The Thubelisha shaft required more than 2000 workers on site at the peak of its construction and is expected to extend the life of the mine beyond 2039.

Thubelisha will comprise an operation producing more than eight million tons per annum over a 25-year lifespan from up to 12 coal producing sections.

Shaft infrastructure includes surface buildings, a 20km coal conveyor belt, workshops and a full shaft system over a work area of 21sq.km.

Sasol Mining managing director Hermann Wenhold said the building of the shaft was the first milestone in a large-scale investment project.

“Sasol Mining has entered a period of intense capital replacement and will replace 60 per cent of our operating capacity in [the nearby Secunda complex] in the next eight years,” he said.

“This capital replacement comes at a total cost of R14 billion ($US1.7 billion).”

Sasol operates one of the world’s largest underground coal mining complexes and produces over 40Mt of coal annually.

More than 90% of Sasol coal is used to produce synthetic fuels and a range of chemicals.