inside mining june 2012

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Former Impala Platinum

CEO David Brown on

leaving a lasting legacy

HOT SEAT

T H E K N O W L E D G E Y O U N E E D F R O M T H E I N D U S T R Y E X P E R T S

ISSN 1999-8872 • R35.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 5 • No. 6• June 2012 ISSN 199ISSN 199

JUNIOR & MID-TIER MINING

Climbing up the value chain

ENGINEERINGUpping the stakes in a

competitive market

SINKING & TUNNELLINGDelivering on

diffi cult declines

MC PROCESSTechnological innovators

ON THE COVERMEDIA


iningwww.miningne.ws

Former Impala Platinum

CEO David Brown on

leaving a lasting legacy

HOT SEAT


ISSN 1999-8872 • R35.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 5 • No. 6• June 2012 ISSN 199ISSN 199

JUNIOR & MID-TIER MINING

Climbing up the value chain

ENGINEERINGUpping the stakes in a

competitive market

SINKING & TUNNELLINGDelivering on

diffi cult declines

MC PROCESSTechnological innovators


iningN O W L E D G E Y O U N E E D F R O

June 2012June 2012CONTENTSMC Process shows its flare for technological innovation in minerals processing P6

14

EDITOR’S COMMENT

33 A salute to David Brown – and all CEOs

MINING NEWS

44 The top mining stories headlining this month

HOT SEAT

1010 Impala Platinum CEO leaves a lasting legacy

JUNIORS & MID-TIERS

1414 Wesizwe’s Bakubang platinum mine

rises rapidly

1818 Universal Coal’s commitment to South African coal prospects

2323 The East Rand Basin’s untapped potential

ENGINEERING

2626 Global engineers dive into Africa

2828 New surface air cooling at South Deep’s South Shaft

3030 GMEP’s savvy structural steel specialists

3232 MDM’s perfect profi le mix

SINKING & TUNNELLING

3434 Developing a diffi cult decline for Ghaghoo

36 36 Thubelisha takes to the stage

COMMINUTION

3838 Introducing the Nordberg NW portable

plant series

3939 Gounkoto’s crushing success

4040 Reliable screening needs reliable after-sales service

4242 Bigger and better high-pressure grinding rolls

4545 Crushing in West Africa

4646 Optimising the comminution circuit

CETERUM CENSEO4747 It ain’t heavy

18

28

40

1Ins ide Mining 06 /2012


Editor’s comment

Since ‘joining’ the mining industry in 2005, I have come to know a great many min-ing CEOs – some personally and some through the eyes of colleagues and investors.

I have watched them endure great struggle, overcome challenges and succeed against insur-mountable difficulties.

Thinking back over the years on whom I have had the privilege of meeting, it seems to me that our CEOs all have two things in common: their undeniable passion for the job and the perma-nent mark they leave on their company during their tenure.

And when they leave, I can acknowledge how proud I am to have seen, been a part of, and writ-ten about their lasting contributions – both posi-tive and negative. The likes of Bernard Swanepo-el, Ian Cockerill and even Ralph Havenstein come to mind.

So it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Impala Platinum (Implats) CEO, David Brown, who has led the company through ravaging storms and celebratory victories over the past six years.

I have walked along beside him since 2006, seen the birth of entire new shafts and celebrated the company’s Royal Bafokeng Nation BEE deal – one of the mining industry’s finest achievements over the past decade.

I have shed tears for the lives lost in mining ac-cidents, notably those in 2009, and watched with horror as many thousands of workers took to the streets in illegal strikes.

Like any long-standing mining CEO, Brown has been through it all.

But it wasn’t until just a few weeks ago that I had the chance to chat to him personally, where he provided me with insight and perhaps some ‘behind the scenes’ detail about his time at Implats.

As journalists, we often don’t get the opportu-nity to walk in someone’s shoes and understand, listen and question the reasons and motivations

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A salute to David Brown, and all mining CEOs

behind certain actions. My chat with Brown was fascinating and eye-opening to say the least. And while Brown highlighted the successes he accom-plished, he also told me of his regrets and the plans he set in place but will never have the op-portunity to fulfil, as well as the false accusations and criticisms thrown at him in the face of trou-ble. Your skin must be as tough as nails in this industry – Brown, yours clearly is! Read about Brown’s time at Implats in this month’s Hot Seat story on page 10 – it will be worth your while, I promise.

My own personal message to Brown: “I wish you every happiness in your future endeavours and hope that you remain within the mining industry.”

And a better replacement Implats could not have been found. Like Brown, I have followed Terence Goodlace over the years with an equal level of respect from his time at Gold Fields – and

most recently the successful busi-ness turnaround he achieved at Metorex.I look forward to watching

Goodlace work with Im-plats as it enters the

next phase of its life. Goodlace will bring a

great depth of mining knowledge, insight and enthusiasm to one of

South Africa’s greatest mining companies.

Laura Cornish

THE LEADERS

I have great respect for mining CEOs, whether they are running large-scale global commodity enterprises or starting a new single-asset company from scratch.

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

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compiled by Ameerah Griffin

4

Mining newswww.miningne.ws

Ins ide Mining 06 /2012

Top mining stories headlining this month

| SOUTH AFRICA |

SepFluor unveils R2.1 billion fluorspar mining/beneficiation plansSource: www.miningne.ws

SepFluor, a new name in fluorspar mining and beneficiation in South Africa, has unveiled plans for the development of its first fluorspar mine, located 80 km north of Pretoria, as well as a fluorochemical beneficiation hub near Bronkhorstspruit.

The two projects represent total capital investment of some R2.1 billion, which is to be raised through a mixture of debt and equity in local and international markets, and will create some 400 new jobs directly and about 2 000 indirectly, says SepFluor CEO, Alan Smith.

Smith says that key motivators for the two projects are fluorspar’s ‘strategic mineral’ status in key global markets, growing demand throughout Southern Africa (particularly for fluorochemical products) and the South African government’s support for development of a fluorochemical initiative in the country.

Construction of the new Nokeng mine and associated concentrator, to be developed at an estimated cost of R900 million, is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of this year, with first production scheduled for the second quarter of 2014. Nokeng’s current life of mine,

based on exploitation of two of its three fluorspar deposits, is 19 years.

| DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO |

Glencore takes control of Mutanda in US$480 million dealSource: www.foxbusiness.com

Gelncore has taken major-ity control of its fast-growing Mutanda copper operation in the Congo, in a deal worth US$480 million (about R4 bil-lion), marking the first step in a planned merger of the mine with the company’s nearby Kansuki concession.

Mutanda, located in Central Africa’s copper belt, is one of Glencore’s main growth as-sets and a key operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside its Ka-tanga asset, largely thanks to its high ore grades and low expansion costs.

The deal with two related, pri-vately controlled groups – High Grade Minerals and Groupe Bazano – whose ownership has not been disclosed by Glen-core, is also likely to revive de-bate over the opacity of deals in one of Africa’s most promis-ing, but also most challenging mining destinations.

| ASIA |

New copper discovery unearthed at Comval in the PhillipinesSource: www.proactiveinvestors.com

Mining Group’s Comval project is showing early signs of its potential to be a major copper-gold porphyry system with evidence of a widespread and intensive zoned alternation system.

The first intercept at the Bayag Bayag target, and in particular the extensive skarn alteration that extends for more than 700 m along strike, provides further indications that the prospects have the potential to host a large copper ore body.

Assays received show a broad intersection of 44 m at 0.64% copper from 39 m, including 28 m at 0.88% copper.

The project is located in the Compostela Valley, as established copper-gold producing region in

the Mindanao province in the Philippines.

| AUSTRALIA |

Centrex boosts iron ore reserves in new Australian frontierSource: http://af.reuters.com

Iron ore company Centrex Metals has more than tripled the estimated reserves at its prospect in southern Australia, a growing zone for new iron ore sources that is attracting increasing interest from Asian steel mills.

Centrex, which is partnering with two Chinese steel firms, said the amount of ore believed buried at its Bungalow Hill prospect on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia state had ballooned to 338 Mt after two years of exploration work.

Inner Mongolia’s Baotou Iron a nd Steel Group owns 30% of the project.

Centrex said it would complete as study into building a mine this year, sending its shares up 4%.

NORTH AMERICA Haiti drafting new mining laws

Source: www.miningne.ws

New prime minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, says the government is drafting legislation for the newly emerging mining industry to help the impoverished Caribbean nation reap fi nancial benefi ts.

Lamothe, who saw his cabinet and policy plan recently approved, said that the legislation will be sent to parliament soon. The legislation will lay out rules apportioning royalties for the government and setting protections for the people and environment that could be aff ected by mines.

mining news

SOUTH AFRICA Exxaro plans new coal mine for exports

Source: www.reuters.com

Exxaro plans to develop a new coal mine – Thabametsi – in the Waterberg coal fi eld that will supply between 13 and 15 Mtpa of coal for export.

“We are looking at another greenfi elds project geared at the export market,” says Mxolisi Mgojo, the head of Exxaro’s coal unit. The project will happen be-tween 2018 and 2025, he added.

Exxaro is currently fi nish-ing the construction of the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project, a mine that will feed coal to Eskom’s new Medupi power station.

Mgojo said the company will be ready to start shipping coal to Eskom for testing by the end of this month.

| SOUTH AMERICA |

Continental Coal enters into JV to operate Columbian coking coal projectSource: www.miningne.ws

Continental Coal has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire a 50% joint venture interest in an operating hard coking coal mine located in Colombia.

The acquisition of this well-established and high-quality hard coking coal mining operation will complement

the company’s existing coal mining, development and exploration project portfolio in South Africa.

The acquisition will further diversify its production base

geographically into another of the world’s leading coal producing and export nations, and expand its product base into the hard coking coal market.


Cover story

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

The MC Process brandDespite its massive influx of project work in 2012, minerals processing company

MC Process remains at the forefront of new technological equipment innovations

aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiencies, writes Laura Cornish.

Improving on thickener design

MC Process recently introduced its new arched thickener bridge to the market. The copyrighted design offers clients a lighter, structurally sound thickener bridge structure that is easier to transport and erect.

ABOVE MC Process teeter bed separator

M ining projects may be on the increase, but the market re-mains wary and companies have become far less prone

to risk,” MC Process CEO, Mark Craddock, points out.

Despite this, the company has been inun-dated with work over the past year, and has added numerous new installations to its al-ready impressive portfolio. “This is largely thanks to our loyal customers, which in-clude Ingwenya Mineral Processing.”

Many mining installations“We recently completed all of the civil work for coal resource and exploration company Ikwezi Mining’s new coal wash-ing plant, Doornkop, in New-castle and further supplied a 15 m diameter thickener and a fully automatic fl occulant plant to the project as well,” says Craddock.

Th e company is also erecting a 10 m diameter thickener for Sekoko Resources’ Hendrina-based coal op-eration, which is due to be commis-sioned shortly.

“In May, we received the order to supply and install two fl occulant plants and a 15 m diameter thickener for Umthombo Resources’ new Phalanndwa colliery plant situated new Delmas,” Craddock continues.

Delivery is due at the end of July and com-missioning scheduled for mid-August. Con-struction of the plant is already under way, under the management of Ingwenya; it is

designed to process 300 tph and is due to be complete in January 2013.

Recently supplied and completed equip-ment installations for 2012 include an 16 m diameter thickener, fl occulant plant and lime slaking plant for the Zambia-based 100 000 tpm Maamba colliery.

“We also supplied a 15 m diameter thick-ener and flocculant plant to Namakwa Sands (soon to be acquired by Trono), and not to be excluded from our much-expand-ed portfolio list is the 18 m diameter thick-ener and two 3.65 m diameter teeter bed separators (TBS) that we supplied to the Marrapino tantalum project.”

Also part of the MC Process product portfolio are at-trition scrub-

bers, which the company supplied

to Volclay Chrome for its plant expan-sion, together with two TBS.

MC Process is installing a turn-

key 15 m diam-eter thickener and

flocculant plant for Silica Sands, as well as a 8 m diameter thickener for a client in Newcastle.

Delving deep into waterNotwithstanding the recent success of MC Process's more conventional equipment range, Craddock’s growth

aspiration lies more specifically in the water field. Having re-cently supplied and installed two dissolved air flotation (DAF) units for a wastewa-ter treatment system in Vanderbijlpark to treat an effluent water stream; this growth plan is already well under way.

Th e combined DAF units are capable of t r e a t i n g


Cover story


Cover story

3.8 Mℓ/d of water. “We have also secured the contract to supply an entire sewerage treatment plant, together with a reverse osmosis system and acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment packaged plant for a new coal operation near Newcastle. Equipment procurement and installation will com-

mence as soon as the

company receives its water licence,” Crad-dock reveals.

Research and development (R&D) is a key constituent of MC Process’s business – the company’s property includes extensive laboratory pilot-scale testing equipment and facilities.

“Through our in-house R&D facility, we have further enhanced our packaged AMD treatment system, which consists of neu-tralisation, electro-coagulation, minimal flocculant addition and efficient heavy metals removal with the inclusion of our DAF unit. This is a revolu-tionary step forward in AMD treatment. We can now treat

polluted water with minimal addition of chemicals, and we are looking to take this process one step further by investigating how best to extract optimal financial benefit from the process.”

Craddock is referring to the ex-traction of heavy metals from the

water and the various ways to use them in downstream processes.

The company is already quoting for a 10 Mℓ/d water treatment plant, which Craddock believes will be the “lowest cost, lowest opex plant on the market, thanks to the innovative techniques MC Process technologies can apply to the process”.

Copper/cobalt innovations“We are working on two projects with

these two commodities, the fi rst being for engineering company

Scorpion Minerals Process-ing,” Craddock unveils.

MC Process has under-taken all of the copper

e x t r a c t i o n test work for S c o r p i o n ’s

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client, Mwana Africa, on its Kibolwe pro-ject in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Craddock explains that because of the massive power shortages in the country, the

test work is examining alterna-tive, cost-eff ective methods for extracting copper without the

need for power. Th e most obvious solution at this

point is to precipitate the copper using iron, which Craddock notes requires no power at all.

Another exciting venture is MC Process’s partnership with AIM-listed Alexander Mining, where the compa-

nies have jointly completed the construc-tion of the AmmLeach copper/cobalt dem-onstration pilot plant in Johannesburg, at MC Process’s premises.

Th e AmmLeach process is simple and re-quires fewer unit processes to produce

cobalt and copper metal c a t h o d e s , compared to conventional process pro-cedures used

in the DRC that produce copper and co-

balt only as intermediate products.According to Alexander Mining, the result

is signifi cantly reduced capital and operat-ing costs, compared to the conventional acid/sulphur dioxide process. Given the inherent high costs associated with oper-ating within the DRC using conventional technology, AmmLeach has the potential to enable the processing of a signifi cantly greater number of deposits that have, to date, been considered marginal or uneco-nomic to develop.

Th e AmmLeach process may further eco-nomically treat high carbonate and acid-consuming ore bodies that are prevalent in the DRC, but which may not be economical-ly treated using acid; AmmLeach is also suit-ed to heap leaching ‘lower’ grade ore bodies.

Coal flotation test work for the Waterberg

Another mining fi eld looking for process-ing innovation is the coal sector, spe-cifi cally those players in the Waterberg coal fi elds. Again, MC Process is conduct-ing ongoing in-house fl otation test work

and optimisation processes for -3 mm coal fi nes for a number of clients in the area.

tralisation, electro coagulation, minimal flocculant addition and efficient heavy metals removal with the inclusionof our DAF unit. This is a revolu-tionary step forward in AMDDtreatment. We can now treat

We are working on two projects withthese two commodities, the fi rst being

for engineering company Scorpion Minerals Process-ing,” Craddock unveils.

MC Process has under-taken all of the copper

e x t r a c t i o ntest work for S c o r p i o n ’s

nomic to deveTh e AmmLe

nomically treconsuming orthe DRC, butly treated usined to heap lea

Coal flotationthe Waterber

Another miing innovatcifi cally thocoal fi elds. Aing ongoing

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to the ex-he

onstration pilot plant in JoMC Process’s premises.

Th e AmmLeach process isquires fewer unit proce

inproduce c

nimal and

neTh

p

pmence as soon as the

gtraction of heavy metalls from th

MC Process lime slake plant

Original MC Process fl occulant plant

RIGHT New fl occulant plant

A laboratory-scale SX pilot test unit

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Hot Seat

L ike most high-powered CEOs, Brown’s six-year tenure saw him endure numerous challenges, overcome them and celebrate

multiple successes. Brown joined Impala Platinum (Implats)

from Exxon Mobil in 1999 and held the position of CFO until his appointment as CEO in 2006. He is a qualified chartered ac-countant by profession.

Among his many challenges, Brown has braved large-scale employee strikes, in-cluding a violent medical aid-related strike shortly after his CEO appointment.

A LASTING LEGACY

Remembering David BrownIt is with sadness and admiration that the mining sector bids

farewell to Impala Platinum CEO David Brown.

Laura Cornish talks to Brown about some of the highs, lows,

successes and challenges that came with running one of the

world’s largest platinum companies.

And no one will forget this year’s illegal strike, which may be recorded as one of the worst labour strikes in mining histo-ry. Brown was forced to fire 17 000 of his Rustenburg workforce, although most have subsequently rejoined the company.

“I don’t want my legacy to be remembered for only having overcome some of the more difficult periods of Implats’ history, my positive contributions to the company have been so much more significant than that,” Brown states. “As CEO, you have no option but to cope with what the world, the sen-sationalist media and your own employees

throw at you. That is, unfortunately, part of the job, but not what we should only be remembered for.”

THE HIGHSChanging the business modelBrown’s influence on the Implats business model extends back much further than 2006, having played a significant role in helping change the strategic business di-rection of the company.

“When I joined the company, Implats was lease-bound, but market dynamics were changing and platinum prices were

Hot Seat


increasing. We needed to change direc-tion, increase our PGM resources and gain our ‘fair share’ of the world’s global market supply by increasing our production rates,” Brown recalls.

In addition to organically expanding its resource base, the second arm of its growth strategy was to gain new resources. Implats achieved this by entering into joint venture agreements with Aquarius Platinum and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) – Avmin at the time – and also expanding its third-party treatment agreements.

In 2000, the company acquired 25% of Aquarius Platinum South Africa, which was developing the Kroondal project, in exchange for Implats’ holdings in Ever-est North, Everest South and Chieftan’s Plains. With demand for PGMs growing, Implats turned its attention to the poten-tial in Zimbabwe and acquired 50% in ZCE Platinum in 2002. This gave it access to the Mimosa platinum mine in Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke, which is 50% owned by Aquar-ius Platinum.

“Even though CEO Stuart Murray’s re-lationship with Implats changed when he aligned himself with Anglo Platinum, our two companies had many successful years together,” says Brown. In 2011, Aquarius successfully bought back the stake in the company held by Impala Platinum, resulting in a handsome profi t for Implats.

2001 also saw the ARM/Implats JV se-cured the mining rights for Two Rivers plati-num mine. “Buying the additional resources we needed, including stakes in Zimplats, Marula and of course Mimosa, provided Implats with the opportunity to expand its production profi le, ensuring some of the production successes the company is still achieving today,” Brown notes.

Magical 2007 – Brown’s first full year at the helmA landmark BEE transaction was born in 2007 between the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) and Implats, and saw the RBN be-came the company’s single largest share-holder. “This is truly one of my most sig-nificant contributions to the group consid-ering our relationship with RBN was in an extremely fragile state when I joined the company,” says Brown.

A key feature of this transaction was a solution Brown, Steve Phiri, Niall Carroll and Cathy Markus eventually devised. The solution saw RBN exchange royalty rights for shares in Implats as well as the creation of the Impala Bafokeng Trust (IBT), which has a primary purpose of augmenting the

corporate social investment commitments of the RBN and Implats with a further total contribution of R340 million (R170 million each over a 10-year period between 2007 and 2016). The primary beneficiaries of the IBT are the people living in close proximity to Implats’ Rustenburg operations and the area owned and inhabited by the RBN.

While the trust has an over-arching em-phasis on the empowerment of women, it focuses more specifically on the areas of education, health, enterprise development, capacity building and sport and recreation.

“I am extremely proud of our strong rela-tionship with RBN today and what this has done for its communities, which we have nurtured since 2007.”

That year also saw the announcement of record earnings for the group, having for the first time exceeded the 2 Moz produc-tion milestone. “Our growth strategy was paying off.”

Surviving the crashWhile 2008 and 2009 brought with it the severe financial economic crisis, Brown

2007 saw the announcement of record earnings for the group, having for the first time exceeded the 2 Moz production milestone


Hot Seat

believes Implats not only survived the storm, but survived it better than most.

“Being a chartered accountant by profes-sion enabled me to effectively implement cash cutting measures, reallocate capex where necessary, cut back costs and save cash flow. We continued to pay dividends throughout the period and, as a strong management body with a strong skills set, we really managed the crisis to the best of our abilities,” Brown describes.

By the end of 2009, the world had changed, he continues, and the glamour of merger and acquisitions had gone. The ne-cessity to focus on operational business as-pects and lift staff morale became critical.

“It was a period of dealing with senior personnel and staff underperformance, and I held back on making certain necessary decisions, while still trying to please mul-tiple board members. Sometimes diffi cult

decisions and actions are critical, I have re-ally learnt a lot from that period of time.”

A large-scale housing schemeImplats has spent the last few years invest-ing in a home ownership programme aimed at assisting employees acquire their own property. To date, the company has provided 1 500 homes.

“The aim of such a programme is not about providing workers with an RDP house, but encouraging them to take pride in owning a home, thereby enabling them to live with their families.”

Brown believes this will have a massive knock-on effect on some of the other ma-jor issues that mining houses deal with in relation to their employees. “Nutritional problems and even HIV/Aids numbers will reduce if our workers are able to go home to their families at night.”

This initiative falls in line with human settlement minister Tokyo Sexwale’s cam-paign to lobby companies and stakehold-ers to uplift the local communities in

South Africa.“This is one of the best public/

private enterprises established in South Africa, and I hope Im-plats will continue this housing scheme roll-out, which is in-tended to reach between 5 000 and 10 000 houses.”

ZimbabweDespite Zimbabwe’s arduous indigenisation regulations, Brown continues to search for a successive outcome to building an amicable relationship with the country and its local op-erations. “Investing so heavily in Zimbabwe remains to this day, in my opinion, a very suc-cessful part of the Implats business, as the re-turns for shareholders have been signifi cant.”

THE LOWS – Unfinished businessmergers and acquisitionsBrown has dealt with criticism for one of the acquisitions he implemented during his CEO period. “I received a lot of disapproval for overpaying for Afplats in 2007,” Brown admits. “But the mining business is a long-term one, and CEOs need to make decisions that will impact positively on the business in the future. Th e Afplats deal is one of them. It is a good UG2 resource, with more than 60 Moz of resource in the ground. It will add signifi cant ounces to Implats’ production profi le down the line at the low end of the cost curve. Regarding our Northam acquisi-tion to bid in 2008 following the fi nancial cri-sis, the company is in a diff erent place today and the Zondereinde mine no longer fi ts with Implats’ production profi le,” says Brown.

“Th e one piece of unfi nished business I will always think of is not succeeding in acquiring Royal Bafokeng Platinum,” says Brown. Th e buy-out was rampant in the press in 2010,

BELOW Implats owns and operates numerous shafts in Rustenburg and its

mining presence is extensive

Hot Seat

but we never succeeded. Despite this, Brown believes such a deal still holds massive oppor-tunity for the company. “I have set the right environment for this deal to still take place in the future.”

Implats’ relationship with ARM has also proven to be extremely successful over

the years and is a company Brown wishes he had established further working agree-ments with. “It would be benefi cial to see both companies working together more.”

SafetyIn 2009, Implats experienced one of the worst fatalities in its history. “The day will remain etched in my memory forever,” Brown confesses. Nine workers died during a rock fall at 14 Shaft, resulting in shock and great upset. “Our management team

reacted remarkably well during the situa-tion, and Susan Shabangu was unbelievably compassionate during the memorial ser-vice, despite the ravaging politically pro-vocative statements thrown at Implats.”

Brown feels that while safety has always been a priority for Implats, the company

continues to battle with the issue, recording eight fatalities during the half year to De-cember 2011. “We have attempted to estab-lish and embed a stringent safety culture, which I hope will come to refl ect our dedica-tion to safety in the near future. Th e fact is, at least 90% of fatalities are avoidable.”

Goodbye“I really hope to be remembered for my pos-itive contributions to Implats. It is part of the reason I have developed such a passion

for the mining industry, which I hope to stay involved with for many years to come.”

Brown pays tribute to some of the col-leagues he developed close relationships with during his time at Implats. “A special thanks to Peter Joubert, Mike McMahon, Lex van Vught, Viv Mennell and all the Ba-fokeng directors.”

“I really hope to be remembered for my positive contributions to Implats. It is part of the reason I have developed such a passion for the mining industry”


Juniors and mid-tiers

I t is four years since Basil Read Group’s engineering and project management company, TWP Pro-jects, completed the original bank-

able feasibility study for the Bakubung

mine (formerly the Frischgewaagd-Ledig mine) and six years since the pre-feasibil-ity study commenced.

Unfortunately, the impacts of a global re-cession on a junior trying to raise capital

for project development saw the company and its project sitting and waiting on the sidelines for the market to recover.

It was thanks to the conclusion of a massive investment deal with a Chinese consortium (Jinchuan Group, China Af-rica Development Fund and Micawber) in March last year that enough capex has been secured to take the project forward – R7.9 billion in total.

“While the first blast in April 2011 was a momentous occasion for Bakubung’s start, it is the activity that has followed that is indicative of this mine’s prosperous devel-opment future,” says TWP Projects man-ager, Robert Hull.

TWP Projects is the full engineering, pro-curement and construction management contractor on site.

Its contract includes all surface project work, including the terraces, temporary offices, electrical facilities, the winder houses, shafts, headgears, ventilation fans, refrigeration and compressors, as

WESIZWE’S BAKUBUNG PLATINUM MINE

Rapidly risingWhile the build-up to construction has been slow, it is now full steam ahead for the

development of Wesizwe’s Bakubung platinum mine – with plans to move it into

production earlier than intended, writes Laura Cornish.

LEFT AND ABOVE Surface development activity on site at the Bakubang mine is

well under way



well as all ancillary work including work-shops, storage facilities and access roads.

“Situated on the Western Limb of the Bushveld Complex, the Bakubung platinum project (comprising greenfields mine and process plant) will process 230 000 tpm (run-of-mine), delivering 350 000 ozpa of PGMs at nameplate capacity for 35 years,” Hull outlines.

First early-stage production is due in 2018, which will be followed by an esti-mated four-and-a-half year ramp up period to reach full production in 2023. “We are, however, also under way with an optimisa-tion study aimed at best determining how to bring production online earlier. We do have some options we can look at that will achieve this objective,” Hull mentions.

The project site is situated directly adja-cent to the western side of Royal Bafokeng Platinum’s Styldrift project and immedi-ately north of Maseve’s Project 1, which is owned in partnership with Canadian com-pany Platinum Group Metals.

To date, temporary power has been se-cured on site and the temporary offices and terrace turf removal are complete.

The box cut for the main shaft, awarded to and completed by Scribante, has also been finished, and procedures are under

way to commence with pre-shaft sinking in June. Scribante is further responsible for all terrace work.

Already a major accolade for TWP is its assistance with Wesizwe in identifying

opportunities for local employment, which as at 15 March 2012 was about 35% of the entire labour force on site, selected from within a 5 km radius.

The shaftsThe Bakubung complex will comprise a twin decline vertical shaft system: a main shaft and ventilation shaft.

Aveng Grinaker-LTA was appointed in March to sink both shafts and complete all underground development work. Six

local and international companies were invited to tender for the R1.64 billion contract, which was awarded follow-ing a thorough technical and commercial adjudication process.

“The main shaft will be 8.5 m in diameter and extend 1 000 m below surface, and the ventilation shaft, 7.5 m in diam-eter, will reach 930 m below surface,” Hull explains.

The Merensky Reef (180 000 tpm, stope width of 1.35 m) will be mined using con-ventional stoping methods and the UG2 reef (50 000 tpm, stope width of 1.5 m) will use semi-mechanised methods. Crush-ing will be done underground, from where the reefs will be separately conveyed to stockpiles at the concentrator plant.

A separate contract will be awarded to open up the mining blocks underground, which will take place between 2018 and 2023. Based on the monthly output, the design requires six mining blocks at any given time.

Steel erection and fabrication special-ist Louwill Engineering, in joint venture with two other local companies, was re-cently appointed to design and erect both

First early-stage production is due in 2018, which will be followed by an estimated four-and-a-half year ramp up period to reach full production in 2023

ABOVE Preparation for shaft sinking

headgears on site. These are scheduled to be installed by the end of April 2013.

The concentrator plantThe basic, early-stage concentrator de-sign has emanated from the results of the test work conducted during the bankable

feasibility study and is based on a standard PGM plant layout. Options for collabora-tion in developing a joint concentrator plant with neighbours Maseve are being investigated in order to exploit benefits

from economies of scale and sharing capi-tal infrastructure costs.

Hull says that the final design will com-mence in 2015, and construction must be complete in 2019 to start receiving steady-state ore from the mine. “The MF2 plant will comprise two circuits to process both

Merensky and UG2 ores simultaneously. We will include a chrome circuit as well,” Hull adds.

Water, lights and housingWhile 2 MVA of power has been secured for construction on site – from Eskom’s Sun City substation – the mine has been

granted 8 MVA from Eskom, which it will receive from September this year when the mine will convert from pre-sink to full sink.

“This is perfect, as we need exactly 10 MVA to sink the shafts” says Hull.

The second round/phase of power, 50 MVA, will be allocated in 2016, also from Eskom.

The combined 60 MVA is sufficient to run the entire Bakubung complex, both mine and plant.

While alternate energy sources such as wind or solar would prove too unreli-able for the project, Hull notes that TWP is committed to clean energy. “Our road lights are all solar-power driven.”

“Our site is also a zero discharge site and will initially include two 70 000 m³ pol-lution-control dams. This will increase to three once the process plant is built.”

Wesizwe has secured a temporary water supply of 200 000 ℓ/d, which is sufficient to the end of shaft sinking. However, the company requires a supply of 6 Mℓ/d fresh feed at full production. A process to secure water supply is under way with the Magalies Water and other interested parties, includ-ing neighbouring mining companies, local and provincial municipal structures, and community representatives.

The company has already sourced local consulting firm TMTJ Consulting to un-dertake a housing study, aimed at catering to the mine workers that will be employed permanently on the mine. The scope of work includes understanding the require-ments of the mine, development of a policy, identifying the most appropriate location and determining an accommodation model and the related funding requirements.

Options for collaboration in developing a joint concentrator plant with neighbours Maseve are being investigated


ABOVE Numerous subcontractors must coexist on site to ensure Bakubang’s

development progresses rapidly

75 YEARS OF QUALITYwith a proud record as a family oriented company

Gauteng 7 Hyperion Road, Barbeque DownsKyalami, 1684 PO Box 32102Kyalami, 1684 Tel: 011 466 9232Fax: 011 466 9233

Richards Bay 30 Bauxite Bay, Alton North Richards Bay, 3901PO Box 10660Meerensee, 3901 Tel: 035 797 4716Fax: 035 797 4529

RustenburgFarm Arnoldstad, Ptn 182, Waterkloof, RustenburgPostnet Suite 1228Private Bag X82329Rustenburg, 0300Cell: 082 908 5130Cell: 082 940 9985

WitbankPlot 196NaawpoortWitbankMpumalangaCell: 083 261 4828Cell: 083 488 9070

Mining Excellence


ASX-listed junior coal developer Universal Coal owns an array of early-stage development and ex-ploration assets. But South Africa

is not the easiest country for a junior mining company to grow and develop in, says Tony Weber, MD of Universal. Th e timeframes re-quired to attain the necessary mining right applications and other regulatory complianc-es to operate a mine is an extremely lengthy process, even in comparison with some of the country’s neighbours, he adds.

COMMITTED TO SOUTH AFRICA

Capitalising on coalDespite the challenges a junior company must endure to move its assets up the

value chain and into production, junior coal company Universal Coal continues to

invest the time and effort necessary to do so, writes Laura Cornish.

Fortunately, the company is listed in Aus-tralia, which is known for its healthy ap-petite for investing in junior start-up min-ing companies, as opposed to the local JSE market, which is far more conservative and risk-averse.

Despite the challenges associated with jun-ior South African asset owners, Weber re-mains devoted to the company’s production aspirations and targets, and even hopes to list locally once its fi rst prospect – Kangala – becomes operational. “Assuming the local

investment market shows appetite for the company and is willing to invest in the busi-ness,” he adds.

Between the company’s fi ve prospects (two coking coal and three thermal coal depos-its) it has a 1.93 billion tonne known gross in situ resource.

And despite the vast size of its non-produc-ing asset portfolio, the company is actively

BELOW Drilling at Berenice


seeking opportunities for good-quality ther-mal coal deposits that, like its current pro-jects, are located no further than about 14 km from rail.

Also on Universal’s ‘top priority’ list is ap-plying for and acquiring a Richards Bay coal export allocation.

THE THERMAL ASSETS – EMALAHLENIA new mine every year

Kangala“Kangala is our most advanced asset and even though its quality is not the best in our portfolio, it is large enough to move the com-pany out of the junior sector space and into the mid-tier once it becomes operational,” Weber explains.

A binding coal supply agreement term sheet has been incorporated in a Memorandum of Understanding with Eskom and will be executed in coming weeks. From a market-risk perspective, an agreement with Eskom means the mine will not be subject to export price fl uctuations and therefore represents a low-risk start-up for Universal.

Th e mining right has also been attained (18 months after the application), the Mpuma-langa provincial government has provided environmental authorisation (National Envi-ronment Management Act) and award of the water licence is imminent.

Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services, to-gether with Mineral Resource Development completed a bankable feasibility study (BFS) in April, confi rming saleable coal tonnages

averaging 2.1 Mtpa from a planned 2.4 Mtpa run-of-mine (ROM) production rate over the life of the mine. Th e initial pit will deliver an eight year life-of-mine (LOM) from a defi ned and proven reserve of 19.5 Mt. It should start producing in the second half of 2013.

Th e entire project, mine and plant, requires A$50 mil-lion Australian dollars (about R414.59 million) to take it to production. Universal

has already successfully raised A$12 million, which it will use to fi nalise engineering work for Kangala and fund the second phase of drilling at its Berenice coking coal operation in Soutpansberg.

“Both contractors are our preferred suppli-ers, and we hope to award the construction of the Kangala plant and mining contract before the end of the year.”

Th e current LOM pit is situated adjacent to properties held by Universal with an

ABOVE Core logging



additional 65 Mt of indicated and inferred re-sources, within a greater total resource base of 124 Mt. Th ese resources were drilled out in the third quarter of 2011, with a pending resource update (to JORC-measured cat-egory) expected during the second quarter of 2012, increasing the projected life of mine for Kangala to well in excess of 16 years at BFS production levels.

Brakfontein (40% ownership)Situated just 15 km from Kangala is Universal’s second thermal coal deposit, Brakfontein.

An updated resource estimation for Brak-fontein was completed during the quarter and confi rmed a JORC-compliant coal re-source of 87.6 Mt (gross in situ), of which 70.5 Mt is measured, 14.9 Mt indicated and 2.2 Mt inferred. Following the resource up-grade, Universal Coal achieved a direct own-ership of 40% in the project. According to the company, the project’s resource statistics should equate to between a 1 and 1.5 Mtpa ROM operation.

Th e mining right application submitted during December 2011 was accepted by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on 18 March 2012. Digby Wells and Associ-ates, a specialist environmental consulting

services provider, has commenced with the environmental impact assessment and re-lated studies required to fi nalise the mining right, National Environmental Management Act and water licence applications.

Universal has also commenced with a fea-sibility study, which is set to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2012.

“Because of Brakfontein’s close proximity to Kangala, the two projects will likely merge together ultimately, and the Kangala plant will expand, allowing for signifi cant capital coast, time saving and consequent improved margins. Unlike Kangala, this mine has a

high-value domestic/export component, al-though we will always extract a middlings component for power station consumption,” Weber outlines.

Overall, Universal has adopted a ‘nodal de-velopment approach’; central processing in-frastructure will be used to counter the huge increase experienced in developing mines.

RoodekopUniversal Coal is progressing well with the

feasibility study at Roode-kop, set to be fi nalised during the third quarter of 2012. It is situated close to the New Clydesdale Colliery owned by Exxaro and the Goede-hoop colliery owned by Anglo American Th ermal Coal.

Th e water licence appli-cation was lodged during the quarter and the mining right (including a plant) is

expected shortly, considering its application was submitted to the DMR 18 months ago.

“Th is is a traditional Witbank mine, with thick seams and well understood coal quali-ties. It will be open pit, with a potential un-derground component as well.”

Based on current knowledge of the project, it is estimated to be a 1 Mtpa (ROM) operation.

Weber says the company is actively seeking additional prospecting rights to increase its critical mass around its asset nodes and has apparently already secured one.

THE COKING COAL ASSETS – SOUTPANSBERG High in value

Berenice/CygnusTh e Berenice/Cygnus prospect is, in fact, a continuation of Coal of Africa’s Makhado coking coal asset. It is a soft coking coal de-posit with additional thermal coal potential.

Engineering house DRA has concluded the concept study for the project and has con-fi rmed that it is viable at this stage of its de-velopment with a sustainable 10 Mtpa ROM operation, with a LOM (opencast) well in ex-cess of 25 years.

A second phase of drilling has subse-quently started to bring the inferred and

indicated resources within the open pit areas to a measured category. The current (second) phase will focus on drilling out of the southern area of the pit and is ex-pected to be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

Th e third phase will be undertaken there-after with completion expected during 2013. Th e company also commissioned an environmental risk assessment, a geotech-nical study and geohydrological survey/water census in preparations of the pre-feasibility that will be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2012

Last quarter, the DMR approved the re-newal of the Berenice prospecting right for an additional three years and the Section 11 transfer of the Cygnus project from Solar Spectrum to Universal Coal Development 5, the special purpose entity for this project.

Weber is, however, hesitant to give a timeline to the development of the project at this stage.

ABOVE Drilling at BrakfonteinBELOW Drilling at Kangala

Because of Brakfontein’s close proximity to Kangala, the two projects will likely merge together


MRD

Tel: +27 12 656 1640/1Fax: +27 12 656 1642

E-Mail: [email protected]: www.mrdev.co.za

Heuwelsig Offi ce Park, Block C, Unit 18Corner of Seedcracker and Spinetail Rd

Heuwelsig Estate, Celtisdal, Centurion, 0149, South Africa

Private Bag X5, Wierda Park, 0149 South Africa

EXCELLENCE IN OUTSOURCED METALLURGICAL SOLUTIONS

MRD have extensive knowledge in the metallurgical arena and have a sound reputation with many clients, including a number of the larger companies. MRD provides an outsourced solution to both

large existing companies as well as new developing BEE junior companies.

COMBINED EXPERIENCE IN THE FOLLOWING ARENAS IS OVER 75 YEARS:Gold • Platinum • Diamonds • Coal • Chrome • Vanadium • Heavy Minerals • Dump Reclamation

Notwithstanding this, MRD has also been involved in other minerals and will approach these where appropriate and where it believes it can add value.

MRD’S CAPABILITIES:Contract Metallurgical Operations • Process design • Feasibility studies, due diligence, HAZOP

studies, etc • Plant and Project Optimization / Modifi cations • Project Management • Construction management • Plant Commissioning

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TechnologiesModular plant construction

Gold


The deal and conditionsOn 18 May 2012, gold companies Gold One International and its 72%-owned subsidiary Goliath Gold announced their acquisition of liquidated Pamodzi Gold’s East Rand assets, including Grootvlei 4 Shaft complex.

Th e deal gives the companies access to the majority of the East Rand Basin, extending some 330 km² between Nigel and Brakpan. It cost the companies a mere R70 million.

Upon closure of the transaction, Gold One’s R65 million provides it with access to down-dip, contiguous area extensions to its Modder East operation. Should a drill-ing programme reveal that the underground contents are valuable, it will substantially extend the mine’s current 10 year life of mine (LOM).

“For us, the focus is to prospect for, and develop new mines within the vast un-tapped areas of the basin,” explains Izak Marais, senior vice president of operations at Gold One.

And who better to do the job than the com-pany that successfully established Modder East – a new era, brand-new goldmine that is ramping up to full production, established a few kilometres from an historical opera-tion mined since the 1920s. It is situated on the northern tip of the East Rand Basin. Th e historical Sub Nigel 1 Shaft, situated further south in the basin, remained operational de-spite numerous challenges thanks to the ef-fort and investment Gold One injected into the asset until November 2011, when ceased pumping operations at Grootvlei caused the shaft to fl ood.

Th e intention, Marais continues, behind acquiring the fl ooding Grootvlei 4 Shaft complex was to gain access to the defunct process plant as well as the original Grootv-lei head offi ce buildings.

While the chance of refurbishing the plant is minor due to the vandalisation that has taken place in recent months, it does provide the companies with a ‘historically disturbed site’, meaning a new plant can be construct-ed within the same footprint without hav-ing to gain new regulatory approvals.

With the return of lights and water, and some minor interior touch-ups, the ‘muse-um-like’ offi ces, still containing original doc-umentation from when the mine was origi-nally started, will be more than adequate to use as well.

In a deal of this nature, Gold One left no stone unturned. Having originally ap-proached the liquidators in 2009, it included two very important, key components, the

CLONING MODDER EAST

The East Rand Basin’s untapped potentialEast Rand Gold Basin has fallen into the hands of

prosperous, cash-generating owners that plan to

deliver a host of new gold mines across the vast

hectares, leaving behind the devastating legacy of

former owner Pamodzi Gold, writes Laura Cornish.

ABOVE Grootvlei No 4 Shaft headgear BELOW The winder house interior has

been stripped

Gold


fi rst being the removal of the debilitating gold hedge Pamodzi set in place.

Th e second, Marais explains, was the prom-ise that neither Gold One, nor Goliath Gold takes on any responsibility for the historic environmental or pumping liabilities the complex continues to incur.

Gold One projects coordinator Herbie Trouw, who has been working at Grootvlei

since 2003, notes that the water level is con-sistently rising by about 11 m every month.

Th e water level at the respective Grootvlei shafts is about 570 m below surface. Th ere are hundreds of shafts spread across the ba-sin, varying in size from small declines to big production shafts.

The way forwardInstead of applying for new mining rights over the areas, Gold One and Goliath Gold will apply for prospecting rights instead. “Th is approach means we will not be liable for any historically incurred environmental liabilities, any underground water pump-ing or potential acid mine drainage,” Marais

points out. Th e companies will only be re-sponsible for the liabilities they create from this point on.

As holders of prospecting rights, Gold One and Goliath Gold will limit exposure to his-torical rehabilitation liabilities to an amount estimated at R10 million.

According to historical resource estimates and mineralogy in the area, Gold One re-source manager Evan Cook says there is enough grade-rich, untapped area along the basin to establish a host (at least three or four) of Modder East clones. Cook fi rst joined Grootvlei in 1996 and has worked across the complex since then.

“People are concerned with our develop-ment aspirations around the basin, but we will take all care and precaution not to tap into underground fl ooded areas. Modder East, which borders on but is not connected to Grootvlei 8 Shaft, is already a clear confi r-mation of our ability to mine accurately and responsibly,” Cook notes.

Besides, the target is the Main Reef and nearby ‘secondary reefs’, which are no deep-er than 500 m to 1 000 m below surface.

ABOVE LEFT The Grootvlei plant is overgrown with plant life

ABOVE RIGHT The Grootvlei No 4 headgear cages stand still, completed

covered in rustLEFT The plant silo shows the enormous

scale of the plant’s capacity BELOW Operational two years ago, the plant is run-down, defunct, and

fl ooded in some areas

Gold

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Andrew Pooley – CEO Turgis S.A.

Tel: +27 11 476 2279

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Keith Wilson – Manager: Consulting

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Pat Willis – MD Turgis U.K.

Cell: +44 781 018 2169


Timelines for a new Modder East are not on the table yet, and it will be a few years be-fore any new mine emerges.

The history of GrootvleiNo 4 Shaft, one of the last operating shafts within the Grootvlei complex, fi rst became operational in the 1940s. It has belonged to various owners over its life, including Harmo-ny Gold and Bema. Pamodzi Gold acquired the East Rand assets, including Grootvlei, in 2006 and lasted only three years before being liqui-dated with not a cent to show for its eff orts.

Pamodzi liquidators appointed Aurora Em-powerment Schemes in October 2009 to help extract value from Grootvlei to help allevi-ate the hedge fund, but was handed its own liquidation papers in October 2011. It was accused of not paying workers and stripping the Grootvlei assets down to their current obsolete status – not only stopping the es-sential underground pumping, but removing

the entire pumping system as well, which to-day is the sole cause of the fl ooded Grootvlei shaft complex. Until March 2010, No 4 Shaft and its process plant were fully operational. In less than two years, they have been reduced to

waste. Th e plant had the potential to process 240 000 tpm says Trouw. Aurora Empower-ment Systems was headed by former president Nelson Mandela’s grandson Zondwa, and Pres-ident Jacob Zuma’s nephew, Khulubuse.

RIGHT The rusted appearance of the mill shows how the plant has been shredded

and forgotten


Engineering

AMEC has a healthy record of Af-rican mining study and execu-tion projects. “The intention going forward, however, is to

significantly expand our service offerings in-house so that we do not need to rely on pulling in experts from within the AMEC

AMEC IN AFRICA

Global engineers dive into Africa

Global engineering entity AMEC is looking to expand its African footprint within

the mining and metals sector. On the back of this intention, its South African

counterpart believes its 30-year continent expertise will help leverage the group’s

strategy, writes Laura Cornish.

stable when necessary. With this action plan already successfully under way, we believe that we will be well positioned to serve as the entire group’s ‘launch pad’ into Africa,” explains the AMEC busi-ness development executive for Africa, Liam Cafferty.

In line with this strategy, AMEC remains in the midst of a massive recruitment drive for mining and geology experts, and recently welcomed Steve Smithies as AMEC’s African mining and geology tech-nical director, and Gavin Chamberlain as projects director.

Having worked extensively in the mining and engineering fraternity, Chamberlain has wasted no time familiarising himself with the company’s procedures and practis-es, and will focus on delivering key objec-tive targets for the African operation.

He outlines the three specific key target areas as:

1. Ensuring the ‘AMEC way’ of business “One of the main reasons I joined AMEC was for its mature system resources and well outlined disciplines. They have been developed over many years and integrate all aspects of the project management val-ue chain,” says Chamberlain.

2. Growing the African footprintExtending AMEC’s own African footprint can be achieved through multiple avenues.

Sappi’s Ngodwana plant

Drilling at the Husab uranium project in Namibia

Engineering

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EVERY DAYE V E N 1 0 0 Y E A R S O F B E I N G A N I N N O V AT O R A N D M A R K E T L E A D E R D O E S N O T K E E P U S

“In addition to attaining our own EPCM contracts, we will also look to add value to projects that other AMEC companies are delivering on. Th is can be done through pro-curement, the supply of site-based services, coordinating between client and the re-spective engineering branch, etc.,” explains Chamberlain. Th is has already emerged as an AMEC strength, and Chamberlain is looking to fortify this company attribute.

3. Securing more execution projects“My job will also focus on helping AMEC se-cure at least one or two new full execution jobs by 2013 and then retain this baseload going forward,” Chamberlain outlines. The company is presently involved with two projects, working together with respective international AMEC partners.

Overall, the African office is currently involved in 11 African project studies and Chamberlain believes at least one study project will convert into an execution pro-ject before the end of the year.

The new projects director also carries ex-tensive expertise in the renewable energy sector, and he will focus on bringing this new business area into the local subsidiary.

PROJECTS

Western Range iron ore project, Liberia (client: ArcelorMittal)In collaboration with AMEC’s Toronto team, AMEC in Africa is assisting with the development of a new 15 Mtpa iron concentrator, 120 km rail upgrade and port expansion and facilities upgrade for

ArcelorMittal’s Liberia-based Western Range iron ore project.

AMEC in Africa is supplying all of the site-based services, which will equate to between 40 and 50% of the total man hours contrib-uted from the South African branch. Th e pro-ject was awarded late in 2010.

Sappi’s GoCell projectAMEC’s office in Vancouver, Canada, was appointed by paper producer Sappi to un-dertake the full EPCM contract for ‘Project GoCell’ in South Africa in October last year.

The AMEC team has started mobilisation and set-up, with the EPCM to follow. The GoCell project is located at Sappi’s Ngodwa-na Mill, near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. The

project will reconfigure one of the mill’s ex-isting production lines to produce chemical cellulose, a feedstock for the viscose staple fibre industry, which manufactures textile and non-woven fibres.

The project will be delivered through the combined expertise of AMEC’s Johan-nesburg and Vancouver offices, with the Vancouver office providing project man-agement and engineering design services, and the local office providing engineering design support, project services and con-struction management, and site support.

“Both of these projects are indicative of the contribution AMEC in Africa can offer to the global group’s business,” Chamber-lain reiterates.

“My job will also focus on helping AMEC secure at least one or two new full execution jobs by 2013 and then retain this baseload going forward.” - Gavin Chamberlain

ArcelorMittal’s Western Range iron ore project in Liberia

Described as Gold Fields’ fl ag-ship operation, South Deep is only 45 km from Johannes-burg and is expected to produce

700 000 ozpa of gold at full production.While the underground extension work at

the mine’s Twin Shaft complex has been de-scribed as an essential component towards reaching the mine’s full production target, the mine’s old South Shaft complex contin-ues to be an active contributor as well.

Because underground working levels are deepening at South Shaft, the need to pro-vide additional cooling below surface has become critical.

As a result of this essential requirement, refrigeration, ventilation and cooling spe-cialist BBE Projects was awarded one its more unusual turnkey projects to date.

“Gold Fields awarded us the contract to de-sign and construct a 9 MW bulk air cooler (BAC) at the operational South Shaft and connect it to the existing refrigeration plant and cooling dams some 400 m away,” says BBE Projects MD, Richard Gundersen.

“Th e surface refrigeration plant of-fers spare cooling capacity for the BAC as

SOUTH DEEP

Southern surface air cooling

Engineering


new underground refrigeration machines are commissioned.”

BBE Projects worked closely in conjunc-tion with Gold Fields’ projects division and, despite numerous challenges, was able to deliver the new BAC and the buried twin pipeline system that connected it to the re-frigeration plant in just fi ve months.

Detailed design commenced in July 2011, and construction crews moved on site in September. “We are particularly proud of

meeting such a tight timeframe, especially considering the impact of the December break,” Gundersen notes.

Examining the fi ner details of the project, he explains: “Th is particular project required us not only to construct the tower around an operating brattice shaft where both hoisting

Gold Fields is currently investing in several capital-intensive projects aimed at

facilitating South Deep’s build-up to full production, scheduled for December

2015. One critical component of this production build-up is the addition of a new

surface bulk air cooler at its historic South Shaft Complex, writes Laura Cornish.

ABOVE Night view of South Deep’s South Shaft

BELOW The complete BAC unit installed, with fans, at South Shaft

Engineering

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and ventilation occur, but to develop it on an extremely small footprint, as the estab-lished surface infrastructure surrounds the headgear and shaft area in all directions,” Gundersen explains. “Th is also made for a congested construction site.”

Th is meant that the actual design of the BAC had to accommodate the situation. “Traditionally, surface bulk air coolers are constructed on the bank and connected to the downcast shaft through an underground tunnel that would then direct air into the shaft below surface.”

Instead, the South Shaft complex BAC is situated almost directly adjacent to the con-crete headgear, where two adjustable-pitch axial-fl ow fans force air through a vertical cooling tower, into a short section of duct-ing, through the legs of the concrete head-gear and discharges cold air into the down-cast shaft. Th e layout even incorporates a passageway underneath the ducting for the workers to access the shaft for their shifts.

Th e entire BAC structure and duct are clad in fi bre cement to improve thermal effi cien-cy and to assist with a speedy erection.

BBE Projects was also responsible for the twin 450 mm diameter HDPE buried pipe-lines, through which 2°C chilled water gravi-tates from the dams at the refrigeration plant to the BAC. Th e pipes are also used for pump-ing warm water back to a warm water dam.

Gundersen adds that the design has been optimised to minimise power consumption

through the careful control of chilled water supply and with variable speed drives on the return pump motors.

Overall, at maximum capacity during the summer months, the BAC will provide 9 MW to cool 300 m³/sec of air to 8.5°C.

Construction and commissioning of the BAC unit was completed in fi ve months

Engineering


The construction of a new power sta-tion is a massive undertaking in it-self, but the work required to ensure that the Grootegeluk coal mine is

able to supply Medupi with suffi cient coal is an equally essential component.

To ensure this transpires, Exxaro has un-dertaken a massive expansion of its Lepha-lale-based coal operation, constructing two new benefi ciation plants (GG7 and GG8). Titled the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project (GMEP), it will supply a dedicated coal stream to Medupi – 14.6 Mtpa of coal for at least 40 years. “In January last year, Group

GROOTEGELUK MEDUPI EXPANSION PROJECT

Structural-savvy specialists

Medupi power station is slowly starting to take shape, thanks to the vast number

of contractors working to ensure it comes online and delivers new baseload

megawatts. Construction company Group Five is one such contractor whose

contribution to the project will ensure its success, writes Laura Cornish.

Five became a contributing contractor to the project,” says Group Five projects construc-tion director, Chris Willemse.

“We were awarded the fabrication, supply, installation and commissioning of the struc-tural steel components, free issued mechani-cal equipment and components, as well as all piping for the run-of-mine (ROM) feed conveyors from inside the pit to the ROM bunkers and the reclaim conveyors from the ROM bunker. Th e discard bunker and its feed conveyors as well as the two reclaim convey-ors, and transfer areas also formed part of the scope of work,” Willemse explains. “We

are extremely proud to be associated with the Medupi project and equally so with Exxaro.”

It has been 13 months since Group Five mobilised on site and it is now 55% complete (including assembly) with the contract. “We are scheduled to fi nish towards the end of the year, and we are well on track to do so,” he adds. Th is alone is a major accomplishment

ABOVE Rom Feed Conveyors going to the Rom Bunker

OPPOSITE Rom Handling Conveyors Coming from The Rom Bunker to the

Rom Silo

Group Five is a diversified construction services, materials and infrastructure investment groupWe have the skills and experience to deliver any aspect of an infrastructural project, including concept development, manufacturing, construction and operations and maintenance.

We operate in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe I Ranked 4th in JSE SRI Index 2010 I Winner of DEKRA Ethics

Award 2009 I 9th in Financial Mail’s top empowerment companies 2010 I Construction Charter Level 2 BBBEE rating I

Employing 12 000 people in 23 countries I Celebrating 37 years as a listed entity

C E R T I F I E D B Y T H E C R F I N S T I T U T E

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Years as a listed entity

Group Five Projects (Pty) Ltd

130 13th Avenue, Corner Paul Smit Street, Anderbolt, Boksburg North I PO Box 26807, East Rand

1461, South Africa I Tel +27 11 899 4600 I Fax +27 11 918 2707 I Email [email protected] I

Website www.groupfive.co.za

Engineering

considering the extensive nature of the project and some of the chal-lenges encountered along the way.

Put into context, Group Five’s contract alone is a major undertaking – it is responsible for 6 km of conveyors and, over its contract period,

will inject 4 472 t of structural steel and 2 610 t of platework into the project, along with 7 km of pipework.

“Sourcing steel has been one of our biggest challenges following the massive steel shortages experienced in South Africa in 2011,” Willemse explains. Group Five remains on schedule, despite such a debilitating situation. “Managing our overhead cranes, while interfac-ing with other contractors and their cranes within a small footprint area (around the ROM bunker) has also proved diffi cult at times. We consider such challenges something we can learn from and believe they enable us to expand and improve our on-site working experience even further.”

Working at height has been a prominent factor throughout Group Five’s contract. Th e steel structure around the ROM bunker is 65 m in height and the majority of its conveyors are elevated. “We are lifting

“Sourcing steel has been one of our biggest challenges following the massive steel shortages experienced in South Africa in 2011”

between 50 and 60 t conveyor gantry sections at a time, with each of the sections 42 m in length,” Willemse adds.

Looking back over the past year, Willemse believes Group Five’s quality and safety record has been exemplary, especially considering Exxaro’s concern with these specifi c aspects.

To date, the company has achieved above 257 000 lost time injury free hours. Group Five is responsible for 152 people on site, 60% of which are Lephalale locals. Medupi power station is completely reliant on a steady coal stream from the new GMEP facilities, making Group Five’s contract one of many vital contracts that will ensure success for both the new power station and new GMEP plants.


Engineering

A IM-listed metallurgical en-gineering company MDM Engineering Group (MDM) is proving that resilience

and dedication are two of the key busi-ness drivers in a globally competitive engineering industry.

In the space of two years, between 2010 and 2012, the company has increased its workload volumes by almost 100%, de-spite the economic recession.

“Two years ago, every project we were involved with was suspended as a result of the global financial crisis. Today, we have seven projects in various stages of execu-tion and another seven projects in differ-ent study phases,” says MDM executive director, George Bennett.

This means the company’s workload vol-ume is perfectly aligned with its business model and strategy: “To have between six and 10 projects in execution phase at any given time,” according to MDM CEO, Martin Smith.

RISING ABOVE THE COMPETITION

It’s all in the MIXAs the number of new mining projects escalates, so too does the competition

between engineering project houses. One local project house has risen above

the rest, as its skills set and strategic objectives have resulted in a constant,

growing flow of new business, writes Laura Cornish.

Considering the company’s conversion rate of bankable feasibility studies (BFS) to execution projects is over 90%, it is on well on track to reach its 10-project mark as certain of its projects in study phase are expected to move into execution in 2012.

Delving deeper into the company’s ap-proach to business, Smith continues that MDM’s ‘somewhat unique’ focus within the engineering fraternity is “having the proper mix”.

This, he says, is the right mix of com-modities, the right mix of multiple pro-jects versus single project clients, the right mix of EPCM and LSTK contracts, and a

diversified geographical spread across Afri-ca – focused predominately at values of be-tween US$40 million and US$150 million.

Minerals diversity is particularly im-portant for MDM, and its focus includes manganese, gold, platinum, copper, phos-phates, uranium and coal.

“This does not mean we will not take on bigger projects for the right client at the right time, however, and we are more than adequately skilled to do so,” Bennett adds.

MDM’s staff complement has grown from about 98 heads in 2010 to more than 350 core staff today, this figure excludes site-specific project resources.

MDM was awarded the full EPCM contract to develop Tharisa Min-eral’s 300 000 tpm concentratorABOVE View from the stockpile toward the mill screen building. Conveyors bound left and right

RIGHT primary millsPhotos: Paul Funck, Tharisa project engineer


Sinking & tunnelling

G em Diamonds is committed to its production profile strategy – establishing and operating a new mine in Africa – and it has

its sights set on Ghaghoo.Situated in Botswana’s Central Kalahari

Game Reserve, development of the green-fields mine and plant is under way, with the intention of eventually delivering hundreds of thousands of carats per an-num when full production is reached. Gem Diamonds is also under way with a mas-sive expansion plan at its Lesotho-based Letšeng operation, aimed at doubling its production.

In March 2011, Gem Diamonds’ board approved a capital budget of US$85 million for the construction of Phase 1 of the Gh-aghoo underground mine, with a treatment capacity of 720 000 tpa. The objective of Phase 1 is to confirm the grade, diamond prices and the recovery processes, includ-ing the use of autogenous milling, which is expected to increase diamond liberation. Results from the first phase will underpin a study aimed at defining the way forward for mining at Ghaghoo.

Last year, shaft sinking and mining con-tractor Redpath Mining SA was awarded the shaft decline sinking contract for the

project and mobilised onto site in August. “Our contract requires us to develop a 6 m diameter decline shaft, at an eight degree angle to a depth of 584 m into the basalt host rock. It further stipulates an advance-ment rate of 3.6 m every day,” explains Redpath GM, Lawrence Schultz.

Despite three separate instances of ex-tremely unusual heavy rainfall during December – enough to flood the boxcut – Redpath commenced with development in early January.

“We started well and were achieving ad-vance rates of up to 4.2 m on some days,” Schultz adds.

GHAGHOO’S SHIELD OF STRENGTH

Developing a difficult declineThe Ghaghoo shaft development decline project, being developed by Gem

Diamond Botswana, is well under way since starting last year. Having already

overcome challenging ground conditions, the success of this project is a

certainty, writes Laura Cornish.

A view showing the entrance of the Ghaghoo decline, with concrete

lining looking outwards


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While developing an underground decline is common practise for shaft sinking experts, the nature and properties of the over-burden in the area requires a different mindset and development approach to the project.

“The Kalahari ground area has the consistency of soft, slightly sticky beach sand, making it fairly unstable to work with. The ore body lies below 85 m of this sand.”

Taking this into account, Redpath and Gem Diamonds have implemented what could be considered one of the most techno-logically advanced methodologies for developing a decline shaft in Africa. Although the technology has been widely implement-ed, this is the first time it is being used to develop a tunnel at an angle.

“We are lining the entire tunnel with precast concrete seg-ments. In order to do this safely, we have developed an open face, ‘moveable’ tunnel shield that will prevent the tunnel from caving in or collapsing while the precast concrete segments are put in place,” Schultz outlines.

The shield was fabricated at an engineering facility in South Africa called Boksan Projects, recognised for its expertise in fab-ricating ‘special structures’.

Explaining the development process, Schultz reveals that a 1 m area is excavated in the tunnel, with a circumference 50 mm smaller than the shield’s circumference. The shield is then pushed forward 800 mm where it supports the tunnel while seg-mental concrete rings are installed and bolted to the previous ring, with a key block in the centre. The ring is 0.6 m wide and is made up of 10 separate segments.

The concrete segments have been designed to carry the weight above it from the deepest point of the tunnel.

Although Redpath has encountered some ground condition challenges with the project, which has caused advancement de-lays, “our shield remains solid and intact, and our lost time in-jury rate remains at zero. Our dedication to the project is unwa-vering,” Schultz affirms.

“At 474 m into the decline, we expect to encounter the transi-tion zone where the sand layer meets the hard rock. Thereafter conventional drill and blast development will continue in the basalt to complete the decline and thereby access the ore body

“Despite some delays to the decline shaft project’s develop-ment, it is only one aspect of what is already shaping up to be a very successful project. If the project develops smoothly going forward, we will be hopefully be able to make up for some of the lost time,” says Howard Marsden, operations manager for Gem Diamonds Botswana.

The vertical ventilation shaft – a new contract additionIn March this year, Redpath was awarded the contract to de-velop a vertical ventilation shaft for Ghaghoo. It will be located 1.8 km south of the decline shaft, will be 6 m in diameter and

extend 175 m underground. “We are currently finalising the design for the shaft, with site establishment due to start early in June,” says Schultz.

Full sinking is due to start mid-July, shaft equipping at the end of October and handover to Gem is scheduled for December.

A number of subcontracts have already been awarded for the vent shaft, these include:• Boksan Project – headgear• Ruco Engineering – single deck stage, shaft liner, cat ladders and

associated steel work• Atlantis Hydraulics – single drum winder, four stage winches, five

crab winches• Righway Engineering – kibble.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT The shield is used to support the tunnel while it is lined, the tunnel entrance, moving the shield forwards as the tunnel is developed and lined, the entrance to

the Ghaghoo decline



THUBELISHA

Twistraai Colliery take twoSasol Mining has officially inaugurated its R3.5 billion Thubelisha Shaft, located at

its Twistdraai colliery in Mpumalanga. The shaft will supply coal to Sasol Synfuels,

the export and domestic market.

The current Twistdraai colliery shaft system has reached its economic limit. But thanks to the develop-ment and launch of the Th ubelisha

shaft, Twistdraai’s life has been extended well beyond 2039.

Sasol Mining, the sole supplier of coal to Sasol Synfuels, entered the coal export market in 1995 with the establishment of Twistdraai East and West, together with the Twistdraai Export Plant, to benefi ciate and supply coal to the export market. It operates one of the world’s largest underground coal-mining complexes and produces over 40 Mt of coal annually with more than 90% of the coal mined being benefi ciated by Sasol to produce high-quality synthetic fuels and a wide range of chemicals.

“Our mining business is not only the foun-dation of Sasol’s South African operations, it is also a key component to ensure the coun-try’s energy security and is a vital contribu-tor to the country’s growth and development goals,” says David Constable, Sasol CEO.

Th e project will sustain 1 600 jobs at the Twistdraai colliery and more than 2 000 workers were on site during Th ubelisha’s peak construction phase. Th e bulk of the workforce was drawn from local communities in the Gert Sibande District Municipality.

Project statistics

• the team operated and covered an area of approximately 21 km²

• the distance between the extreme points of construction is some 36 km

• rainfall average is 711 mm/year; the highest site rainfall measured is 1 012 mm/year with highest monthly rainfall of 280 mm

• maximum number of people on site was 2 050

• more than 2.67 million cubic meters of earth was moved

• over 4 000 t of steelwork was fabricated and erected

• over 34 500 m³ of concrete was poured• over 19 km of electrical sleeves installed• the conveyor belt system consist of over 28 000 idlers.

The Thubelisha headgear

Thubelisha EPCM contractor appoints new CEO

Simultaneous to the launch of the Thubelisha project was the announcement that a new CEO had been appointed for RSV Enco – the company responsible for the full EPCM contract.

Alan Wingrove, who was actively involved in the project since its inception, has over 37 years of experience in all facets of the mining industry, with expertise in the operational and project management environment.

He was the COO for RSV Enco for the past three years, during which time he successfully managed two major projects as programme manager.

Wingrove was also the Enco Exco member responsible for the safety portfolio and on many occasions he has relieved his predecessor, Neels Engelbrecht, by performing CEO duties when called upon.

“Sasol Mining has entered a period of intense capital replace-ment and will replace 60% of our operating capacity in Secunda in the next eight years. Th is capital replacement comes at a total cost of R14 billion. Th e Th ubelisha shaft is the fi rst milestone in this large-scale project,” says Sasol Mining MD, Hermann Wenhold.

Th ubelisha, situated in the north-east of the Secunda complex, will comprise an operation delivering more than 8 Mtpa over a lifespan of 25 years. Th e shaft consists of surface buildings, coal conveyance infrastructure, workshops and a full shaft system.

“Sasol Mining, in the recent past, has seen great improve-ments in its safety performance, following the implementation of a comprehensive safety improvement plan. I am pleased by these successes, but realise that we require a consistent and unrelenting focus on safety to sustain these achievements,” adds Constable.

Th e project’s total conveyor belt length is approximately 20 km, making it one of the longest conveyors in the country. Th e shaft will have underground and surface infrastructure to support 12 production sections, and an underground and surface coal han-dling facility. Once the shaft is fully operational, 1 600 employees will be deployed to the shaft.

“Sasol Mining has entered a period of intense capital replacement and will replace 60% of our operating capacity in Secunda in the next eight years”

BELOW (From left to right) Nolitha Fakude, executive director of Sasol; Susan Shabangu, Minister of Mineral Resources, and

David Constable, Sasol CEO


Comminution

The plants keep site establishment costs to a minimum and optimise equipment operating expenditure – two areas that assist in providing

each customer with the lowest sustainable cost per tonne.

According to Metso Mobile, the plants’ value is particularly evident on medium- to longer-term process projects requiring a semi-fi xed installation that can easily be re-located without compromising the reliabil-ity of Metso’s crushers and screens. When it’s time to move to the next site, the NW’s trailer-mounted chassis is designed so that the plant can be towed in both on- and off -highway applications.

NW Series portable plants can be oper-ated as independent units or as multi-stage crushing and screening process plants. Ap-plications range from primary, secondary,

and tertiary to fi ne crushing. Capaci-ties start at around 100 tph and go up to 2 000 tph, depending on the feed material and product requirements.

“Since every application is different, we work with customers to decide on the best

approach once the material feed character-istics and end-product requirements have been determined,” explains Andrew Stones, Metso Mobile sales manager at Barloworld Equipment, which is Metso Mobile’s south-ern African dealer. “We the n use Metso’s Bruno simulation software to assist us in determining the optimal process flow and plant set-up.”

Options comprise Nordberg C-Series jaw crushers, GP and HP cone crush-ers, Barmac rock-on-rock VSIs (vertical shaft impactors), NP crushers (horizontal shaft impactors), and CVB and FS series portable screens.

“You can operate your NW plant as an open or closed circuit operation just by adding or removing individual units and conveyors.” adds Stones. “This really en-hances equipment versatility and process flexibility from one project to the next.”

PROCESS MOBILITY

Introducing the Nordberg NW portable plant seriesMetso Mobile’s electrically driven Nordberg NW wheel-mounted crushing and

screening plants provide key advantages in terms of production output, process

flexibility and mobility.

LEFT NW Series portable plants can be operated as independent units or

as multi-stage crushing and screening process plants

BELOW Metso’s Bruno simulation software assists in determining the optimal

process fl ow and plant set-up

Comminution


The project entails the crushing of the primary run-of-mine gold ore and transporting it to a secondary crushing station to be stacked by a

slewing stacker.Sandvik Mining Systems was awarded the

contract in January 2011, with a scope of work including civil, electrical, mechanical and structural design, procurement, fabri-cation and ex-works delivery of the plant, as well as commissioning assistance. Time Mining erected and commissioned the plant in December 2011.

“One of the keys to the success of this con-tract was the fact that we harnessed proven Sandvik crushing equipment and technol-ogy in the design,” Marnus Fick of Sandvik Mining says.

“On this project we eff ectively removed a lot of uncertainty by creating a 3D repre-sentation in a data managed environment, using a product called Teamcenter that

A crushing successGOUNKOTO’S 3D DESIGN

Technology engineering

group Sandvik is using

an innovative 3D

methodology to conduct

the design work on a

new crushing plant at

Randgold Resources’

Gounkoto mine in Mali.

controls the various revisions the design went through.

“All revisions to the 3D design were carried out in a managed environment enabling us to supply Time Mining with a very easy-to-inter-pret representation of the plant that made the construction drawings easier to understand. It also facilitated the identifi cation of the steel members that arrived on site, eff ectively shortening the time to project completion.

“Combining the 3D design with the data management system also allowed us to

compile a bill of quanti-ties and manage it through the various life cycle stages, from concept through fabri-cation into logistics control and construction.

“Th is approach allowed us to signifi cantly reduce the likeli-hood of errors and boost the ability to do materials control on site, ultimately increasing the speed of construction,” Fick comments.

HAZOPS (hazards and op-erability studies) were in-corporated into the design to ensure safe and effi cient

About Sandvik Mining Systems?

Sandvik Mining Systems is a product area of Sandvik Mining that was created in the wake of the recent restructuring of the Sandvik Group’s global operations. The new product area became fully operational in early 2012 and specialises in bulk materials handling solutions. From continuous opencast mining systems and in-pit crushing and conveying to integrated stacking, reclaiming and conveying systems for mines, stockyards, mills and port facilities, the company offers total solutions and turnkey installations including a wide range of individual equipment like crushing plants, reclaimers, stackers, bucket wheel excavators, spreaders and shiploaders.

The scope of work

Gounkoto is a greenfields discovery located 25 km south of Randgold Resources’ Loulo gold mine. Sandvik’s scope of supply commenced from the top of the tip bin. Ore is withdrawn from a 100 t bin via a 1.8 m wide x 7 m long apron feeder, which will deposit the ore straight into a CJ815 Jawmaster primary crusher at a rate of 800 tph.

The crushed -350 mm ore from the primary crusher is deposited via a chute onto a transfer conveyor that is 1 200 mm wide, which in turn transfers the ore to the secondary crushing station. The -100 mm product is stockpiled using a 1 200 mm-wide slewing conveyor capable of creating a stockpile of over 20 000 t. The discharge chutes from the primary sizers are lined with 16 mm VRN400 liners to reduce maintenance downtime in this high wear area.

“The scope included the total steel support structure of the CS660 secondary crusher, including the structures required to support a 25 t electric overhead crane,” Fick says.

ABOVE ROM tip and primary crushing being done by a CJ815 jaw crusher

at GounkotoBELOW Secondary crushing being done by a Sandvik SH660 cone crusher at Gounkoto

operations of the plant. Sandvik also set up a local supply of critical spares through its offi ce in Mali and will continue to support the life of plant via this offi ce.


Comminution

As investment into African mining projects continues to increase at an exponential rate, so too does the demand for modern and reli-

able screening equipment that is backed-up by dedicated after-sales service and techni-cal support on a round-the-clock basis.

Th e challenge in meeting this increasingly competitive demand in a labour-intensive market is ensuring that capital goods and components supplied to these projects are equipped with advanced technology that remains user-friendly, with minimal main-tenance requirements.

Effi cient cost-per-tonne ratios have be-come one of the driving forces behind any mineral processing project, meaning after-sales service has become more essential than ever before, especially in a market that has only recently moved towards technology and mechanisation, and often involves large capital investment at the outset.

To ensure peace of mind for investors and project managers, it is important that capital equipment suppliers focus on es-tablishing dedicated service crews that train and assist operators in the correct application and maintenance of the equip-ment as substantial monetary losses are unnecessarily incurred on a daily basis, mostly due to a lack of technical knowledge and methodology.

Bearing this in mind, it is also essential that customers are kept up-to-date with the latest technological trends and edu-cated on the benefits of adapting in a con-stantly-evolving market, or they run the risk of lagging behind with uncompetitive or even obsolete equipment and processes.

Furthermore, experienced engineers and process support managers should be readily

RELIABLE SCREENING NEEDS

Reliable after-sales serviceScreening equipment is only as reliable as the

customer service that supports it – something

that the mining industry is becoming increasingly

aware of.

By David Sibley, MD of process equipment company Ludowici Meshcape

41Ins ide

Mining 06 /2012

Comminution

available to visit a site when required, in order to identify the necessary areas where the plant can save money and increase pro-duction, and ultimately streamline output yields and return on investment.

Unfortunately, a large number of projects are still being tempted by significantly cheaper imports and counterfeit vibrating and screening equipment, which proves to be costly in the long-run

I have, in my own experience, encoun-tered cases where a customer has pur-chased screening media equipment that, at face value, looks identical to a Ludowici Meshcape product, but is sold for only a fraction of the price. Upon closer inspec-tion, however, it becomes evident that the product is overwhelmingly inferior, with missing components and inferior material, or ill-fitting and sub-standard units. This, in turn, creates considerable challenges further down the line with regards to un-scheduled downtime and maintenance or, in the worst case scenario, an entire plant replacement. All of these factors impact significantly on the operation’s cost-per-tonne performance.

Looking at the local market, I do be-lieve that the industry trend has gradu-ally shifted; during the establishment of a plant, instead of buying cheaply in order to save initial short-term costs, more expen-sive and reliable equipment is purchased, which ultimately reduces long-term operational costs.

This is evident in the fact that reflux classifiers are fast becoming the preferred – and more efficient and cost-effective

– alternative to the industry-standard spi-ral technology in the coal, chrome, ferro-chrome and iron ore processing industries across Africa.

Although the initial purchase price of a reflux classifier is higher than its spiral

equivalent, the product generally tends to pay for itself within four to eight months. It provides considerable long-term sav-ings thanks to its separation capabilities, which provide an improved throughput and a better product for the end-user. Re-flux classifiers also take up consider-ably less floorspace compared to the equivalent amount of spirals required and require mini-mal operator input, thereby reducing the inherent risk of human error and high construction costs when building the plant properly.

Another shift in industry trends, in South Africa in particular, is the current move from industry-standard

alumina carbide to siliconised silicon carbide (SiSiC) as a liner for pipes carry-ing mining slurries. The SiSiC material is extremely wear-resistant and is glued together and cast into the pipe in a mono-lithic form. It has proved to be highly suc-

cessful in a number of projects since being introduced to the local market by Ludowici Meshcape at the beginning of 2012.

Focusing on the year ahead, it seems likely that new investment in South Africa will continue to lag behind its neighbours,

due to the ongoing debate on nation-alisation and what it means to the in-dustry . I believe it is important that investor confidence is restored in this important regional economy. The fu-ture outlook for the African mineral processing industry is overwhelmingly positive, particular-ly along the central belt of the conti-nent, where invest-ment is flowing at a steady rate.

Reflux classifiers are fast becoming the preferred alternative to the industry-standard spiral technology


Comminution

G rinding with a high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) sig-nificantly enhances overall throughput,” says Winchester

Maphosa, Weir Minerals Africa’s product manager responsible for comminution. “It’s achieved by harnessing an advanced type of grinding roll that breaks the par-ticles by compression in a packed particle bed, compared to conventional crushing rolls, which achieve this by direct nipping of the particles between the two rolls.

“The HPGR approach has many benefits that are particularly pertinent to the eco-nomic issues driving minerals process-ing operations today. These advantages include the ability to process moist ores, enhanced downstream recovery and im-proved grade of downstream products. The technology is also low maintenance and has a low space requirement in the plant.

“However, one of the foremost advantag-es is low energy consumption, especially when compared to conventional milling,” he adds. “For most ores, the specific en-ergy consumption is about 0.8 to 2.0 kWh per tonne of HPGR feed. When coupled with subsequent downstream processes or high-efficiency classifiers, overall grind-ing energy reductions of as much as 40% have been achieved.”

HPGRs were originally introduced as a new grinding technology in 1984. Since then, they have been successfully in-stalled in many plants throughout the world, mainly for cement and limestone. More recently, HPGRs have also been ap-plied in mineral processing plants, largely in iron ore and diamond treatment appli-cations. In these industries, the applica-tion of HPGR ranges from coarse grinding (the grinding of 65 mm size excess peb-bles in AG circulation loops, for example) to final grinding of <100 μm material, to high Blaine values in the preparation of pellet feed.

Weir Minerals Africa’s global alliance partner, KHD Humboldt Wedag, recently built

one of its biggest high-pressure grinding rolls to date – an RPS220/200, which is

capable of processing particles up to 80 mm and has a maximum throughput in

excess of 3 000 tph.

High-pressure grinding rollsBIGGER AND BETTER

HPGR grinding significantly enhances overall throughput. This results in the creation of a large proportion of finished product and, generally, a reduced Bond Work Index of the pressed material. This allows for a reduction in the projected number of equipment units required in tertiary crushing, quaternary crushing and grinding.

“With the new RPS220/200 we are now able to offer the African market a tech-nology that can process bigger particles than ever before and delivers the high-est tonnage for this technology to date,” says Maphosa.

“Since the cost of wear is of major im-portance to the minerals processing in-dustry, KHD has given wear protection top priority on our behalf. The highly wear-resistant stud-lining of its rolls has taken a leading position worldwide. This combination of hard-metal studs and the material embedded between them is glob-ally recognised for its autogenous wear protection of the roll surface.”

Weir Minerals Africa first installed HPGR technology in the African min-ing industry at an iron ore application in Mauretania. This company has since purchased two more units, bringing its full HPGR complement to four units, with a combined throughput capacity of 1 800 tph. Maphosa explains that in iron ore applications, the technology also

“The HPGR approach has many benefits that are particularly pertinent to the economic issues driving minerals processing operations today.” - Winchester Maphosa, HPGR product manager at Weir Minerals Africa


Comminution

offers advantages to the processing filter cake of beneficiated concentrates. This provides a means of avoiding the need for either excessive drying or difficult filtra-tion and sedimentation processes.

Outside of the continent, Weir Minerals is in the process of supplying HPGRs to a gold ore application in China, an iron ore plant in Chile and a copper ore operation in Peru.

Weir Minerals’ large footprint, together with with KHD’s backing, allows the abil-ity of quick response times to customers’ requirements and the capacity to service the HPGRs within the regions where the machines are installed.

“HPGRs have gained a firm footing in global comminution technology,” Mapho-sa concludes. “Contrary to conventional single particle crushing – in tube mills, for example – the outstanding size reduction in an HPGR is the result of inter-particle

ABOVE View of the HPGR grinding roll that is used to break particles by

compression in a particle bedBELOW The top view of the RPS220200

HPGR being built at KHD Humboldt Wedag

comminution between the rolls. The tech-nology is gaining recognition for its high material throughput rates at comparably low capital outlay.”

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do Brasil Ltda; AUTOBALL is a trademark of Weir Minerals Australia Ltd.


Comminution

CRUSHING IN WEST AFRICA

A wealth of prospectsPilot Crushtec is rapidly expanding its footprint across the continent with its

latest focus on West Africa, which holds a wealth of prospects for the extraction

of minerals and precious metals.

Park, east of Johannesburg. Being close to OR Tambo International Airport also helps as many of our West African customers call on us fi rst when they come to South Africa.”

West Africa has enormous potential for mining, as well as the creation of infra-structure. Ghana, for example, is Africa’s second-largest gold producer and Guinea holds an estimated quarter of the world’s bauxite reserves.

Pilot Crushtec has built up its business on the strength of relationships and West Africa is no diff erent.

“Our plan is to have a dedicated sales en-gineer who will concentrate on West Africa in the same way we have increased our foot-print in other locations south of the Sahara. By forging new relationships we believe there are excellent opportunities for sustainable growth in the region.”

According to sales manager Wayne Warren, the company’s expansion in this region has been a gradual process based upon a growing

knowledge and confi dence in Pilot Crushtec products and the recovery in global mineral and ore prices.

“A typical example is the long-standing relationship we have with a leading gold producer in the region that bought a Pilot Modular plant from us back in 1999. And it has worked well ever since.”

Th is positive experience prompted the company to buy a second Pilot Modular plant in mid-2011 to handle a harder grade of material.

“Th is proved to be a resounding success, so much so that it purchased another iden-tical plant later in December,” says Warren. He adds that the customer can now feed crushed run-of-mine material into both its mineral sizers, substantially increasing its productivity.

Following a decade of outstanding service from his original plant, the miner now has

an impressive fl eet of equipment, including a Pilot Modular BR0605 impact crusher, two Pilot Modular/TRIO MJ3042 jaw crushers, a Pilot Modular GFH560 grizzly feed hopper, fi ve MC600 conveyors, two Pilot Modular MC1000 11 m conveyors and two Pilot Mod-ular MC1050 24 m conveyors.

Warren believes that a number of impor-tant factors are contributing to the expansion of the Pilot Crushtec brand in West Africa.

“Pilot Crushtec’s products are built to meet African needs and conditions. Our custom-ers’ sites are often in remote areas where even basic services are unavailable. It is abso-lutely vital to have a reputation as a provider of quality turnkey solutions with impeccable after-sales service.”

Th ere is also a strong South African connec-tion within the West African mining commu-nity, with either expatriates working for local mining houses or Johannesburg-based com-panies running their own operations. “Th is is a decided advantage. We speak the same language and many of these companies have offi ces close to our own headquarters in Jet

BELOW A leading gold producer recently purchased a second Pilot Modular plant from Pilot Crushtec in order to handle a

harder grade of material

Comminution


In Mali, West Africa, Multotec has suc-cessfully increased the life of a mining operation’s mill lining from between eight and nine months to 12 months.

Taylor says this has been achieved by re-placing the originally installed MultoMet composite lifter bars with Hardox 500 steel plates, to heavy-duty MultoMet lifter bars, using castings to achieve longer life.

“Optimisations a huge focus in the miner-als industry today as shutdowns are time consuming and costly,” says Taylor. “It makes sense to opt for the most reliable product with the potential to maximise uptime.”

Heavy-duty MultoMet lifter bars use pro-prietary heat-treated chromium molybde-num alloy cast steel inserts that allow for the design of lifter bars with more impact and abrasion resistance, with a focus on the height-to-angle and covering the top of the lifter for specifi c trajectories and longer life.

CONSUMABLE EQUIPMENT

Optimising the comminution circuitDemand for mineral process solutions provider Multotec’s expertise in optimising

the comminution circuit is gaining traction across Africa, specifically for mill

linings, says Multotec Rubber MD, Spike Taylor.

Th e Hardox 500 plates in MultoMet lifter bars and shell plates are quenched and tempered to achieve maximum toughness and are not prone to crack-ing. Hardox 500 al-lows for a plate run-ning the full length of the lifter with no joints or sections.

Also in Mali, Multotec has converted an ex-isting steel-lined mill at Somisy’s Syama mine to heavy-duty MultoMet. Although this task was highly complex in terms of installation and reconfi guring, the end result has been improved lining life.

“Two primary reasons for the conversion from steel to MultoMet rubber compos-ite lifter bars were ease of handling during

installation and minimisation of gold lock-up, which can prove very costly,” Taylor comments. “Th e plant is now on its third set of replacement liners, which are deliver-ing an improved performance in line with customer requirements.”

Rubber mill linings are lighter than their steel counterparts, which means they are easier and safer to install and have the addi-tional advantage of low noise. Cost effi ciency is achieved by replacing one shell plate with two lifter bars.

At Metorex’s Chibuluma mine in Kalulushi, Zambia, Multotec has achieved incremental improvements in the past few years in the life of the plant’s mill liners, increasing from an average of between four and fi ve months, to a current life of up to nine months. Mul-totec’s Field Service Maintenance team conducts routine mill liner inspections for customers to measure the profi le of the lifter bars as an indication of remaining life, and they assist with the plant’s predictive change-out schedule.

Th e company also deploys its specialist com-minution manager, who has broad-ranging experience in mill circuit analysis, to support customers throughout Africa with design, circuit optimisation and trouble-shooting.

“Aftersales service and ongoing dialogue with mill operators is high on our agenda,” Taylor notes. “We regard it as critical to regularly assess operating conditions so that continual improvement in mill liner designs can be achieved by matching the design to

ABOVE Combination primary and secondary slurry sampler for monitoring

grind and grade of milling circuit streams circuit

LEFT A cyclone cluster in a milling circuit

“Demand for Multotec’s expertise in optimising comminution circuits has increased.” Spike Taylor, managing

director of Multotec Rubber

Multotec, a leading mineral process solutions provider to the mining and mineral benefi ciation industries, partners with customers for perfect equilibrium between the life of equipment and process effectiveness in every individual customer application.

Our value-added products and extensive application knowledge have established our global reputation for providing optimum technical solutions and the highest levels of support through consulting services and fi eld service teams.

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www.multotec.com

the ingredients

for the perfect mix

Comminution

the actual conditions, rather than being guided by theoretical mill design conditions. We also harness 3D modelling for detailed liner analysis.”

Black boxWith Multotec’s other in-house special-ist managers, the company is able to off er a combined expertise that focuses on measure-ment and control within the greater ‘black box’ of the milling circuit.

Th is includes enhancing trommel perfor-mance with the correct screens for specifi c applications ranging from large, sophisti-cated steel structure screens of up to 5 m in diameter to small and sometimes non-stand-ard trommel screens. Fitted with polyure-thane and rubber screen panels, they are in-tegral to protecting the pumps and cyclones from worn grinding media and high volumes of scats.

Although Multotec does not supply vibrat-ing screens, the same polyurethane and rub-ber screen panels are supplied for vibrating screens used in front of the mill for feed siz-ing and for mill discharge when the circuit has a vibrating screen instead of a trommel.

“Our cyclone test facility plays an impor-tant role in the evaluation of diff erent ore types and their behaviour inside the cy-clones, which are sized to suit each circulat-ing load and required grind,” continues Tay-lor. “We’ve built up a rich depth of in-house expertise to evaluate alternative mill circuit cyclone options using simulation packages, and we use knowledge gathered over many years of optimising cyclone effi ciency in the fi eld to improve mill circuit performance,” he continues. “R&D is an ongoing pursuit to improve our understanding of cyclone and mill interaction.

“Sampling also falls into the black box and Multotec provides internationally recognised sampling solutions in this arena. Hammer sampling and dry sampling are the most accurate ways to measure head grade and provide the best feed size, and we are able to sample to a top size of 500 mm. Wet sam-pling analyses the effi ciency of the grind to achieve balance in the mill circuit. Th e Mul-totec cross-stream sampler has proved a real market diff erentiator for us. With the associ-ated splitters, this technology can be used to take accurate, unbiased samples of mill dis-charge streams involving high-volume fl ows.”

Skills transferTh e Multotec Group CEO, Th omas Holtz, says his company is heavily involved in comminu-tion circuit skills transfer to the next genera-tion of engineers. Th is is being achieved not

only through robust in-house training, but also via relation-ships established with leading uni-versities that allow Multotec specialists to deliver lectures on comminution.

“Th e point of this initiative is to elevate the vocation of the comminution engineer as an important and aspirational role that is critical to the

future of the African mining industry,” says Holtz. “To this end we also off er a number of bursaries.”

“The company is heavily involved in transferring comminution circuit skills to the next generation of engineers.” Multotec Group CEO, Thomas Holtz

Ceterum censeo


She ain’t heavy

Barloworld loose insert

Bauer Technologies SA 13

Bell Dewar Attorneys 5

Digby Wells 21

DRA Mineral Projects 19

Gemecs 16

Group Five Projects 31

Ingwenya Minerals Processing 2

K'enyuka 35

Komatsu OBC

Loesche SA 27

MC PROCESS OFC

Metso Minerals/Pumps Division 29

MRD (Mineral Resources Development) 22

Multotec Group 47

Osborn Engineered Products SA IBC

RCM Plastics IFC

Scribante Construction 17

Shaft Sinkers 33

Turgis Consulting 25

Veyance Tech 37

Weir Minerals 44

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

BY WILLEM SMUTS

South Africa’sMin ister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, has brushed off concerns over the highly debated ‘resource rent tax’ on mining profi ts. She added that any change would have to keep the country’s mining sector competitive. Th e minister said that it was too early to discuss details of the proposed tax, but that government will come up with a regime that will allow the country to compete in an advantageous way. If I could give the minister any advice, it would be not to try and do this without exhaustive inputs from the captains of the mining in-dustry. Th is certainly is not the kind of game you play without having all sides on the fi eld and a good referee that understands the rules.

False accusations It was good to see Exxaro speaking out against the un-founded claims by local farm-ers and the ever present green brigade; both groups appear to address their diff erences with mining companies in the press rather than through the appro-priate channels. Exxaro has also made available all the necessary applications it needed to con-duct mining operations at the mine in question and points out that alleged illegal activities on

the property, including mining activities in the wetland, are authorised in the Integrated Water Use Licence (IWUL). As part of this process, a river diversion was authorised in the IWUL as well as in the Envi-ronmental Impact Assessment. Th e diversion has been imple-mented to divert clean water away from the mining area, which will limit the impact on water resources. Operations at the mine comply with the con-ditions of these environmental authorisations.

Th ere is a right way to deal with ‘naughty’ mining compa-nies – and I am in no way saying Exxaro has been naughty – and running to the press and the ‘greenies’ is not the way.

Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines engages government on feesTh e government of Zimbabwe recently raised mining fees by about 5 000% to between US$3 000 and US$5 million. Th e Chamber of Mines presi-dent, Winston Chitando, has submitted the Chambers’ recommendations and views to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for con-sideration. While not elaborat-ing on the nature of the recom-mendations, one hopes that the negative eff ects of these

plans are clear, on the min-ing industry in Zimbabwe in general and, more specifi cally, the impact on local miners and smaller operators hoping to enter the industry.

According to Statutory Instru-ment 11 of 2012, registration of diamond claims was increased from US$1 million to US$5 mil-

lion, with a new ground rental fee of US$3 000/ha per year – talk about slaughtering the goose before you know if it will lay any eggs!

Application fees for prospective coal investors were increased from US$5 000 to US$100 000, while registration or renewal fees are now set at US$500 000.

In addition, there is now a new ground rental fee of US$100/ha. Ordinary and special platinum prospectors will pay US$500 000, up from the previous US$200.

Th e new thresholds would stifl e the participation of indig-enous people who do not have the capacity to raise the required fees, let alone aff ord to carry out actual exploration work.

Th e Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines is pushing the theme

‘Powering the mining industry for growth and development’, but they have picked a hard time to do this. Th e government says the increases have been introduced to curb speculative activities in the sector. Well to

the contrary – this will just cause more to take place.

Not balking at any uphill bat-tle, the chamber is also in discus-sions with ZESA Holdings on electricity supply and is hoping to come up with a framework for the development of mining. Erratic power supplies have continued to aff ect production in the mining sector, threaten-ing a growth projection of over 15% – perhaps a more appro-priate place for government to spend their eff orts? Besides, it is not the chambers’ job to secure power for mining.

In my opinion, the junior miners in Zimbabwe should be screaming blue murder and in-sist on being heard.

Willem Smuts

The government of Zimbabwe recently raised mining fees by about 5 000%

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