The mine has reached the end of its economic mine life and will close upon completion of the final longwall panel, Glencore said in a statement.

“In May 2014 we announced that the mine would likely close in Q4 2015; this date has since been pushed back to mid-2016,” it said.

The mine currently provides employment to about 100 people.

“We are continuing to provide information to our workforce about the closure plans,” Glencore said.

“It is business as usual at our Newlands open cut operations.”

As part of the process toward the mine’s closure, development activities ceased at the end

of June 2014 following the establishment of the final longwall panel.

Completion of these development activities resulted in the reduction of approximately 50

full time roles. Production at the mine continued until the final volumes of coal were extracted from the remaining longwall panels.

“We have begun consulting with employees and their representatives with respect to the proposed changes and will continue to provide information at each step of the process,” the company said.