Liberty Coal, the owner and operator of Optimum Colliery, is pleased to confirm that, following the appointment of Liberty Mine Services (Pty) Limited (“LMS”) as the principal independent mining contractor at the Optimum Colliery during November 2025, LMS has finalised the on-boarding of circa 540 employees agreed to be taken over from Salaria (Pty) Ltd (in business rescue) and its associates pursuant to section 197 of the Labour Relations Act.
LMS will now be embarking on a progressive employment drive over the course of 2026 in line with the Liberty Coal’s planned expansion into dragline and underground operations. This is expected to result in circa 500 new employment opportunities being created at the mine.
This is in addition to the employment and local business opportunities arising from the several major capital projects being undertaken by Liberty Coal, as part of its overall refurbishment of the mine’s infrastructure and facilities. Overall, some 2,000 people are anticipated to be actively engaged in works at Optimum Colliery by end 2026.
LMS is utilising Liberty Coal’s brand-new fleet of heavy-duty mining machinery, equipment and vehicles, the first consignment of which was delivered during December 2025 with much fanfare and excitement. The balance of the fleet is due to be delivered by March 2026, when Liberty Coal’s Marion 8200 MDO3 dragline – newly-restored at a cost of over R400 million – is expected to start operating.
Liberty Coal’s chief executive, Hlayiseka Chauke, commented that the appointment of LMS as the principal mining contractor at the mine represents a “new and exciting chapter in the mine’s fortunes” and potentially ”the most significant catalyst” in returning the mine to sustainable profitability, and that he and his operations teams look forward to working closely with LMS and its management to achieve Liberty Coal’s objective of restoring Optimum Colliery to its historic position as one of South Africa’s premier producing coal mines.
