Company Summary
Exxaro Resources is one of South Africa’s largest black-empowered diversified resources companies, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and headquartered in Pretoria. Exxaro is the country’s second largest coal producer and a significant player in energy and mineral sands, with operations spanning Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape. The company supplies coal to Eskom power stations that generate electricity for millions of South African homes and businesses, making Exxaro a critical pillar of the country’s energy infrastructure.
Matla Coal Mine is one of Exxaro’s flagship operations, located near Kriel in the Emalahleni Local Municipality of Mpumalanga — the heart of South Africa’s coal belt. Matla is an underground coal mine that has been in operation for decades, supplying coal directly to the adjacent Matla Power Station operated by Eskom. It is one of the largest coal mines in South Africa by volume and employs thousands of people directly and indirectly, making it the economic backbone of the surrounding communities including Ga-Nala.
Working at or developing your career through Exxaro Matla means being part of one of South Africa’s most important and technically sophisticated mining operations, within a company that has made transformation, community development, and sustainability central to its business strategy.
Opportunity Overview
Exxaro Matla Coal Mine is offering a structured 24-month Graduate Development Programme for unemployed graduates from the Ga-Nala community in Kriel, Mpumalanga. This is a community-focused opportunity that prioritises local talent — candidates who live in and are part of the Ga-Nala community are specifically targeted for this intake.
Mine: Exxaro Matla Coal Mine Location: Kriel, Mpumalanga Programme Duration: 24 months Target Candidates: Unemployed graduates from the Ga-Nala community Closing Date: 25 June 2026 — extremely urgent
Open Disciplines
This programme covers an exceptionally broad range of disciplines, reflecting the full spectrum of functions that operate within a large-scale underground coal mine:
Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
Science & Technical
- Extractive Metallurgy
- Geology
- Mine Survey
- Environmental Management
Business & Support
- Human Resource Management
- Financial Accounting
- Management Accounting
- Information Management
- Supply Chain Management
Social
- Community Development
Key Requirements
- Completed degree or diploma in one of the listed disciplines from a recognised South African institution
- Currently unemployed at the time of application
- Must be from the Ga-Nala community in Kriel, Mpumalanga — this is a community development-focused programme and local residency is a firm requirement
- South African citizen
- Strong academic record — mining company graduate programmes are competitive
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Computer literacy — Microsoft Office essential; discipline-specific software knowledge is advantageous
- Physically fit and able to work in or around an underground mining environment where applicable
- Valid South African ID document
- Self-motivated, reliable, and committed to completing the full 24-month programme
What You Will Learn
Two years inside one of South Africa’s largest and most technically advanced underground coal mines offers a depth of experience that very few graduate programmes anywhere in the country can match:
Engineering graduates will gain exposure to:
- Real underground and surface mining infrastructure — from shaft systems and ventilation to conveyors, pump stations, and electrical reticulation
- Planned and breakdown maintenance on heavy mining equipment in a live production environment
- Mine design, planning, and scheduling processes that balance safety, production targets, and environmental compliance
- Engineering project management within a structured, safety-critical corporate framework
- ECSA-recognised experiential training hours toward Candidate Engineer and Professional Engineer registration — keep a detailed logbook from your very first day
Science and Technical graduates will gain exposure to:
- Geological mapping, borehole logging, and coal resource estimation in an active mining operation
- Mine surveying techniques including underground and surface survey work, volume calculations, and spatial data management
- Extractive metallurgy and coal processing — how raw coal is transformed into a usable product for power generation
- Environmental monitoring, compliance reporting, and rehabilitation planning in a regulated mining environment
Business and Support graduates will gain exposure to:
- HR management within one of South Africa’s most unionised and regulated employment sectors — labour relations, recruitment, performance management, and employee wellness in a mining context
- Financial accounting and management accounting in a large capital-intensive operation — budgeting, cost control, variance analysis, and financial reporting at mine level
- Supply chain and procurement management for a major mining operation — vendor management, inventory control, and logistics coordination
- Information management systems and data governance within an enterprise-scale mining organisation
Community Development graduates will gain exposure to:
- Corporate social investment programme design and implementation
- Community liaison and stakeholder engagement in a mining-affected community context
- Social impact assessment and reporting frameworks
- Working at the intersection of mining operations and host community relations — one of the most complex and important functions in the South African mining sector
Across all disciplines, every graduate will benefit from:
- A structured mentorship relationship with an experienced Exxaro professional in their field
- Exposure to Exxaro’s safety culture and the Mine Health and Safety Act requirements that govern every aspect of work on a South African mine
- Professional development workshops, performance reviews, and structured competency assessments throughout the 24 months
- A nationally and internationally recognised graduate development credential from one of South Africa’s most respected mining companies
Possible Interview Questions
Prepare thoroughly for both technical and behavioural questions:
- What do you know about Exxaro Resources and the role that Matla Coal Mine plays in South Africa’s energy supply chain?
- Why did you choose your field of study, and how does it apply specifically to an underground coal mining environment?
- Tell us about your connection to the Ga-Nala community — how has growing up in this area shaped who you are and what you want to achieve?
- What does workplace safety mean to you, and why is it especially important in a mining environment?
- Describe the most technically demanding project or assignment you completed during your studies — what was the challenge and how did you overcome it?
- How do you feel about working underground or in a physically demanding industrial environment?
- What does transformation and community development mean to you personally, and how do you intend to give back to Ga-Nala once you have completed this programme?
- Where do you see your career in the mining or resources sector five years from now?
- For Engineering candidates: Are you registered with ECSA as a student member? If not, do you plan to register, and what does professional engineering registration mean to your career?
- For Community Development candidates: What do you understand about the relationship between a mine and its host community, and what challenges do you think that relationship faces at Matla specifically?
Tip: Exxaro places enormous emphasis on safety, transformation, and community. In your interview, demonstrate all three — show that you take safety personally and not just as a rule, that you understand what black economic empowerment means in the mining sector, and that you are genuinely committed to contributing to Ga-Nala as a community, not just using this programme as a personal stepping stone.
Career Advice
- Apply right now — the closing date is 25 June 2026. There is no time to think about it, discuss it with family for a week, or wait until you have updated your CV perfectly. Get the best version of your documents together today and submit. You can always follow up — but you cannot apply after the deadline has passed.
- Your Ga-Nala community connection is your primary qualification for this opportunity. Exxaro has deliberately designed this programme to develop talent from within the communities most directly affected by mining operations. This is not tokenism — it is a strategic commitment to ensuring that the economic value created by the mine benefits the people closest to it. Own that connection proudly in your application and your interview.
- For Engineering graduates: ECSA registration is your long-term priority. The 24-month programme is long enough to accumulate meaningful ECSA experiential training hours. Register as a student or candidate member of ECSA before or immediately after joining the programme, and maintain a meticulous logbook of every competency you develop. Do not arrive at the end of two years and scramble to reconstruct what you did — document it from day one.
- Mining Engineering graduates are among the most employable professionals in South Africa. The country has a chronic shortage of qualified mining engineers, and with the energy transition creating new demands around coal, platinum group metals, manganese, and critical minerals, that shortage is not easing. A 24-month development programme at a major Exxaro operation is an exceptional foundation for a long, well-paid, and globally mobile mining engineering career.
- Geology and Mine Survey graduates occupy rare and highly valued niches. Very few South African graduates pursue these disciplines, which means those who do enter a job market with far less competition than general engineering or commerce fields. A geologist or mine surveyor with two years of underground coal mining experience at a company like Exxaro is a genuinely scarce professional. Understand and use that scarcity to your advantage in future career negotiations.
- For Environmental Management graduates: The South African mining sector operates under increasingly stringent environmental regulation, including the National Environmental Management Act, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, and international ESG reporting standards. Mining companies urgently need environmental practitioners who understand both the regulatory framework and the operational realities of mining. This programme gives you both — a combination that is difficult to obtain anywhere else at this stage of your career.
- For Community Development graduates: The relationship between mines and their host communities is one of the most complex, contested, and consequential dynamics in South African society. A graduate who completes a 24-month development programme at Matla Coal Mine — working at the interface of a major mining operation and the Ga-Nala community — will emerge with experience and insight that very few people in South Africa possess. This is a foundation for a career in corporate social investment, stakeholder engagement, social impact consulting, or community development leadership.
- For HR, Finance, and Supply Chain graduates: Mining is one of the highest-spending industries in South Africa. The procurement, financial management, and human capital functions at a major coal mine operate at a scale and complexity that most corporate environments cannot match. Two years of HR, finance, or supply chain experience at Exxaro Matla will make your CV competitive for roles across the entire resources, energy, and heavy industry sectors.
- Use every day of 24 months intentionally. Unlike a 12-month internship, this programme gives you enough time to genuinely develop, demonstrate growth, and build a track record. Exxaro will be watching — and companies hire from their graduate pools. Show up every day with the attitude of someone who wants to be offered a permanent position before the programme ends.
- This programme is for your community as much as it is for you. The Ga-Nala community has lived alongside Matla Coal Mine for generations. The graduates who come out of this programme and return their skills, knowledge, and networks to that community — whether through employment, mentorship, entrepreneurship, or civic leadership — are the ones who fulfil the real purpose of what Exxaro is investing in. Carry that responsibility with pride.
A 24-month graduate development programme at Exxaro Matla Coal Mine, in one of South Africa’s most important mining communities, across fifteen disciplines — this is one of the most comprehensive and community-centred graduate opportunities in the country. If you are from Ga-Nala and you have the qualification, this application deserves everything you have got.