Inside Mining January 2015

A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N D

www.miningne.ws

Reflex global product manager

Dave Lawie discusses

drilling innovations

ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 8 • No. 1 • January 2015

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

AFRICAPrestigious projects

MINE RESCUEHonouring the brave

WEST AFRICADealing with Ebola

BME

MINING INDABAAn array of technologies

Tel: +27 11 772 1400 | Fax: +27 86 609 4047 | Email: [email protected]

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Everyday we move mountains for our clientsFrom pit to port, our materials handling solutions keep our clients in mining, ports and industry moving forward.

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CONTENTS

18

26

24

January 2015

For those who attended the 2014 BME Conference at the CSIR in Pretoria, the one impression stamped indelibly on the mind is the professional, forward-thinking and innovative approach of BME professionals to what is a very dangerous business. This is embodied in the healthy respect they have for their product – mining explosives.

ON THE COVER P4

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A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N D

www.miningne.ws

Reflex global product manager

Dave Lawie discusses

drilling innovations

ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 8 • No. 1 • January 2015

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

AFRICAPrestigious projects

MINE RESCUEHonouring the brave

WEST AFRICADealing with Ebola

BMEBBMMExExExExplplplplp ososososososiviviviviviveeeeeEExExEExplplplplplooooooBBBBBBBBBBMMMMMMMBMinnnnnonononovavatitiiononnons

MINING INDABAAn array of technologies

ENDORSED BY

INSIDE MINING 01 | 2015 1

JJJannuaruaarJaaaanannuuarr A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N D

EDITOR'S COMMENT

3 The great indaba

COVER STORY

4 Explosive innovations

AFRICA ROUND-UP

6 News from around the continent

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

8 Intelligence on demand

PRESTIGIOUS PROJECTS

10 Asanko Gold Mine, Ghana

14 Comprehensive solution

18 Kenya reclaims its mining future

22 Firstborn

DRILLING & EXPLOSIVES

24 Mine to mill – Where is the real value?

HEALTH & SAFETY

26 Mine rescue

28 The impact of Ebola in Sierra Leone

30 OneWay to zero harm

32 Understanding your health risks

COUNTRY PROFILE

35 Botswana, the sparkle continues

MINING INDABA39 Fatigue alert

41 Island riches

42 Working at heights

43 Radio communications made simple

45 Size doesn’t matter

46 Critical stator rewind

49 Productivity, safety and cost reduction

50 The urgent need to mechanise

51 Heavy lifting

53 Rapid change and bottom-line impact

55 Local manufacturer’s export success

56 Too big, too small or just right

57 Pumping high-density mixtures

58 Mine management and reporting

59 Slope or high wall failure

61 Surface mining

63 Concern for the environment

65 Specifying the right mill liner

67 Superbelt

68 In-pit crushing and conveying

70 Weba Chutes to New Orleans

71 Condition monitoring

72 Academy-trained profi ciency

73 Outsourcing science to save costs

75 From qualitative to quantitative

77 Tougher than tough

78 Make every drop count

81 Tough, tougher, toughest

85 Predictive maintenance

87 Life-saving device

3

The great indaba

Publisher Elizabeth Shorten

Editor Tony Stone

Editorial assistant Mpinane Senkhane

Head of design Hayley Mendelow

Designer Kirsty Galloway

Chief sub-editor Tristan Snijders

Sub-editor Beatrix Knopjes

Contributors David Lawie, AJ Rorke,

Duncan McNicol, AJC Paterson

Production manager Antois-Leigh Botma

Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise

Marketing specialist Philip Rosenberg

Marketing and digital manager Esther Louw

Financial manager Andrew Lobban

Administration Tonya Hebenton

Distribution manager Nomsa Masina

Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham

Printers United Litho Johannesburg

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ISSN 1999-8872 Inside Mining

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.___________________________________All material in Inside Mining is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.

The past year was certainly not a good year for min-ing. Hopefully, as I write this comment, the mining industry is looking positively on 2015 and preparing for the great indaba in Cape Town. The one thing we

learn from life and statistics is that what comes down goes up again. Those who see this, and prepare, will reap the rewards. Those who do not will be caught flat-footed. In this issue we cover a number of 30 or so forward-thinking companies who see the future, positively.

One of the most fascinating facets of the human mind is its ability to innovate and improve existing technology. Just when you think nothing better can be done someone comes up with a new idea for a prod-uct or process. We see this with BME and their exploding innovation. Reflex too are quite innovative with their ‘intelligence on demand’, and in the most unlikely application – drilling. It’s all quite fascinating.

Again, at this time of the year, we look at a few prestigious mine projects. Of note is the Kanga-la coal mine project, which, after three years of waiting for their water licence, has gone from bare farmland to full production in just over a year – much to Eskom’s relief.

Perhaps the most moving and solemn moment in the closing weeks of 2014 was my attend-ance at the Mine Rescue Services annual dinner where the heros, miners who gave their lives to save others, were remembered. In tribute, we honour each and every one.

With health and safety high on everyone’s agenda it is good to know that there are those organisations that go the extra mile. No, it is not a perfect world and mining is dangerous. Despite our ongoing efforts to reduce accidents, injury and death, these do happen. Mining is not for sissies. For those us who have been down at the rock face, we understand this.

Even so, mining is opportunity. It creates jobs and builds wealth. As a new addition to the magazine, we introduce our ‘Country Profile’, which looks at the mining industry, its en-vironment and the opportunities in a given country. This month we kick off with Botswana. Given recent discoveries, the future will continue to sparkle.

Finally, I take this opportunity to welcome my new online journalist and editorial assistant, Mpinane Senkhane, a bright young star and graduate of the University of Cape Town. She may look like a gentle lady but spiders, mud and dark tunnels hold no fear over her. She is as tough as nails yet makes gum-boots look good.

EDITOR'S COMMENT

To our avid readers, be sure to sign up and get the latest updates and inside scoops from the mining industry. Check out what we are talking about on our website, Facebook page or follow us on Twitter and have your say.

@mining_news

www.facebook.com/pages/Mining-News

INSIDE MINING 01 | 2015

Hopefully the mining industry is looking positively

on 2015 and preparing for the

great indaba in Cape Town

Inside Mining's new journalist and editorial assistant, Mpinane Senkhane

INTRODUCING

COVER STORY


FOR THOSE WHO attended the 2014 BME Conference at the CSIR in Pretoria, the one im-pression stamped indelibly on

the mind is the professional, forward thinking and innovative approach of BME professionals to what is a very dan-gerous business. Th is is embodied in the healthy respect they have for their prod-uct – mining explosives.

Core raw materialTo appreciate their commitment to inno-vation, and social responsibility, we take a look back to 2012 when Rod Humphris, managing director of the Omnia Group, of which BME is a subsidiary, opened the company’s new Nitric Acid Complex in Sasolburg, which comprises a nitric acid plant, an ammonium nitrate plant, a po-rous ammonium nitrate plant (PGAN),

a fl eet of 145 specialised ammonia rail tankers and other ancillary facilities. Th e nitric acid plant, capable of producing 1 000 tonnes per day, 40% more than their old plant, is state of the art. Th is Th yssenKrupp Uhde designed complex uses the designer’s internationally ac-claimed technology, EnviNOx, which is more than 98% effi cient, and which elim-inates greenhouse gases to the extent that as many as 350 000 carbon credits can be generated annually in terms of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Nitric acid (HNO3) is a core raw material for both fertiliser and explosives manufacturing.

Explosive attributesAmmonium nitrate is an explosive base with a detonating temperature of 1 130oC. With the formulation 2NH4NO3

→ 2N2 + 4H2O + O2 + 378 cal/g, it serves as a supplier of oxygen in addition to be-ing an explosive when fuel oil is added and is known generically as ANFO (Am-monium Nitrate Fuel Oil).

ANFO detonates at a lower detonation velocity. This produces more gases from the reaction, which is of benefit in cre-ating a ‘heave’ effect. This heave effect allows for easier digging because of the movement and throw of rock. ANFO comes in various forms – as a prill, or granule of ANFO, or it can be manufac-tured as an emulsion.

For good blasting-grade, prill size distri-bution should be roughly between 6 and 20 mesh and be porous, which enables the prill to readily absorb and hold the correct amount of fuel oil (about 5.7%). Oil should distribute evenly throughout the prill particle, improving detonatabil-ity of the ANFO mixture. Prills, unfor-tunately, can deteriorate due to environ-mental infl uences and must be used in suitable applications.

Explosive

As much as mining explosives are highly technical, the safe and effective use of this tool is also an art, as is evident from the controlled passion that radiates from BME and client explosives experts.

ABOVE View from blasting position using AXXIS wireless detonator system

INSET AXXIS digital initiation system

innovations


COVER STORY

Emulsion explosives, on the other hand, are more water-resistant than water gel slurry or ANFO. An emulsion explosive is also much safer to handle, use and store, as it is relatively insensitive to detonation by friction, impact or fi re. Th erefore, it is safer and enhances the safety standards of mining. High velocity of detonation (VOD) can be obtained. VOD depends upon the oxidiser droplet size, which should be between 0.2 and 10 micron. Th e eff ect of emulsion explosives depends on droplet size and the sensitiser used. Be-cause of the intimate mixture between oxidizer and fuel, emulsion explosives de-liver energy to the rock very quickly. Th is means the toughest rock conditions can be tackled eff ectively, and effi ciently, with-out compromising safety standards. And, since emulsion explosives are oxygen-bal-anced, the detonation generates a mini-mum amount of noxious fumes.

Transportation and applicationA further example of BME’s innovation is its in-house design and manufacture of mining-specifi c mobile mining units (MMUs), with the capability of producing over 50 units a year from its factory in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. Th e MMUs can deliver any formulation to site (pure emul-sion explosives, doped emulsion, heavy ANFO and ANFO), providing the logistical backbone to the mine’s supply line of the required explosive blend. Th e two truck types, emulsion units and heavy ANFO units, are built to exacting design speci-fi cations accredited by the SABS. In addi-tion, the SABS certifi es each unit before it is commissioned.

Using a standard cab chassis sourced from established truck makers, the com-pany has been refi ning its MMU design and components to produce a highly effi -cient on-site solution for surface mining operations. Skills-sharing by BME experts also boosts the technical ability of on-site maintenance mechanics, which ensures units’ longevity across Africa. Th e high levels of local content in the units make it easier to source service parts. Logistics channels have been established to ensure replacement parts are readily available to site and, within Southern Africa, BME has put its own regular transport channels in place.

DetonationIn developing its own electronic detona-tor technology, the AXXIS digital initia-tion system, BME has been able, through

continuous improvement in safety, ease of use, robustness and accuracy, to build a system that allocates precise fi ring times to detonators, allowing engineers to design complex fi ring sequences to achieve predicable and repeatable blast results. Th e net result is the increasing recognition of the bottom-line value of high-precision blasting – a key advantage of electronic detonators.

Flexibility in blasting is a key element of success, especially when a blast requires a complex sequence of hole-detonations. Th e AXXIS system allows each hole to be timed to the nearest millisecond.

Safety is also a key feature of the AXXIS system; for example, the use of patented, intelligent connectors, which allow pas-sive detonator logging. Another example is the use of dual capacitors in the detona-tors. Using a dual capacitor arrangement in each detonator enhances safety, as one capacitor is used to fi re the detonator, and the other is used to energise the mi-croprocessor, which governs the timing of the detonation.

Most other systems have only one ca-pacitor. So any communication with, or testing of, the detonator causes a partial charge of the sole capacitor, which is also there to fi re the fuse-head. By having two capacitors, BME ensures that the only ca-pacitor that is energised before a blast is the one that communicates with the mi-croprocessor, which leaves the capacitor fi ring the fuse-head unaff ected – enhanc-ing stability and reliability.

Computer softwareSince it pioneered the use of electronic detonators in its blasting systems, BME has been developing its own computer programs to improve precision. BlastMap III, their current version, is the culmina-tion of ongoing development. Easy to use, especially for those in the fi eld, its core off ering embodies the principles of blast design, defi ning the block outline, laying

out the patterns of holes, editing hole po-sitions and applying blast timing.

Tinus Strauss, software engineer at BME, expands, “Used in conjunction with BME’s AXXIS digital initiation system, the BlastMap III software provides a power-ful tool for getting the best blast results and making mining as effi cient as possi-ble. In addition to vibration control, the system can be eff ectively used to benefi t fi ner fragmentation, dilution control in ore blasts, heave control to achieve desired muckpile shapes, and specialised blasting scenarios.”

Another software application developed by BME is WallPro, which assists with con-trolled blasts close to a fi nal pit wall – to help maintain the integrity of the wall by carefully controlling energy and vibration. Th is software application employs com-plex equations and useful graphics to help practitioners design the blast they need, providing a visual impression of how much energy is going into the fi nal wall, where the holes need to be placed and how much charge should go into each hole.

With their long history of innovation, tried, tested and proven technology, BME is a business partner miners can rely on for a safe, quality and timeous service.

www.bme.co.za

TABLE 1: Specifi cations for ANFO and heavy ANFO

Variable ANFO Heavy ANFO

Ideal detonation velocity 4 850 m/s 6 384 m/s

Ideal detonation pressure 48 960 atm 115 890 atm

Ideal detonation temperature 2946oK 2388oK

Detonation velocity (125 mm cartridge) 4 000-42 00 m/s 4 300-4 500 m/s

Detonation energy 3.89 MJ/kg 3.2 MJ/kg

Density 0.78 – 0.80 g/cm3 1.26 – 1.27 g/cm3

Water resistance None Excellent

Source: Partha Das Sharma, http://miningandblasting.wordpress.com/

BME MMU truck getting ready to charge a blast

In each issue, Inside Mining offers advertisers the opportunity to promote their company’s products and services to the appropriate audience by booking the prime position of the front cover which includes a two-page feature article. The magazine offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure the maximum exposure of their brand. Please call +27(0)11 465 5452 to secure your booking.


MINING NEWS from around the con nent

AFRICA ROUND-UP

BURKINA FASOKarma Gold ProjectCanadian gold mining junior True Gold expects to pour gold at its Karma Gold Project in Burkino Faso by the end of 2015. Th e Toronto-listed min-er said in mid-November that it is on schedule to produce 160 000 oz of gold in 2016 at its Karma heap-leach project.

Th us far, the company has spent $51.5 million, or 39% of a $131.5 million capex budget.

Construction continues at a strong pace with the mine now beginning to take shape,

said True Gold president and CEO Dwayne Melrose in a statement.

“We have an exceptional mine-building team in Burki-na Faso, which includes more than 200 people from local communities,” commented Melrose. ” Th e capacity of this team to work effi ciently and cost-eff ectively has increas-ingly become a competitive advantage for the company.”

True Gold has $49 million in its treasury and will draw down on a $100 million in fi nancing with Franco-Ne-vada and Sandstorm, royalty/streaming companies to cover the rest of capital costs.

Pre-stripping of the Ram-bo deposit, Karma’s high-est-grade deposit and the fi rst to be mined, was expected to begin in December 2014.

To date, all aspects of the project are on time and on budget, said True Gold.

During mine operations, the company said it would employ over 400 people at Karma.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGOUnderground drillingIvanhoe Mines in November announced excep-tionally high-grade silver, zinc and copper drill inter-cepts at its underground diamond-drill-ing programme at the Kipushi copper-zinc-germanium-lead and precious-metals mine in Lubumbasi, DRC.

Th is was the third batch of assay results from the company’s ongoing drilling programme at Kipushi – with the latest intercept correlating with the previously reported high-grade copper-zinc inter-cept in a nearby drilling zone that returned 31 metres grad-ing 44.5% zinc, 6.1% copper, 144 g/t silver, 67 g/t germani-um and 0.1 g/t gold.

Ivanhoe executive chairman Robert Friedland said that although Kipushi was one of Africa’s richest copper and zinc mines, the records from its fi rst 68 years as a produc-ing mine did not mention the actual production of pre-cious metals.

“Now, our discovery of high-grade copper-zinc-silver min-eralisation with signifi cant gold and germanium values within the Big Zinc zone confi rms our hypothesis that copper zones, which also are rich in precious metals, exist within the deep, unmined portions of the Kipushi mine. Th ese zones now present new and compelling targets for our ongoing exploration,” Fried-land said in a statement.

Ivanhoe reported new inter-sections at Kipushi that show

potential to expand the south-ern limit of the historical Big Zinc resource, Hole KPU042, on the southern margin of the Big Zinc resource.

Historical drilling by state-owned mining company Gé-camines intersected this zone up-plunge but it was not mined.

“Th ese latest assay results demonstrate the world-class grades and untapped potential of the Kipushi deposit,” noted Friedland. “Our continuing ex-ploration drilling will continue to test for extensions to the Big Zinc and the newly dis-covered high-grade precious metals mineralisation.”’

MOZAMBIQUERuby fi ndBritish precious-stones min-er Gemfi elds unearthed a 40.23 carat rough ruby at its Montepuez deposit in Mo-zambique. Th e company termed the fi nd as one of the most important rubies un-earthed in recent times.

Th e coloured gemstone min-er, Gemfi elds, which also owns the largest emerald mine in the world at Kagem in Zam-bia, said it expected the ruby to be sold at auction in Singa-pore next month – its second ruby auction of the year.

Rubies are traditionally the most prized when they are a vivid crimson with a hint of blue. However, Mozambican rubies often are a rich pink-ish-red colour due to the vari-ation in deposits in the region.

Earlier this month, an 8.62 carat Burmese ruby was sold at a Sotheby’s auction at a record price of about $8.57 million, or almost $1 million per carat.

Gemfi elds owns a 75% stake in the Montepuez ruby depos-it and in June generated $33.5 million from its fi rst auction of rough ruby and corundum from the deposit.

Th e discovery, which jew-ellery expert and historian Joanna Hardy described as in-

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BELOW True Gold president and CEO Dwayne Melrose

BOTTOM Map of Burkina Faso

Ivanhoe executive chairman Robert Friedland


AFRICA ROUND-UP

credibly rare, sent Gemfi elds’ shares up as much as 3.5% on Wednesday.

Investment in coalState-owned Indian mining fi rm International Coal Ven-tures (ICVL) will invest $500 million in its newly acquired Mozambique coal mines over the next two-to-three years.

Th e investment will be direct-ed towards creating logistical and infrastructure support at the recently acquired Benga coal mines in the country.

ICVL purchased the Benga mine from Rio Tinto Coal Mozambique in a $50 million deal completed in September. Th e deal included other coal projects in the Tete province of Mozambique.

ICVL is now also looking to appoint a full-time offi cial with rich experience in coal mining to head the operation of the Mozambique mines to turn them into a profi table venture, according to reports.

BOTSWANASparkling futureTh e discovery of the lower mantle-derived SWS 21 in-trusion in the Mmadinare area of Botswana has created

much interest in the dia-mond industry.

Th e area has been pros-pected for diamonds by at least two major companies in the past three decades with no success.

In November, Toronto-list-ed diamond explorer Pan-golan Diamonds announced the recovery of additional kimberlite indicator miner-als at its Malatswae Project in Botswana.

Pangolan said its completed, detailed surface-sampling programme at the Malat-swae Project showed that all indicator minerals exhibit features consistent with a proximal host rock such as kimberlite.

A total of 62 close-spaced soil samples from 31 sample sites were collected to further qualify the earlier discovery of three diamonds and kim-berlite indicator minerals from within a 1 km2 area of the Malatswae Project.

Pangolan said in a state-ment that thirteen indicator minerals from nine addi-tional samples have primary features including friable reaction mantles and possible adhering kimberlite.

Th e miner previously re-ported diamondiferous zones at the exploration site, and said its new sampling pro-gramme and grains are from two separate source areas in close proximity to the previ-ously reported diamonds.

UGANDAIron ore discoveryA recent airborne geophysical survey has resulted in the discovery of more than 260 million tonnes of iron ore in Uganda, East Africa.

Senior geologist at the De-partment of Geological Survey and Mines in Uganda Francis Natukunda said the survey discovered bigger deposits of the steel-making ingredient than had previously been found during the coloni-al mappings.

“Currently, we have over 200 million tonnes of re-serves of hematite iron ore in south-western Uganda and 60 million tonnes of magnet-ite iron ore in the south-east-ern part of the country and still have huge potential for exploration,” said Natukunda, speaking at a two-day South African trade and investment seminar in Kampala.

According to Ugandan daily newspaper New Vision, the survey also revealed ‘poten-tially huge diamond deposits around areas of Lake Kyoga’ due to the discovery of bodies similar to kimberlite.

Natukunda said if the iron ore is extracted, it would not be exported, but rather used domestically to fuel demand for steel in the construc-tion industry.

Uganda banned iron ore ex-ports in 2012.

SIERRA LEONECapital shortageIn December, iron ore mining company African Minerals (AML) announced it would temporarily shut down its

iron ore operation in Sierra Leone – the main focus of its business – because it does not have enough working capital.

Th e miner is in a critical situation, battered by a 50% plunge in the iron ore price this year and the eff ects of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and said the shutdown was inevitable in light of these problems.

Without a signifi cant injec-tion of working capital, the company said it was unable to initiate the cost reduc-tion strategies that would return the operations to cash-fl ow-positive status even at recent low iron ore prices.

“Initiating a temporary shutdown of operations towards care and mainte-nance in Sierra Leone, while extremely regrettable, is a necessity given the company’s fi nancial status and uncer-tainty over the timing of the release of the restricted funds,” said AML CEO Alan Watling in a statement.

AML has been operating at a loss despite an ‘impressive’ operating performance of the project during 2014, owing to the fall in iron ore prices and the operational challenges caused by the Ebola dis-ease outbreak.

AML’s London-listed shares have been suspended since 20 November due to uncertainty about its future. Th e company said that its subsidiaries have failed to make in full a loan repayment due at the end of November.

AML executive chairman Frank Timis said the compa-ny has allocated all available funds to keeping the operat-ing assets in a condition that operations can be quickly re-started, which is of fundamen-tal interest to all stakeholders.

“Local staff will continue to be employed on normal wages and will be allocated to care and maintenance activities,” said Timis following his re-cent visit to Sierra Leone.

ICVL chairman CS Verma

Pangolin Diamonds chairman Dr Leon Daniels

IN THE SPOTLIGHT


Three things increase productiv-ity and reduce costs, especial-ly in mining. Two of these are knowledge and technology, both

of which are enablers. Th e third element, eff ective application, is what makes it all happen. Th is being said, the secret to ex-ponentiating the value of knowledge is to share it. In so doing, knowledge, as a re-source, can be fully exploited to enable a team to work a lot smarter. Backed by in-telligent technology, with capable people utilising this technology, and working to-gether, you have a winning combination.

It is this inbred philosophy that gives Refl ex, a leading Australian technology company, the ability to punch above its weight class and deliver intelligence on demand. As always, it’s not the ‘what’, but the ‘how’ that matters. In Refl ex’s case, this is the diff erentiator in product and service off ering. What is more, it is also backed by a track record of introducing new and innovative – yet reliable – hard-

ware and software technologies that set the pace and drive change

in the drilling in-dustry. A

by-product of this is an industry moving ever forward towards a de facto set of best practices while signifi cantly improving op-erational effi ciencies.

Being the leading innovator they are, and an exceptional problem solver, the company has pioneered the development and introduction, to the global minerals market, of:• digital survey tools, both single- and

multi-shot• digital core orientation technology• micro electro-mechanical system

(MEMS) gyro survey tools• inertial navigation system (INS) bore-

hole survey systems• cloud-based operational and geological

data collection and management systems.With 90% of operating diamond drills benefi ting from Refl ex’s instruments worldwide, these systems are now consid-ered the de facto industry standard. Th e reason for this is simple. Refl ex technolo-gy possesses all the factors inherent in the exponential relationship between tech-nology advancement and quality of life, all built in. Th ese factors of availability, accessibility, aff ordability, ease of use and

immediately being able to access and sur-vey data, equate to the total convenience factor (TC factor), which translates into a winning formula for everyone, especially the resource companies.

The Reflex Ez-Gyro Th is is a complete downhole surveying instrument capable of north-fi nding di-rectional surveying in all environments, magnetic and non-magnetic. It has an az-imuth of +/-1 degrees, dependent on lati-tude and inclination, and a dip of + / - 0.30 degrees in single- and multi-shot modes. With proven reliability and accuracy, it utilises a digital surface referenced micro electro-mechanical system (MEMS) gyro. It is fi tted with fi eld-changeable lithium rechargeable batteries that have an oper-ating time of ten hours or less, depending on environmental conditions.

Th is instrument has been designed for operation by drillers. It can be used inside all types of drill rods or in magnetically

Intelligence on demandGiven that you can’t effectively manage what you can’t measure, problems incurred during the drilling process, be these intentional or unintentional, are costly, in lost time and money. But, there is a solution. Reflex global product manager Dave Lawie explains.

d l bl h d gy possessetialdvinlity

new and innovative – yet reliable – hard-ware and software technologies that

set the pace and drive change in the drilling in-

dustry. A

gy possesexponentnology adall built accessibil

LEFT AND MIDDLE The Refl ex EZ-Gyro

RIGHT The Refl ex XRF


IN THE SPOTLIGHT

disturbed ground, elim-inating the need to use non-magnetic drill pipe confi gurations. It measures in all directions and is not aff ected by inclination, and can therefore be used in surface and underground operations and wireline or conventional drill rigs.

Its intuitive interface is simple to use, and yet the in-strument is equipped with highly sophisticated tech-nology inside in order to de-liver exceptionally accurate survey results. Th e intelli-gence of the tool within the tool, which reduces human errors related to processing and interpretation.

Highly accurate survey data is obtained through a customised ‘an-ti-roll’ running gear and centralisers, en-suring the highest quality azimuth data, including in vertical surveying. It also provides fast and accurate orientation of bottom-hole assemblies without the need for costly non-magnetic alloys or risk from magnetic interference.

It is well suited to the surface drilling environments of the mineral explora-tion industry and can be utilised in many surface programsme. It also has a uni-versal running gear to ensure that it can be used in all standard RC and diamond coring applications.

A large range of data types, including directional data (azimuth and dip), tem-perature, time and roll are recorded in the on-board memory. Th is survey data, once brought to the surface, can be transferred

from the instrument’s on-board memory to a fi eld PC, using the Windows 7 operating system, in CSV (comma separated values) fi le format via a high-speed Bluetooth connec-tion, or built in Wi-Fi or USB connection. Th e full set of data readings can be processed using Refl ex’s advanced, in-house de-veloped software, where users can tabulate, plot and export data into vari-ous formats for enhanced decision-making. Using this technology, the same,

critical drill hole data can be transferred instantly anywhere in the world for fast decision-making.

Th e big win is that the costly time de-lays so traditional of waiting for survey reports have been eliminated by the ‘now’ nature of the Refl ex Ex-Gyro.

The Reflex XRFTraditionally, core samples are usually sent back to a laboratory for testing. Th at now changes. Instant assay results can be obtained quickly and easily using Refl ex’s handheld X-ray fl uorescence (XRF) spec-troscopy instrument, which, non-destruc-tively, determines the elemental compo-sition of rock, ore, soil and ferrous and nonferrous metal samples.

Th e advantage of this instrument, with simplifi ed workfl ows and instant geo-chemical analysis results, is immediate time and cost savings. Geologists no longer need to wait up to three months for off -site assay results to determine their next move. Decisions can be made with-out delay, based on facts, to better manage drilling programmes and save costs.

In addition, using the supporting Refl ex Connect-XRF software application, the scanned results, data, can be transmitted directly from the fi eld to the Refl ex Hub in a robust and streamlined manner. Th is data is converted to interpretive products within Refl ex Hub, in real time for eff ec-tive, timely decision-making, logging, do-main and classifi cation.

Geologists can access their aggregated data and monitor progress of the analytical

program from any location globally. Refl ex Hub can be accessed simply through any web browser, whether on-site, in the offi ce or travelling. It ensures all users have ac-cess to a single point of truth.

As to the instrument itself, the excita-tion source is a 4 W Rh, Ag, Au or Ta anode (per application) 40 or 50 keV X-ray tube using a silicon drift detector. It has an en-vironmental temperature range of -10˚C to 50˚C and an analytical range, geochem-istry and soil mode, from Mg to U. Its pro-cessing electronics of 530 MHz CPU with integrated FPU all seated with 128 MB RAM and a proprietary count digital pulse processor (DPP ) gives a high count rate and reduced analysis time. Smart elec-tronics include an accelerometer and a ba-rometer for atmosphere pressure correc-tion of light elements measurements. It is power rechargeable with Li-ion batteries and has a ‘hot-swap’ feature to maintain the analyser power during battery change. Its display is a 32-bit colour QVG A resolu-tion, Blanview transmissive backlit touch-screen that is 57 mm x 73 mm in size. It has a gigabyte of micro SD data storage (storing 75 000 readings).

Without a doubt, Refl ex’s instruments are totally convenient, eff ective, save time and money and provide the required intelli-gence as needed when the demand arises.

www.refl exnow.com


Asanko Gold has consolidated one of the largest concession packages in Ghana with the amalgamation of the Esaase

and Obotan gold projects. Th is semi-con-tiguous package of concessions spans 50 km of the Asankrangwa Gold Belt. Th e AGM contains three former oper-ating large-scale pits: Nkran, Adubiaso, and Abore pits, and three more recently discovered greenfi elds deposits: Esaase, Dynamite Hill, and Asuadai. All deposits are located within a 15 km radius. A num-ber of small, historic, hard-rock and allu-vial mines, which produced substantial amounts of gold from high-grade ore, are also found on the concessions.

Overall geologyThe Asankrangwa Gold Belt consti-tutes a 10 km to 20 km wide zone along the axis of the Kumasi Basin located

equidistant between the better-known Sefwi Greenstone Belt to the west and the Ashanti Greenstone Belt to the east. The geology of the Asankrangwa belt is typified by Birimian sediments, minor granitic intrusions and mafic igneous rocks. The lithological units are cut by steeply north-west dipping primary and secondary structures. It is this struc-tural and geological architecture that has been important in the localisation of gold mineralisation, and possess-es the capacity for enhanced fluid flow forming major alteration-ore-bearing gold systems. These are similar controls of mineralisation to the gold deposits on the Sefwi and Ashanti Greenstone Belts. The major difference between the belts is the maturity of exploration. The Asankrangwa Gold Belt is underex-plored but is gaining a reputation as an emerging gold belt as more gold deposits

are discovered.

Phase 1Phase 1 is developing the Obotan Gold Project, which was acquired during the takeover of PMI Gold Corporation in February 2014. Th e primary source of feed mate-rial for the carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant is the Nkran pit with satel-lite pits at Adubiaso, Abore, Dyna-mite Hill and Asuadai providing supplemental feed.

As to its geology, the Nkran de-posit is located within the Kumasi Basin on the Asankrangwa Gold Belt. The basin is bounded to the south by the Ashanti shear and the Bibiani shear to the north. The Asankrangwa Gold Belt ex-presses itself as a complex of

north-east-trending shear zones situat-ed along the central axis of the Kumasi Basin. The Nkran deposit is located on a jog along the regional Nkran shear, which is a zone of about 15 km in width and may be traced on a north-east to south-west trend for a distance of some 150 km. This is one of several major north-east-trending shears/structures that bisect the Kumasi Basin/Asank-rangwa Gold Belt.

Th e regional/local (Kumasi Basin) geo-logical setting is heavily faulted and con-sists of an isoclinally folded sequence of metasediments, dominated by turbiditic sequences of greywackes and shales, inter-colated with rare andesites and volcano-clastics, previously described as greywack-es, phyllites, argillites and shales.

Construction commenced in Q3 2014. First gold is targeted in Q1 2016 and steady-state production of 190 000 oz/pa of gold anticipated in Q2 2016. Th e oper-ation will consist of an open-pit contrac-tor mining operation and a 3 Mtpa CIL processing plant.

The capital cost for Phase 1 is esti-mated at $295 million, including con-tingency for estimating inaccuracy and owner’s contingency.

The layout of the gold processing plant and mine facilities has been designed to be close to the main resource, the Nk-ran pit, as it comprises 85% of the ore reserves for Phase 1, and to be compact in order to minimise the impact on the environment. The pit was previously mined to a depth of approximately 120 metres and requires 21.7 million tonnes of waste to be pre-stripped prior to com-mencing ore mining operations in Q4 2015. Included in the pre-strip will be 423 000 tonnes of ore at a gold grade of

Asanko Gold MineThis key mining project in Ghana, the multimillion ounce Asanko Gold Mine (AGM), has a global resource base of 7.9 million ounces (Moz) of measured and indicated resources, including 4.8 Moz of proven and probable reserves.BY TONY STONE

GHANA

PRESTIGIOUS MINING PROJECTS

OPPOSITE Mill foundations

BELOW Map showing the location of the mine


2.09 g/t, which will be stockpiled ahead of plant commissioning.

Job creationDuring the construction of Phase 1, around 1 000 people will be employed. Some 660 people will be employed during the operational phase of the mine. Th is will include contractors. Permanent employ-ees will be predominantly sourced from the local communities, and elsewhere in Ghana, which has a highly trained mining workforce due to the maturity of its gold mining industry. Of the total workforce during both construction and steady-state operation, 30% will be unskilled and semi-skilled local youth, which is a great invest-ment in the future of the area.

Construction updateProject construction commenced in Au-gust with the mobilisation of the bulk earthworks contractors to site. Over the past two and a half months, construc-tion has been advancing rapidly and is on schedule and within budget, with 12% of the overall project complete. Clearing and grubbing of the plant site has been com-pleted. A portable crushing plant is in operation to produce engineered fi ll mate-rials for civil works. Th e mill foundations have been excavated and 100% of the en-gineering fi ll has been placed. Th e concrete batch plant is operational and the fi rst concrete was poured on schedule in Octo-ber. Pouring the mill foundations is under-way and will continue for several months into 2015, coinciding with the dry season in Ghana. Excavation work is continuing on the CIL circuit base, the thickener base and other plant areas.

TABLE 2 Project schedule and key milestones, Phase 1

Key milestones Date Status

Commence bulk earthworks Q3 2014 Completed

Optimised mine plan for Phase 1 (defi nitive project plan)

Q4 2014 Completed

Mining pre-strip begins at Nkran Q1 2015 Contractor selected

All earthworks complete Q1 2015

Concrete civils Q1 2015

Mills arrive on-site Q2 2015

SAG and ball mill civils complete Q3 2015

Piping, electrical and instrumentation Q4 2015

Commissioning Q1 2016

First gold pour Q1 2016

Phase 1 steady-state production of 190 000 oz/pa Q2 2016


TABLE 1 Asanko Gold Mine, Phase 1

Component Capital estimate($ million)

Process plant 85.48

Mining (pre-production costs) 70.59

Power infrastructure 18.18

Buildings, offi ces and accommodation 12.31

Tailing storage facility (TSF), waste rock dump (WRD), run-of-mine (ROM) facility and the water supply facility (WSF), civil works

23.08

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), owners team, governance and accountability (G&A)

47.37

Engineer, procure, construct and manage (EPCM) 15.51

Subtotal 272.52

Contingency and estimating inaccuracies 22.75

Total 295.27

The earthworks contractor for the tail-ings dam is currently mobilising to site and will begin work this month. Power for the project is being sourced from the national power grid and a 30 km long,

161 kV line will be run along the exist-ing power corridor to provide the neces-sary power. The contract for the power line to site has been awarded and the company is working with the Ghanaian

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STUDIESMINERALS

PROCESSING MINING SNOITAREPO ERUTCURTSARFNI

power authorities to be-gin line construction.

Th e company plans to utilise a mining con-tractor to undertake the pre-stripping as well as the fi rst year of mining operations. Th e mining contract tender evaluation process is nearing comple-tion and an award of the mining contract is immi-nent. Pre-stripping is ex-pected to commence in January 2015. Mo-bilisation, clearing and grubbing will take place in November and December. Th ere is approximately 6 million cubic metres of clean water in the Nkran pit that will be pumped out in parallel with pre-stripping operations. Pumping equipment is on-site and being installed and dewatering is ex-pected to commence this month.

Production will utilize a conventional truck and shovel method. Th is will assist in keeping the pre-stripping volumes low and delivering higher mill feed grades ear-ly in Phase 1. Th e production schedule has been designed to maintain a consistent stripping ratio through the life of the op-eration. Th e LOM average operating strip ratio is 4.7:1.

Th e plant design is based on a typi-

cal single-stage crushing, semi-autoge-nous grinding, ball milling circuit and CIL fl ow sheet. Th is process fl ow sheet is well known in the industry, and is relatively low risk as it has historical-ly been proven a successful processing route for the Nkran ores during the Res-olute Mining operations, 1998 to 2002.Th e project will consume 18 MW of power, which will be sourced from the Ghanaian grid.

Peter Breese, Asanko’s president and CEO, commented: “It is very satisfying for all of our employees and stakeholders to see the Asanko Gold Mine taking shape with construction activity proceeding on schedule and within budget.”

ProcurementProcurement is 47% complete and pro-ceeding on schedule with approximately $85 million currently committed in or-ders and contracts. Equipment and mate-rials deliveries, none of which are on the project critical path, remain on schedule. Importantly, with almost a third of the capital expenditures of the project now committed, the project is tracking very closely to the $295 million capital expend-iture estimate.

Th e company is fully funded to cash fl ow positive in Q2 2016 with $228 million in cash on hand as at September 30, 2014 and undrawn project debt facilities of $110 million plus a $20 million cost-over-run facility for total available funding of $358 million.

Partial relocation of the Nkran villageAs required by law in Ghana, dwellings or structures within 500 metres of the fi nal mining pit outlines must be relocated for noise, dust and vibration rea-sons. A portion of the Nkran vil-

lage will be moved ahead of commencing ore mining operations, with 88 building structures to be replaced by the compa-ny. Th e Relocation Action Plan has been fi nalised and locations for the relocated dwellings are being selected by the Re-location Negotiation Committee for ap-provals by the Ghanaian Land Commis-sion. Construction is expected to begin early in 2015 with the partial relocation due for completion in Q3 2015.

Health and safetyTh ere have been no lost-time accidents on-site with 168 days of construction activity and 135 143 man-hours completed on the project to date.

Th e outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is being monitored closely by the company. Th ere have been no reported cas-es of Ebola in Ghana to date and construc-tion activity has not been impaired in any way. Th e company continues to monitor the situation closely and has implemented a number of preventative programmes to educate its staff , contractors and local vil-lage populations as well as monitor travel movements of all visitors and contractors. Th ese will remain in place until the virus is deemed by health authorities to have been brought under control.

Phase 1 – a definitive project planTh e Phase 1 optimised mine plan has been fi nalised based on the updated mineral re-source estimate, which was released in Sep-tember 2014. An updated reserve statement with associated operating costs and revised project economics is being compiled.

Phase 2Phase 2 will mine the adjacent, large-scale Esaase deposit, which is located only 30 km from the central processing plant. Th e deposit has a mineral resource of 4.4 Moz of at an average gold grade of 1.45 g/t and a mineral reserve of 2.4 Moz at an average gold grade of 1.41 g/t.

Phase 2 has the potential to increase production up to 400 000 oz/yr. A study is underway to evaluate the opti-mal development scenario for Phase 2 and will be published during Q1 2015. It is anticipated that construction will commence on Phase 2 once Phase 1 has been commissioned and reached steady-state production.

Christoff Badenhorst, senior project manager at DRA in Sunninghill, Johan-nesburg, has overall responsibility for the project. Even so, Asanko’s Nkran project looks like it is headed for success.

RIGHT Maps showing the details of the mine



...the project is tracking very closely to the $295 million capital expenditure estimate

SOUTH AFRICA



Comprehensive solution

The one noticeable thing about Kangala Coal Mine’s manage-ment team, including outsource mining contractor Stefanutti

Stocks Mining Services, is their foresight, determination, and passion for what they do. Rising to overcome the time pressures brought to bear by the Department of Wa-ter Aff airs’ frustrating delays around the issuing of their water-use licence and Es-kom’s demands for coal delivery of a diff er-ent quality outside the original contract, because of the delay in commissioning the Kusile power station, Kangala now feeds a stream of trucks ferrying coal to Eskom’s nearby Kendall power station.

Universal Coal, who owns 70.5% of Kangala, signed a coal supply agreement with Eskom to supply Kusile, which will burn around 17 Mtpa of coal once it is up and running, with approximately 2 mil-lion tonnes (Mt) of lower-grade coal per annum. But, because of the Kusile delay, a decision to supply a better quality, or washed coal, to Kendall power station

was taken by Eskom. This necessitated the urgent installation of a DMS coal washing plant, which was done in record time. Universal Coal also entered into a coal supply agreement with Exxaro to supply 100 kilotonnes per annum (ktpa) of export quality thermal coal.

The Kangala mine, located a few kilo-metres south-east of Delmas, near the border between South Africa’s Mpuma-langa and Gauteng provinces, is a short 71 km east of Johannesburg. The mine falls within the Wolvenfontein, Middel-bult and Delmas-Modderfontein coal field sub-region, which, in the greater scheme of things, is located within the greater Witbank coal field region. This region, a part of the Karoo basin coal-field stretching from Brakpan in the west to Belfast in the east, a distance of some 200 km, supplies more than 50% of South Africa’s saleable export and do-mestic coal. The coal seams, contained within the Vryheid Formation, are be-tween 80 m and 200 m thick.

After taking three years to get a water-use licence, Kangala transformed from empty farmland to a bustling coal mine in just over a year. That is impressive, in anyone’s books. BY TONY STONE



The initial pit at Kangala has an expect-ed eight-and-a-half-year life-of-mine (LOM). It has the scope to further ex-tend its LOM using adjacent resources. The mine’s estimated proven and proba-ble thermal coal reserves are of the mag-nitude of 21.55 Mt. However, in taking a more optimistic view, the measured, indicated and inferred thermal coal re-sources are estimated at 124.92 Mt. Today, Kangala is producing at a rate of approximately 2.4 million tonnes per annum of run-of-mine thermal coal, and has an installed processing plant capaci-ty of 4.25 million tonnes per annum.

The initial engagement of Stefanutti as the contract miner resulted in a propos-al for a full ‘fit for purpose’ model that suited Universal Coal’s requirements. Following all the necessary approvals, permits and the coal sales agreement with Eskom, two contracts were nego-tiated. The first covered the design and construction of the mine’s infrastruc-ture and discard facility while the second

covered the contract mining and materi-als handling side of the mine’s business.

Work commenced in the first week of May 2013 with Stefanutti providing a one-stop shop solution that covered roads, pipelines and mining services, and which met Kangala’s design, project management, infrastructure construc-tion and operational management re-quirements. The mine’s initial and some-what ambitious target was to supply coal to market by February 2014. However, with the challenge of getting all project elements developed at the same time, e.g. infrastructure, process plant, mining pit, pollution control dam and discard facility, this target was only achieved in April 2014, just under a year later. A commendable achievement nonetheless, and one made even more challenging by the need to configure the infrastruc-ture scope of work in such a way that cash outflow was optimised during the delivery of the concurrent engineering deadlines – all with the parallelisation of

tasks to reduce elapsed time in bringing the mine into production. The turnkey contract for the project management, detail design and construction included:• the optimisation of the Kangala Coal

Mine development • mine security including perimeter fence

and guardhouses • terraces for the process plant, offi ce com-

plex, workshops and other infrastructure • stormwater management system • co-disposal discard facility including de-

cant and under-drainage system • pollution control dam with environmen-

tally acceptable seepage control system • 3.5 km mine product haul road including

a culvert at the river crossing and inter-section upgrade

• client offi ce complex

Cash outfl ow was optimised during the delivery of the concurrent engineering deadlines

ABOVE The Kangala mine layout

OPPOSITE MAIN A bird's-eye view of the coal processing plant and stockpiles

OPPOSITE Blasting prior to excavation



• power distribution network from Eskom supplied to all infrastructure

• water reticulation system for potable and processed water

• weighbridge facility • sewerage network and sewage plant. “A big advantage of the turnkey solution is that site establishment could commence right away, with detail design, fabrication and on-site construction being carried out simultaneously, resulting in a fast-tracked programme,” said Lourens De Koning, Ste-fanutti Mine Services’ project engineer.

Zooming in on the infrastructure com-ponents, where a number of special-ised subcontractors formed part of the on-site team, the construction scope of works carried out under the infrastruc-ture turnkey contract included:• ±9 km of mine security fence and

two guardhouses • processing plant and other

infrastructure terraces • 200 000 m3 storage capacity HDPE-lined

pollution-control dam including com-pacted embankments, pump station and concrete-lined silt trap

• ±25 ha discard co-disposal storage facil-ity including compacted embankments, fi lter under-drainage system, decant pen-stock and catwalk

• 3.5 km product haul road consisting of 2.6 km of double-seal black top and 900 m gravel road and intersection up-grade at the municipal road junction

• barrel concrete culvert at the river cross-ing along the product haul road

• sewerage and water system, including sewage collector network, modular sew-age plant, potable water tank and potable and processed water reticulation network

• power distribution system, consisting of overhead line network, substations, transformers and related equipment and cabling

• client offi ce complex including founda-tions, offi ces, boardrooms and ablution facilities

• stormwater system consisting of trench-es allowing separation of clean and dirty water

• weighbridge facility including three weighbridges and control rooms .

“Due to the turnkey nature of the pro-ject and the tight deadlines, the activity levels on-site were quite ferocious, with six or seven operations running at any given time,” Roads and Earthworks’ site agent Michael Majoor said. “Despite the bustling site, we remained on time and within budget while maintaining

an exemplary record in quality and safety standards.”

In speaking of quality and safety standards, and because Stefanutti was to be the contract miner beyond the completion of the turnkey project, Uni-versal Coal adopted Stefanutti‘s qual-ity and safety standards, with a little tweaking of the quality management system, on-site safety procedures and codes of practice to suit the demands of the turnkey project and the specifics of production thereafter.

Contract mining“Turning the pages back a little to the point at which Universal Coal was looking ahead to mine production operations, Ste-fanutti played a key role in the planning of the mine. Th is obviously infl uenced and led to decisions regarding the con-struction of infrastructure on-site as well as management of the discard handling facility,” says contracts director Freddie Strydom. “Our teams worked hard, and we

worked eff ectively, and effi ciently, and this approach suited Universal Coal.”

In securing the contract mining con-tract, Stefanutti has to move 450 000 m3

of overburden and an average of 210 000 tonnes of coal each month for the next eight years. So far, so good!

“To ensure we deliver Universal Coal’s required mining production targets, we have chosen a Komatsu fleet for Kanga-la,” explains Strydom. “The brand has served us well in the past and we have confidence it will continue to do so.” The fleet includes:• 60 tonne RHD465 rigid dump trucks • 40 tonne HM400-3s ADTs • PC850 excavators • D275 track dozers • WD500 wheel dozer.

Materials handlingTh e material handling side of operations includes hauling and processing an ap-proximate volume of 3.8 million tonnes of coarse discard and managing approx-imately 270 000 tonnes of fi nes in the co-disposal dump. Th e 24/7 operations are based on all waste being handled from the mine’s wash plant.

In summaryUniversal Coal, with its Kangala mine, is a fine example of a junior mining op-eration that has overcome significant challenges and has won the day. It also speaks volumes about the leadership of the mine, in particular Tony Weber, whose vision and tenacity make him the entrepreneur he is.

Tony Weber, CEO of Universal Coal, with Petrie Erasmus, GM of Kangala

The early beginnings of the open-pit mine

KENYA



Reclaiming its mining futureThe Kwale Mineral Sands project in Kenya has moved into production. At an estimated development cost of $298 million in total, it is expected to be one of the top producers of ilmenite and rutile in the world. BY TONY STONE

The Kwale Mineral Sands pro-ject, owned and operated by Australia’s Base Resources, is the largest mining investment

in Kenya since 1911. Located approx-imately 40 km south of Mombasa and 10 km off the coast, construction began in the third quarter of 2011 following a defi nitive feasibility study.

Production of ilmenite and rutile be-gan in earnest in late December 2013, while production of zircon commenced in February 2014. Annual production is projected to be 330 000 tonnes of il-menite, 80 000 tonnes of rutile and 40 000 tonnes of zircon. Expected to be one of the top producers of ilmenite and rutile in the world, Kwale will have

a production output the equivalent of nearly 10% and 14% of the global supply of these minerals respectively.

Kwale is well positioned to leverage a sustained opportunity in the mineral sands market and is expected to gener-ate $1 billion in revenues over its life-time of 13 years. Building on the predic-tion that, from 2015, sulfate will reach $130/tonne, ilmenite $715/tonne and rutile and zircon $1 300/tonne, Kwale has a bright future, albeit for just more than a decade.

Geology and mineralisation Th e ilmenite and rutile deposit is hosted within the Pliocene Magarini Sands for-mation, a series of low hills that form a parallel belt to the coast. Th e formation lies with slight unconformity with the Shimba grits and Mazeras sandstone of the Upper Triassic Age that form part of the upper Duruma sandstone. Th e

ABOVE An aerial view of the Kwale Mineral Sands project

LEFT Map showing the location of the Kwale Mineral Sands project



Duruma sandstone series is one of three rock divisions dominating the regional geology of the project.

Th e Magarini formation includes un-consolidated sediments that have orig-inated from the Duruma sandstone se-ries. Magarini Sands have been deposited as coastal dunes in an Aeolian environ-ment during the Pliocene Age.

Th e Kwale deposit is poorly stratifi ed with the stratigraphic sequence com-prising layers of brown, orange, reddish beige and pinkish sand. Brown sand is found at the surface, with orange, red, beige and pink coloured sand follow-ing at deeper depths in the same order. Weathered sandstone from the basal formation is found at the bottom of the deposit. White sand and clay are found at the base of several holes.

Th e silt fraction of the deposit is in the range of about 15% to 30%. Heavy min-erals including ilmenite, rutile and zircon are hosted regionally in abundance.

The deposit area contains three min-eralised zones, namely the central dune, south dune and the north dune. The central dune measures 2 km in length, 1 250 m in width and is on average 29 m thick in two horizons. The upper hori-zon typically has more than 5% THM grade, higher than the lower horizon where THM grades average between 1% and 5%. Grades in the northern part of the dune exceed 10%. The heavy miner-al content is an average of 5.7% across the dune.

Th e south dune is 4.5 km long, 600 m to 800 m wide and has an average thick-ness of 19 m. Th e heavy mineral content is 3.5%. Th e north dune extends two kilometres in length and has a width of 500 m to 1 000 m. Th e ore envelope

within the dune continues to a depth of 66 m. Within this area, the heavy miner-al content averages 2.1% THM.

Estimated reservesTh e JORC-compliant measured and in-dicated resources are estimated to be 146.02 Mt containing 4.89% heavy min-eral concentrate (HMC), 2.59% ilmenite, 0.65% rutile and 0.29% zircon.

Mining methodA dozer trap mining unit (DMU) was se-lected as the optimum mining method.

Th e DMU is a simple cost-eff ective meth-od of mining, best suited to free‐fl owing, friable, incompetent material as is found at Kwale, and is preferred over the use of a large bucket wheel excavator as origi-nally proposed by Vaaldiam.

Process plant descriptionAfter assisting with the feasibility study, Ausenco was awarded the engineering, pro-curement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the process plant and ancillary infrastructure. Th e plant was de-signed to recover three separate products,

TABLE 1 Mineral resources summary for Kwale, 30 June 2014 HM assemblage

Depositmineral resource category

Material In situ HM HM SL OS ILM RUT ZIR

(Mt) (Mt) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Central measured 63.6 4.20 6.6 25 0 55 14 6

Indicated 15.6 0.42 2.7 29 2 52 13 6

Total 79.1 4.62 5.8 26 1 54 13 6

South measured 60.3 2.18 3.6 28 4 46 13 6

Indicated 13.3 0.45 3.4 26 4 47 13 6

Total 73.6 2.63 3.6 27 4 46 13 6

Total measured 123.9 6.38 5.2 26 2 51 14 6

Indicated 28.9 0.87 3.0 27 3 50 13 6

Grand total 152.7 7.25 4.7 26 3 51 13 6

Note: Mineral assemblage is reported as a percentage of in situ HM content. Mineral resources reported at a cut-off-grade of 1% HM. Rounding may generate differences in the last decimal place.

FIGURE 1 Schematic cross section of the Kwale central deposit showing geology and HM grade relationships between geological domains (5 x vertical axis)

FIGURE 2 Schematic cross section of the Kwale south deposit showing geology and HM grade relationships between geological domains (5 x vertical axis)

DUST CONTROL ACTOM Air Pollution Control was appointed to fast-track a dust control upgrade contract for the Kwale Mineral Sands plant in Kenya. The reverse pulse bag fi lter systems, which handle fl ow rates from 0.5 m3/s to 100 m3/s and enable economical collection of dust at high fi lter rates with collection effi ciencies >99.99 %, provided for Kwale, comprise one bag house for collection of ilmenite dust, operating at a pressure of -8 kPa, and another for collection of rutile and zircon dust, operating at a pressure of -10.5 kPa.

The dust-laden air enters the bottom hopper section, directly onto an inlet air diffuser plate. This diffuser plate changes the direction of fl ow and reduces the velocity of the particles. Lower velocities ensure primary drop-out of the heav-ier particles. The lighter particles move upward in the air stream and onto the external surfaces of the fi lter bags. As the dust accumulates on the outside of the fi lter bags, periodic cleaning is accomplished by introducing a short burst of compressed air delivered through a specially designed venturi mounted directly above each fi lter bag.

The clean air fl ows through the bag media to the clean air chamber and out to atmosphere. Dust from the bags after a cleaning cycle falls in a ’dust cake’ form into the hopper from where it is discharged via a dust disposal system. Only a fraction of the fi lter bags are cleaned at one time, under continuous fl ow through the collector at rated capacities. The dust collector bags can be readily inspected, checked, maintained or replaced from the clean air plenum.

“The two bag houses together have a total extraction capacity of 30 000 m3/hr. Their outer walls are constructed of extra-thick steel to withstand these unusually high pressures. The bag houses, bag fi lters and ducting are also designed and manufactured to withstand the high abrasiveness of the products,” explained Martin Luyt, senior sales engineer responsible for the contract.

He added that the high suction pressures in the bag houses are required due to high resistance through the process plant equipment and dirty air ducting.



namely ilmenite, rutile and zircon, and to generate a number of reject streams.

In simple terms, ore is received at the wet concentrator plant (WCP) from the DMU via a slurry pipeline. Th e WCP is designed to remove slimes, at a particle size less than 45 μm, concentrate the

valuable heavy metal (HM), the ilmenite, rutile and zircon, and reject most of the non‐valuable, lighter gangue minerals. Th e WCP contains a number of gravity separation steps, utilising spiral concen-trators. Th e heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) will contain 90% HM.

FIGURE 3 The process route is depicted by this simplifi ed block diagram

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Wave International was appointed as the client engineer to oversee the design and construction of an 8 km sealed haul road required for the Kwale Mineral Sands project.

The construction of the 8 km haul road had to be fast-tracked to ensure construction access was available for the movement of large prefabricated modules during the process plant construction stage and had to be scheduled in such a manner that the works could proceed without disruption during two annual wet seasons that occur on the east coast of Kenya.

As part of the local content requirements, Wave was responsible for the management and review of a team of local consulting engineers during the design and construction phase of the project.

Wave’s scope included the provision of technical guidance for the identifi cation and selection of suitable material borrows pits, pavement design and geometric design review. Wave also did the hydrology and drainage design required for two large ephemeral fl ood crossings.

In addition, Wave International was the EPCM contractor for the delivery of the Mukurumudzi Dam and Kwale’s tailings storage facility.

The road’s construction required a river crossing culvert

Actom’s air pollution reverse pulse bag fi lter system

Th e HMC will be processed in the min-eral separation plant (MSP). Th e MSP will clean and separate the ilmenite, rutile and zircon minerals from one an-other and remove any remaining gangue. Th is is accomplished by a combination of attritioning, electrostatic separation, magnetic separation, classifi cation and gravity separation.

HMC from the stockpile is fed to the fi rst section of a mineral separation plant. Th e HMC-recovered ilmenite is stored. Th e remaining minerals are upgraded by using HMC to separate the quartz and the gangue-heavy minerals.

Th e non-magnetic concentrate, post drying, undergoes conventional magnet-ic and electrostatic separation processes

CESA ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD FINALISTWSP Africa was appointed to develop the export facility, providing EPCM services for the building of a new dedicated port facility for the mine at the Port of Mombasa. For its part in the overall project, WSP Africa qualifi ed as a fi nalist for the 2014 Consulting Engineers Southern Africa Aon Engineering Excellence Awards.

Mathieu Du Plooy, CEO of WSP Africa, said, “We provided project management, civil, structural, marine and electrical engineering services for the project – a substantial under-taking, but one where we were able to really showcase our multidisciplinary expertise. To be considered for this prestig-ious award is testimony to the hard work and commitment from the entire team.”

The facility comprises a large storage shed for the mineral sands, an access trestle, and load-out platform with breasting and mooring dolphins, as well as conveyors to transport material to a dedicated ship-loader. WSP provided a specialist consult-ing engineering team to ensure local representation complemented by specialist skills in the fi elds of storage, transport, and loading of mineral sands into the berthed bulk carrier.

“Strict deadlines had to be adhered to with a signifi cant amount of engineering that had to be completed in a very short space of time. For example, the design report and tender drawings had to be submitted to the client for review only two months from starting the design phase.

This required assumptions on some design parameters, particularly geotechnical parameters, which subsequently had to be confi rmed,” says Andre van Tonder, divi-sional director for WSP’s coastal engineering team in Stellenbosch.

In addition, Van Tonder says, the site was quite restricted and only approximately 13 300 m2 in size. The marine facility and its operations were to be positioned be-tween the existing ferry terminal, an emergency slipway and the shipping channel boundary. The onshore structures and its operations were to be positioned be-tween the public road, residential area, and school on the landside boundary.

The client also required WSP to ensure that local contractors would qualify for tendering. Consequently, designs were adapted to suite local capabilities. The de-signs of the administration building, maintenance workshop and guard house were also based on the use of local material. As such, the structures were built using lo-cally available bricks made from coral rock.

The 7 000 m2 storage shed has a roof structure supported on a combination of concrete and steel columns. Care was taken to utilise natural light and ventilation. The apex of the roof structure was designed with ventilation slots to dispose of dust and plant fumes.

“This has been a great project to work on and one that WSP is proud to be asso-ciated with. The combination of skills from all our partners, both local and abroad, contributed to making it so successful,” concluded Du Plooy.



PUMPSAustralia’s Dynapumps was contracted to supply the fuel system pumps, agitation and dilution pump, process water settlement pond pump and the fi re pump set. Both the agitation and dilution pump and the process water settlement pond pump are required to complete different stages in the wet concentrator plant part of the process. The agitation and dilution pump forms part of the desliming circuit, which is necessary to facilitate the separation of minerals.

LEFT The agitation and dilution pump being prepared for transport

RIGHT The fi re water pump during the testing process at Dynapumps’ in-house testing facilities

that result in a rutile product and a small additional ilmenite stream.

Th e remaining zircon-enriched sand is treated in a wet gravity separation plant to remove the gangue-heavy minerals. Th e zircon-rich concentrate is again dried and processed with electrostatic and dry magnetic equipment. Th e fi nal product is transported 50 km via road tankers to the export facility close to Mombasa.

Water required for the processing plant is sourced from the nearby Mukurumud-zi Dam, which has a storage capacity of 8.5 gigalitres.

Upgraded minerals reportIn October 2014, Base Resources an-nounced an upgrade in the mineral re-sources estimate as a result of new drill-ing, assaying and mineralogical test work, and bulk density test work. Th is follows on from 12 months of mining, which gives an overall increase of 5% for total material tonnes and 2% for heavy mineral tonnes for the combined central and south dune deposits, notwithstanding depletion by mining of the central deposit of approxi-mately 0.36 Mt of heavy minerals. Exclud-ing depletion by mining to 30 June 2014, this represents an overall increase in the total Kwale project mineral resources of 8% for material tonnes and 7% for heavy mineral tonnes on the previous report at the commencement of the project. In addi-tion, there has been a signifi cant increase in the confi dence of the Kwale mineral re-sources with 81% of material tonnes and 88% of heavy mineral tonnes in the JORC measured category.

In a nutshell, the Kwale Mineral Sands project looks to be a bigger success than previously estimated, and has reestab-lished Kenya’s mining future.

ReferencesGeologic setting and heavy mineral sands oc-currence at the Kenyan coast and the eff ects of mining on the Kwale ecosystems, Ochola Kevin, University of Nairobi, June 2011.

Mathieu Du Plooy, CEO of WSP Africa

WSP won the South African Institute of Civil Engineering award for project management and construction

The Mombasa mineral sands harbour loading facility


MPUMALANGA


Zibulo Colliery, which compris-es a surface mine, about 2 km north-west of Ogies in Mpu-malanga, and an underground

mine, about 25 km south-east of Ogies, is the fi rst of several Anglo Inyosi coal mines to come on stream.

Th e colliery, which has a life expectancy of 20 years, forms part of the Witbank coalfi elds. It is a multi-product operation that delivers 8 million tonnes per annum. Its underground mine produces an annual 7 million tonnes of two, four and fi ve seam coal while its open-pit operation produces 1 million tonnes per annum. Saleable pro-duction is approximately 6 million tonnes per annum, constituting both thermal ex-port product and domestic product, each of approximately three million tonnes per annum. Th e export coal is railed to the Richards Bay coal terminal and the domestic coal is sold to the local market, mainly Eskom, with Kendal power station close by.

Zibulo is also part of a 16 Mtpa ‘run of mine’ joint venture washing plant, known as the Phola coal processing plant. Th is is a

Zibulo Colliery

In Zulu, zibulo means ‘firstborn’. This is an appropriate name for the Zibulo Colliery given that it is the first of Anglo American’s BEE mines. As a business, it is a success in more ways than one. BY TONY STONE

50:50 joint venture between Anglo Ameri-can’s Inyosi Coal and BHP Billiton’s Energy Coal South Africa. Coal is fed equally from Zibulo and BECSA’s Klipspruit colliery.

Nedbank Capital Sustainable Business Awards Th e lasting success and growth of any modern business hinges entirely on its ability to eff ectively balance economic profi tability with truly sustainable busi-ness practices. Th is was the underlying theme of the 2014 Nedbank Capital Sus-tainable Business Awards.

As announced at the awards ceremo-ny, on 30 October 2014, Zibulo Colliery was the runner-up in the ‘Resources and Non-Renewable Energy’ category – in rec-ognition of its corporate social investment and community development programme, and what it achieved through its Phola san-itation and waste management initiative. Th e signifi cance of this award becomes all the more apparent when considering the recent history of the local Phola commu-nity, a township adjacent to the R545, just off the N12, and about 5 km from Ogies.

After two years of sporadic and at times intense community protests, between 2010 and 2012, about the lack of service delivery and the employment of locals in various projects, such as Eskom’s nearby Kusile power station construction pro-ject, the situation in Phola Township near Ogies in Mpumalanga eventually calmed down after a meeting between community leaders, Nkangala District Mayor Speedy Mashilo, senior offi cials from the Mineral Resources Department and local mines.

Zibulo Colliery, which commenced pro-duction in March 2012 – shortly after peace was restored to the Phola Township – now employs 650 people from Phola in its mines. From the off set, Zibulo adopt-ed the attitude that it was not just the welfare of employees that needed to be addressed, on an ongoing basis, but also their families and the communities in which they lived.

Th e sewerage infrastructure project upgraded the Phola Township’s entire sewerage network and doubled its ex-isting capacity in anticipation of the ar-ea’s future growth needs. Th e project



involved increasing the existing capacity of the Ogies outfall sewer line, the com-plete refurbishment of the pump station and treatment works, expansion of the treatment works to cater for an increase in wastewater fl ow, implementation of mechanisms to ensure the effi cient oper-ation and maintenance of the system, as well as provision of ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Th e refuse removal project began with the clearing of more than 20 informal dumping grounds, after which 32 refuse waste containers were placed at strategic sites across the township. To provide a sustainable solution to the eMalahleni Lo-cal Municipality’s transport constraints, the Zibulo team acquired two refuse col-lection trucks that will be transferred to local government once the transfer of skills is complete.

Th e Phola sanitation and waste man-agement initiative also involved capaci-ty-building and employment creation, suc-cessfully creating nearly 40 jobs for full-time project employees and ‘enviro teams’ to run refuse collection activities.

“As we are not in the business of man-aging waste, it was vital that a partner-ship-based approach be taken to initiate the project and to ensure that the municipality will ultimately be able to run these services independently, making use of the improved infrastructure and skills imparted through the venture,” says Th emba Mkhwanazi, CEO at Anglo American Coal in South Afri-ca. “We’re also committed to ensuring that both projects extend beyond the life of the operation and that community members continue to benefi t from these essential services once operations have ceased.

“We’re proud that this initiative has signifi cantly enhanced the quality of life of the township’s 37 000 residents, who now benefi t from a safe and effi cient sewerage system and refuse collection services. Th e project also succeeded in strengthening the mine’s partnership with the municipality.

“An exciting spin-off has emerged from the leadership role we assumed in iden-tifying a range of challenges around mu-nicipal capacity, which has prompted oth-er mining houses in the area to invest in

similar institutional capacity projects.”Zibulo’s contribution to the Phola com-

munity is totally disproportionate to its responsibility – a magnanimous gesture and commitment. It is also the reason why Zibulo is so deserving of the accolades and recognition it received from the Nedbank Capital Sustainable Business Awards.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Tsietsi Obed, Kayakazi Mvakwendlu, George Madileng and Mokhine Makgalemele. Kayakazi and Mokine (manager) are both with Anglo American’s Zibulo Community Development programme. Tsietsi and George run and manage the wastewater treatment works



Historically, there has been a counter-productive budgeting system within mining opera-tions where each division is re-

sponsible for keeping down operating costs without an overall view of the impact on the mine costs and profi ts. For example, a mine plant may be operating close to optimal ef-fi ciency, but the mining department, being encouraged to contain costs, may decide that the best way to do this is to lower pow-der factor. Th e mining department would thus achieve its budget costs, but resulting productivity losses in the plant would prob-ably cost the mine signifi cantly more than the savings in the mining department.

In recent years, progressive mines have begun to see the benefi t of increasing plant productivity by increasing pow-der factors and applying more expensive blasting products, such as accurate elec-tronic-delay detonators, in their blasting. Th e older method of budgeting powder factors for blasting activities is giving way to operating with blast-result targets such as fragmentation outcome. Th is ap-proach has been made possible by modern

digital measurement methods such as fragmentation measurement, VOD meas-urement, face profi ling, high-speed vid-eography and powerful blast design soft-ware. BME provides all of these services, which have been documented in many pa-pers presented at this and previous BME annual conferences.

Mine-to-mill programmes are driven by three main factors. First, there is the need to cut overall mining costs and thus improve profi tability. Second, additional value can be yielded by increased through-put as a direct result of higher mining and plant effi ciencies. Finally, blasting can have a signifi cant impact on losses caused by ore dilution and poor liberation of min-erals in the plant processes. In summary, the goal is to increase mine profi tability and reduce overall mining costs.

With these three main goals in mind, we can list a number of specifi c goals in a typical mine-to-mill programme. In tradi-tional terms, these are dig-ability for sat-isfactory digging rates; minimise oversize, hard toes, and fl y rock; eliminate misfi res; produce acceptable muck-pile shape and

displacement; and contain the cost of drill-ing and blasting within budget. With the modern understanding of blasting physics and the monitoring techniques and prod-ucts described above, a more comprehen-sive and specifi c set of goals are possible, depending on the operation requirements (ISEE Blaster’s Handbook, 2011): • increase crusher and grinder throughput• decrease crusher energy and grinding en-

ergy consumption• improve mineral liberation if possible

Where is the real value?MINE TO MILL

Cutting costs is something every mine operator needs to do. But, some thought needs to be put into a cost-cutting programme as it may result in higher costs being incurred elsewhere. It’s a case of look before you leap. BY AJ RORKE, DIRECTOR: BLASTING TECHNOLOGY, BME

ABOVE Simultaneous blasts in an open-pit mine BELOW Warning signs should be respected at all times



• decrease the consumption of crushing and grinding wear items

• reduce the weight of truck boxes, thereby increasing payload

• control the production of fi nes in blasting

• maximise digging rates• decrease excavator energy

consumption• increase bucket payload by decreasing voids

due to blocky, poorly fragmented muck.

Processes relevant to mine-to-mill optimisationTh e processes that benefi t from improved blasting results are loading, crushing and milling operations. In quarrying opera-tions, milling is not an issue. In strip min-ing, dragline effi ciencies, coal exposure rates and limiting coal fi nes are the main processes that benefi t.

An eff ective mine-to-mill programme ac-tually needs to include operations before blasting. Long- and short-term planning play a critical role in blast quality. Even at mine design stage, decisions about param-eters that cannot easily be changed later have a very signifi cant impact on blasting results and their downstream infl uence on productivity. Examples are choices of drill-ing, loading and crushing equipment. Pit design, including mining sequences and bench heights, have a major impact on blasting costs, blast fragmentation, down-stream effi ciencies and overall costs. Very often, a pit is designed without taking se-rious cognisance of the impact on blasting.Th is paper examines these activities and the factors that aff ect effi ciency.

Potential for improvementOne of the problems facing a mine is that drill and blast costs are easily measured while increased downstream energy costs caused by poor blasting results for load-ing, crushing and milling are much more diffi cult to pin down. So there is a ten-dency to focus more on reducing drill and blast costs without realising the negative impact this has on other processes.

Figures have been published by Eloranta (1999) for energy per tonne for blasting and downstream processes at an iron ore mine in Minnesota. Th ese are presented in Table 1. Although costs are much higher now than they would have been in 1999, clearly there is much greater potential for savings in the crushing and grinding pro-cesses than in blasting. Looking at these fi gures from another viewpoint, there is a much higher risk of incurring heavy costs in crushing and grinding as a consequence of cutting back on blasting costs.

In laying out block sequences for blast-ing, the planning departments in mining operations usually are driven by grade considerations, production requirements and drill and loader scheduling. Planning for optimal blasting results is uncommon, yet can ensure good blasting results and higher productivity.

A mine-to-mill programme will only suc-ceed if the blasting is well controlled, as-suming the planning has been done to op-timise blast results. Th ere are large poten-tial savings in producing a fragmentation size distribution that improves loading rates, crusher and mill throughput. Sof-tening of the rock fragments provides eas-ier grinding and higher mill throughput.

Th erefore, wrongful blasting can be very costly to a mine. Th is is a problem that affl icts most mines in South Africa, with the following factors that combine to pro-duce a large decrease in productivity and overall savings.1. Blasting to a budgeted powder factor,

which is usually dictated by costs and not blast design principles. Fixed pow-der factors cause operations to dictate a fi xed charge mass per hole result-ing in over-long stemming and coarse

fragmentation in the top of a blast when hole diameter is slightly larger or hole depths deeper than planned. Coarse fragmentation leads to major production losses through the crusher system.2. Poor planning causing complex block geometries that are diffi cult to drill and time.

3. Poor blast timing, either because com-paratively inexpensive and inaccurate initiation systems are used or because blast personnel do not fully under-stand what they are doing or the im-pact that their blast tie-ups have on blast outcome.

4. Poor drilling quality, caused mainly by poor planning information (depths, hole positions etc.), poor supervision or inattentiveness/training of the drilling crews. Improving drilling quality has al-most no cost associated with it, but does have large benefi ts. Poor drilling is very common in open-pit and underground mines and has the most signifi cant neg-ative impact on blast results and overall mine effi ciency. Focusing on the drilling operation can yield large improvements in revenue for a mine.

5. Lack of experience and knowledge in the industry. Th is problem has result-ed in people being promoted into po-sitions that are above their levels of competence. In blasting, the impact of incompetence may not be immediately obvious because blast results are not measured routinely and very often, poor downstream productivity is not linked back to blasting.

Th is article has emphasised the potential value in modifying blasting to achieve bet-ter downstream productivity and lower overall mine costs. Modern monitoring techniques allow for much more eff ective measurement of blast results. Th e two pri-mary quantifi cation techniques are blast fragmentation measurement using digi-tal imaging methods and monitoring of crusher throughput and current consump-tion. Less obvious, but equally important for grinding in the mill or leaching, is rock fragment softening by blasting that is pos-sible at higher energy factors and shorter inter-hole fi ring times.

For an eff ective mine-to-mill project, a thorough understanding is needed of the downstream fragmentation require-ments and a strong collaboration is im-portant between blasting engineers, mine planners and metallurgists to achieve optimum productivity.

TABLE 1 Energy consumption for different processes andrelated costs (converted to rands after Eloranta, 1999)

kWh/tonne R/kWh R/tonne

Blasting 0.43 3.04 1.31

Crushing 3.24 0.66 2.13

Grinding 17.82 0.66 11.73

HEALTH & SAFETY


As we look forward to the year ahead we also need to refl ect on 2014 and the lessons learned, and to past years, remembering

those mine rescue brigade members who made the ultimate sacrifi ce in saving the lives of fellow miners trapped far beneath the Earth’s surface in collapsed, burning and gas-fi lled mines. Th eir bravery, as with their fellow brigadesmen who continue this praiseworthy service, is exemplary.

Th e title of this article is an excerpt tak-en from the Rescue Brigadesman’s Prayer,

Help me to save his life…

…before it’s too late

Mining is a really dangerous vocation. It’s a job for tough, strong-minded people. When disaster strikes, it’s the men of Mine Rescue Services, a very special breed of men, who volunteer their services – to save lives. BY TONY STONE

Mine Rescue Services in action


HEALTH & SAFETY

a prayer that embodies the humility and courage of these men who so selfl essly face imminent danger in order to bring the survivors of a mine disaster, and the dead, back to their families and loved ones.

What is remarkable is that Mine Rescue Services and its volunteer members have been doing this for 90 years. In 1910, the annual death rate of miners killed in mine accidents was 4.40 for black workers and 3.49 for white workers. With a simi-lar death rate continuing in the ensuing years, the Chamber of Mines was prompt-ed to critically analyse the need for a mine rescue capability. In 1924, the fi rst man-ager of the Mine Rescue Services (MRS), a James Graham, was appointed. Today, under its sixth manager, Christo de Klerk, the MRS continues its proud tradition and exemplary service.

But, things have changed, fortunately for the better. Th e annual death rate has de-creased due to a greater emphasis on mine safety. Even so, accidents and disasters do happen, as the 5 August 2014 Orkney 5.5 Richter scale magnitude earthquake reminded us. Just a few days later, on 13 August 2014, the MRS was awarded a Life-time Achievement Award at the Mining Legotla. Th is award embodies the interna-tional recognition given to the MRS for its service and innovative mine rescue tech-nology developments, such as the 3 100 m Mobile Rescue Winder.

“Due to the depth of deep-level mines in South Africa, there is need to have the ca-pacity to bring people to the surface from depths of 3 000 m underground. A port-able mobile rescue winder, which is total-ly self-suffi cient and capable of rescuing fi ve persons simultaneously from a depth of 3 000 m underground, has been devel-oped. Th e winder’s development was fund-ed by the Chamber’s metalliferous mine members. MRS took delivery of the fi rst unit during December 2012. Since then the operating procedure and risks assess-ment, for the safe operation of the unit, has undergone meticulous refi nement after incidents requiring the winder,” De Klerk says.

TABLE 1 Brigade members who lost their lives during active rescue duty

Name Employer Date of accident Mine of accident

Kay, GE Rose Deep 11 August 1938 Nourse Mine

King, AEN City Deep 18 November 1944 Van Dyk Cons

Vorster, Pi Rose Deep 16 May 1949 Robinson Deep

Evans, WI Hartebeesfontein 3 December 1956 Rand Leases

Griffi ths, L Simmer & Jack 1 January 1958 Geduld Prop

Gerber West Rand Cons 6 June 1958 Venterspost

Rodgers, FH Village Main 19 August 1962 Rand Leases

Du Plessis, KI Durban Deep 30 October 1963 Durban Deep

Hunter, CG Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

De Beer, MD Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

Ferreira, CJ Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

Swart, BP Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

Purdy, DR Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

Pieterse, WI Durban Deep 21 September 1967 Durban Deep

Booth, WH Venterspost 19 November 1967 Venterspost

Erasmus, BB Harmony 26 June 1974 President Brand

De Beer, MHPB Western Deep Levels 26 December 1974 Wester Deep Levels

Weise, HAEH Western Holdings 12 March 1975 President Brand

Van Vuuren, OMJ Boshoff 5 February 1976 Balmoral

Porter, JJ WAGM 14 March 1976 WAGM

Vorster, JP Stilfontein 6 June 1976 Western Deep Levels

Watts, VG Stilfontein 6 June 1976 Western Deep Levels

Naber, SH Stilfontein 6 June 1976 Western Deep Levels

Rider, WA Stilfontein 6 June 1976 Western Deep Levels

Roux, PJJ Stilfontein 6 June 1976 Western Deep Levels

Pretorius, KK Western Deep Levels 25 December 1982 Western Deep Levels

De Waal, KM Hartebeesfontein 4 January 1983 Hartebeesfontein

Opperman, Cl Buffelsfontein 3 June 1988 Buffelsfontein

Kock, JGAD Free State Geduld 11 April 1991 Western Holdings

Van Wyk, LA Kloof 4 June 2002 Kloof

Hildebrandt, SG Tshepong 24 June 2010 Phakisa

Bothma, B Tshepong 24 June 2010 Phakisa

Prinsloo, FJ Tshepong 24 June 2010 Phakisa

Randall, JR Tshepong 24 June 2010 Phakisa

Bothma, JA Tshepong 24 June 2010 Phakisa

Momber, WI Twistdraai 29 September 2011 Evander Gold Mine

Steyn, PL Twistdraai 29 September 2011 Evander Gold Mine

The annual death rate has decreased

due to a greater emphasis on mine safety

Saving illegal miners from a disused mine


Ebola is without doubt an ex-tremely serious and economi-cally devastating contagion in Sierra Leone. Unexpected-

ly, as an expatriate working here, you do not see it the way it is portrayed in global media, it isn’t ‘in your face’ and you feel generally immune from it. Earlier this year, Ebola hotspots were mainly in the provinces, but it has recently spread to the city and this is where it has taken on a new dimension due to the proximity of the people and the hustle and bustle of daily life.

From an economic perspective, Si-erra Leone and Liberia have been devastated by this outbreak. Planta-tions are unable to continue farming and have missed the planting season. Mining companies are going into re-ceivership and workforces are being signifi cantly reduced, and demoral-ised. A lot of companies have closed altogether or at least have been

mothballed. Import ships are not calling, planes have stopped landing and goods are not coming across the borders. As a

result, there are food scarcities and pric-es of all goods and staples have rocketed.

After protracted civil wars (between 1991 and 2002 in Sierra Leone and two civil wars between 1989 and 2003 in Liberia), the GDPs were starting to rise signifi cantly and there was a general mood of optimism and hope that soon they would catch up with neighbouring countries Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria. It has been said that Ebo-la has set these countries back by fi ve years. I arrived in Sierra Leone to set

up Kanu Equipment in early Au-gust 2014, just as the regional and international carriers started cancelling scheduled fl ights to the main epicentres of the outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. At this time, the government also announced that all bars and res-taurants were to be closed. Th ere were to be no mass gatherings and

HEALTH & SAFETY

The impact of in Sierra Leone

Duncan McNicol, country director for Kanu Equipment, is based in Sierra Leone. His first-hand experience of the effects of Ebola, particularly from a business point of view, is frightening. He shares his experiences.

Ebola hotspots were mainly in the provinces, but it has recently spread to the city where it has taken on a new dimension

Ebola


travel within Sierra Leone was to be strictly controlled. In September, there was a complete lock-down of the country. Rightly so, this created a sense of fore-boding, doom and gloom. In addition to this, companies employing signifi cant expatriate management work forces sent them home, leaving inexperienced local management to run the companies. Th is gave a feeling that Sierra Leone’s shop was now ‘closed for business’ and it is not a good time for companies like Kanu Equipment, who sell and rent earth-mov-ing equipment, to enter the market.

However, there was a need to be upbeat and give a positive outlook to potential customers. Keeping up customer rela-tions was very diffi cult. Key management may have travelled or resigned altogeth-er, there are endless hand washes to be done, movement about the country is re-stricted so a car pass had to be obtained by somewhat devious means. Endless roadblocks, manned by both police and army personnel, where you must disem-bark each time, have your temperature checked and wash your hands. If you do eventually get to your destination, the site is either quarantined or access is restricted. Lastly, there is the inevitable moment of embarrassment where you try to gauge whether hand shaking is appreciated or completely taboo. I have devised a way of avoiding the embarrass-ment by always having my business card in hand as the fi rst thing to off er forward.

Once in front of the person we want to see, the mood changes. It becomes a fabulous opportunity to promote the company and show we are still creating a footprint throughout West Africa even in these diffi cult times – we are here to stay. Th e reaction has always been one of sur-prise at our determination, gratitude for taking the eff ort to establish contact and for demonstrating that we are not about to run away and abandon our customers.

I recently visited a company in the di-amond town of Koidu, on the eastern border close to Guinea. Th e journey took nine hours from Freetown to Koidu, there were 17 roadblocks en route. Th e last 70 km took four hours because the Chinese contractors who began the road rehabilitation before the rainy season had ripped off the old surface and then abandoned it during the outbreak. Th e

result is a road practically impassable and which is the only route into this very important town.

Once reaching the mine site, there was an hour of negotiating to get in. Th en af-ter the meeting we searched Koidu for a guest house, however all had closed down as a precautionary measure. We did even-tually fi nd a roadside cafe, which off ered one plate of chicken and rice between us (it was all they had left to off er). We were then told of a place where we could pos-sibly fi nd a bed. Th ey were closed but al-lowed us to sleep in two rooms – no light, no water, and plenty of mosquitoes. Th e Koidu meeting lasted half an hour! It was very successful and well worth the eff ort.

In my travels, as an expat, I had felt fair-ly removed from the seriousness of the situation, even complacent to a point. It is not until you witness some of the eff ects and disruption that you begin to appreci-ate the scale and reality of the situation.

Th e ambulances fl ying by with ful-ly protected staff inside, the hears-es, the glimpse of a recovery team in a small village, the man in the queue

HEALTH & SAFETY

(one place ahead of you with a temper-ature of 39.7°C, suddenly taken to one side), the occasional unattended corpse in the street, the numerous treatment centres being erected, the stories of 50 people breaking out of a treatment cen-tre because they were afraid, the videos of Ebola suff erers being turned away from hospitals due to lack of beds, the orphaned children...

Provided we, as employees of Kanu International, act in a responsible way and display dignity toward those that have suff ered and be aware of the sim-ple measures that can be employed to prevent contamination, there is no rea-son why our business and indeed others could and should not remain in these countries and contribute towards the re-growth of West Africa.

It must be remembered that Ebola will be contained and eradicated. Govern-ments are already planning a post-Ebo-la recovery strategy. Sierra Leone needs the formal economy to continue as an integral part of its stability and long-term prosperity.

RIGHT AND BELOW Heavy rains and muddy roads hamper access to Ebola-infected districts


HEALTH & SAFETY

OneWay is WorleyPar-sons’ enterprise-wide in-tegrity management frame-work. It consists of simple

statements (expectations) that describe the way the company works across key areas of its business. In meeting these expectations, they align their business, and establish the foundation for achiev-ing its vision of industry leadership in zero harm.

Th e OneWay expectations set the min-imum standard each and every person at WorleyParsons must meet. It aligns every individual, team, group, project, contract, location and region.

Th e expectations link directly to the company’s business processes that con-trol key areas of its business where it must operate with integrity to achieve its vision. Th ese areas include leadership, risk management, health, safety and the environment, engineering, procurement, construction services and quality. By each of these functions delivering con-sistent high-quality outputs early in their delivery process, they set themselves up for success when they reach high-risk

phases of their work, such as construc-tion and commissioning.

WorleyParsons applies the OneWay framework to assess its own business per-formance to determine what is working well and what needs extra focus. Th is pro-cess of continuous improvement enables WorleyParsons to work with its people to reinforce a culture to sustain the drive to be an industry leader in delivering zero harm, while at the same time delivering the highest quality services to customers.

When they work with their customers and partners they also apply WorleyPar-sons’ own internal expectations to en-gage them in the same common goal of zero harm.

The OneWay expectations serve as a frame of reference to identify the dif-ferences between their own expecta-tions and their customers’ or partners’ expectations. When they identify any gaps, they use OneWay as the minimum standard by which to work. If the cus-tomer or partner has more stringent

expectations, then they use their cus-tomer’s standard. In this way, they al-ways have a line of sight between their work delivery, their organisational in-tegrity and zero-harm vision.

Th e result of aligning their entire busi-ness and meeting these expectations means the company understands its cus-tomers’ needs and consistently provides them with high-quality services. It means people arrive home safely every day. It means they positively interact with the environments and communities they op-erate in. It means they have the integrity to do the right thing by their customers, partners and themselves.

Simply put, OneWay and its goal of zero harm to people assets and zero environ-mental incidents is very important to WorleyParsons. It adds value to custom-ers’ and partners’ businesses. It is a holis-tic long-term approach to delivering with integrity and is the basis of globally con-sistent performance.

In looking at the fatality and injury statistics on mines today, there has been

OneWay to zero harm

neWay is WorleyPar-sons’ enterprise-wide in-tegrity management frame-work. It consists of simple

statements (expectations) that describe phases of their wo krk, such as construc-tion and commissioning. expectations, then they use their cus-s

In looking at the fatality and injury statistics on mines today, there has been a substantial drop over the last decade. The reason for this is the attention

given to worker safety by mines and engineers.

The OneWay

expectations set

the minimum standard

each and every person at

WorleyParsons must meet


WorleyParsons adds value through our full scope of services from pit to port including studies, mine planning, impact assessments, permitting and approvals, project management, construction management and global procurement.

www.worleyparsons.com

Environment

& Approvals

Non-Process

Infrastructure

Mine

Planning

Mining & Mine

Development

Materials

Handling

Resource

Evaluation

Mineral

Processing

Tailings & Waste

Management

Smelting

& Refining

Transport

to Market

Realising possibilities...

...from mine to market.

37,50043 166 peoplecountries offices

ELEMENTS OF ONEWAY• Leadership and governance: We are fully committed to

zero harm at all levels of our organisation. Our leaders

put clear strategies in place that progress us towards

this goal. Effort is prioritised based on compliance and

risk exposure.

• Risk management: We apply effective risk management

principles, leverage opportunities and assist in reducing

threats for all existing and planned activities.

• Caring for our people and the environment: Our people

are visibly and actively committed to healthy, safe and

environmentally responsible workplaces and activities.

We understand and manage our potential impacts on

people’s health and safety as well as on the environment.

• Selection and competency: We select and recognise peo-

ple who demonstrate competence and a deep commit-

ment to our vision of zero harm.

• Working with our customers: We understand customers’

expectations, which we meet or exceed. We build strong

customer relationships and utilise customers’ proven

standards and processes where they are consistent with

our expectations.

• Engineering: Engineering develops solutions that meet

our company’s requirements and are compliant with our

customers’ needs. Design and planning minimises risk in

later phases.

• Working with the supply chain: Goods and services pro-

vided to us or our customers meet required standards

and refl ect our corporate social responsibilities.

• Field activities: We execute fi eld activities using strate-

gies, and methods are defi ned, risk assessed, understood

and communicated to those involved, and deliver plant

that meets design requirements.

• Management of change: We manage change in our or-

ganisation, throughout projects and complete asset life

cycles. Effective change management principles are used

to identify, assess, approve and implement changes.

• Critical incident avoidance, response and recovery: We

prepare for and manage critical incidents.

• Incident and behaviour analysis: We report and inves-

tigate hazards, at-risk behaviours,

incidents and near misses to identify

causes. We take steps to prevent their

recurrence.

• Assessment and improvement: We

regularly study and assess our per-

formance, and take action to con-

tinuously improve where possible.


HEALTH & SAFETY PROFILE

The promise of mineral riches must be off set against the risks of tropical disease, and the ab-sence of a golden hour following

major trauma. Th rough the delivery of comprehensive travel health risk manage-ment, iNHEMACO SA supports clients in identifying the health risks inherent in the territories in which they operate. Our consulting services provide mining exec-utives with the information they require to evaluate a project health risk matrix, simultaneously off ering risk-mitigating solutions.

Th e recent and well-publicised outbreak of Ebola in West Africa epitomises the medical risk associated with mining on the African continent.

Understanding your Whether involved with exploration, construction or mineral extraction, mining in Africa is fraught with challenges. Key among these is the lack of appropriate medical care in remote locations throughout this sprawling continent.

iNHEMACO’s clients benefi ted from ex-pertise in the distribution of accurate sci-entifi cally based information, the roll-out of improved hygiene practices and the implementation of scientifi cally founded screening protocols.

While Ebola has proven to be a resilient and eff ective killer, organisations should take care not to narrow down their focus on Ebola. Losing sight of much more ubiq-uitous tropical diseases that co-inhabit these mineral-rich environments can prove to be disastrous. Malaria (seeming-ly forgotten amid the Ebola media frenzy) remains the most deadly disease on the continent, having killed almost 800 000 people in the same 12-month period dur-ing which Ebola killed only 8 000 peo-ple. When considering these statistics, it remains clear that malaria continues to occupy the top position on the list of deadliest tropical diseases posing a

major risk to non-immune expatriate personnel in particular, and to project sustainability in general. iNHEMACO SA assists clients in minimising their malar-ia exposure through international best practice interventions. Whether imple-menting spray programmes, distributing scientifi cally accurate information, or delivering malaria management kits to expatriate staff , iNHEMACO SA assures that clients maintain a fi rm hold on malaria management.

Gastrointestinal and respiratory dis-ease is much lower down the list of killer illnesses, but far more common. Some of these diseases are second cousins to Ebo-la, a few of which (e.g. Yellow Fever) are vaccine preventable while many others, such as Lassa Fever and Marburg Viral Haemorrhagic Fever, are not. Much more common but with a similar major impact are Rabies, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B,

INHEMACO SA PROVIDES:• managed remote-site doctors/

nurses and paramedics

• turnkey medical infrastructure solutions

• cross-border medical support

• medical risk consultancy

• international pre-deployment medical screening and preparation

• customised advanced medical kits.

MINING IN AFRICA


HEALTH & SAFETY PROFILE

ADVICE TO OUTBOUND TRAVELLERS TO WEST AFRICA:• While at this point governments do not prohibit

travel to West Africa, travelling to any of the affected countries for work purposes should be considered only if absolutely essential.

• Persons travelling to West Africa for work should take precautions to ensure that they do not get exposed to Ebola by avoiding the consumption or handling of bush meat, avoiding public health-care facilities and funerals, and they must be sure to practice meticulous (hand) hygiene.

• iNHEMACO SA emphasises that travellers should avoid getting sick, in particular with a febrile (feverish) illness such as malaria. Malaria can be avoided by avoiding mosquito bites and taking appropriate malaria prophylaxis religiously.

• Ensure that all childhood and adult travel vaccines are up to date.

• Report any illness immediately to your company medical provider, before seeking local medical care in any of the affected countries.

• Ensure that you have adequate travel health insurance in place and understand exactly what they will and will not cover should you fall ill or be injured. Be sensible and read the fi ne print.

health risksDiphtheria, Pertussis and Polio. While not all diseases can be prevented through vaccination, a good dose of travel health information in combination with a few aff ordable vaccines could mean the dif-ference between a successful expatri-ate deployment and hospitalisation in a foreign country.

While paying attention to tropical dis-eases and their prevention is of para-mount importance to ensure the health of a project’s population, iNHEMACO SA notes that poorly controlled chronic dis-eases tend to impact expatriates and the projects they are seconded to much more frequently. Organisations should avoid sending chronically ill expatriates to ar-eas with limited medical infrastructure. iNHEMACO SA’s international pre-de-ployment medical screening options pro-vide clients with the ability to drastically mitigate the risks posed by chronic illness, by making use of our network of interna-tional travel health specialists, through which expatriate travellers are medically

screened and prepared prior to deploy-ment. Occupational health surveillance may form part of this process right from the start.

Remote-site health-care risks include more than disease and illness. Whether drilling, excavating or processing, mining and construction require the use of heavy machinery operated by humans to pro-duce time-sensitive results.

Th ese factors contribute to an elevated risk of major trauma. Th rough the place-ment and ongoing remote medical man-agement of on-site doctors, paramedics and nurses, iNHEMACO SA provides peace of mind that any patient suff ering major trauma will be stabilised and pre-pared for medical evacuation to appropri-ate facilities, by thoroughly vetted, trained and registered medical professionals. Our on-site colleagues are remotely supported and supervised by a team of dedicated and experienced medical professionals.

Like mining professionals, medical pro-fessionals can only deliver a quality ser-

vice when they have access to the right instruments and tools. iNHEMACO SA has developed an extensive remote-site-specifi c clinic content list, complimented by a protocol- and risk-spe-cifi c pharmaceutical formu-lary. Th rough association with procurement partners, iNHEMACO SA is enabled to deliver world-class medical equipment and supplies.

Whether exploring, con-structing or mining, partner with iNHEMACO SA to en-sure your project health, to optimise your human capital, and to leverage your profi t.

Contact iNHEMACO SA for a tailored solution to mitigate your health-care needs.

PREVENTING THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF EBOLA:• create awareness of the disease,

making sure to brief the entire project population.

• take precautions when handling dead or ill wild animals.

• no preparation or consumption of bush meat.

• avoid direct contact with ill people and with the bodies of people who have died from Ebola or any unknown illness.

• do not attend hospitals that are potentially treating Ebola cases.

• bio-hazardous waste should be effectively managed through incineration.

• avoid crowded areas.

• hand hygiene – wash hands on a regular basis with antiseptic soap under hot running water. Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer liberally if unable to wash hands.

• all site personnel, expats and national hires, must report febrile illness to a knowledgeable health care provider immediately.

• strictly adhering to malaria prevention and taking chemoprophylaxis will decrease the likelihood of contracting malaria and thus presenting with febrile illness that may be confused with a viral haemorrhagic fever such as Ebola.

• Travellers and expats leaving an affected country who experience a rapid onset of fever and/or extreme malaise within 21 days after leaving the host country are to:

- seek urgent medical care wherever they are;

- be placed in isolation until the presence or absence of the disease has been confi rmed;

- immediately report the fact that they are ill to the site clinic and management telephonically.

iNHEMACO SA [email protected]

+41 22 534 9646Geneva, Switzerland

Our diverse range of robust electronic delay detonators are designed to cope with the most challenging mining environments

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Advancing, constantly evolving and defining the future of electronic initiation technology in the global mining industry

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Home to the richest diamond mine in the world, Jwaneng, Botswana is richly endowed with a number of other min-

eral resources, which were formed during several geologic periods. Th ese include base metals, such as copper and nickel, coal, diamonds, salt, sand and gravel, sem-iprecious gemstones and soda ash. Th e ge-ology of most of the country is largely ob-scured by aeolian sands. However, most of the mapped mineral resources are found on the eastern side of the country, stretch-ing from Francistown in the north to Lo-batse in the south. But this is not all of Botswana’s resource wealth. Th e Kalahari copper belt in Botswana, which stretch-es from Maun in northern Botswana to Ghanzi in western Botswana, is emerg-ing as Africa’s latest copper/silver mining province. Botswana also has extensive, and largely unexploited, coal resources which when developed will form part of the gov-ernment’s eff ort to diversify the economy. Known coal resources in Botswana are of the order of 202 billion tonnes.

Exploration and miningOwing to the poorly exposed geologic set-tings, mineral exploration uses drilling and geophysics as its primary means of

A jewel in AfricaThis landlocked, Southern African country, a jewel in Africa, quietly gets on with life and business, belying the treasures obscured by its aeolian sands. For the environmentally responsible, opportunity abounds. BY TONY STONE

BOTSWANA

discovery. All mineral rights in Botswa-na are vested in the state. Th e Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) has the responsibility to ensure that the mineral resources of the country are explored and exploited in the most ef-fi cient, benefi cial, and timely manner.

Within the ministry, the Department of Geological Survey and the Department of Mines regulate mineral exploration and mining. Th e Department of Geological Survey’s role is to gather, col-late, assess, and disseminate information related to the groundwater, rocks, and min-eral resources of the country. Th e Department of Mines, in partnership with stake-holders, provides adminis-trative services, sets policies, develops programmes, and drafts legislation for mineral exploitation, and works to prevent occupational diseases and injuries related to mining and to minimise degradation of the environment (Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Wa-ter Resources, 2012).

Exploration and min-ing permits granted by the

government allow mineral resources to be explored for and exploited. Th e govern-ment’s main objective for the mineral sec-tor is to maximise economic benefi t from the sector while enabling private investors to earn competitive returns. Th e govern-ment has maintained an equity position in most of the major mining companies;

ABOVE Mapungubwe hill, an archaeological site: ruins of a settlement built in the Late Iron Age, the 9th to13th century AD

COUNTRY PROFILE: BOTSWANA



however, the mineral industry operated mainly on a free-market basis.

Mining licenceAn approved mining licence gives the rights to mine mineral(s) listed in the doc-ument on the defi ned area for a particu-lar period mentioned in the document. To obtain a licence, one can visit the De-partment of Mines in Gaborone or Fran-cistown, or send an email, or mail by post offi ce or enquire by telephone.

To apply for a licence, an application form (Form V) needs to be completed. If the application is submitted by a consultant, a letter from an applicant appointing the consultant needs to be submitted with the application on behalf of the applicant, giv-ing all relevant address, telephone and fax, and email details. A certifi ed copy of the company registration certifi cate or certifi -cate of incorporation must accompany the application as well as a prospecting report approved by the Department of Geologi-cal Surveys, or a copy of the prospecting waiver. If the area is within a prospecting, retention or mining licence, written con-sent of the holder should be submitted. Surveyed coordinates with a sketch plan and the total area being applying for, as well as an archaeological clearance certifi -cate from the Department of National Mu-seum, Monuments and Art Gallery must also accompany the application.

Further required is a detailed feasibility report containing, inter alia:a. details of mineral deposit, including all

mineral resources and reserves (meas-ured, indicated, inferred, probable and proven) and mining conditions

b. technical report on mining and treat-ment possibilities and the applicant’s intention in relation thereto

c. proposed programme of mining oper-ations, which should include estimated date by which ap-plicant intends to work for profi t, initial position(s) of quarry(ies) with coordinates on the surface rights, esti-mated recovery rates, nature of product and envisaged marketing arrangements for sale of mineral product(s)

d. environmental impact as-sessment study which must include an environmental management programme

e. forecast of capital invest-ment, cash fl ow and details of anticipated fi nancial plan

f. outline of proposed employment level and training programme

g. outline of proposed sources of goods and services

h. details of expected infrastructure, e.g. access road, electricity and water supply

i. clearance from the Department of Wild-life and National Parks, if the area is with-in a game reserve or national park.

Th e costs involved in obtaining a mining licence amounts to P100 per square kilo-metre applied for, or part thereof. Further information can be obtained by visiting the Department of Mines’ website at www.mines.gov.bw.

From exploration to commercial operationExploration and mining is one thing. Set-ting up a viable, commercial operation is another, which a mine has to be. To this end, understanding the demographics of Botswana is critically important. With a population of 2 155 784 people, 58.6% of whom are of a working age (15 to 54 years), Botswana has the following attributes.

Transport infrastructureTh e country has ten airports with paved runways. Of these, two have runways over 3 047 m, one has between 2 438 m to 3 047 m, six have between 1 524 m to 2 437 m and one has between 914 m to 1 523 m.

Th ere is a 17 916 km road network that includes 8 916 km of public high-way roads, of which 6 116 km are paved and 2 800 km are unpaved, and 9 000 km of unpaved district council roads. Th e Trans-Kalahari Corridor is a paved high-way corridor that provides a direct route from Walvis Bay and Windhoek in central Namibia, through Botswana, to Johannes-burg and Pretoria in Gauteng, South Afri-ca. Th ere are a number of new truck stops

along the transport corridor, spanning all three countries. All border posts operate between 07:00 and 00:00.

In total, Botswana has 888 km of nar-row-gauge railway, mainly on the eastern side of the country running between Gab-orone and Francistown where it branches off a short distance west to Sowa and east to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

South Africa’s railway line enters Bot-swana from the south-east via Mafi keng into Botswana via Lobatse to Gaborone. Th ere is a railway line from Walvis Bay in Namibia to Gobias in Namibia, but Gobi-as is roughly 125 km from Botswana’s western border.

Telecommunications infrastructureBesides the government-owned newspaper and national radio network, there is an ac-tive, independent press (six weekly news-papers). Foreign publications are sold with-out restriction in Botswana. Two privately owned radio stations began operations in 1999. Botswana’s fi rst national television station, the government-owned Botswa-na Television (BTV), was launched in July 2000. Th e cellular phone providers Orange and MTN cover most of the country.

ElectricityBotswana’s electricity generation capac-ity is mainly coal-fi red, with some small diesel generators in rural areas. Th e bulk of domestic electricity production is gen-erated by the Morupule coal-fi red station comprising four 33 MW air-cooled units. More than half of Botswana’s power re-quirements are imported from South Afri-ca and Zambia. Increased urbanisation, in the face of scarcity of resources to expand and maintain energy plants, has contrib-uted to the fact that only 22% of Botswa-na’s population have access to electricity.

Health infrastructureTh ere are 17 primary hospitals in Botswana as well as 17 district hospitals. Patients with minor diseases and problems are ad-mitted to the primary hospitals while district hospitals are more for the fi rst-line treatment of locals. Serious cases are trans-ferred to referral hospitals such as Nyangabgwe Hospital in Fran-cistown and Princess Marina in Gaborone. Th ese hospitals are equipped with advanced equip-ment as well as internationally trained doctors.

Home to the richest diamond mine in the world, Jwaneng, Botswana is richly endowed with a number

of other mineral resources


DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES

&DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS &

DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

For more information contact Therisha on 011 326 2501 or email [email protected] or visit www.intelligencetransferc.co.za

ENVIROMININGDate: 18 & 19 March 2015 Venue: Gallagher Estate, Midrand

5th Annual

-Ensuring Environmental Compliance and Reporting In Mining

• RICHARDS BAY COAL TERMINAL• SASOL MINING• UNITED NATIONS

ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM• RICHARDS BAY MINERALS• COUNCIL FOR GEOSCIENCE

• • DRDGOLD LIMITED (ERGO

MINING OPERATIONS PTY LTD) • HOGAN LOVELLS• PILANESBERG PLATINUM MINES

(PTY) LTD

PRACTICAL WORKSHOP:

The importance of sustainable community development planning as part of your Mine

Environmental Management Plan (EMPS)Faciltated by:

UMSIZI SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL SOLUTIONS

• A look at mining and sustainable development within the industry• Addressing the of obtaining your Water Use Licensing

under the revised MPRDA • Avoiding liability by making provision for future closure and

• Minimising toxic Acid Mine Drainage to avoid • Exploring how the new Air Quality Emission Standards will impact the

mining industry

SOME KEY STRATEGIES TO BE DISCUSSED:

REGULATORY UPDATE NOT-TO-BE MISSED CONFIRMED SPEAKER ORGANISATIONS:

Botswana carries a high degree of risk with food or waterborne diseases such as bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever, as well as malaria in its northern regions.

Political and economic riskBotwsana is politically very stable and real economic growth will remain robust, sup-ported by a further recovery in domestic diamond production and greater value-add-ed activity, while the fi scal and current ac-count balances will remain in surplus.

In conclusionBotswana is a stable country with an op-erating democracy. It off ers good invest-ment opportunities that, over the long-term, will be secure. In a nutshell, it’s a safe bet politically and economically. Th is having been said, the success or failure of any mining operation here will be deter-mined, in part, to international demand but mainly due to abilities and capabilities of the mining operation itself.


RIGHT Botswana’s geology

Mining – already a danger-ous occupation – is chal-lenged by the human/ma-chine interface, especially

when the human element is fatigued. Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue and, based on scientifi c research done by the University of Zürich, smart fatigue-assessment algorithms can be used to estimate driver fatigue levels and to predict fatigue development based on the operator history. Th e cost benefi t of this needs no explanation.

SAFEmine recently launched Fatigue-Monitor, which helps to track surface and underground machine operators during mining operations. At the same time it provides management with driver fa-tigue alerts and traffi c-related data from the mine. It does this by integrating data from four inputs: • attention-level detection • vehicle dynamic sensors • operator’s body clock • traffi c behaviour.Individualised driver profi les are continu-ously compared with current data to esti-mate levels of potential risk. Even so, for management to be proactive, as the min-ers themselves need to be, it is advisable to pay attention to the following: • ensure an optimal shift schedule is

in place, allowing adequate time for recovery sleep

• minimise extended-duration shifts

• for rotating shift schedules, forward ro-tation of shifts is preferable – from day to afternoon to night

• obtain at least seven hours of sleep per day over 24 hours

• after a night shift, avoid exposure to bright light (e.g. wear sunglasses, stay indoors)

• avoid alcohol and caff eine prior to sleep, as these can disrupt subsequent sleep

• keep the bedroom dark, quiet and cool to facilitate sleep

• begin recovery sleep as soon as practi-cally possible after a night shift

• take a 30-minute to two-hour nap prior to night shift to supplement the main sleep period

• use appropriate coun-termeasures to help maintain alertness such as a 20- to 30-minute nap and/or caff eine to help maintain alert-ness – particularly for high-risk tasks such as driving.

FatigueMonitor is opera-tor friendly and does not require drivers to wear

additional equipment such as glasses or caps. Its back end consists of a compre-hensive live web platform that provides dispatchers in the control room real-time fatigue analysis associated with the entire fl eet. In addition, reporting ser-vices provide supervisors with updates via email or text messages. It brings to market a solution specially designed for the mining environment that integrates physiological and traffi c data (both re-al-time and historical) to prevent vehicle collisions and improve mine effi ciency.

Fatigue alertMINING INDABA

Working long shifts in hot conditions deep underground can and does cause fatigue. As underground supervisors, it is important to see the signs and take remedial action.


p y

FIGURE 1 Concept of the SAFEmine FatigueMonitor: dispatcher monitors the operator's fatigue level and can react to alarms. The supervisor is informed of all events by text mesage and email

ABOVE Fatigue, with its lack of concentration, can impair judgement and be extremely dangerous

INSET FatigueMonitort d d d ti hift

Ace

IN• minimise


MINING INDABA

The New Caledonian islands fea-ture areas of high relief. Irrigated by strong and irregular rainfall, they are made up of valleys and

mountains, fertile soil, abundant vege-tation, and nickel. Th e islands hold 25% of the world’s reserves of the metal. Th e world’s fourth largest producer, it is also one of the leading suppliers of ferronickels used in the production of stainless steels.

Th e abundant quantities of minerals in the soil make mining New Caledonia’s larg-est economic resource. Some 20 deposits now cross the island from north to south. Th e environment is rough: stony dirt tracks, steep slopes, sharp bends, fords, etc. Th e mines are located in the moun-tains and the minerals have to be carried by truck to the coast for shipping by sea.

Th e Renault Kerax occupies an important place in these harsh operating conditions, with a fl eet of over 500 vehicles on Grand Terre backed by the unfl agging support of the Renault Trucks Sodauto dealership.

Operating on the island since the 1970s, Sodauto provides on-site mobile assis-tance with a constant supply of spare parts. Th is is an important point, for the mining transport island economy is large-ly made up of owner-drivers, who depend on having their working tool operational at all times.

Eddy Sautron, one of these owner-driv-ers, is very pointed. He says, “Vehicle reli-ability and effi ciency in this job is critical.”

As an owner-driver, whose career exists along these dirt tracks loaded with several dozen tonnes of ore every day, his experi-ence and insights are invaluable.

Eddy, 46 years old, and a driver all his life, began working in mining in 1999 and subsequently started his own business in 2007. Every day, he carries ore extracted from the Tontouata mine in the south of New Caledonia to the sea some 35 km away. He makes six round trips a day, cov-ering a total of 400 km between 05:00 and 17:00.

Before setting up on his own business, Eddy drove a Renault Kerax 370 hp. Th is was followed by a Renault Kerax 400 hp during his fi rst two years as an independent driver. He then acquired a Renault Kerax 8x4 DXi 440 in 2009 and has clocked up over 300 000 km in this truck. Th roughout these years, his vehi-

cle has proved to be reli-able under all conditions and circumstances.

He doesn’t give his vehi-cle an easy time. As his job demands, he never drives on tarred roads. Instead, he has to face potholed dirt tracks and negotiate streams and rivers caused by torrential rain, and mine workings ringed by razor-sharp stones. In all,

his truck, carrying almost 40 tonnes of ore per load, needs to be robust and, more specifi cally, have a good powertrain and highly effi cient braking system to handle the steep mountain slopes.

Even so, it’s under these driving condi-tions that the Renault Kerax’s electrical and hydraulic braking systems come into their own. With its unique design, the brake pedal is only used as a last resort – to save the brakes from wear. However, tyres are a diff erent story! Th e rough terrain, the stony ground, the twists, turns and slopes of the mountain roads, and the numerous rivers and streams, all work to wear tyres down, which, for effi ciency and safety, have to be changed every four or fi ve months. Ed-dy’s job is simply that demanding, and his truck, which he services and maintains to the book, never lets him down.

A father of four children, Eddy Sautron enjoys his work and has no plans for giv-ing up. On the contrary, he is thinking of acquiring another Renault Kerax, possibly an XTREM version, while keeping his cur-rent vehicle. With another driver, he will be able to grow his business. For every-one, it’s a win-win solution.

Island richesNew Caledonia is an archipelago of islands covering almost 20 000 km2, the largest being Grande Terre. It is located in the south-west Pacific (Melanesia) and has a population of 250 000, and it is nickel-rich.

ABOVE Goro nickel project, New Caledonia, South Pacifi c

BELOW The new Renault Kerax 8x4 DXi 440 used to transport nickel in New Caledonia


The Tractelift climb-assist system, with a long-last-ing, reinforced synthetic belt, relieves the weight

of workers, therein reducing ef-fort and minimising injuries, thus increasing productivity, says Beck-

er Mining South Africa, which sells a range of capital equipment to the mining industry, including lifting and safety and rope attachments.Becker Mining’s product manager,

Charlotte Megannon, says the compa-ny’s new climbing aid increases safety, and minimises worker fatigue while ascending and descending a ladder during instal-lation and maintenance procedures.

Tractelift features A continuous rope loop that enables many workers to use the climbing aid without having to reset the system is one of the features of Becker’s latest Tractelift climb-assist system.

In addition, Tractelift has an automatic start facility that ac-tivates the system as ascent or descent commences, as well as an automatic-stop facility. An emergency-stop device is also available for increased safety, states Becker Mining.

Tractelift specificationsTh e Tractelift I model provides traction relief in a pulling force up to 40 dekanewton (daN) (equivalent to 40 kg) that is preset on the sliding clutch.

Becker Mining recently launched Tractelift II model, which is controlled by an individual user remote and this enables workers to choose their own levels of assist, by adjusting the pulling force on-site. Th is model has an adjustable pulling force of 75 daN (equivalent to 75 kg). Th e remote, with up to ten levels of pull-ing force to provide relief to the climber, has an illuminated LCD display with a low-battery indicator. An adjustable speed con-trol matches the level of assistance with the rate of the climber’s speed. Th is smooth-running system, with soft stops and starts, alleviates the eff ort of climbing, states Becker Mining.

Safety and quality standardsTh e Tractelift system meets stringent international safety and quality specifi cations.

Working at heightsA new climb-assist system to ensure the safety of workers who work at height elevations has been developed.


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The Remcon radio system is primarily used to trans-port data arising from remote monitoring of areas such as boreholes, reservoirs, ventilation fans and pump stations, up to 20 km away. Th is advanced tech-

nology eliminates costly annual licence fees by making use of licence-free frequencies. Th e system is modular, making exten-sion a simple procedure.

The Remcon radio system operates through serial commu-nications with an OEM fixed product range or it interfaces with other hardware via Ethernet, for example, in the case of existing PLCs.

The control room system is able to use any industrial-type Scada software package, such as Adroit, iFix, Citect, InTouch and Wincc. All panels are supplied standard with battery backup, a feature considered critical in today’s mining envi-ronment where power supply is not always assured. Panels are IP55 rated, while the industrial enclosures are manufac-tured from mild steel, stainless steel or polycarbonate mate-rials, depending on the application.

Booyco Electronics is a single-source market leader that supplies quality specialised electronic safety equipment, in-cluding collision intervention systems. Its range of reliable accurate warning, locating and monitoring systems is engi-neered to operate in the harsh African conditions.

Radio communications made simple

Monitoring assets on a real-time basis via radio at a remotely located control room is not only effective, it is also highly efficient.

www.fractum.co.za

WE BREAK ANY ROCK BOULDER YOU COME ACROSS.INVENTORY IN SOUTH AFRICA.

No more need for secondary blasting


Danish mining equipment manufacturer Fractum pro-duces impact breakers that are utilised by surface min-

ing and quarrying companies worldwide. Th ese impact breakers eliminate the need for secondary blasting of oversized boul-ders, which can weigh anything from 150 tonnes – so size doesn’t matter. Th is makes the clearing process safer, less time-consuming and more cost-eff ective.

Depending on the model, the impact breakers are developed to effi ciently break and crush boulders of certain sizes. Obviously it’s a case of the bigger the bet-ter. Even so, Fractum’s breaking solutions

MINING INDABA

TABLE 1 Product scheme

The models Model 80 Model 100 Model 200 Model 300

Energy level (J)Energy level (ft.lbs)

80 000(59 000)

100 000(73 757)

200 000(147 514)

300 000(221 271)

Weight (t)Weight (lbs)

5.5(12 125)

5.9(13 007)

12.0(26 455)

13.5(29 762)

Total strokes per minute 10 10 7 - 10 8

Min. supply pressure (bar)Min. supply pressure (psi)

290(4 206)

290(4 206)

270(3 916)

300(4 351)

Hydraulic fl ow (ℓ/m)Hydraulic fl ow (gal/m)

200(52.9)

200(52.9)

400(105.8)

400(105.8)

Min. carrier-stick mount (t)Min. carrier-stick mount (lbs)(demands extra counterweight)

23 - 27(50 706 - 59 524)

25(55 116)

45(99 208)

65 - 70(143 300 - 154 323)

Min. carrier-boom mount (t)Min. carrier-boom mount (lbs)

20 - 30(44 092 - 50 706)

25(55 116)

40(88 185)

50 - 60(110 213 - 132 277)

Blasting often results in massive boulders being dislodged. These boulders then require further

demolition. Secondary blasting takes time and money, and is

dangerous. Now there is a faster, simpler solution.

are able to fragment hard material such as bauxite, granite and basalt rocks in just a few strokes. Th e harder the rock, the easier it is for the breakers to do the job. Th is signifi cantly improves productivity levels at open-pit mines and quarries.

Fractum’s free-fall breaking technology enables the effi cient, safe, and cost-ef-fective processing of rocks and boulders and, being track-mounted, can be taken directly to where they are needed. Th is eradicates the need for secondary blast-ing. Other advantages of the impact breaker are user-friendliness and precise fl exibility. However, the most important advantages are:

• High productivity and capacity: Frac-tum breakers are characterised by high precision and high frequency, allowing for fast and effi cient breakage and pro-cessing of materials.

• Increased fl exibility: Our impact breakers can be taken directly to where they are needed, thus to the material they have to break. You won’t have to in-vest in secondary equipment.

• Cost-eff ectiveness: Low levels of wear and tear keep maintenance and repair costs to a minimum. Additionally, our breakers are able to do more tasks than traditional solutions on the market. You therefore won’t need to invest in heavy and expensive secondary equipment, saving you time and money.

• Safety: Fractum breakers produce con-siderably less vibration and noise than other machines on the market. Th is contributes to a better and healthier working environment for the operators. Chisel-operated systems and drop balls often generate fl y rock and fl ying debris (shelling). Th e energy contained in this is fatal and will kill if it hits someone and can damage other equipment. Frac-tum breakers work diff erently and as a result they hardly produce fl y rock. Risk assessments show that our breakers have a 15 m safety zone for humans and a zero safety zone for other equipment.

• Low wear and tear: Our technology keeps vibration levels and hydraulic ef-fects to a minimum. Th e result is less wear and tear of the excavator, which translates to lower maintenance and repair costs and extended service life. Some of our clients’ excavators have done over 20 000 hours by using Fractum equipment.

Choosing the right impact breaker solutionLike everything technical, choos-ing the right tool for the job is im-portant. Fractum has four break-er models on off er, with energy levels ranging from 80 000 J to 300 000 J depending on the task. Choosing the right breaker is an elaborate process. Fractum spe-cialists will help you, by careful-ly looking at your wishes, goals, and budget while analysing the nature, location, and conditions of your project. Contact them at [email protected].

Size doesn’t matterA Fractum impact breaker in action

MINING INDABA


With its latest contract at the N’Zilo hydroelectric power station in the Ka-tanga province of the

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Marthinusen & Coutts, a division of Actom, is consolidating its role as an integrated electrical and me-chanical services provider for pow-er generation and other industries in Africa.

N’Zilo, operated by state electric-ity utility Société Nationale d’Elec-tricité (SNEL), required the re-wind of a 30 MVA 18-pole vertical AC synchronous stator generator.

“Th is power plant forms a critical component of the power genera-tion network, not only in Katanga province but in the entire DRC, where electricity supply in general is under severe pressure,” division-al CEO Richard Botton says.

Located on the Lualaba River, N’Zilo was commissioned in 1958 to provide power to copper mines in the nearby Kolwezi region, but has only been intermittently op-erational since then due to ageing infrastructure. While Units 2 and 4 were refurbished, Unit 3 recent-ly experienced a stator failure that necessitated urgent repairs. “Pow-er is in short supply in the DRC’s Katanga province, which is of criti-cal concern to the mining industry in particular,” Botton said.

Critical stator rewindIf one talks about slow, precision work demanding absolute accuracy, then the rewind of this stator is a good example.

“Th e rehabilitation of Unit 3 at N’Zilo became quite a critical element of the power projects within Katanga province.” Botton adds that while the average life of a stator is 25 to 30 years, those at N’Zilo

had been operational for 40 years. “Gen-erators usually run under arduous condi-tions, with a high demand placed on the machines, but they cannot run forever. N’Zilo was faced with both ageing and

stressed infrastructure that ulti-mately was unable to cope with the demands being placed on it.”

Due to the fact that N’Zilo is 50 km from the nearest town (Kolwezi), in diffi cult terrain, and that the equipment is extremely big with the stator’s internal di-ameter being over 5 m, the best solution was for the company to carry out the repairs on-site “as the most logical solution,” accord-ing to Botton.

“In addition, we have the neces-sary equipment and skills in place in the DRC in order to carry out such repairs eff ectively.” Th e scope of work was further complicated by the fact that it was a lap-wound stator as opposed to Roebel sta-tor bars, requiring a high level of expertise. All this had to be ac-complished in a very remote and isolated location.

Another factor that had to be taken into account was the testing conditions. Due to the diff erent style and manufacturing disci-pline of the equipment in ques-tion, diff erent testing equipment was required. “We had to purchase state-of-the-art Baker and PJ im-pulse testers specifi cally for this job, with the understanding that this equipment would eventually be relocated to our centre of excel-lence in Cleveland, Johannesburg. Th us while the project entailed some serious decisions for us in terms of capital investment, it extends our overall capability and expertise, especially as we grow our business as an integrated

1 Marthinusen & Coutts armature winders Wynand Willemse (seated) and Sheperd Chigwa (standing) inserting coils in the stator

2 At the beginning of the rewind process, namely coil insertion

3 Pushing coils fi rmly into slots and inserting temporary wedges that retain the coils in the slot

1

3

2

MARTHINUSEN AND COUTTS - LEADERS IN ELECTRIC MOTOR AND POWER GENERATION

REPAIR, MAINTENANCE AND SPECIALISED MANUFACTURE.

Large AC / DC Motors

Small AC / DC Motors

Traction & Flameproof Motors

Transformers

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ON SITE SERVICES

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Marthinusen & CouttsYour Assets. Your Needs. Your Service Partner.Your Assets. Your Needs. Your Service Partner.

A division of ACTOM (Pty) Ltd

Tel: +27 (0)11 607 1700 www.mandc.co.za [email protected]

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1949

MINING INDABA

electrical and mechanical service provider for both power generation and mo-tors,” says Botton.

Th e project was fast-tracked due to the criti-cal nature of the power supply in Katanga. “We commenced with the work in March this year and es-sentially completed the rewinding within seven weeks, with commissioning taking place in October. We had to ensure a long cure-off time because the over-hangs were essentially in a raw state, which meant we had to build special tempo-rary ovens for the curing.”

Botton ascribes Marthi-nusen & Coutts’ success with this project to its diligent planning and re-sources on the ground in the DRC. “We are well po-sitioned to be able to carry out these types of critical projects, having access to all our resources in Johan-nesburg as well as our fa-cility in Zambia.” He adds that upfront planning is essential to avoid later contingencies and man-age costs. “We like to get everything organised, set a date and then carry out the project, whereupon we are able to mobilise rapidly in order to be able to tackle the next project.”

ABOVE Chigwa and Willemse with the completed stator

FOCUSED ON YOUR SUCCESS IN 2015

COME SEE US AT INVESTING IN AFRICAN MINING INDABA

Learn more at:www.BoartLongyear.com


MINING INDABA

Increased worker productiv-ity is a sure-fi re way to re-duce costs. And, the safety of workers is also a sure-fi re

way to reduce costs, albeit indirect costs, which, if these occur, could be substantial.

New innovations and techno-logical developments in drilling products and drilling services are also seen as a way forward, and in-creasingly so, in as much as direct and indirect costs are concerned. With this in mind, Boart Longyear has developed several products to meet its clients’ productivity and safety needs. Th e company’s drill-ing services and products experts will be on hand during Investing in African Mining Indaba to edu-cate clients on a range of new solu-tions compatible for the African mining market. Featured products will include:• rod handling solutions• Drill Control Interface (DCi) • Quick Descent Roller Latch head assembly• hard-rock tooling • multipurpose rigs.

Hand injuries reduced One of the most common hazards to a driller’s safety on-site is the risk of hand injuries from handling drill rods. Boart Longyear’s range of rod handlers, and rod presenters, signifi cantly reduces a drill-er’s exposure to this risk by automating the rod tripping process. Th e latest, dedi-cated rod presenting solution, the LF90D, will be launched during the second quar-ter of 2015. Paired with the LF90D coring drill rig, the new rod presenter provides the industry’s best solution for safe and semi-automated handling of coring drill rod on both short and long holes. Th e LF90D rod presenter will be available as a production unit or as a retrofi t option. It is extremely versatile and will fi t all types of footprint and drill site set-ups.

Th e Drill Control Interface (DCi) ena-bles drillers to operate equipment at a

safe distance from moving parts, and the hydraulic hoses. Th e DCi provides drilling contractors a fully electronic interface to safely and effi ciently operate under-ground drilling equipment, such as the LM series, via an independent control panel. Th e LM75, LM90 and the LM110 rigs are compatible with the DCi system. When using a pulse width modulation (PWM) rod handler, the DCi can control both the rig and the rod handler via an integrated control panel. Th e DCi is a sub-stantial step for increasing safety on‐site by moving the driller away from moving parts and hydraulic hoses.

Working hand‐in‐hand, the LM110 and the DCi provide a comprehensive underground diamond coring solution with improved safety. The LM110 drill rig is ideal for drilling deep holes and is the most powerful Boart Longyear underground diamond coring drill rig to date. Equipped with a 110 kW pow-er pack and a 128 kN feed frame, the LM110 provides high pullback force and a fast rod‐handling rate, for increased drilling productivity.

A rig that does it allSome contractors need a drill that does it all. Confi gurable for both di-amond core and reverse circulation drilling, Boart Longyear’s heavy-du-ty, multipurpose drilling equipment has proven itself time and time again in the most demanding conditions, all across the globe. At Investing in African Mining Indaba, Boart Long-year will be promoting its range of multipurpose rigs. Th e LX11 is a powerful medium‐sized exploration multipurpose drill capable of both diamond coring and reverse circu-lation drilling. Th e LX11 is ideal for all drilling contractors who need the fl exibility of a multipurpose machine in their fl eets. Th e LX11 is a drill that provides increased safety, operation-al fl exibility with a low overall cost of ownership.

Innovative head assemblyTh e Quick Descent Roller Latch head assembly continues to build on the company’s legacy of innovative drilling technology and off ers precise compatibil-ity with all Genuine Q wireline systems. Benefi ts include:• Roller Latch detention into retracted

position to eliminate latch drag for in-creased tripping

• redesigned fl uid control valve provides dry hole valve functionality

• ultra-reliable Roller Latch technology eliminates low strength, play and jam-ming associated with traditional ‘swing‐out’ latch mechanisms.

Also on hand at Investing in African Mining Indaba, the company’s profes-sional staff , with experience in the Afri-can market, will be available to answer any questions about the company, its range of drilling service capabilities and equipment.

Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015, Boart Longyear is the world’s lead-ing provider of drilling services, drilling equipment, and performance tooling for mining and drilling companies globally.

Productivity, safety and cost reduction

Since the 2008/9 economic

downturn and the doldrums

the economy now fi nds itself in,

mining companies have increased

their focus on reducing costs and

creating effi ciencies in order to

drive productivity, and safety.


MINING INDABA

The unpredictable nature of the South African labour force has cemented the opinion that mines need to fi nd ways to mechanise in

a bid to avoid potential production losses in the future. As a result, the mining sec-tor is changing and with it comes an urgent need to establish cost-effi cient mechanised solutions. By gradually shifting to greater mechanisation in mining, South African mines aim to limit the impact of the crip-pling strikes and labour unrest that have haunted the industry for many years.

While South Africa has the world’s biggest gold and platinum reserves, its share of global output has steadily been declining because of high costs, regula-tory uncertainty and labour problems.

South Africa was the world’s biggest gold producer until 2007, but its output has declined from 428 tonnes in 2000 to just 167 tonnes in 2012 – the lowest output in more than a century.

Keeping in mind the challenges at every stage of the mining process, the reliability of machinery is crucial to the productivi-ty of mechanised mines. As such, reliable drive solutions are essential to this pro-cess. From the extraction stage, which is at the very centre of mining activities, there is a need for the provision of dura-ble gear drives. Processing ore from a lode mine, be it a surface or subsurface mine, requires reliable gearboxes and drive systems. Transportation of mining com-modities is highly specialised, and fl exible

conveyors and industrial drive systems are vital.

With state-of-the-art technology so important to mines in achieving produc-tion goals, Hansen Transmissions South Africa is able to meet this need given its excellent reputation in supplying large in-dustrial drive technology. Th e Hansen P4, Hansen I4 (invertible gearbox), Hansen M4ACC (air-cooled condenser), sin-gle-stage gear units and rigid fl ange cou-plings have aimed to meet drive solutions across Southern African mining and other industries. Hansen off ers these solutions by understanding that there is a fi ne bal-ance between competitiveness and prof-itability. Regardless of where the mine is, Hansen can assist.

The urgent need to mechaniseIf the labour unrest of 2014 taught us anything, it was that a striking workforce has the

ability to cause tremendous losses for industry and the economy . BY MPINANE SENKHANE

51INSIDE MINING 01 | 2015

Cor

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We deliver a SMART lift!Tel: +27 11 455 9222 or 0860 CRANES | www.jch.co.za

MINING INDABA

Heavy liftingHeavy lifts, by their very nature,

are the source of numerous safety risks. Th e ability to ex-ecute a heavy lift in a safe, yet

time-sensitive manner is achieved through a combination of procedural excellence, expe-rience, expertise and top-quality resources.

The successful execution of a safe-ty-driven heavy lift is determined by careful, systematic planning. “A com-plete understanding of the nature of the lift, the risks involved, and any limita-tions, is critical to the success of a heavy lift. The planning process begins with a site inspection followed by a more in-tensive on-site visit by Johnson Crane

With years of experience in a multitude of industries and applications, Johnson Crane Hire has become a specialist in...

Hire’s technical heavy lift team. This allows the team to verify measurements and dimensions. Once the details are acquired, a CAD rigging study, in 2D or 3D, is undertaken,” Peter Yaman, general manager of Johnson Crane Hire, says.

Johnson Crane Hire use LICCON soft-ware to simulate the lift. This software is specific to individual cranes and allows Johnson Crane Hire to confirm that they have specified the crane correctly for the lift. It confirms that the capacity is correct and verifies the counterweight needed. In addition, it will simulate the ground pressure that the crane gener-ates in various scenarios.

The next step involves determination of the required load-bearing capacity. This information is relayed to the cus-tomer who can then ensure that the site is prepared to accommodate the high loadings generated by cranes. Once the rigging study is completed, a method statement and risk assessment is under-taken, followed by the safety-driven lift execution as per plan.

Careful planning and execution is needed

WHAT WILL OPERATIONAL CHANGE MEAN TO YOU TOMORROW

IF YOU GO IT ALONE TODAY?

THINK ABOUT CALL US AND SECURE


MINING INDABA

The fi rst principle is that his com-pany would sell a unique, propri-etary product that would pro-duce tangible results with bene-

fi ts far exceeding cost. Th e second is that he would only accept assignments where he and the client partnered to install the programme and implement change.

Today, the company continues to uphold the principles of its founder.

“We don’t subscribe to the way other consultants operate – we don’t believe in simply telling our clients what to do. In-stead, we partner with them to ensure accountability for the delivery of positive and sustainable change.

“We work on the ground, where most of a company’s people and assets are deployed, addressing dependencies and the root caus-es of problems by changing behaviours, not just processes. Our solutions are focused on creating behaviour change – a fundamen-tal shift in how operations are managed – through improving communications, cre-ating understanding and aligning attitudes and eff orts across the organisation.

Rapid change and bottom-line impact

Sixty-seven years ago, Alexander Proudfoot started his business based on two principles, which still carry the business today.

“Our methodology has been proven across more than 17 000 projects in 35 countries. Execution-driven and tai-lored to meet the precise requirements of each client, our approach delivers measurable results without the need for further investment.

“With our help, many of the world’s leading companies have accomplished in a few months what would have taken them years to achieve alone.

“We have over 200 mining and mineral engagements globally, 70 of which are in Africa. Together, these engagements rep-resent between 50% and 70% of our rev-enue at any one time, indicating not only our vested interest in the success of min-ing, but the trust placed in our skills and experience by the industry at large.

“We have experience across all mine types as well as mining-specifi c business and operational challenges. Our people have unrivalled experience, the cultur-al understanding to achieve results at any location and the language capabil-ity to operate eff ectively in any local

environment. We believe mining is as much about people as commodities, so we strive to enhance workforces and cement operating cultures that embody continu-ous improvement.

“Our results speak for themselves. An average of between 20% and 40% im-provement in equipment productivity, 22% in plant throughput and up to 38% in yield. Th e operational changes we’ve im-plemented have reduced production costs by up to 40% and equipment downtime and capex requirements by up to 25% – without additional infrastructure, plant or employee cost.

“Our engagements in Africa have met with similar success. By working directly

with managers and supervisors to improve how operations are managed, we’ve reas-sured investors after throughput warn-ings at a gold mine, ultimately delivering a 22% throughput increase in eight months. We’ve increased the productivity of a cli-ent’s mine and rail transport operations in Gabon by 28%. We’ve resolved cultural issues at a leading diamond mining com-pany to more eff ectively utilise resources and streamline work eff orts, while at an-other diamond mine our holistic approach translated into $126 million in recurring annualised benefi ts in just 18 months. Th ese benefi ts have been achieved along-side positive impacts on safety and accident frequencies.”

Th e mining sector has always been com-petitive, and mining in Africa is no excep-tion. To meet today’s challenges, mining companies need to change quickly in line with the market. Alexander Proudfoot’s expertise in driving rapid and eff ective ex-ecution of corporate strategy has allowed mining companies to exploit growth op-portunities for over 60 years.

To meet today’s challenges, mining companies need to change quickly in line with the market


MINING INDABA

This substantial order compris-es two jaw crushers, an Osborn 914 mm x 584 mm Double Tog-gle Jaw Crusher and 1 219 mm x

304 mm Single Toggle Jaw Crusher, 66 Os-born Obex 650 mm x 1 300 mm vibrating pan feeders and 22 Osborn IFE 650 mm x 950 mm electromagnetic feeders.

“Osborn’s reputation as a leading sup-plier of high-quality equipment, as well as its competitive pricing, contributed to the company winning this order on open ten-der,” area manager Douglas Mouton says.

“In addition, Osborn was able to off er the client a package deal that included the electromagnetic feeders. Th ese are being supplied by our principal in Austria, IFE Aufbereitungstechnik,” he adds.

Th e jaw crusher and pan feeders are being manufactured at Osborn’s Elands-fontein facility and shipped to Malaysia’s Bintulu Port.

Mouton explained that the Osborn equipment is ideally suited to the fer-ro-alloys industry. “Th e robust Osborn jaw crushers being supplied are standard units, while the Osborn pan feeders have been customised for the dusty operating environment. Th e modifi cations include special dust enclosures, thicker liners and a redesigned drive arrangement to suit the installation,” he expands.

“Th is is a signifi cant order to a new territory, and we are excited about fu-ture prospects for Osborn in Malaysia,” Mouton concludes.

It doesn’t stop there; Osborn’s local-ly designed and built modular plant is to be shipped to Siberia. An R11 million export order for a full modular plant for

the Al Rosa iron ore facility in Russia was secured recently.

Marketing director Martin Botha reveals that this order was secured by the fi rm’s Russian dealer, North West Leasing. Th e full modular plant ordered off ers primary and secondary crushing and screening ca-pabilities. It features an Osborn 3042 Jaw Crusher, 6 x 20 triple deck screen and an Osborn 44H Gyrasphere Cone Crusher. In addition to this, Osborn will supply a 5 x 14 screen to be employed at the Al Rosa plant, which is situated close to Vilyuyst in Russia’s Siberia region. Th e machines will be shipped from South Africa to the Sibe-rian port of Magadan.

Osborn’s robust equipment is ideally suited for the harsh operating environ-ment in Siberia, where temperatures drop to -40˚C, Botha states. He says that this order is particularly signifi cant as it is ex-pected to drive further business for Osborn in Siberia as well as in neighbouring Mon-golia. With an abundance of minerals and one of the world’s fastest growing econo-mies, Mongolia has become a hotspot for

global mining fi rms, and has been dubbed the ‘Saudi Arabia of Central Asia’.

Botha elaborates on the advantages: “Our modular plants are easy to build and are mounted on skids, so they are easier to set up. Th ey are also easy to transport and re-erect on a new site. Th ese plants are designed to fi t into containers when they are dismantled, which makes trans-portation easier and cheaper. For cus-tomers seeking equipment that is easier to transport, Osborn modular plants off er an aff ordable solution that fi ts this bill. Th ey are ideal for plant expansion,” he adds. “All that a customer needs to do is put down a concrete slab, unpack their new modular plant and their expansion is done. Th ey immediately have the desired duty and capacity.”

No doubt there will be more to come from Osborn. We will watch this space.

Johannesburg-based manufacturer and OEM supplier Osborn Engineered Products SA has secured its fi rst export order to Malaysia, for crushers and feeders to be deployed at a new ferro-alloys smelter in the east Malaysian state of Sarawak.

export successLocal manufacturer’s

ABOVE Osborn’s modular plant destined for Malaysia

BELOW Osborn Obex vibrating pan feeders for Malaysia


MINING INDABA

Ardbel is ideally positioned to design and implement large-scale materials handling sys-tems for the bulk materials

industry, from receipt of material from a mining operation through to a fi nal prod-uct load onto a railway wagon or ship. Th e company’s specialised capabilities include all conveying systems, pre-benefi ciation plant stockpiling and reclamation sys-tems, post-benefi ciation plant discard and product stockpiling, reclamation and load out systems.

Mechanical engineer Luke Meakin, in the Australian Bulk Handling Review, says that undersizing a conveyor drive can be avoided by analysing and accounting for all conveyor resist-ances and drive de-rating factors. Incorrect analysis or application can result in either a failure to start or failure to run at the spec-ified throughput, especially if the motor size selected is very close to the calculated theoretical convey-or demand power.

By taking the following resistances and de-rating factors into account, a design-er can confidently predict correct drive motor sizing:

Conveyor resistances: • running resistances calculated to a rec-

ognised standard and using the recom-mended friction coeffi cients

• inertial resistances during acceleration• break-away resistances due to static

friction• resistances due to full chutes• appropriate allowance for surge.

De-rating factors:• gearbox effi ciency• fl uid coupling effi ciency• electrical line losses (motor control

to motor)• load-sharing tolerance in the control

system• de-rating factors associated with the

drive control characteristics (these may be mitigated by using wound rotor

induction motors (WRIM) with an SRC on larger drives in some instances)

• general motor safety factor.Although these additional resistances and de-rating factors are relatively small when considered individually, collectively, the combined result is substantial and cannot be ignored. Careful considerations during the design phase of the conveyor, com-bined with a good maintenance regime over the conveyor’s life, will help ensure the demand power of the conveyor is kept to a minimum, eliminating sources of un-necessary energy losses.

This applies to:• run of mine (ROM): material handling

systems from the ROM tip feed bin to the plant feed conveyor head chute, spe-cifi cally including a tip, crushing circuit, stockyard and the ROM feed conveyor to the benefi ciation plant

• fi nal product: material handling system downstream from the benefi ciated prod-uct discharge conveyor including storage and product loading onto train or truck

• port infrastructure: all associ-ated material handling systems once the ore reaches a port in-cluding tipplers

• waste handling: all waste and material handling systems downstream of the process plant waste discharge conveyor including the dump conveyor and spreader.

Too big, too small or

Oversized conveyor system drives will hardly ever cause technical problems, if at all. It will just be a waste of money. But, undersized conveyor system drives will always be problematic.

Undersizing a conveyor drive can be avoided by analysing and accounting for all conveyor resistances and drive de-rating factors


MINING INDABA

It has taken many years for high-den-sity mixtures (solids and liquids) pumping to reach the current level of development in the mining industry,

and yet, in spite of this, there is still a slow acceptance in the mining industry for using high-density paste and thickened tailings for surface disposal.

Many mistakes were made when design-ing overland pipelines to operate in laminar fl ow, most notably the Belovo-Novosibirsk Stab-fl o coal pipeline, and the reasons for these failures are well documented.

Th e success of pumping high-concentra-tion paste backfi lls underground led many to believe that the same technology would easily be adaptable to surface disposal. However, the reasons for the success of paste backfi ll turned out to be the hurdles for surface pumping of the same mate-rial. Pumping viscous materials in small

diameters when energy and power is not a concern, as in a backfi ll operation, turned out to be very diff erent when attempting to pump the same material in larger diameter pipelines at high pressures.

Several pioneering projects proved that pumping high-density material for surface disposal can be done reliably, provided certain criteria are met to prevent lami-nar fl ow settling. Such projects paved the way for some of the large tonnage systems

Pumping high-density mixtures being planned, such as Esperanza and Chi-nalco mines, which will be the new proving grounds for high-volume pumping of vis-cous materials.

As the demand to pump viscous materials increases, so the fl ow capacity of high-pres-sure positive displacement pumps has increased in tandem with the leading sup-pliers now capable of providing pumps with several megawatts of power each. Th is means fewer pumps are needed, enabling the further adoption of the technology.

Th e issues associated with laminar fl ow settling are now better understood and by proper measurement of the fl ow properties in rotational viscometer and slurry pipe lest loops, it is possible to better estimate the required pipeline pressure gradients. Understanding such issues means that adequate system controls and procedures can be implemented to ensure successful pumping of thickened and paste tailings in long overland pipelines.

WHEn SIZE mATTERS,our newest pumps measure up.GORMAN-RUPP PRIME AIRE PLUS® PUMPS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN LARGER SIZES. TO MOVE EVEN LARGER VOLUMES OF WATER.From sewage bypass operations, to construction site dewatering, to applications where intermittent flows present a problem, Gorman-Rupp Prime Aire Plus® priming-assisted pumps get the job done. Gorman-Rupp engineers these rugged pumps to move large volumes of water and move them fast—even when sticks, stones, and debris get in the way. For your biggest jobs, our Prime Aire Plus pump series has been expanded to offer discharges up to 16”, heads up to 575 ft., and flows up to 15,000 gallons per minute. So you can stay above water. No matter how much comes your way.

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From sewage bypass operations, to construction site dewatering, to applications where intermittent flows present a problem, Gorman-Rupp Prime Aire Plus® priming-assisted pumps get the job done. Gorman-Rupp engineers these rugged pumps to move large volumes of water and move them fast—even when sticks, stones, and debris get in the way. For your biggest jobs, our Prime Aire Plus pump series has been expanded to offer discharges up to 16”, heads up to 575 ft., and flows up to 15,000 gallons per minute. So you can stay above water. No matter how much comes your way.

GORMAN-RUPP AFRICA 2 KELLY ROAD, JET PARK, BOKSBURG | GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA

PH: +27 11 397 3536 | WEB: PUMPTRON.CO.ZA | EMAIL: [email protected] © Copyright, The Gorman-Rupp Company, 2014

AFRICA

BY AJC PATERSON, PATERSON & COOKE

The success of pumping high-concentration paste backfi lls underground led many to believe that the same technology would easily be adaptable to surface disposal


INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY 10% MANAGE YOUR MINE WITH PITRAM To manage your mine’s production costs and drive productivity, you need to know how your assets are performing. MICROMINE’s mine control and management reporting solution, Pitram, measures and reports on the performance of equipment, personnel, locations and materials.

Manage your mine with Pitram.

www.micromine.com T: +27(0) 87 150 7580 E: [email protected] Australia • Brazil • Canada • Chile • China • Indonesia • Kazakhstan • Mongolia • Russia • South Africa • Sweden • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom • USA

MINING INDABA

The singular purpose of the new and enhanced features is to provide further assistance to surface and underground mine

operations, specifi cally to assist in cost reduction, increase productivity and improve safety.

With a solid track record, Pitram2015 is an essential and proven system for mine

managers and process improvements on mine sites. Th is functional software application can be used to record, man-age and process mine site data related to equipment, personnel, locations and ma-terials, providing a comprehensive view of a mine’s activity and enabling fast and informed decision-making.

Purpose-designed fl exibility enables the software to be confi gured to the exact needs of any operation at any stage of the mining process. A variety of data capture and integration methods allow the solu-tion to operate with or without a central control room.

Commenting on the Pitram2015 release, Michael Layng, operations manager at Mi-cromine, said: “Everyone at the company is incredibly proud of Pitram2015. We are confi dent that this version will be well re-ceived by the market. So far the feedback has been very positive.

“In addition to the company’s ongoing R&D programme, the product and devel-opment teams worked closely alongside our clients to specify and implement the new and enhanced features available in the new version.

“Due to the highly collaborative nature of this release, we know that Pitram2015 is eff ective and delivers many benefi ts within the mine environment. We’re also confi dent that this latest version contin-ues Micromine’s tradition of producing software solutions that help users increase productivity and improve cost effi ciency.”

New and enhanced features include:• new material movement and grade man-

agement capabilities• new drill and blast functionality• enhanced surface fl eet management

capabilities• enhanced 3D visualisation and tagging• integration with more third-party min-

ing solutions.

Mine management and reportingAustralian software company Micromine has announced the release of its Pitram2015 software – the latest version of the company’s mine management and reporting solution – which boasts new and enhanced features.

PITRAM2015 WAS DESIGNED TO:• reduce mining costs and increase

mine production• achieve high face utilisation• improve mine safety• optimise mine development• comply with mining plans and

performance targets• increase control over the mining

operations.

Micromine Africa regional manager Marc Ramsay


MINING INDABA

It has been found that, over the last few hours preceding a slope failure, there is nearly always a small move-ment, or alteration in the movement

pattern in the rock face of that section.Despite this knowledge, high wall fail-

ures in open-pit mines continue to occur, even with much-improved geotechnical logging and damage prevention blasting techniques. Th is results in a number of negative impacts for the mine, such as:• fi nancial impacts on production• damage to equipment• injury or loss of lives• industrial action• impact on the environment• stakeholder resistance.Th e Model Maker System is intended to monitor mine slopes to detect this move-ment and generate a warning of impend-ing slope stability failure, so that per-sonnel and equipment may be removed prior to the failure. Stability is deter-mined by the balance of shear stress and shear strength. A previously stable slope may be initially aff ected by preparatory factors, making the slope conditionally unstable. Triggering factors of a slope failure can be climatic events can then make a slope actively unstable, leading to mass movements. Mass movements can be caused by an increase in shear stress, such as loading, lateral pressure and transient forces.

Th e radar element provides very accu-rate, real-time, all-weather slope move-ment measurements with sub-millimetre detection ability, and is able to provide an alarm if the detected movement reaches a predetermined level, thereby permitting

evacuation of the unstable area, and en-hancing safety. All radar measurements are fully geo-referenced to an accuracy that allows easy integration with stand-ard digital terrain mapping (DTM) tools.

A second function of the movement and surveying radar is to determine the abso-lute range to the electromagnetic refl ective cen-troid of an area on a body of material or geo-graphical feature. Th is function-ality, combined with the accu-rately surveyed position of the measurement or-igin of the move-ment and sur-veying radar and the positioning system’s angular measurement in-formation, may be used to gen-erate survey data of geographical features such as mine walls and rubble dumps. Th e survey data collected may be used for ap-plications such as the calcula-tion of material removal volumes.

Slope or high wall failureIn open-pit mining operations, people and equipment are constantly at the base of a steep, man-made slope (high wall or pit wall). Instances where the slope fails result in a rock or earth fall that can result in loss of life, injury and damage to or destruction of equipment.

A movement and surveying radar com-bines simultaneously the execution of slope stability and surveying measure-ments, which, together with high-speed external data links, makes it a near re-al-time tool for mining safety, planning and productivity improvement.

VERMEER ADDS A MEASURE OF PRECISION

TO SURFACE MINING.

THIS IS WHERE THE NAME ON THE MACHINE MATTERS MOST. Whether you’re facing the hassles of blasting or hammering, Vermeer and our global dealer network will be right beside you. We know the conditions you face are demanding — that’s why we make sure our equipment is up to the task. The Vermeer Terrain Leveler® surface excavation machine helps you get more value from the mine, while reducing the need for costly support equipment. So when it’s tough going out there, look to Vermeer — the trusted name for proven equipment and reliable support.

Vermeer, the Vermeer logo and Equipped to Do More. are trademarks of Vermeer Manufacturing Company in the U.S. and/or other countries. © 2014 Vermeer Corporation and Equipment Suppliers (Pty) Ltd. Southern Africa. All Rights Reserved.

VERMEER.CO.ZA | +27 (0)11 608 0893

PROTON INDUSTRIAL PARK, PROTON STREET, CHLOORKOP EXT.65JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU TO OUR

NEW, PURPOSE-BUILT PREMISES EARLY 2015!


MINING INDABA

While the bulk of its work with Vermeer’s T1255 and T1655 surface miners has been in iron ore in West-

ern Australia, UEA also has experience in bauxite and diamond mines, and it is also undertaking civil work at a bauxite deposit south of Perth. UEA also endors-es applications in coal, uranium, copper and limestone, and is today an excellent source of information for increasing the understanding of surface mining and its applications.

One of the applications supported is in providing a cost-eff ective means of get-ting a mine up and running quickly to generate early cash fl ow. It is no surprise to learn that the bulk of UEA’s discus-sions and studies have taken place with junior miners.

However, UEA also sees application for established mines in ramping production up above the capacity of the primary crusher, and/or mining satellite depos-its. Haul road maintenance and prepar-ing fl at pads for drilling or installation of fi xed plant are other applications.

While some may see surface mining as a stepping stone to having a conventional fl eet and infrastructure in place, others may see surface mining as an economic long-term solution with lower capital de-mands and more fl exibility of operation.

UEA has been a pioneer in taking sur-face mining underground to develop deeper roadways on grade without the need for drill and blast, thus allowing ex-isting infrastructure to remain in place.

A surface miner can be a more produc-tive and economical alternative to a road profi ler in providing a level platform for building a tunnel roadway.

The benefit of experienceWith over 100 000 hours of opera-tion with surface miners in a variety of ground conditions, UEA has built a good

Surface miningPrivately owned Australian contractor UEA Mining & Civils, currently the largest operator of surface mining equipment in Australia, uses the Vermeer T1255 Surface Miner. We look at the company's experience.

understanding of where they can be used economically, and what production and operating costs can be expected based on past performance.

UEA pays great attention to maintain-ing detailed records of surface miner op-eration so that it can continue to refi ne predictability for future operations. Th is same data is also used to schedule main-tenance and major rebuilds to maximise uptime and machine life.

With experience of Vermeer’s T1255 and T1655 surface miners in the fl eet, UEA Mining & Civils CEO Dominic Hal-lam is in a good position to compare the two. He sees both being used for selective mining of thin seams of ore, to minimise dilution, but also being very eff ective for removing bulk volumes where drill and blast is a risk, due to environmental or infrastructure constraints.

It really comes down to the size of job: the T1255 works well in civil and small mining applications, but for large mining applications, the T1655 is the way to go.

UEA also has experience of surface miners that integrate the mining and

loading, and again Hallam sees it as a matter of horses for courses.

A study of the material being mined and the mine plan will often suggest that one style of machine will be more eff ective than the other, and Hallam cautions that if the machine is not properly matched to the application, productivity will suff er.

While his experience is that the mining community is largely aware of surface mining technology and the benefi ts of using it, Hallam fi nds that uptake is lim-ited by the lack of knowledge of how to integrate surface miners into an existing mine site, or to develop a mine plan to properly manage their use on a greenfi eld site. At present, he sees a shortage of peo-ple who understand how to implement and manage surface mining.

Hallam concludes: “At least do the num-bers on it. It won’t suit all mine sites, but if your ore body is thin, complex, envi-ronmentally sensitive to drill and blast, requires low capital start up or you’re looking at expansion beyond crusher capacities for bypass product, then it’s worth looking at.”

SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY. SUPERIOR SOLUTIONS.

NuWater provides a range of products, services and financing solutions to reclaim or treat almost any quantity and quality of water.

Innovative 16" reverse osmosis technology makes NuWater plants more compact and efficient, with lower operating and maintenance costs. Being modular and mobile, our plants are also rapidly deployable and highly scalable, providing ultimate flexibility in a rapidly changing world.

Challenge us to clean your water.

Seawater Surface Water Groundwater

People Mining Industry Oil & Gas

WastewaterReclamation

Clean WaterWaste Water

NUWATER MODULAR TREATMENT PLANT

[email protected] +27 21 531 0641 www.nuwaterglobal.com

FROM TOP: NuWater’s ‘Modular & Mobile’ plant design for wastewater treatment and desalination.

Aerial view of 20 MLD mine wastewater reclamation plant at Anglo American’s New Vaal Coliery.

One of two NuWater rapidly deployable modular plants at Gold Fields, Ghana.


MINING INDABA

The New Vaal Colliery, owned and operated by Anglo American Th ermal Coal, a division of Anglo American, is situated immediate-

ly south of Vereeniging on the Free State bank of the Vaal River in South Africa. Th e mine was established in 1983 to sup-ply coal to the 3 600 MW Eskom Lethabo power station.

New Vaal is an open-pit strip mine pro-ducing fi fteen million tonnes of thermal coal per year, all of which goes to the pow-er station to satisfy its fuel demands. Th e mine is unique in that it is located close to major municipalities and near the Vaal River, a vital source of water for industry and agriculture, and supporting around twelve million consumers in and around Gauteng – the economic heartland of South Africa.

Th e mine’s proximity to the Vaal Riv-er and its critical importance in power generation means that great attention is paid to environmental rehabilitation and control. Mine wastewater results from production processes and rainwater run-off (mine drainage). Th is wastewater is stored in a reservoir, which previously has relied on its large size and evaporation to avoid the need for wastewater treatment and reclamation.

In 2010, it became clear, however, that this approach was

InInI 222010101010, it beecame clearararar,,,,, hohh wewewew ver, that thththhhisisssisis aaaaaaappppppp roach was

Concern for the environmentWater management is central to Anglo American’s environmental management objectives, and crucial to the quality of the Vaal River’s water.

not sustainable and, in mid-2010, the mine invited tenders for a 15 MLD (million litres per day) wastewater treatment plant to be provided on a build, own and operate basis, with the mine paying a fi xed total price for each cubic metre of water cleaned.

Given NuWater’s demonstrable experi-ence in delivering large-scale wastewater reclamation plants, their novel modular and mobile plant design, and their high-ly competitive pricing, NuWater was se-lected as the preferred bidder for this multi-year contract.

Th e high-quality product water is now pumped to the power station to supple-ment cooling water requirements. Th is re-use of wastewater further enhances the en-vironmental sustainability of the area and refl ects the mine’s commitment to its en-vironmental responsibilities. Th e NuWater plant is capable of producing up to 20 mil-lion litres of high-quality water per day and capacity can be increased further by simply adding modules (housed in trailer-mount-ed containers) and without impacting on current production. In fact, product water output has already been increased since initial commissioning with the addition of UF and RO modules, with minimal impact on existing output.

MOVING REVERSE OSMOSIS (RO) FORWARDNuWater’s patented technology incorporates a 40 mm spiral-wound membrane, an integrated fl ow distributor, an electromagnetic fi eld device, and an innovative, unique membrane element design.

This combination of technologies allows NuWater plants to operate at sustainable fl ux rates 50% to 150% higher than conventional 20 mm RO systems. It also results in our plant footprints being up to 60% smaller than conventional RO plants, affording them to be modular and mobile for easy deployment.

Plant capital costs are lower due to fewer fi ttings and there is signifi cantly less piping than in conventional 20 mm plants, and operational costs are also reduced as fewer membrane elements mean less scaling and fouling.

The result is competitive water cleaning prices, faster deployment, and greater plant fl exibility for our customers.

BELOW NuWater’s plants consist of coupled trailer-mounted modules, making them easily scalable and able to meet almost any water cleaning requirement

Th is fl exibility and responsiveness pro-vides the mine with peace of mind that its water cleaning requirements are cov-ered both now and in the future. NuWa-ter is consolidating its position as a lead-ing provider of water cleaning services to the mining industry with the addition of brine concentrator and zero liquid discharge modules.

Tega Industries (South Africa) Pty LtdP.O Box 17260, Benoni West, 1503, South Africa,

Phone: (011) 421 - 9916/ 7, 421 - 6714, 421 - 6761, Fax: (011) 845 1472,

Email: [email protected],www.tegaindustries.com

Tega offers value added consultancy services and solutions TOTAL : Solution

With focus on core engineering applications in the Mining and Mineral Processing Industry, Steel plants, Power, Port and Cement Industries.

in Mineral Beneficiation, Bulk Solids handling, Wear andAbrasion customised to suit specific applications.

TM


MINING INDABA

Most commonly, engineers may be tempted to stick to what they know and use liners that have been

used before as they have a track record whereby lifespan and performance can be measured.

Yet, according to marketing and business development manager Vishal Gautam of Tega Industries, new liners are continu-ously being developed using ever-strong-er and more effi cient materials that can outperform and outlast older-generation liners. In certain instances, combinations of diff erent liners may provide additional benefi ts as the best materials can be se-lected for each section of the milling pro-cess to combat wear, absorb impacts and increase fl ow rates.

Team of specialists“With such a wide range available nowa-days it is best to have a specialist mill lin-ing company come and assess the require-ments and design a mill lining that is best suited to the operation’s requirements. In

Specifying the right mill liner

Selection of the most suitable mill liner to suit diff erent applications can be a tricky business, particularly when evaluating new materials against old ‘tried and tested’ liners that have been used on certain operations for decades.

these circumstances, it is usually better to consult with a supplier that is able to pro-vide diff erent types of liners rather than a single type, as these may feel the need to adapt the process to suit their product rather than provide the right solution for the application. Once Tega has the oper-ating parameters of a mill, depending on requirement relating to throughput or sizing of materials, and type of material, then the design offi ce springs into action,” says Vishal.

Drawing from experienceHe explains that based on past experience worldwide, as well as experience gained in the fi eld in Africa, Tega looks at similar

operations where similar criteria were re-quired. Th is global experience means that the company can call on parameters from more than 500 Tega-lined mills around the world to compare and calculate re-quirements that will work best with the existing infrastructure.

Many other factors also need to be tak-en into consideration, such as movement lengthwise through the mill, as well as greater or lesser retention time. Also, ro-tation needs to see that the balls are land-ing in the right place in the mill – height to angle, ball size, speed and charge volume play a role and need to be factored in.

“If done correctly, the calculation will re-sult in the required throughput or it will highlight any shortcomings, which can then be addressed separately,” says Vishal. “At this point, our team works closely with the client to ensure all the requirements are met and we use technical expertise to guide and assist clients in making the right decision for the best liner that fi ts their requirements and budget.

“Our locally manufactured liners are made to international standards and are carefully installed to ensure trouble-free operation. To ensure it continues to work fl awlessly, our after-sales-service team will continue to be actively involved with the client to ensure the maximum service life is achieved and that the process continues to operate as designed.

“Our technical support includes monthly wear reports, highlighting high-wear areas and providing plans for maintenance and shutdown in future. Th ey also work con-tinuously to develop and improve the mill performance throughout the duration of their involvement,” says Vishal.

Better all-round performanceHe concludes that the importance of part-nering with a technically adept and ser-vice-oriented company is of paramount importance to ensure that the mill runs

effi ciently and reliably for years to come. With the right type of liner in place, it is even possible to dramatically increase throughputs while signif-icantly increasing times between maintenance and repairs.

New liners are continuously being developed using ever-stronger and more effi cient materials that can outperform and outlast older-generation liners

Optimal lifecycle solutions for installed equipment

Our comprehensive client support services provide total product lifecyclesupport to optimise equipment availability and performance and extendequipment life

■ Services tailored to needs of mining, bulk materials handling, environmentalcontrol and minerals beneficiation and processing sectors.

■ Regional offices close to our clients provide round-the-clock back up for on-site technical support, repairs, breakdowns and spares.

■ Equipment refurbished to original or upgraded capability at fraction of newunit cost.

■ Full suite of start-up and operational spares from a single source.

■ Maintenance and monitoring programmes ensure equipment continuesoperating optimally.

58 Emerald Parkway Road, Greenstone Hill Ext 21Johannesburg 1609, South AfricaP +27 11 201 2300

Regional officesMpumalanga, South AfricaP +27 13 246 8360

Northern Cape, South Africa+27 53 723 3044

Gaborone, BotswanaP +27 3167 873

[email protected]

TENOVA is a worldwide supplier of advanced technologies, products and engineering services for the metals and mining & minerals industries

It is hard for conventional conveyors to withstand high temperatures, heavy loads and abrasiveness or sharp edges of several bulk materi-

als. Conventional conveyors often cause production losses, due to unforeseen failures, require excessive maintenance and are noisy and dusty like, for instance, chain conveyors or pan conveyors.

Tenova TAKRAF Africa is the open-pit mining and materials handling specialist of the total technology solutions pro-vider, Tenova Mining & Minerals. Th e company’s leading range of specialised handling equipment has been enhanced with the addition of the unique Magaldi Superbelt technology from Magaldi of It-aly, a global supplier of industrial systems and plant for bulk material handling at high temperatures.

During the last 40 years, hundreds of successful installations worldwide have confi rmed that the Magaldi Superbelt conveyor (in its diff erent confi gurations) is the dependable and eco-friendly solu-tion for those problems.

Th e Magaldi Group supplies to diff erent industrial fi elds a wide range of equip-ment based on the Magaldi Superbelt technology. All applications of the Magal-di Superbelt distinguish themselves from competing technologies by:• unchallenged dependability• high-temperature operating ability• impact resistance• low wear, long life• low operational and maintenance costs• safe and clean working environment• cost-eff ective retrofi tting.Th e Magaldi Superbelt is made up of a steel mesh belt, which carries partially overlap-ping steel pans that form a virtually sealed belt conveyor.

Th e patented method of connecting the pans to the belt leaves all elements free to thermally expand in any direction, with-out permanent deformation. As a result, the Magaldi Superbelt withstands temper-atures higher than any other known com-petitive conveyor. Th e Magaldi Superbelt is the ideal conveying system for processes regarding cement clinker, lime, magnesi-um oxide, lead, zinc and manganese sin-ter, foundry sand, pellets, chips and many other bulk materials.

Th is technology also off ers numerous environmental advantages, including low noise levels and power usage, enclosed conveying to prevent dust emissions and spillage, as well as conveying up to a 35 de-gree inclination. Th e technology has a long life as there is no relative movement

between the belt and handled material.Th e Magaldi Superbelt N-type conveyor

is used for horizontal or inclined (up to 28 degrees) transportation of bulk mate-rials. It is generally used in place of rub-ber belt conveyors, drag chain conveyors and vibrating conveyors.

Th e Magaldi Superbelt E-type conveyor is provided with cross cleats for convey-ing bulk materials up to a 55 degree in-clination. It is used in place of corrugated side wall rubber belt conveyors, bucket elevators and deep pan conveyors.

Th e strong synergies between the Magaldi and Tenova TAKRAF Africa technologies off er both companies ex-citing new market opportunities. As the Magaldi Superbelt can withstand higher temperatures than any other technolo-gies available, it is an ideal fi t with Ten-ova TAKRAF Africa’s existing equipment range, enabling it to expand into hot bulk materials handling. For Magaldi, Tenova TAKRAF Africa off ers access to the mar-ket in South Africa, through its well-en-trenched reputation as a leader in the supply of niche technologies for special-ised handling.

SuperbeltDependable handling of bulk materials is a key factor to ensure the highest productivity in many industries.

ABOVE Magaldi Superbelt HD conveyor, for the heaviest applications, such as steel scraps transportation

LEFT Magaldi Ecobelt, a dust-proof steel conveyor ideal for handling hot materials and aggressive chemicals, ensuring safe and environmentally friendly operations as a re-sult of the completely enclosed steel casing


MINING INDABA


MINING INDABA

Haulage costs have been one area where costs have risen signifi cantly with the increase of diesel prices, although we

are experiencing a brief respite with the current low oil prices. One alternative to reduce haulage costs is to shorten the truck haul distance by bringing the truck dump point into the pit. By using an in-pit movable crusher or crushers, and con-veying the ore and/or waste out of the pit, haulage costs can be reduced.

Th e fi rst step when evaluating the poten-tial installation of movable conveyors and crushers is to establish the geometric re-quirements of the installation being con-sidered. Establishing how big, how long, how high and how wide will take at least a half a day to work out with a materials handling engineer, providing he has been briefed on the anticipated hourly tonnage rate and expected belt profi les. Th e mine planner with little background in convey-ors will be surprised just how much room the crushers, conveyors and transfers occupy. Access to the belts and transfers must be assured for maintenance as well as for removal of the drive stations when the system is moved. Often a series of low tension belts will be used with minimal lift to deliver material from the in-pit crushers to high-tension slope belts for the lift out of the pit. Th e limita-tions of both types of installations must be well understood.

Movable crushers and feeder in-stallations are off ered by a wide

range of manufacturers and engineering houses. Each has their strengths and weaknesses from a materials handling standpoint. Th e mine planning engineer must understand the geometry of the sys-tem and consider the fl exibility of the in-stallations for modifi cation. Some instal-lations require that the feeder be placed within the bench above the crusher; the crusher product is delivered to the con-veyor one bench below the dumping ele-vation. Other crusher feeder systems are fl exible in the feeding geometry such that the dumping elevation and the conveyor elevation can be the same, or separated by a bench. In either system, it is critical to know the range of horizontal angles that the feeder can deliver to the crusher and the range of angles that the conveyor can receive material from the crusher. Ro-tations as small as 10 to 30 degrees can often greatly simplify installation geome-tries and the material movement required for installation. Th e truck manoeuvring area at the dump pocket will depend on the dumping geometry of the specifi c feeder, the truck size, and manufactur-er. For haul trucks up to 170 tonnes, an area of 75 m x 75 m must generally be maintained for turn, spot

and dump.O n e

f i n a l item

should be settled with the materials han-dling specialist before starting to plan. Th e operating schedule of crushers and belts and the peak or surge capacity ver-sus average capacity will be of necessity to him when detailing the system. Materials handling equipment by nature is most effi cient with a constant material move-ment rate. Consequently, design speci-fi cations are generally given in tonnes/hour. Mining equipment capacity is gen-erally discussed in tonnes/day or tonnes/shift. For example, substantial variations in shovel tonnage may occur on an hour-ly basis, yet the end of shift average can be very consistent from shift to shift. Th ese fl uctuations do occur with a mill site crusher. However, there is generally a course ore stockpile immediately down-stream to smooth fl uctuations in crusher output. Th e short exit belt from a perma-nent crusher can be designed to handle the surges from the crusher without much additional capital expense. Movable in-pit crushing systems generally deliver direct-ly to a complete belt system and surges in crusher feed are transferred directly as surges in the entire conveyor system. A trade-off of design capacity in the con-veyor system must be worked out between the miner and the materials handling engineer. As a starter, the mining engi-neer should estimate how many pieces of loading equipment will deliver to a given crusher followed by a calculation of max-imum hourly production as if the shovels

In-pit crushing and With rising operating costs and declining commodity prices, most mines have been forced to look at various alternatives to cut costs in order to stay competitive.

A ThyssenKrupp mobile crusher in action in a coal mine


• PLATREEF RESOURCES• STATE DIAMOND TRADER• ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI• WOMEN IN MINING SOUTH AFRICA

• LONMIN PLATINUM• DE BEERS SIGHTHOLDER SALES

SOUTH AFRICA (DBSSSA)• SIBANYE GOLD

• VILLAGE MAIN REEF MINE• OPTIMUM COMPLEX• PETRA DIAMONDS

THREE PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS FOR WOMEN IN MINING:

For more information contact Therisha on 011 326 2501 or email [email protected] or visit www.sawomenmining.co.za

Date: 18, 19 & 20 February 2015 Venue: Gallagher Estate, Midrand-Moving From The Integra on To The Development Of Women In Mining

6th ANNUAL

WOMEN IN MININGCONFIRMED SPEAKER ORGANISATIONS INCLUDE:

KEY STRATEGIES TO BE DISCUSSED:• women into – what does it

take?• Undergoing to accommodate

women in mining at the top

• WIMSA 2014 South African Survey• in the of young women who are passionate

about the mining industry• Building your career within the mining sector

HIGHLIGHTING TH EXPECTATIONS FOR EACH MINE IN TERMS OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

Facilitated by: HOGAN LOVELLS

ADDRESSING AMENDMENTS TO THE MINING CHARTER AND ITS

PROVISIONS FOR WOMENFacilitated by:

HOGAN LOVELLS

WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM WOMEN

IN MINING? Facilitated by:

LONMIN PLATINUM

Feedback & Recommendations Will Be Forwarded To Key Authorities After The

Conference

MINING INDABA

conveyingare truck-covered. It may not be cost-ef-fective to build the conveyor system to handle the extreme peak, but knowing the fl uctuations in mine throughput will help in setting the required operating range of the materials handling system.

As a general rule, it is wise to plan on es-tablishing conveyor beltways and crusher installations as part of the normal course of mining instead of requiring custom excavation or placement of material to establish conveyor routes and crusher sta-tions. Th is is dictated by simple economics that a specifi c earth-moving construction project is a costly capital item and an addi-tional expense outside of mining. Th e ideal situation is to establish the necessary ac-cess geometries (haul roads, crusher sites, beltways etc.) while mining at the planned rate. Other than grading, no additional

material movement is required to estab-lish beltways and crusher pads.

When evaluating or planning for a po-tential new system of this type, a series of phase or pushback drawings, which in-clude beltways and crusher pads, are gen-erally the fi rst step. Th ese drawings should include truck access to every bench, ample mining room, and the geometrically cor-rect beltways, transfer stations, crusher pads and transfer access roads.

Th e installation of the in-pit, crush-con-vey system can have a dramatic impact on the pit geometry, operating strip ration and mine access. Th e trade-off between lower operating costs versus the increased strip ratio, more complex mining geometries, less fl exibility in mining, and the initial in-stallation capital costs, must be evaluated. Th is requires detailed planning of conveyor

routes, crusher locations and the number of crusher moves, and ore availability.

Acknowledgement: In-pit crushing and convey-ing mine planning and operations, Independent Mining Consultants, 1 June 1985

A FEW POINTS OF EMPHASIS when setting out to evaluate in-pit crushing and conveying with movable or even station-ary equipment:• Thoroughly understand the working ge-

ometry of the equipment to be utilised or evaluated. Work closely with your materials handling specialist.

• Be sure to establish the operating schedule and the surge capacity of the materials handling system.

• Try to incorporate the crush-convey equip-ment into the mine geometries with mini-mal custom earthwork.

• Use time-sequenced mine plans in suffi cient detail to quantify material movement and materials handling equipment moves.

• Verify the proper interaction of all mining and materials handling equipment over the mine life. Assure proper access and operat-ing room.

• Be prepared for the additional stripping requirements to establish the system and consider all alternatives to maintain consist-ent material fl ow.


MINING INDABAC

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Tel: +27 (0) 11 827-9372Fax: +27 (0) 11 827-6132

• Optimum material flow• Up to 80% decrease in material degredation• Reduced dust and noise levels• Virtually maintenance free• Greatly reduced spillage• Significant reduction in belt damage

ABSOLUTEMATERIAL FLOW

CONTROL

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One of the largest dry bulk ter-minals in the United States is found on the grand old Mississippi River south of

New Orleans in Davant, Louisiana. Th e United Bulk Terminal recently put out a multimillion dollar tender to upgrade its dry bulk terminal, which – for the second time – South African company Weba Chute

Systems has successfully secured. Th eir fi rst success was back in 2002.

As Mark Baller, Weba Chute Systems managing director, recalls, “It was a suc-cessful installation and the client was very happy. In fact they are carrying out mainte-nance on it for the fi rst time during the De-cember shutdown this year, meaning that it has been operating maintenance-free for 12 years. On the back of this they are upgrading the terminal. We were obvious-ly well positioned; we did compete against other players in the American market, but were successful in winning the tender. Th is is the fi rst phase of the upgrade project, which will be followed by additional phases for which we envisage getting other work.”

UBT is located on 460 hectares and is the fi rst dry bulk terminal inbound on the Gulf, off ering customers signifi cant cost and time benefi ts by avoiding the logistical

challenges of navigating ocean-going ves-sels through the congested New Orleans area. It specialises in the handling of coal and petroleum coke and off ers a full suite of ground-based service capabilities. Ex-port product arrives via inland barge and is either transferred directly to an ocean ves-sel or put to storage on a soil cement pad.

Th e ability to offl oad and store dry bulk commodities gives the fl exibility to man-age market timing and product blending requirements. Having signifi cant ground storage availability allows vessels to be un-loaded and reloaded quickly, minimising port time and maximising vessel turns.

Th e current upgrade project focuses on environmental compliance and improved effi ciency in handling multiple products. Th ere are seven Weba Transfer Chute Sys-tems involved in the project that are being designed and fabricated in South Africa, whereupon they will be containerised and shipped across to the United States.

Weba Chutes to New Orleans

The Weba Transfer Chute System


MINING INDABA

SKF South Africa - Celebrating 100 Years of

Innovative Solutions

Mining Industry SolutionsHarsh operating and market conditions make the mining industry a tough

customer. SKF’s advanced range of products and services in the SKF Life

Cycle Management approach - SKF’s proven approach for reducing Total

Cost of Ownership for machinery at every stage, from specification and

design to operation and maintenance, can help! SKF solutions assist with

increased productivity and profitability, improved worker safety, reduced

environmental impact, cutting energy consumption and reducing

unplanned downtime.

SKF South Africa is celebrating 100 years of innovative solutions during 2014. Drawing on five areas of competence and application-specific expertise (bearings and units, seals, lubrication systems, mechatronics and a wide range of services), SKF brings innovative solutions to OEMs and production facilities in every major industry worldwide.

The Power of Knowledge Engineering

SKF South Africa (Pty) LimitedTel: +27 11 821 3500, Fax: +27 11 821 3501

Email: [email protected], Web: www.skf.co.za

T he Wireless Machine Condition Sensor provides condition mon-itoring for mines, processing plants, and in hazardous or hard

to reach locations.It uses the WirelessHART communica-

tion protocol; off ering a simple, reliable and secure means of expanding condi-tion-based maintenance into plant areas where the cost to install wired systems is prohibitive, making data available to exist-ing process control and information sys-tems. To overcome wireless communica-tion obstacles, sensors can be confi gured to operate as router nodes, allowing them to relay data from other sensors.

WirelessHART includes several features to provide built-in, 99.9% end-to-end re-liability in all industrial environments, such as:• standard radio with channel hopping• coexistence with other wireless networks• self-healing network.

Able to communicate with each other, and with a wireless gateway, these sensors cre-ate a mesh network. Th is type of network and communication protocol is ideal for monitoring rotating machinery through-out mines, large plants, in hard to reach locations, or in areas where traditional Wi-Fi communications will not work.

With the new product, users can bene-fi t from an improved maintenance pro-gramme, reduced maintenance costs, reduced installation costs, enhanced em-ployee and machine safety, and compati-bility with the complimentary SKF @pti-tude Analyst software suite.

Communication capabilities include relaying data from one node to another, relaying data back to the gateway, and receiving automated commands from the Wireless Sensor Device Manager software that initiate the measurement and pro-cessing circuits to transmit data back over the network. If a node is unable to receive

signals directly from the WirelessHART gateway, it will instead send and receive its data through a nearby node that can pass the data to and from the gateway – ulti-mately creating the mesh network.

Once data is collected, the WirelessHART gateway communicates with the Wireless Sensor Device Manager, which automati-cally exports the data into SKF @ptitude Analyst, a comprehensive diagnostic and analytic software package, where a plant engineer can analyse the data and deter-mine a course of action.

Condition monitoring


MINING INDABA

Q&A

What is defined by the term ‘full training’?WH Th is is the successful completion of the NQF Level 2 Plant Operation course presented by Barloworld Equipment’s Op-erator Academy. Th e Plant Operation pro-gramme comprises a fi ve-day theoretical component, which is classroom-based, to-gether with an additional 15 days (on aver-age) of practical in-fi eld machine operator training. Th e practical component varies depending on the machine class, some be-ing more complex than others to operate.

What is defined as a ‘machine handover’ in the sphere of operator training?No formal training takes place during a ma-chine handover, as it is done in one day. Th e

Academy-trained proficiencyDedicated training to optimise Cat machine performance and operator profi ciency is crucial to increased productivity and, as a result, reduced costs.

purpose of the handover is to familiarise operators with the machine’s features and benefi ts. Th is is why we don’t issue a certif-icate, as this would imply that competency training has taken place, which would in turn have legal implications for Barloworld Equipment as a training provider.

What is refresher training?Here we focus on upskilling experienced operators. We have also found that re-fresher training (or retraining) highlights and corrects bad habits that operators tend to pick up over the years. Retraining has resulted in immediate and measurea-ble bottom-line improvements in key are-as such as slot dozing, truck loading cycle times, utilisation, mechanical availability and lower diesel consumption fi gures. Th e training duration is typically three to fi ve days, depending on the size of the group and customer requirements.

How long are competency certificates valid for?Two years. Th ereafter, reassessment and recertifi cation is required in terms of South African legislation for all earth-moving machine classes, irrespec-tive of industry segment.

What happens if a competency certificate is not renewed?Operators without a valid competency cer-tifi cate are legally non-compliant.

Can I get my operator trained faster, in days rather than weeks? Th ere are two ways to do it: the short way, which takes into account recognition of prior learning (RPL), or the full train-ing route for those who don’t qualify for the fi rst option. Note that if the applying RPL candidate falls short of the acade-my’s minimum requirements on assess-ment, then full training will be required to obtain certifi cation.

Why does the full training take approximately a month to complete?For each machine family, there is a unit standard that dictates how many hours of training need to be completed. Th e average is approximately 120 hours, which equates to three to four weeks of training (theoret-ical and practical).

Each year, Barloworld Equipment’s Operator Academy, based in Jo-hannesburg, qualifi es around 700 candidates, some of whom

attend refresher training, while others are brand new to the industry.

“We don’t take shortcuts and every op-erator trained by the academy will pass on measureable savings, both in terms of op-erating effi ciencies and downstream main-tenance costs,” says Willie Haasbroek, who heads up the Operator Academy. (Bar-loworld Equipment is the Cat dealer for Southern Africa.)

In the following interview, Haasbroek responds to frequently asked questions on the services provided by the academy, as well as the legal requirements for operator certifi cation, and recertifi cation.

“We don’t take shortcuts and every operator trained by the academy will pass on measureable savings, both in terms of operating effi ciencies and downstream maintenance costs.” Willie Haasbroek


AFRICA’S EXPLORATION LAB

• Base metals • Uranium

• Gold BLEG’s • Heavy Minerals

• Kimberlites • Rare Earths

• Phosphates • Field Laboratory

• Sampling

EXPERIENCED IN:

SPECIALISED IN:

• Sample Preparation • ICP: OES

• XRF (Major & Trace Elements) • AAS

• Fire Assay • Magnetic Separation

• HMS/ (Heavy Liquid Separations)

• SG – pycnometer

40 years experience across Africa.Soil, rock, water and drill samples from over 20 countries.

Scientific Services CC Geological Laboratory ISO 9001:2008

www.scientificservices.co.za

+27 21 531 7166

F rom the exploration phase of a mine right up to rehabilitation, an unerring laboratory is pivotal. Without reliable, efficient service from laboratories, mineral quantity and quality determination would

be a challenge. The ideal laboratory service provider focuses on providing accurate and timely sample testing of minerals.

With mining requirements far exceeding the typical fee-for-service testing, slowly but surely mines have been adopting outsourcing models because, at its core, laboratory outsourc-ing is aimed at productivity, speed, retaining proprietary knowledge and tapping into the broad technical and admin-istrative expertise of contract lab services providers. This solution is becoming the desired alternative for mines as it has proved itself to be more economically efficient in today’s recession-afflicted global economy, as opposed to in-house laboratories which tend to be slow and costly.

In swift-growing economies like South Africa, at times min-ing companies struggle to keep up with internal needs; there-in lies the need to outsource. Outsourcing laboratory services is driven by the need to save costs internally (for the mines) or to transition from fixed costs to variable costs. Therefore, with outsourced laboratory services comes the expectation that there will be a reduction in capital expenditure and con-sumable costs, as well as adaptable and cost-effective services.

Scientific Services, based in Cape Town, continuously up-dates its equipment and expertise to ensure accuracy at all times. It is through these commitments that Scientific Ser-vices has been able to ensure productivity is constantly max-imised and time never wasted. By using internationally recog-nised standards to monitor analysis and performance, as well as ISO 9001 certification, Scientific Services has been able to deliver relevant and accurate results without the cost and management needed for such a task. The key to outsourcing laboratory service is adaptability and efficiency.

Outsourcing science

saves costsAccurate laboratory testing is a vital component of the mining process. Outsourcing of these services is becoming a cost-eff ective solution. BY MPINANE SENKHANE

From the exploration phase of a mine right up to rehabilitation, an unerring laboratory is pivotal


MINING INDABA

75

While this looks good on paper, the reality ignored is the minefi eld that is human fallibility, which

leads to an acceleration of potential risk incidents. Th e combination of qualitative and quantitative risk management allows for a less static process and a more con-tinuous re-evaluation throughout.

Th e rise of technology and automation, combined with the human condition, has brought with it certain signifi cant chal-lenges, says Volker von Widdern, MD of Marsh’s Risk Consulting Division. A small error in judgement is now often replicat-ed quickly and spread across vast dis-tances. Th ink of the phenomenon of the viral photo, post or tweet and its possible consequences. Certain human behaviours pose risks as well – such as a tendency to fall into blind routine, to avoid unpleas-ant truths, to use irrational measure-ments when choosing a course of action.

It is the myriad of potential human or technological errors that challenge any business where the process of risk man-agement faces a possible process failure. Quantifi cation of risk is usually based on loss quantifi cation, and only occasional-ly progresses to more structured conse-quence analysis and exposure scenario assessments. Th us with the introduction of a quantitative element, like money, insurance or loss, the risk management

process gains an additional function of quantitative risk management.

Th e advantages of using this ap-proach are that it provides clarity in terms of accountability and mitigates the eff ect of human biases while also integrating with strategic risk expo-sure assessment and their related key performance measurements.

Th e potential pitfalls, though, are that the thinking becomes narrow, assumptions may be inadequate and results are badly in-terpreted; it becomes a matter of garbage in/garbage out. Quantifi cation does not cover all risks. It is not a substitute for alert and enquiring risk diagnostics, noting that risk quantifi cation models cannot provide for ‘unknown unknowns’.

From qualitative to quantitativeThe approach to risk management is on the cusp of a shift towards a more unified slant from the traditional process-driven and qualitative focus.

The rise of technology and automation, combined with the human condition, has brought with it certain signifi cant challenges


MINING INDABA

77

In response to the mining indus-try’s needs for quality non-slip fl oor gratings, stair treads, expanded metals and safety handrailings in a

range of materials, including galvanised steel, stainless steel and aluminium, Vi-tal Engineering stepped up to the plate and delivered.

Now the company has introduced moulded fi breglass gratings to the market and is fi nding the demand for this mate-rial growing, particularly within the min-ing and water treatment sectors.

“Th e response to our fi breglass range has been very positive, and we are see-ing many mining and mining contracting companies now specifying Vitaglass for their fl oor gratings,” notes Chris Spacey, export executive at Vital Engineering.

Th e fi breglass gratings are manufac-tured with continuous glass fi bre strands interwoven in both directions with ther-mosetting resins. As an alternative to steel and stainless steel, the benefi ts of fi breglass are many and varied, especially in a mining plant, or corrosive environ-ment context, according to Spacey.

“Advantages of Vitaglass gratings in-clude the fact that the weight is half that

Tougher than toughRough conditions, remote locations and a harsh climate epitomise the mining sector in Africa. The demand is for hard-wearing, versatile materials, designed for optimum safety.

of steel gratings, which makes for much easier handling and installation. Fibre-glass is also fi re-retardant, non-conduc-tive, non-slip, with a quartz grit top sur-face, and is virtually maintenance-free.

“It is also anti-corrosive, making fi bre-glass a highly viable alternative to steel in the acid environment which often charac-terises many corrosive areas in diverse in-dustries, including mining,” says Spacey.

Vital Engineering has been servicing the South African industry since 1939, with an established reputation for service and the quality of its products, which are produced under the brand names of Vita-grid and Maclock. Th e company supplies the petrochemical, power generation and structural engineering industries; as well as a number of Australian and Canadian mining companies operating beyond our borders. Th ese include projects and cli-ents in Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Burkino Faso, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Namibia and Botswana.

“We are constantly developing new products for challenging environments, identifying the most cost-eff ective and practical solutions for our clients in

developing industrialised countries, with safety as our number one consideration. We have supplied in excess of 10 000 tonnes of product over the last fi ve years alone to the African mining industry, in-cluding gold, coal, uranium, copper and cobalt,” says Spacey.

“Another major advantage Vital En-gineering brings to the market is our cost of installation philosophy, which is extremely economical and has little or no downtime on site. Th is is as a result of pre-trial layouts prior to shipping, no rework at high day-work costs, and fi rst-time fi tment, apart from other additional value-adds,” notes Spacey.

In addition, fi breglass – unlike steel – does not have any intrinsic after-market value and is therefore not subject to the risk of theft, according to Spacey.

“Fibreglass, because it requires little or no maintenance and is unlikely to be stolen, off ers industry a hard-working and lower-maintenance product, which reduces replacement and maintenance cycles considerably.

“We are confi dent that our fi breglass range will enjoy continued uptake be-cause it answers to all the demands and challenges of the exacting African mining environment,” he concludes.

ABOVE Fibreglass grating installed at an African mine

LEFT Steel handrails and fl oor grating installed at a mineral processing plant


MINING INDABA

Transformers are theoretically designed to last 300 years. How-ever, the reduction of a trans-former’s lifespan is as a result of

the deterioration of its insulation paper. Today, most transformers operate at an approximate 25% higher work load than is recommended. Th is leads to excess gas pro-duction and, as a result, faster deteriora-tion of the transformer’s insulation paper.

Oxidation, which occurs naturally with-in a transformer, decays oil. In this pro-cess, sludge is formed. Looking at the phenomenon a little more closely, the ageing transformer oil oxidises as the hy-drocarbons in the oil react with oxygen dissolved in the oil. Th ese decay products attack the solid insulation and the sludge aff ects the ability of the oil to act as a dielectric and transfer heat eff ectively. If the ageing is left unchecked, the oil’s ability to protect the cellulose insulation is also compromised, resulting in compo-nent failure. Sludge is one of the prime causes of transformer failure. Damage done to the solid insulation is perma-nent and shortens the life of the trans-former. By doing a Furanic test on the oil, WearCheck can estimate the remaining reliable life of the transformer. Increases in load and temperature will accelerate the degradation process of the oil.

Traditional oil purification process-es do not remove the by-products of the degradation process, such as acids,

aldehydes and peroxides, which bind to-gether to form sludge, from the ageing transformer oil. WearCheck’s oil regen-eration process restores the old trans-former oil by removing the sludge and by-products of the degradation process and other soluble oil decay products. When our oil regeneration process is complete, the regenerated transformer oil will have a lower acid content, im-proved tan delta and interfacial tension values. Our process of oil regeneration meets or exceeds the standards set out by SABS 555.

Advantages of oil regeneration:• restores the oil to ‘like new’ condition• extends the life of the transformer• cost for regenerated oil is much lower

than new oil• removal of suspended sludge, particles

and acids• environmentally friendly as the old oil

is reused• reducing the dependency on fossil fuels• oil exchange.Our oil exchange process can reduce your new transformer oil purchase. You can exchange your old oil for our regenerated transformer oil.

New oil for old oilWearCheck’s SANS 17025 laboratory in Johannesburg off ers a world-class trans-former oil testing facility.

Transformer tests:• the tests monitor various aspects of the

transformer• oil condition – moisture, acid content

and dielectric strength• internal working – dissolved gas

analysis (DGA)• paper condition – Furanic analysis• contaminants – PCB and corrosive

sulfur.

Moisture analysisIt is important to determine the mois-ture content in transformer oil:• to determine if there are any leaks in

the transformer• increase in moisture accelerates insu-

lating paper degradation• to determine if decrease in insulating

strength is due to high water content in the transformer oil

• increased moisture causes paper and oil degradation

• total acid number (TAN).TAN is an indication of the acidity of the oil.

High acidity will cause oil degradation, and sludge formation, which causes pa-per degradation, cooling problems and internal corrosion.

Dielectric strengthDielectric strength is the voltage, at which the electric breakdown of the oil occurs. By analysing the voltage, the

Make every drop count With mines looking to reduce costs, regenerating and reusing transformer oil is a smart idea. It also has another advantage. It is preventative and helps maintain a transformer’s performance at peak levels.


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MINING INDABA

amount of contaminants and the insu-lating quality can be predicted.

Dissolved gas analysis (DGA)Dissolved gases in transformer oils are inherent gases and gases that form due to the breakdown of the paper, oil un-der stress or degradation, or mechanical faults. With regular DGA testing, the fol-lowing problems can be detected months in advance:• overheating• loose connections• breakdown in insulation• arcing• partial discharge• corona• overloading• sparking• Furanics.Furanics are degradation by-prod-ucts of the insulation paper found in transformers. Analysing Furan-ics is important in predicting the degradation of the insulating paper.

The following will destroy insu-lation paper:

• moisture• oxygen• heat• oil oxidation.

Corrosive sulfur Corrosive sulfur forms acidic conditions in transformers. Th is is a vital test as DGA, MAD and Furanic tests may indicate

normal operation even when failure is im-minent. If corrosive sulfur oil is found, oil will need to be replaced.

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) analysisPCBs were released in the 1970s during the oil crisis in order to bulk up transform-er oil volume. Due to the high toxicity and environmental impact of PCBs, it has now

been legislated to know the PCB content of your transformer oil.

Tan deltaTh e tan delta value for new, clean and dry oil is very low. Tan delta is a useful test for evaluating the con-dition of transformer oil, because almost everything that negatively aff ects the insulating oil, e.g. mois-ture, oxidised oil, and the degrada-tion of cellulose paper, as well as ageing of the oil, will cause the tan delta to increase.

Used oil (left) and regenerated oil (right)


MINING INDABA

81

The C0520 is ideal for ‘cold’ de-bricking, which, in the metal-lurgical fi eld, equates to tem-peratures of between 0˚C to

300˚C, operating under the toughest of conditions.

“Th e machine’s compact dimensions al-low easy handling where on-site space is limited. Th e upper body, as well as the tel-escopic boom, both allow an endless rota-tion of 360 degrees, which means there is optimum reach and application fl exibility,” says Bethell.

Says Volker Bongardt, president: TML Services Germany: “Th e telescopic boom with a 2 000 mm stroke is completely closed off to protect the components in-side the boom (such as the hydraulic cyl-inders and hoses) against the radiation of heat and any falling objects.”

Th is ability and fexibility is particular-ly useful for work in the metallurgical

industry. With its capacity to handle add-on tools such as a hydraulic hammer, buck-et and rotary drum cutter, it off ers many additional advantages for customers in the mining and construction fi elds.

Th is machine has nine main component groups including the main hydraulic con-trol, electro or diesel engines, a radio re-mote control with batteries, two rotary drives with ball bearings, telescopic rotary boom, an air fi lter with electrical connec-tor, an intercooler hydraulic, fi nal drives and outriggers.

It handles ladle sizes from 10 tonnes up to more than 100 tonnes, furnaces and blast furnace runners. Its four outriggers ensure a high state of stability while working with the hydraulic hammer during upward oper-ation in all directions (360 degrees), with its telescopic boom fully extended.

When the boom is slewed over the rear engine compartment, the machine

is extremely compact so that space re-quired for transportation is reduced to a minimum.

Th e C0520’s remote control operating panel is designed for ease of use and TML SA off ers free staff training for all its clients. Th e tools and attachments on the machine comprise ergonomic lightweight radio re-mote controls complete with carrier belt and logically designed controls. Th e machine is optimised for a hydraulic hammer with an operational weight of about 500 kg.

Says Bethell: “With our continued com-mitment to off ering our customers reliable, state-of-the-art quality products, we aim to provide real working solutions within cur-rent challenging conditions. We are confi -dent that by adapting our products and ser-vices to provide fl exibility in an ever-chang-ing market, we can further support TML SA’s dedication to boosting productivity by minimising production downtimes.”

Tough, tougher, toughest“The newly launched C0520 debricking machine, designed mainly for cleaning in metallurgical and cement plants, is so diversely capable that it can also be utilised for other demolition challenges, typically in demolishing objects and structures on construction sites, ” says Leonette Bethell, director at TML.

WHEN CONDITIONS ARE REALLYCHALLENGING

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The Mining, Oil & Gas and Utility are of the most demanding sectors in industry. It requires safe and reliable power for a diverse range of

equipment, deep underground and for essential and critical facilities on the surface. However, the remote location of many of these sectors puts

them way beyond the reach of national power grids and a reliable supply. Energyst puts real energy into alleviating power challenges by providing

high quality rental solutions with proven dependability.

When it comes to power, a reliable partner is vital to the success of your operation. Because without power to these sectors means costly delays

to the industry. Energyst has an outstanding track record with a 24/7 call-out facility and 24/7 remote and early warning systems. So even if your

Operations is located in one of the most remote parts of Africa, you can trust Energyst to bring 100% reliable power within your reach. How can we

bring more energy into your world?

TO DISCOVER HOW ENERGYST PUTS REAL ENERGY INTO MINING VISIT ENERGYST.COM OR CALL +27 11 898 0000.

Energyst has operations in Europe, South

America, Africa and the Mediterranean, offering

mining solutions that include self-contained

modules, multi-megawatt capabilities,

transformers, switchgear, cables and fuel tanks

for site development, continuous power supply

or standby applications. In-house design and

engineering expertise ensures a

customised solution.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

CALL US +27 11 898 0000EMAIL US [email protected]

WHEN CONDITIONS ARE REALLYCHALLENGING

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Energyst Cat Rental Power has successfully

supplied and commissioned a 12 MW

power plant at the Kipoi copper mine in the

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Kipoi project is located 75 km north-

west of Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga

Province, in the central part of the Katanga

Copper Belt.

The power plant includes 11 XQ2000 Cat

generators, three 8 000 kVA transformers

and two 400 000 litre fuel bladders. Energyst

will also provide all operational staff for the

duration of the contract.

Brendan Moseley, Stage 2 general manager

of Société d’Exploitation de Kipoi, the operator

of the mine, was impressed with the service

provided by Energyst. “The adjudication

process was rigorous and we selected a

solution that was best for the mine and

provided the high level of aftermarket support

we require,” he said. “Despite the logistical

challenges and inclement weather, Energyst

has successfully delivered a world class power

plant that has been designed around our

current and future needs.’’

Vinesh Surajlall, Energyst director for sub-

Saharan Africa, adds that the solution came

together through strong engagement with the

client and that the normal start-up glitches

were quickly and effi ciently addressed.

Energyst Cat Rental Power is one of the world’s

leading providers of power and temperature

control rental solutions. The company was formed

as a joint venture between Caterpillar, the world’s

leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas

engines, industrial gas turbines and earthmoving

equipment, and a number of its dealers.

ENERGYST PROVIDES POWER RENTAL SOLUTIONTO KIPOI MINE IN DRC

HOW CAN WE BRING MORE ENERGY TO YOUR WORLD?TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ENERGYST’S DESIGN AND ENGINEERING EXPERTISE IN MINING APPLICATIONS, OR FOR ADVICE ON POWER, HEATING OR COOLING,CALL +27 11 898 0000, EMAIL [email protected] OR GO TO WWW.ENERGYST.COM.WE WILL PUT ALL OUR ENERGY INTO HELPING YOU FIND THE RIGHT SOLUTION.


MINING INDABA

South Africans, unfortunately, are a typically reactionary bunch. Looking around at our national infrastructure e.g. roads, bridg-

es, pumps, electrical substations and the like, a ‘don’t fi x what ain’t broke’ attitude prevails, much to everyone’s irritation. Despite our engineers speaking out and writing volumes about the escalation of costs in not maintaining infrastructure, the problem prevails. What exacerbates the problem is that 97% of South Africans, who have an external locus of control, fol-low. Th ey don’t lead. Th ey don’t use their initiative, for fear of reproach, and they do not understand the word proactive.

In mining, with safety high on the agen-da, preventative, or even better, predictive maintenance has got to be at the top of the agenda, given the law of cause and ef-fect. A failure to properly maintain plant and equipment is a negative refl ection on management, and a prime example of poor leadership, or greed.

Predictive maintenance (PdM) tech-niques are designed to help determine the condition of in-service equipment in order to predict when maintenance should be performed. Th is approach promises cost

savings over routine or time-based preventive maintenance, because tasks are performed only when warranted.

Th e main promise of PdM is to allow convenient scheduling of corrective maintenance, and to prevent unexpected equipment failures. Th e key is the right in-formation in the right time. By knowing which equipment needs maintenance, maintenance work can be better planned (spare parts, people, etc.) and what would have been unplanned stops are trans-formed to shorter and fewer planned stops, thus increasing plant availability. Other potential advantages include in-creased equipment lifetime, increased plant safety, fewer accidents with negative impact on environment, and optimised spare parts handling.

To evaluate equipment condition, PdM utilises non-destructive testing technol-ogies such as infrared, acoustic (partial discharge and airborne ultrasonic), corona detection, vibration analysis, sound level measurements, oil analysis, and other spe-cifi c online tests. New methods in predic-tive maintenance include utilising meas-

urements on the actual equipment in combina-tion with measurements of process performance, which is measured by other devices, to trigger maintenance conditions.

One area that is over-looked is how to, in an effi cient way, transfer the PdM data to a com-puterised maintenance management system (CMMS) system so that the equipment condi-tion data is sent to the right equipment object in the CMMS system in

order to trigger maintenance planning, execution and reporting. Unless this is achieved, the PdM solution is of limited value, at least if the PdM solution is imple-mented on a medium- to large-size plant with tens of thousands pieces of equip-ment. In 2010, the mining company Bo-liden, as a fi rst, implemented a combined distributed control system and PdM solu-tion integrated with the plant CMMS sys-tem on an object to object level, transfer-ring equipment data using protocols like Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol (HART), IEC61850 and OLE for process control.

Lastly, to complete the circle, a quali-ty-oriented staff of skilled engineers and artisans to ensure cost-eff ective precision engineering for the manufacture or refur-bishment of all major manufacturer prod-ucts is critical, as is the ability to design and manufacture special-purpose machin-ery and components to the mine’s speci-fi cation, guaranteed equal to the highest international standards, is also critical.

Weco is a medium-sized company oper-ating in the engineering sector. Th e group specialises in the manufacture of compo-nent parts, to OEM specifi cation, primari-ly focusing on rock drilling equipment.

With over 35 years’ service and assis-tance to major mining houses through-out the world, and with the manufacture and repair of various types of rock drilling equipment and supply of spare parts for all types of mining machinery, the com-pany provides a range of critical, cost-saving services.

Predictive maintenanceCutting costs makes good fi nancial sense. But, like everything, there are extremes beyond which one should not venture. To do so is foolhardy. BY TONY STONE

uetowom

loethpm(thtrin

Rock drill components

SHAPING UNIQUESOLUTIONSTHAT SHINEEmerald Risk Transfer is currently the largest Corporate Property and affiliated Engineering Underwriter in South Africa, and underwrites business throughout the African Continent.

For more information on how Emerald can assist your Corporate clients, visit our website or call us.

T +27 11 658 8200W www.emeraldsa.co.za E [email protected]

The solution orientated approach of the Emerald team to create sustainable, quality products is part of their culture. This flexible approach, coupled with the support of their excellent Reinsurer panel, allows Emerald to be truly innovative.

The aim of the company is not to be the cheapest by cutting corners, but rather to be the best by offering expertise and skill.

Emerald Risk Transfer is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Santam group. Santam Limited is a level 3 BBBEE company, and has a Standard & Poor’s international rating of BBB+ and a national rating of AA+, with a stable outlook.

Emerald Risk Transfer (Pty) Ltd (Reg. No. 1998/025512/07) is an authorised financial services provider (FSP No. 13893)

Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/emeraldrisktransfer

Or follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/emeraldrisk

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

5th Annual Enviro Mining 37AEL Mining Services 34Alexander Proudfoot 52Antaira Technologies 23Ardbel IFCBecker Mining 42BME OFCBooyco Electronics 43Boart Longyear 48DRA Mineral Projects SA 12Emerald Risk Transfer 86Energyst 82Fractum 44Hansen Industrial Gearboxes 50iNHEMACO 32

Johnson Crane Hire 51Komatsu South Africa 2Marsh South Africa 74M&J Engineering 70Marthinusen & Coutts 47Micromine 58Model Maker Systems 59NuWater 62Osborn Engineered Products South Africa 54Pumptron 57Refl ex 8Renault Trucks 40SKF South Africa 71Scientifi c Services 73

Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services 16Tega Industries 64Tenova Mining & Minerals 66ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions IBCTML Technik South Africa 80Trysome Auto Electrical 38Vermeer Equipment Suppliers 60Vital Engineering 76WearCheck 79Weco 846th Annual Women in Mining 69WorleyParsons 31WSP Africa OBC

The AfroxPac 35i is designed to supply life-saving oxygen to a miner in the event of an irrespir-able or toxic atmosphere devel-

oping underground. It is unique in that it is one of the few mining devices expected to be permanently attached to the body and carried by the miners throughout the duration of their shift.

Designed for use in harsh hard-rock mines, the AfroxPac 35i and its predeces-sor, the AfroxPac 35, have shown remarka-ble durability. Th is self-rescuer can be car-ried for 15 000 to 20 000 hours during its lifespan, with units used cumulatively in over a million worker hours daily.

According to Christo Wiid, head of Hard-goods Operations, Afrox has tripled its production throughput to reach this mile-stone, which is ultimately the result of an increase in demand. “Due to concerns for the safety and welfare of workers, and legislative requirements, mines – confi dent in the AfroxPac 35i – regularly place orders. Over the last two years we


MINING INDABA

Life-saving deviceMany an underground miner entrusts his or her safety and well-being to a self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR) device on a daily basis. Afrox has produced its 100 000th unit in just two years.

tripled our throughput throughout the supply chain to ensure that we continue to meet demand.”

Wiid explains that Afrox designs and assembles all components of the SANS 1737:2008 compliant AfroxPac 35i at its Benoni facility, with component manu-facturing subcontracted to various small manufacturing businesses. “Some of the parts are so unique that entire business-es have had to be set up to produce them. A big thank you must go out to our staff , suppliers and customers – without these three essential elements coming together in synergy, this outstanding feat would never have been possible,” he says.

Commenting on their milestone, Afrox managing director Brett Kimber says: “Be-ing underground in confi ned space with ex-cessive heat is very uncomfortable indeed. Th e production of 100 000 AfroxPac 35i

self-rescuers is evidence that the device provides greater

comfort and peace-of-mind with regards to the safety of miners. ”

Afrox’s self-rescuer has captured two-thirds

of the market in South Africa, and is a lead-er across Southern Africa. Wiid states that demand for the AfroxPac 35i continues to increase. “Local demand remains strong and we have new shipments ready for Zambia and Zimbabwe. Interest is being generated further afi eld, as far as Turkey, while a tunnelling project in Dubai has also expressed a keen interest.”

In addition, the Afrox Self-Rescue Divi-sion provides full training on the AfroxPac 35i. Although basic use and care of the AfroxPac 35i is simple, Wiid stresses that it is essential for mine trainers to be fully trained themselves in the application of the product, to ensure that it maintains its life-saving features.

“We provide on-site instruction to the trainers to ensure that they incorporate the skills into the mine’s training pro-gramme,” he concludes.

As one of Africa’s largest engineering consultancies, WSP plays an important part in our continent’s sustainable development. We aim to future proof our projects while preserving our nation’s heritage. Everything we do is approached with passion and caring. This is manifest in our handling of Pretoria’s prize Jacaranda trees while working on the city’s new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The BRT system in Pretoria is just one example, where we are bridging the gap for commuters. Rapid Transit means less congestion, less pollution, and shorter commutes. It was decided to preserve and relocate these trees, rather than destroy them.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY WSP

31,500 500 39EMPLOYEES OFFICES COUNTRIES

Learn more about this and other projects onwww.wspgroup.co.za

JACARANDA CITY’S BRT

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Inside Mining January 2015

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