South Africa's Sasol plans to supply 34 million tonnes from its own coal mines by 2028

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 1, Sasol announced its coal supply plan, targeting run-of-mine saleable coal production of 30 to 32 million tonnes from its own mines in fiscal 2027, while maintaining its goal of increasing self-produced coal supply to 34 million tonnes by 2028. In fiscal 2026, the company's own mine production reached 28.4 million tonnes, alongside 8.8 million tonnes of coal purchased externally; in fiscal 2027, external purchases are planned to be reduced to between 5 and 7 million tonnes.

Sasol is increasing capital expenditure in its mining operations. The company's mining investment rose from R2.9 billion in fiscal 2024 to R4.1 billion in fiscal 2026, and is expected to increase by a further R1 billion to R1.5 billion in fiscal 2027 compared to the previous fiscal year, with funds allocated to projects including mine shaft replacement. During the same period, the group's overall capital expenditure declined from R25.4 billion in fiscal 2025 to approximately R20.9 billion in fiscal 2026, with fiscal 2027 capital expenditure guidance set at R22 billion to R25 billion.

Coal quality improvement has entered the operational phase. Sasol previously invested R1 billion to convert the Twistdraai export coal washing plant into a de-stoning facility, and after commissioning, the proportion of high-density impurities in the coal dropped to below 12%. In fiscal 2027, the company will continue to maintain coal quality at this level and has set a target for unit mining sales costs of R680 to R750 per tonne.

In fiscal 2026, Sasol's Secunda site achieved production of 7.26 million tonnes, up 8% year-on-year, marking a five-year high. The company has set a fiscal 2027 Secunda production target of 7.2 to 7.4 million tonnes, with planned maintenance scheduled for that year; by fiscal 2028, the Secunda production target exceeds 7.4 million tonnes. Sasol has identified increasing self-produced coal, reducing external coal purchases, and maintaining de-stoned coal quality as key priorities for its mining business in fiscal 2027.