In 1957 Iscor (later unbundled into Kumba Resources and Mittal Steel South Africa) bought surface rights on six farms located in the coalfield.

[7] The miners blast the 15-metre (49 ft) high benches, then excavate the broken coal and truck it to the concentration plant.

[1] The new plant installed to extract and process coal for the new Medupi Power Station will be the first in the world to use mobile tipping bins and crushers in the pit near the benches.

[1] Grootegeluk produces 1.5 Mt of metallurgical coal for sale to metals industries and other users in South Africa annually.

The mine produces 2.5 Mt of semi-soft coking coal annually, delivering most of it to Mittal SA by rail.

[14] In 2007 Exxaro announced a contract to supply Eskom's new Medupi Power Station, which is also in the Waterberg and was due to open in 2012.

Exxaro was to invest R9 billion to speed up extraction from the existing pit, with delivery of coal to the first generation unit at Medupi to start in the 3rd quarter of 2011.

Two new dense media coal beneficiation plants were to be built at the mine, and would be operating at full capacity by 2014.