the south-east. The
wedge of Karoo strata also thickens to the south-east,
towards the north-east trending Lower Ruhuhu Fault
which downthrows to the north. The northern boundary
fault strikes 70 and with throws normally to the south.
The coal-bearing strata in the KetewakaMchuchuma
coalfield occur in both the Lower Coal Measures (3050
m thick) and the Upper Coal Measures (>30 m thick).
The Lower Measures are predominantly arenaceous
comprising coal and carbonaceous shale separated by
arkosic sandstone. The Mbablawala coalfield is located
551
approximately 50 km south-east of Mchuchuma. One of

the coal seams, seam 3, has a calculated reserve of 140
million tons (Kreuser, 1994). In the Ngaka coal deposit,
the main mineable coal seam is up to 8 m thick and this
constitutes approximately 110 million tons reserves
(Kreuser, 1994).
13.3. Mhukuru coalfield
The Mhukuru coalfield is located close to the
Mozambique border in southwest Tanzania (Figs. 1 and
2(c), column 35). Harkin (1952) subdivided the Karoo
Supergroup in the area, based primarily on Stockley and
Oates (1931) work in the Ruhuhu coalfield, 100 km to
the northwest. The equivalent Ecca lithologies are over
700 m thick and are correlatable with adjacent coalfields.
The stratigraphy of the coal measures in the
Mhukuru area is
Thickness
(m)
Undifferentiated Karoo rocks
Karoo
Supergroup
Upper coal measures

>400
Intermediate mudstones and >250
sandstones
Lower coal measures ( not
observed)
Ruvuma Gorge sandstones >100
Unconformity
Basement
The Lower Coal Measures, which host the best quality
coal in the Ruhuhu coalfields, were either not intersected at
Mhukuru or were at a depth greater than was drilled. The
Upper Coal Measures contain the main coal seams and
these are characteristically alternating coaly shale, shaly
coal and shale. Two zones with thicker seams occur toward
the top and bottom of the sequence. Fresh water mollusca
have been found in the shale units (Harkin, 1952). The
Upper Coal Measures are thickest at Mhukuru in the south
(>400 m), poorly developed in the Ruhuhu coalfield, and
absent in the Songwe Kiwira area.
The Karoo strata in the Mhukuru region are contained
in a rectangular structure. This resembles a syncline and
the axis is traversed by east-west trending faults that
effectively divide the field into a northern and southern
area. The northern area contains well-developed,
composite coal seams and strata in this field dip 1020
south-west. The southern area, although areally larger
than the northern sector, contains less widespread coal. In
this area, the strata dip northwest at between 10 and 15.
Major faulting of Karoo strata is restricted to the
lithologies of the southern area, while the region, as a
whole, is defined by major boundary faults.
552
All of the coal in the Mhukuru coalfield is

brightbanded and bituminous. Ash content is relatively
high, but this is mainly extraneous as shown by the
following analysis at S.G. 1.56 (Harkin, 1952):
moisture 2.8%; volatile matter32.7%; fixed
carbon42.6%; ash 21.9%; sulphur0.75%; calorific
value24.2 MJ/kg. Inferred total tonnages for the area
are 7.8 million tons for the Main seam in the northern
area.
13.4. SongweKiwira coalfield

This coalfield is located approximately 30 km west of
Lake Malawi in the lower Kiwira River. The Karoo rocks
extend south into Malawi where they form the Ngana
coalfield. The SongweKiwira coalfield is the only coal
deposit to have been commercially exploited (Harris,
1981), by the Kiwira and Ilima collieries (Kreuser, 1994).
Strata dip at between 20 and 30 to the east. Large areas
to the east and north of the coalfield are overlain by
Cretaceous and Quaternary cover. Coals are thin,
containing numerous mudstone and shale partings. seam
14.1. Introduction
Most of the known coal deposits are located in incised
valleys of the Zambezi, Luangwa, Mulungushi, Lunsemfwa
and Lukasashi Rivers (Reeve, 1963; Drysdall and Weller,
1966). The Barotse and Hot Springs coal deposits occur to
the west of the above-mentioned coalfields (Figs. 1 and
2(b), column 29). Coal seams occur in the Ecca Group of
the Karoo Supergroup. The present distribution of Karoo
strata in river valleys is controlled by down-faulting of the
strata into grabenlike structures (Tavener-Smith, 1956,
1960).
The main coal areas in Zambia are shown on Fig. 1.
These are the Luano deposit northeast of Lusaka and the
Kandabwe and Gwembe deposits of the Zambezi Valley.
An area in the Luangwa Valley to the east and northeast of
the Luano coalfield is also known to contain coal.
14.2. Zambezi valley coalfields
Three main areas of Karoo-age coal occur on the
northern side of Lake Kariba in Zambia. These have been
termed the Gwembe, Kandabwe and Luano coalfields (Fig.
Fig. 11. A generalised cross-section through the Karoo Supergroup in the Gwembe coalfield, Zambia, showing the half-graben structures typical of
thickness of 3 m usually contain up to 20% shale and

yields the following qualities when isolated from the noncoal strata: moisture5.5%; volatile matter 29.4%;
ash15%; sulphur1.1%; calorific value26.7 MJ/kg;
fixed carbon50.2% (Harris, 1981). Twenty million tons
have been proven of which half are considered
extractable. The coal quality is lower than that of the
Ruhuhu coalfield.
13.5. Galula coalfield
2(b), columns 26 and 27) and the regional geology and

specific coal details have been documented by Gair (1959),
Reeve (1963), Tavener-Smith (1960) , Denman et al.
(1968), Money (1972), Money and Drysdall (1975),
Nyambe (1999) and Nyambe and Dixon (2000).
Palynological studies have also been undertaken on the
associated argillites (Utting, 1976 , 1978 a,b ).
The Galula coalfield is located approximately 130 km

north-west of the SongweKiwira coalfield. Karoo strata
are present in a down-faulted block related to the northwest
trending rift faulting. Secondary faults trending southwest
and northwest dissect the coalfield into numerous
secondary blocks. Coal occurs interbedded with shale and
mudstone partings and yield 17 20% ash and a calorific
value of 25.58 MJ/kg ( Cairncross, 1987).
The Kandabwe coalfield is approximately 15 km long, 4

km wide and strikes northeast. (The mid-Zambezi Valley is
allied to the East African rift system and is essentially
tensional in origin.) Displacements by major boundary and
cross-cutting normal faults are up to several hundred metres
(Fig. 11). The pre-Karoo land
14. Zambia
14.3. Gwembe and Kandabwe coalfield
these rifted coal basins (after Gair, 1959).
surface was one of mature relief, i.e., relatively flat.

Throughout the deposition of Karoo sediments, tectonic
instability prevailed, manifested by warping and faulting of
considerable magnitude in the Beaufort Group and

overlying younger formations.
The stratigraphy for this area is shown in Fig. 2(b),
column 25 and correlations are possible with the Wankie
deposits in neighbouring Zimbabwe ( Tavener-Smith,
1960). The main coal seam varies between 2 and 3 m in
thickness and dips 20 towards the south-east. As at Wankie,
the lower portions of the seam are of superior quality than
the upper parts.
The coal-bearing formations in the Gwembe area are
greater than 120 m thick and contain numerous seams up to
1 m, but most are 1020 cm thick. Previous work stated
that the peat was deposited in deep, disconnected valleys
eroded on the pre-Karoo floor. Gair (1954) shows,
however, that the valleys originated due to faulting which
post-dated coal formation. Subsidence rates were also
different between adjacent areas such as Wankie and
Gwembe. The lower Karoo strata at Wankie are
approximately 320 m thick, while at Gwembe, it attains
thicknesses in excess of 1000 m. These correlatable rocks
are, therefore, twice to three times as thick over a strike
distance of 120200 km.
The Lower Karoo strata at Gwembe are siltstones and
calcareous mudstones. These are overlain by fluvioglacial
sandstone 5100 m thick (Tavener-Smith, 1956). Scattered
tillite and varved shale underlie the sandstone in places. In
several places, pre-Karoo basement highs project through
the Karoo strata. All of these are due to faulting.
Tavener-Smith (1956) envisages the following
depositional sequence of events in the Gwembe area. An
initial surface of moderate relief of granite gneiss was
overlain by the Dwyka ice sheets and these sculptured and
subdued the palaeotopography. The ice retreated and
glaciofluvial channels deposited sediment. Tectonic
instability produced a broad, shallow downwarp with an
extensive lake in which the lower mudstone was deposited.
Erosion of neighbouring highland sources produced the
deposition of the overlying Lower Wankie Sandstone. The
lake area shrunk and widespread peat accumulation took
place. Renewed tectonic uplift of adjacent land areas
occurred, accompanied by lake extension and transgression.
A further stable period followed accompanied by the
deposition of peat and numerous interbedded clay partings.
Thereafter, deposition appears to have proceeded
concurrently and comparably on both the northern and
southern banks of the present-day Zambezi River.
14.4. Luano valley coalfields

The Luano Valley is a large, topographically depressed
area containing considerable accumulations of Karoo
Supergroup strata. Coal occurs in the southern end of the
valley and the detailed geology of this region has been
described by Gair (1960). The coals are typically thin,
laterally impersistent and of low quality ( high ash). Due
553
to these features, the coals are correlated with the

Madumabisa mudstone at Wankie and not the Main Coal
seam of that area.
The western end of the Luano Valley comprises a
complex, depressed tilted fault block. This trends
eastnortheast with a maximum width of 60 km and the
fault-bounded valley walls converge to an apex in the
west (Gair, 1960). The stratigraphy is comparable with
that of Gwembe to the south (Fig. 2(b), columns 26 and
27) with a total thickness of Karoo strata in excess of
2100 m. The upper basaltic sequence has, however, been
eroded away.
The boundary fault on the northern edge of the grabenlike feature has a throw of at least 2300 m. The southern
edge of the valley is also fault-bounded but, in places, is
downwarped instead. This downwarped tilted block was
filled with Karoo sediment that dips northnorthwest at 8
35, and strikes parallel to the valley trend. The structure
is complicated by the presence of several smaller,
elongated, tilted fault blocks of preKaroo rocks. These
have similar trends parallel to the main valley with northfacing steep faulted scarp faces.
An area along the Mulungushi River was drilled and
bulk samples taken from exploratory shafts. The results
from these analyses show the high ash content of the
coal, coupled with average to low calorific values (1520
MJ/kg) plus relatively thin seams (Gair, 1960).
14.5. Luangwa basin
In the Luangwa basin (Fig. 2(b), column 28), the
Luwumbu Coal Formation constitutes the basal unit of
the Karoo Supergroup (Drysdall and Weller, 1966; Coal
Exploration Zambia, 1983). The regional geology of the
Luangwa area was described by Dixey (1937a,b). The
coals are associated with abundant clastic detritus and as
a result are high in extraneous ash (Utting, 1978b). The
individual coal seams are interleaved with carbonaceous
shale and seldom attain thicknesses of greater than a few
tens of centimetres.
14.6. Barotse basin/Hot Springs
The Barotse basin (Figs. 1 and 2(b), column 29)
encompasses two linear, marginal troughs, the Chunga
trough, extending from Kahare to the Hot Springs
coalfield, north of Mubwa, and the Kafue trough,
extending from Mulobezi east-north-east to Kafue. Most
of the region is covered by Kalahari sand. Money (1972)
and Page (1974) provide some geological details on these
deposits. The entire succession thickens towards the west
(Money, 1981) and in some areas, the coal-bearing
sequence is absent and the younger Karoo strata lie
directly on pre-Karoo basement. Analytical results of coal
sampled yield an ash content of 1530%, volatile matter
content of a maximum 25% and calorific values between
19.8 and 25.3 MJ/kg (Money, 1972).
554
A detailed description of the coal deposits of Zambia

can be found in Coal Exploration Zambia (1983).
thin towards the centre of the valley and into Zambia.

Throughout the area, mudstones of the lower Beaufort
15. Zimbabwe
15.1. Introduction
After South Africa, Zimbabwe is the most
wellendowed southern African country with respect to
coal reserves. Over 11 billion tons of in situ coal reserves
are calculated for the country and 2.5 billion of these tons
are considered to be opencastable reserves (Bartholomew,
1992). The coal occurs in two main regions, the Zambezi
basin in the north-east and the Save-Limpopo area in the
south, close to the border with South Africa (Figs. 1 and
2(b), columns 2325). Karoo-age strata occur to the west
and northwest of the craton in the mid-Zambezi basin and
contain the major coal deposits of Zimbabwe (Duguid,
1986a). The deposits in the south-east are covered by
flood basalts that terminated Karoo sedimentation, but in
the northern mid-Zambezi basin, much of this cover has
been removed by erosion. The coal is typically low rank
bituminous with relatively high ash contents, although
pockets of semi-anthracite have been produced by local
thermal heating of intrusive dolerites. There is coking
coal potential in the Limpopo deposits but this is offset
by complex structures and extensive dolerites. The main
focus of coal mining activities is at the Wankie coal mine
where the Main seam, which varies from 2 to 12 m, is
exploited. The lower portions of this coal have excellent
coking properties and contains ash contents of less than
10 %, but the sulphur content can be relatively high. The
upper portions of the seam are higher in ash and are used
for power generation.
15.2. Wankie coalfield
The Wankie coal region incorporates the Wankie
Concession, Entuba, Western Area, Lubu, Sengwa, Lusulu,
Sinamatella and Lukosi coalfields. These are located in the
western and north-western parts of Zimbabwe. The Lusulu
coal deposit is located to the northeast of the Wankie
deposits.
The distribution of lithologies constituting the Ecca
Group is similar throughout the mid-Zambezi basin
(Watson, 1958). The basal succession is invariably
arenaceous with occasional fluvioglacial sediments
( Lepper, 1992). These constitute the Lower Wankie
sandstone upon which the main Wankie seam rests (Fig.
2( b), column 25). The Wankie seam grades both laterally
and vertically into carbonaceous shale. The Upper Wankie
sandstone overlies the main coal seam and these clastics
Fig. 12. A typical vertical section through the Wankie Main seam,
Zimbabwe (after Duguid, 1986 a,b ).
Group overlie the Upper Wankie sandstone. Throughout the

region, one seam provides the coal reserves, i.e., the Main
seam. This is up to 12 m thick and the basal portions have
coking coal properties (Fig. 12). Duguid (1986b) has
interpreted the Wankie coal seam in terms of a
palaeoshoreline swamp deposit with pinch-out of coal in
landward and seaward directions. The seam is, therefore,
oriented parallel to the palaeoshoreline.
There is an apparent northeastward decrease in rank of
the coals from Wankie to Sengwe. The rank decreases from
coking coal in the Main seam at Wankie to medium-low
rank bituminous coal to the north (Whateley, 1980a). There
is also an apparent drop in rank over the relatively short
distance from Lusulu to Sengwe (Duguid, 1986b).
15.2.2. Coal
A typical profile through the Wankie Main seam and
overlying No. 1 seam is shown in Fig. 12. The maximum
thickness of the Main seam for the various areas is:
Western areas
Maximum 18 m
Entuba
Maximum 20 m
Wankie concession
Maximum 14 m
Lubu
Maximum 18 m
Lusulu
Maximum 10 m
Sengwa
Maximum 17 m
(Source: Palloks, 1984, 1987; Lepper, 1992)
While coking coal occurs at the base of the seam

(Bartholomew, 1992), the overall quality of coal
deteriorates vertically, particularly the ash content, which
increases at an almost constant rate. A vertical increase in
non-reactive macerals (inertinite) also takes place within
the seam. Average run-of-mine coal quality for the Wankie
coalfield is: volatile matter24%; fixed carbon65.7%;
ash9.77%; moisture0.76%; and calorific value31.4
MJ/kg (Duguid, 1986b). Reserves for this field, as well as
the other Zimbabwe coalfields, are 225 million tons
opencastable coal and 1280 million tons underground
reserves (Bartholomew, 1992).
In contrast, in the Lubu coalfield, coal occurs associated
with the Madumabisa mudstone, as opposed to the Lower
Main seam below. This upper coaly horizon is mid-Permian
age (Kungurian). Some of this mudstone-hosted coal has
low-sulphur coking coal potential (Bartholomew, 1992).
555
Geological and coal quality data for the various

Zimbabwe coal deposits can be found in Barber
(1986a,b, 1987, 1988), Palloks (1984) and Broderick and
Palloks (1982 a,b ).
16. Summary
A feature of some of the Permian southern African
coal deposits is that the earliest formed coals tend to be
the thickest seams. This corresponds to the lower
postglaciogenic period preceding the Dwyka glaciation.
Quality trends in these seams tend to follow a pattern
such as in the No. 2 seam in the Witbank coalfield (Fig.
13). The general vertical deterioration,
15.3. Tuli/Bubye/Sabi/Mazunga coalfields

These coalfields are situated on the southern edge of the
Zimbabwean craton in the Limpopo Belt (Figs. 1 and 2(b),
columns 23 and 25).
The Mazunga basin contains the Fultons Drift
mudstones that have little economic coal. The Tuli block
is located near Massabi and Singwesi. This area is also of
insignificant interest as coals are very thin, high in ash
and extensively displaced by east-north-east faulting and
dolerite intrusions. Jurassic-age volcanics cover wide
areas.
The Bubye coalfield is north of the Limpopo River
and east of the Tuli deposits and has a similar structural
complexity. Up to six coal seams spanning an age from
Artinskian to Kungurian, occur in two zones below and
above the Sangwe Grit (Fig. 2(b), column 25). The coals
are interbedded with carbonaceous shale and grey shale
that contains occasional sandstone interlayers. Only the
eastern portion of the Bubye deposit contains coal of
suitable thickness and quality. Another coaly interval, the
Marare coal-shale unit, is present above the Mkwasine
grits and shale. The Sabi basin coalfields (Fig. 7)
contain semi-anthracitic coals. The coal also has a high
ash content and the sequences are dissected by a
multiplicity of faults and dolerite sills and dykes.
Fig. 13. A graph illustrating the general vertical deterioration in coal

seam qualities in the No. 2 seam, Witbank coalfield, South Africa. This
trend is typical of several southern African seams (after Cairncross and
Cadle, 1988b).
556
Table3
Summary
of coaldeposits
of southernAfrica
Age
Botswana
EarlyLate Permian
Zimbabwe
Early Permian
Zambia
Early Permian
coals
3. Mudrock, subordinate
3. Fluvio-deltaic
3. Variable, thin seams
sandstone, thin seams, 4060
Tectonicsetting
Stratigraphy
Depositional
systems
Coalseams
Coalran
m
4. Rift basin (Toscanini)
4. Conglomerate, sandstone, 4. Fluvio-deltaic
4. Variable, thin seams
mudrock, thin seams, 15
220 m
Intracratonic rift basins
Mudrock, sandstone, three Fluvio-deltaic, fluvioMorupule, three seams, 1
coal zones
lacustrine
(MorupuleMoijabana,
0.59.5 m bituminous coa
Mmamabule, Lethlakeng)
Mmamabula, three
2. M
bituminous coa
Lethlakeng, two seams, 3
1.55 m bituminous coa
1. Conglomerate,
1. Alluvial fan to lacustrine 1. Two main seams, Basal
sandstone, mudrock, thick
1. Wankie region
seam 912 m bituminous
coal seams
2. Sabie region
2. Conglomerate, sand2. Alluvial fan, fluvial,
2. Variable thin seams,
stone, mudrock, thin coal lacustrine seams
bituminous, two zones, 0.5
anthracite
3. Rift basin (Ovambo)

1. Kandabwe
2. Gwembe
3. Luano
Tanzania
Early Permian
LateEarly Permian

1. Mhukuru
2. Ruhuhu
3. SongweKiwira
Malawi
EarlyLate Permian
1. Sandstone, mudrock,
1. Bedload fluvial,
lacusone main coal seam
trine
2. Conglomerate, sand
2. Fluviolacustrine stone, mudrock and thin coal seams
3. Conglomerate, mud
rock, thin coal seams
3. Lacustrine
1. Sandstone, mudrock, coal 1. Lacustrine

seams
2. Conglomerate, sandstone, 2. Fluvio-lacustrine
mudrock, coal
3, 4. Mudrock and coal

seams
3, 4. Lacustrine
1. One seam, 23 m
2. Coal zone, 120 m:

alternating mudrock and
seams, 1020 cm
3. Coal zone, 40120 m:
alternating mudrock and th
1. One coal zone, 400 m,

volatile alternating mudrock
coal thin coal seams
2. Two coal zones: lower
zone 12 m total coal;
upper zone, alternating coal
and mudrock 35 50
m
3, 4. Alternating mudrock
and thin coal seams bitumi
4. Galula
B.Cairncross/AfricanEarthSciences33(2001)529562

1.
NkanaLivingstonia1. Conglomerate,
sand 1. Fluvio-lacustrine
stone,mudrock,thincoal
seams
2. ChiromoSumbu
Mozambique
Swaziland
Earlyto EarlyLate
Permian
Earlyto LateEarly
2. Mudrock,subordinate2. Lacustrine
sandstone
andthin coal
seams
Intracratonic
rift basins
1. MoatizeTete
1. Conglomerate,
sandstone,mudrock,
coal
seams
Intracratonic
rift basins
1. Fluvio-lacustrine
Conglomerate,
sandstone,Fluvio-deltaic,
mudrockand coalseams fluvio-lacustrine
557
1. One coalzone,35120 1. Medi

m, alternating
mudrock bitumin
andthincoalseams,
<1m
thick
2. Onecoalzone,80200 2. Lowm, alternating
mudrock coal
andthincoalseams,
<5cm
1. Six coalzones,variable1. Medi

thickness:
130m thick. bitumin
Main coalzone alternat
ing mudrockandcoal
seams50 cm5m
B.Cair
Two coalzones.Lower
Semi-a
zonemultiple
seams,
three
mainseams50 cm8m
thick
Source
: Cairncross
(1987).
555
558
i.e., increasing ash, decreasing volatile matter and calorific

value, are characteristic of the No. 2 seam. The basal parts
contain the brightest coal and this progressively changes
vertically into duller coal into the uppermost 2A seam.
This general in-seam stratigraphy occurs throughout the
Witbank coalfield (over 80 km of strike; Cairncross and
Cadle, 1987). Similar vertical trends are found in the
Waterberg Grootegeluk Formation coal, the Main seam at
Wankie and in the Kandabwe area of Zambia. The thicker
seams occur in varied tectonic settings, i.e., stable cratonic
(Witbank, No. 2 seam), rifted graben (Moatize coalfield,
Chipanga seam) and marginal rift basins (Wankie
coalfield, Main seam). This suggests that tectonism
(subsidence) was not the primary control necessary in
order to produce thick coals.
Coal rank is related, to a large degree, to the tectonic
setting of the various coal deposits. Those coals, such as in
the South African Free State coalfield, formed on stable
cratonic shelves and partially insulated from major
geothermal heat, are generally low in rank reaching subbituminous levels. In contrast, coals occurring in basins
positioned within the intercratonic belts, rifted basins and
marginal craton localities, range from low-rank bituminous
on the flanks to very high rank bituminous or even
anthracitic in the centres, e.g., the Limpopo Belt coals of
northern South Africa. This is due to the higher geothermal
gradient in the central graben areas where the crust was
relatively thinner, thereby permitting greater heat flow from
below. The rank of the coal in the northern and eastern
Karoo basin increases progressively from west to east across
the coalfields, i.e., from the Witbank coalfield through to
Mpumalanga and into the KwaZuluNatal coalfields. This
trend parallels a thickening of the Vryheid Formation to the
east where subsidence was more rapid and faulted rift basins
occur (Whateley, 1980b). A decrease in rank takes place

from the coal at Wankie to Sengwe in Zimbabwe. This
coincides with a change in location towards the thicker
Zimbabwe craton in the Sengwe area. Superimposed on the
regional metamorphic controls on rank are effects caused by
late Triassic early Jurassic dolerite sills and dykes. These
invade the Karoo Supergroup in most of the southern
African localities and cause significant local changes in coal
rank. The anthracite deposits in several KwaZuluNatal
coalfields are due to locally induced heat effects caused by
doleritic sills devolatilising the bituminous coal. In the
faulted rift basins, dolerite frequently intruded along the
fault planes. The westernmost coal deposits in Namibia are
typically poor quality seams. The Karoo Supergroup in these
western areas often contains only carbonaceous shale with
little or no coal reported. There appears to be a westerly
trend across southern Africa of a decreasing number of
seams and quality of coal. The main geological features of
the southern African Permian coals are listed in Table 3.
A conceptual framework of the most important criteria
determining, effecting and controlling Southern African coal
formation in general is shown in Fig. 14. The four factors
time, climate, vegetation and geology (basin tectonics) are
inter-related and inter-dependent prerequisites for coal
formation. The processes and mechanisms, which result
from a favourable interaction between these four factors,
determine specific traits in particular coalfields. The
depositional portion of the diagram is based primarily on the
southern African Karoo strata, i.e., the glacial depositional
process represents the early Permian, which progresses from
the glacial, deltaic, and fluvial systems, into the Triassic
fluvial and Early Jurassic aeolian formations. Coal type (Fig.
13), defined by the organic constituents of the coal, depends
on the syn-depositional vegetation assemblages that formed
Fig. 14. Conceptual flow chart for the formation of southern African coal (see text for details).
the peat. In Southern Africa, the types of floral assemblages

were directly controlled by the preceding ice age. Coal
grade, defined as the mineral constituents of the coal,
depends on syn-depositional processes and post-depositional
diagenetic mineralisation which contaminates the peat and
coal. Most of the UfimianKazanian coals are intimately
interlaminated with fine clays and silts. Coal rank, defined
as the degree of metamorphism reached by the coal, depends
on postdepositional controls occurring after burial. Different
tectonic settings, cratonic vs. rift, were the main control over
geothermal heat flow after sediment burial. Coal rank,
therefore, progresses irrespective of, and unaffected by, the
coal grade and coal type.
Acknowledgements
Portions of this article were researched while working for
BHP-Utah International. Robert Langford, David Mathew,
the late Ted Milligan, Vanessa Santos and Judith Crouch are
thanked for their assistance during that period. I am indebted
to many coal geologists and sedimentologists with whom I
have interacted during the past 20 years and who have
directly or indirectly provided food for thought for this
review. In particular Tony Cadle, Angus Christie, Rosemary
Falcon, Dave Hobday, Dave Roberts and Bob Winter, all of
whose work is reflected in this paper. The research was
originally sponsored by the Co-Operative Science
Programme (CSP) of the CSIR, and later by the South
African National Research Foundation. Hester Roets of
RAU Graphics drafted the final versions of the diagrams.
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An Overview of The Permian (Karoo) Coal Deposits of Southern Africa

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An Overview of The Permian (Karoo) Coal Deposits of Southern Africa

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African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

An overview of the Permian (Karoo) coal deposits of southern Africa

South Africa also leads the southern African countries

E-mail address: bc@na.rau.ac.za (B. Cairncross).

with respect to volumes of coal mined and exported,

providing fuel for rural households, to some of the worlds

coals (Cadle et al., 1993). This is somewhat misleading

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

basins exhibit different traits to those of the main Karoo

MMST: Million short tons; n.d.: no data.

The availability and quality of geological data pertaining

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

exists for Swaziland. For these reasons, some of the

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

Namibia, which have detailed coal data in relatively

Age and correlation

The absolute age of the coal-bearing units in southern

in the Dwyka Group of Namibia and similar tuff beds in the

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

Fig. 2 (b). (continued)

for the two coal seams in the Vereeniging region of the

PermianTriassic extension, which ultimately led to the

Fig. 2 (c). (continued)

4. Karoo tectonic framework, depositional systems and

tectonic basin types:

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

Although Karoo Supergroup strata occur in Angola

is elongate northeastsouthwest, a trend mirrored in the

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

separate the uppermost Serowe bright seam from the

Middle seam the thickest and most laterally extensive. The

Fig. 3. A lithostratigraphic column for the Morupule coalfield, Botswana

is being exploited. Average qualities (raw coal) of the

6.5.1. Stratigraphy and geology

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

are 2000 million tons, with cut-off widths of 1.25 m and

6.6.3. Foley/Dukwe/Pandamatenga/Bobonong ( Tuli)

6.6.4. Ncojane coalfield

than 1.6 m thick and are typically very low calorific

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

coarse-grained sandstone and conglomerate, the 1000 m

deteriorate towards the east. The six coal-bearing zones

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

dipping succession (2530) underlying the Makaye stream,

The stratigraphy is presented below and relates to the

K5 Calcareous siltstone, beigeyellow mudstone

The K2 coal-bearing unit is composed of varying

Fig. 4. The main coal-bearing sequence in the Ngana coalfield, Malawi

The main coal deposits of Mozambique are located in

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

Information on this deposit and prospective areas north

horizons in the Ncondedzi area 20 km to the north. The

sorted sandstone. The tillite is only present in palaeolows

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

6). The coal-bearing successions of Moatize and

valley (Verniers et al., 1989). The coal-bearing zone

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

McDaid, 1986; Kingsley, 1985). The Dwyka Group

shallow-water deltas (Kingsley, 1985). Palaeocurrent

B. Cairncross / African Earth Sciences 33 (2001) 529562

Fig. 7. Stratigraphic profiles between Moatize and Ncondedzi in

main seam are considered to have formed behind

Fig. 8. A summarised stratigraphic profile form the Aranos coalfield in