Abstract
Currently, South African coal mining companies discard coals near igneous intrusions; however, there is limited information on changes in the quality of the intruded coals. An enhanced understanding of changes in coal quality and macromolecular structure resulting from rapid heating in South African coals is thus required. Manungu Colliery is located in the Witbank Coalfield, Main Karoo Basin. Within the boundaries of the colliery, a 14 m thick dolerite sill (‘‘main sill’) is emplaced above the uppermost No. 4 Seam; this has led to the devolatilization of this seam. The main sill has also developed igneous fingers that intrude into the lower coal seams, including into the productive No. 2 Seam. Thirteen (13) coal samples were collected from the No. 2 seam, with six (6) samples collected from both sides (western and eastern) of a ~0.4 m dolerite dyke (igneous finger) at 0.25 m intervals. An unaltered coal sample (the 13th sample, referred to as Un-C) was collected much further away from the intrusion and was used as the control...
M.Sc. (Geology)