October2014

Vol 10 No 10www.crown.co.za

MODERN MININGIN THIS ISSUE… Petra Diamonds revitalises Finsch Positive PEA on rare earths project Coal plant supplied to Zimbabwe High-grade intercepts at Kipushi

www.aelminingservices.com

October 2014MODERN MINING1

COVERSandvik Mining Systems has supplied a PA200 spreader – with a spreading capacity of more than 6 000 tons per hour – to Exxaro’s Grootegeluk coal mine. See our story on page 18 for further details.

EditorArthur Tassell

Advertising ManagerBennie Ventere-mail: benniev@crown.co.za

Design & LayoutDarryl James

CirculationKaren Pearson

PublisherKaren Grant

Printed by:Shumani Printers

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

Published monthly by:Crown Publications ccP O Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008Tel: (011) 622-4770Fax: (011) 615-6108e-mail: mining@crown.co.za

Average circulation(April–June 2014)

4 378

MODERNM I N I N G

CONTENTS

MINING NEWS4 Positive results from Kamoa flotation testwork

5 Amara hosts visit to Yaoure gold project

6 New Liberty on schedule for 2015 start-up

7 MD appointed to lead Platreef project

8 Bakubung headgear wins in Steel Awards

11 Platinum mine wins third safety trophy

14 Consulmet appointed for Lerala modifications

16 Universal Coal ‘green lights’ Roodekop

8 22

28

ARTICLES

PRODUCT NEWS50 Osborn units selected for Kangala plant

51 New Barloworld home for Metso mobile

52 Big turnout for BMG productivity exhibition

54 Froth pumps a “significant advancement”

55 Belt cleaner designed for easy maintenance

56 B&E International completes versatile plant

58 Field testing produces “excellent results”

60 Robust bio-oxidation technology developed

REGULARS

32

COVER18 Fine-tuning mine production

DIAMONDS22 Petra injects new life into ageing Finsch

RARE EARTHS26 Lofdal PEA provides a “clear path forward”

URANIUM28 Bannerman awards contracts for Etango

demonstration plant

COMPANIES32 Coal plant supplied to Zimbabwe

FEATURE – DRILLS & DRILLING 36 Kipushi drilling delivers high-grade

intercepts

41 Drilling services specialist reports 40 % profit increase

FEATURE – COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS 46 Seamless upgrade to coal mine’s

wireless network

49 Digital radio can improve mine safety

36

www.mdm-engineering.com

October 2014MODERN MINING3

COMMENT

I’m not quite sure why but most of my recent forays out of the office and into the mining hinterland have involved diamond mining in one way or another. The diamond mining industry is not par-

ticularly buoyant at present – though certainly better than some sectors of mining – so I sup-pose it’s really just coincidence.

First off was a visit to the Ghaghoo mine of Gem Diamonds in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve for the official opening of the new operation in early September. This trip was a little easier than my last visit to the mine in December last year, which I made in the company of Ian McAdam, Project Director of Gem’s Botswana subsidiary, Gem Diamonds Botswana. On that occasion Ian picked me up at my hotel in Gaborone and took me to the mine in his 4x4 – as I recall, a roughly five to six-hour trip, with the last 150 km or so over a very sandy and often bumpy track which habitually proves challenging for drivers and passengers alike.

For the opening, things were much different and I – along with many other guests – was able to fly to the mine and land on the newly opened airstrip – a journey of perhaps 45 minutes from Gaborone, with magnificent views of the vast Kalahari Desert thrown in for free. I reported on the opening in last month’s issue so I won’t repeat myself here. Incidentally, I suspect that quite a few readers have probably not received that issue due to the seemingly endless postal strike in South Africa. For future reference, I think I should probably remind readers that Modern Mining can always be viewed online at www.crown.co.za/modern_mining.htm.

My guess, by the way, is that Ghaghoo will be the last new diamond mine to be opened in Botswana for a while – nothing else seems to be on the immediate horizon unless one includes the planned restart of Lerala near Martin’s Drift by Kimberley Diamonds.

The week after the Ghaghoo opening saw me in Kimberley – the very heartland of diamond mining – for the excellent Kimberley Diamond Symposium, organised by John Bristow and Mike de Wit in conjunction with the Geological Society of South Africa. This was a thoroughly enjoyable event although I must confess that quite a few of the presentations – which had titles like ‘Kimberlites and Supercontinent Cyclicity’ or ‘Gravity Gradiometry and Pattern Recognition for Kimberlite Pipe Detection’ – went a bit over my head!

A bonus for me was that I was able to re-acquaint myself with Finsch, as a visit to the mine was one of the field trips – there was a choice of six or seven – offered to delegates to the symposium. This was my first visit since Petra assumed ownership and it was good to see that the company is investing in the mine by developing a new cave (see page 22) which will allow its life to be extended quite considerably.

A couple of weeks after Kimberley I was on the road again to Botswana, this time visiting Lucara’s amazing new mine, Karowe, in the Orapa area, which has emerged as a regular pro-ducer of outsized stones (including some plus 200-carat diamonds, some of which I had the good fortune to view at the Lucara premises in Diamond Technology Park in Gaborone). I flew to the mine with Paul Day, Lucara’s Gaborone-based COO, a mining engineer who, prior to joining Lucara last year, was mainly focused on gold (at AngloGold Ashanti’s Malian gold mines) and uranium (he was Mine Manager at Areva’s Trekkopje mine in Namibia, which is where, in fact, I first met him).

Paul has taken to the diamond mining field with enthusiasm and he and his colleagues are currently busy with a major upgrade at Karowe – of which more in a future issue. I should also mention that I was very hospi-tably received a t t h e m i n e by GM Gerald Ndlovu and his colleagues. It was good to see that most of Karowe’s senior manag-ers are citizens of Botswana and that there is very little reliance on expats.

I’m not quite sure where my travels will take me next but certainly in the new year I will be visiting – at the very least – Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, as an inno-vation in our editorial calendar will be ‘country focuses’ with these three countries being the ones we concentrate on in 2015. Zambia will be up first and will feature in our April issue.Arthur Tassell

Some months are diamonds

Plus 200-carat Karowe diamonds, with a diamond loupe for scale (photo: Arthur Tassell).

4MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines has issued a summary of recent metallurgical flotation testwork at the company’s Kamoa copper project, near the mining centre of Kolwezi in the DRC’s southern province of Katanga.

Recent bench-scale metallurgical flota-tion testwork carried out at XPS Consulting and Testwork Services laboratories in Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada, has shown positive preliminary results. The work was conducted on a composite sample of drill core from the Kansoko Sud and Kansoko Centrale areas in the southern part of the Kamoa resource area. The sample is rep-resentative of the first four to five years of

planned Kamoa mine production, when Ivanhoe Mines intends to produce and sell a clean, high-grade copper flotation concentrate.

The testing is the first metallurgical work done on material from the Kansoko Sud area of the resource. The results are integral to the final metallurgical design input parameters that will be needed for the completion of the Kamoa develop-ment studies.

Copper recoveries of 88,3 %, at a con-centrate grade of 39,0 % copper, were achieved for the composite sample – an improvement on the previously published 85,9 % life-of-mine average copper recov-ery projected in the November 2013 Kamoa preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

Arsenic levels in concentrate were mea-sured to be 0,010 %, which is significantly lower than the limit of 0,5 % imposed by Chinese smelters. Ivanhoe believes that Kamoa concentrate with such low arsenic levels should attract a premium from con-centrate traders.

“This testwork further confirms the attractiveness of the high-grade Kansoko Sud area for initial mine development at Kamoa,” said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe’s Executive Chairman.

The testwork results were achieved using a laboratory flowsheet with a sin-gle stage of primary milling followed by rougher and scavenger flotation. The rougher concentrate was cleaned in two stages to produce a high-grade cop-per concentrate without regrinding. The scavenger concentrate and a screened,

A blast in preparation at the boxcut site, September 20, 2014 (photo: Ivanhoe Mines).

Positive results from Kamoa flotation testworkcoarse portion of the final tailings were combined and reground to between 10 and 15 micrometres, before being cleaned in two stages. The concentrate then was combined with the cleaned, rougher con-centrate to form the final concentrate.

In respect of the development studies on Kamoa, Ivanhoe says that – in line with the phased approach to project develop-ment outlined in the 2013 updated Kamoa PEA – these are progressing on the basis of an initial 3 Mt/a mine and concentra-tor. The mine plan produced in the PEA focused initial mining in the shallower por-tion of Kansoko Sud.

The 3 Mt/a mine and concentrator can be split into modules to potentially bet-ter match the underground ramp-up and further reduce the pre-production devel-opment capital. This will be examined in more detail as part of the development studies to provide flexibility to the devel-opment of the Kamoa project.

Construction of the boxcut for the initial decline portals, being performed by Lubumbashi-based Mining Company Katanga SPRL (MCK), is progressing well.

Work on the boxcut began in July 2014 and is expected to take approximately five months, after which development of the first set of twin declines can commence. The declines have been designed to inter-sect the high-grade copper mineralisation in the Kansoko Sud area, approximately 150 m below surface. A recently reported drill hole in Kansoko Sud intercepted 15,7 m (true width) of 7,04 % copper, at a 1,5 % total copper cut-off.

Sese EIA gets approvalAustralia’s Afr ican Energy Resources reports that Botswana’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the 300 MW Sese integrated coal mine and power project.

The approved EIA encompasses a project comprising a 1,6 Mt/a coal mine, coal han-dling and processing plant, 300 MW power station, water pipeline, access road, trans-mission grid connection, construction camp, and an ash disposal facility.

The power project will be expected to meet emissions standards derived from air quality modelling specifically undertaken for the Sese project based on International Finance Corporation (IFC) guidelines for thermal power stations and Botswana laws and regulations including Environmental Management Standard BOS ISO14001:2004.

October 2014MODERN MINING5

MINING News

Amara Mining, the AIM-listed, West African focused gold mining company, reports that it recently hosted a site visit to its Yaoure gold proj-ect in central Côte d’Ivoire for equity analysts and investors and Côte d’Ivoire-based journalists.

The group viewed the Yaoure Central pit, which was previously mined by Amara, where a large scale drilling programme is underway. They also visited the core sheds and the nearby Kossou bar-rage, a 175 MW hydro-electric power dam which is expected to provide low-cost power to Yaoure.

A presentation was given by the senior manage-ment team on the results of the drilling programme and the on-going work on the Pre-Feasibility Study, which is expected to be released in Q1 2015.

Amara (previously Cluff Gold) delivered a Preliminary Economic Assessment for Yaoure in

Amara hosts visit to Yaoure gold project

Q1 2014. According to Amara, it demonstrated that the project has the potential to be one of the top 10 gold mines in Africa by production and one of the top 50 in the world. With average produc-tion of 325 000 ounces per annum over a 12-year mine life and all-in sustaining costs of US$691 per ounce, the headline 8 Mt/a scenario delivers an IRR of 32 % at a gold price of US$1 250 per ounce and an NPV of US$688 million.

Yaoure – says Amara – is one of the few devel-opment projects in West Africa that remains resilient at low gold prices, with an IRR of 23 % at US$1 100 per ounce. The project is flexible and delivers similarly strong returns over a range of alternative throughput scenarios. With 83 000 m of drilling planned in 2014, there is expected to be strong exploration upside potential.

The Yaoure gold project site in central Côte d’Ivoire (photo: Amara).

African Consolidated Resources (AFCR) says it has not been able to raise US$12 million, which constituted a pre-condition of its conditional agreement to acquire the Dalny mine and associ-ated infrastructure in Zimbabwe from Falcon Gold Zimbabwe Limited. Accordingly, it says, it has for-mally withdrawn from the Dalny agreement and the acquisition of the Dalny mine for the pur-pose of trucking mined ore from the company’s Pickstone-Peerless mine will not go ahead.

AFCR says, however, that it has, in principle, secured joint venture finance which will enable it to start mining at Pickstone-Peerless with a local partner. Whilst a definitive contract has yet to be concluded, the terms of the non-binding agree-ment in principle envisage that AFCR will transfer its interest in Pickstone-Peerless and in Gadzema (including the Giant mine) to a jointly owned com-

AFCR’s Dalny acquisition deal falls throughpany (NewCo) over which the company will have management control and into which the partner will contribute US$4 million cash for a 50 % equity holding in NewCo.

The finance into the joint venture is calculated by AFCR to be sufficient to commence production at Pickstone-Peerless within eight months at a provisionally targeted run-rate of ore production of 10 000 tonnes per month.

“Raising new investment finance for Zimbabwe has proved extremely difficult and I am very pleased to have secured funding in principle on a joint venture basis with a view to commencing production at Pickstone-Peerless,” comments Roy Pitchford, AFCR’s CEO. “The success of this joint venture will encourage further investment to expand operations at Pickstone-Peerless and in future at the Giant mine.”

6MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

Aureus Mining Inc, listed on the TSX and London’s AIM, which is building Liberia’s first commercial gold mine, the New Liberty gold project, reports that progress on construction is on track for New Liberty to deliver first gold in Q1 2015. It adds that the mine will be fully commissioned and operating at a steady-state nameplate capacity by 30 June 2015.

Aureus says that whilst there contin-ues to be no reported or suspected cases of the Ebola virus across the company’s operations or in areas in proximity to where the company operates, the recent escalation of the Ebola outbreak across Liberia and West Africa is a growing con-cern. Despite the difficulties in operating throughout this outbreak, all efforts are being made to ensure that the New Liberty project remains on track and to minimise the impact of the Ebola situation upon the construction schedule. The New Liberty construction schedule provides an element of flexibility, which has allowed the company to reschedule some work streams, including commencing the pit preparation work that has started ahead of schedule, to mitigate against any potential delays that may be introduced should the

New Liberty gold mine on schedule for 2015 start-upEbola situation persist or worsen.

Steel erection continues on schedule with the primary crusher area 90 % and the mill building 30 %, complete. The primary crusher has been placed in position and is currently awaiting the vendor for further assembly prior to commissioning, with work to position the secondary crusher due to start shortly. The ball mill and all associ-ated components are at New Liberty, with the gearboxes, pinions, and barring units having arrived on site in late June 2014.

Aureus reports that a major milestone was achieved during June when the dam wall was closed off completing phase 1 of the Marvoe Creek diversion project. The creek is now fully diverted and flowing along the new channel alignment.

No lost time injuries (LTIs) have been recorded during 2014, which brings the total LTI free hours to 2,36 million.

An experienced mining manage-ment team has been recruited by the company and commenced employment during August. First initiatives involved bush clearing and top soil removal prior to pre-stripping operations. RC grade control drilling is underway and the mining of waste material was due to start in early October.

The first four 100-t capacity Komatsu HD785 rigid dump trucks for the project have arrived in Liberia. Dozers, excavators and articulated dump trucks (ADTs) are already operational on site and working on the construction of New Liberty and the top soil removal in preparations for the pre-strip mining. Further equipment will arrive throughout the remainder of 2014 in accordance with the demands of the mining schedule.

Open-pit mining operations for the mining of ore material are scheduled to begin in January 2015. It is intended that three separate ore stockpiles will be cre-ated that will feed the plant – these will be high, medium and low grade stockpiles, which will allow the plant to be fed from the point of start up with a ‘blended’ grade profile in order to optimise output and operations in general.

A subgrade stockpile will also be cre-ated adjacent to the southern waste dump which will contain all subgrade gold-bearing material not currently in the mine plan. This could potentially be processed in the future or at the end of the life of mine depending on economic considerations.

A recent photo of the New Liberty site showing ball mill and Vertimill foundations and steelwork with gold room building on the left (photo: Aureus Mining).

MINING News

October 2014MODERN MINING7

Coal of Africa signs Mooiplats sale agreementCoal of Africa Limited (CoAL) has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with a wholly owned subsidiary of Blackspear Holdings for the disposal of the Mooiplaats Colliery for a gross consideration of R250 million (US$23,47 million) in cash.

Mooiplaats, the thermal underground col-liery in the Ermelo coalfield in Mpumalanga Province, was deemed non-core by CoAL on 30 June 2013 and placed on care and maintenance from 1 October 2013. The sale of Mooiplaats was one of two remaining priorities under the company’s five-point turnaround strategy. The final outstanding

priority is to secure the funding and regula-tory approvals required for the wholly-owned Makhado coking coal project, located in the Soutpansberg coalfield.

Blackspear is a privately-owned business that is focused on operating and develop-ing a portfolio of coal assets in South Africa. Its key assets include the Puleng operations in the Middleburg district of Mpumalanga, the Thutsi coal operation in Ermelo and the Overvaal project in Ermelo. The Overvaal project consists of 252 Mt of gross tonnes in-situ (GTIS) and is the resource contiguous to Mooiplaats.

Ivanhoe Mines has announced that Dr Patricia Makhesha has been appointed MD of Ivanhoe’s subsidiary company that is advancing the development of the Platreef PGE, nickel, cop-per and gold project on the Northern Limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Complex.

Dr Makhesha has assumed first-line leader-ship of the newly renamed Ivanplats (Pty) Ltd, Ivanhoe’s 64 %-owned South African subsid-iary, effective immediately.

Ivanhoe’s Executive Chairman, Robert Friedland, said Dr Makhesha’s promotion was a recognition, in part, of her work to date in heading Ivanhoe’s development of relation-ships with diverse communities in the vicinity of the planned Flatreef mine, near Mokopane, and managing project relations with a broad group of stakeholders.

“With the granting of our mining right and the anticipated resumption of site work in preparation for the sinking of our initial shaft, this transition is an appropriate point to estab-lish a dedicated management and technical team for the Platreef project – and Patricia has earned her elevation to become the project’s Managing Director,” he said.

“Since joining Ivanhoe Mines, Patricia has applied her extensive management skills that she developed through executive posts and advisory directorships in the public and pri-vate sectors, where she helped to integrate socio-economic considerations into effective operating business models. She is uniquely experienced to participate in guiding the realisation of our plans to establish Ivanhoe as a major, innovative presence in South Africa’s platinum industry.”

Prior to joining Ivanhoe Mines as Vice President of Community Relations in February

MD appointed to lead Platreef projectthis year, Dr Makhesha served as a consul-tant to the company as it was preparing for the development and implementation of the Platreef project’s broad-based, black economic empowerment structure. Ivanhoe announced on September 4 that it had completed the allocation of a combined 26 % interest in the Platreef project to 20 nearby communities, representing a total of approximately 150 000 residents, plus local entrepreneurs and histori-cally disadvantaged, non-managerial South African employees.

Dr Makhesha was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of MMMS Consulting. Other positions during her 20-year career have included Senior Executive, Transformation and Human Capital Management at South African Forestry Company; Group Corporate Manager with Global Forest Products; Manager of Marketing and Communication at South African banker ABSA Group; and news and current affairs journalist with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

She holds a Doctorate and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from MU Business School and has completed executive development programmes at the University of Cape Town, Harvard University and Wits busi-ness schools.

Ivanhoe Mines is planning a multi-phased development of a large, mechanised, under-ground mine – the Flatreef mine – on its Platreef discovery. A preliminary economic assessment released in March 2014 estimated that a base-case mining operation of 8 Mt/a could produce 785 000 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold annually – and become Africa’s lowest-cost producer of plati-num group metals.

8MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

The Bakubung Platinum Mine (BPM) main shaft headgear has won the Mining and Industrial Category at Steel Awards 2014 and Spencer Erling, Steel Awards conve-nor, reports he was most impressed with the design and execution of the project.

“This is a structure where there are liter-ally thousands of bolts, all fitting without modification and tightened to specifica-tion, which is testimony to the 3D detailing using Tekla and the accuracy of fabrication. What a pleasure to see and experience the exceptional quality and final presentation of the steelwork. Louwill Engineering has certainly produced excellence in the use of steel,” he said.

The project team included Wesizwe Plat inum (developer and owner) ,

travelling (EOT) crane and its support structure tops off the headgear.

Headgears are typically designed for three stages of shaft development. This headgear is no exception and has been designed to satisfy the sinking require-ments for the shaft, the equipping stage and, of course, permanent mining use with all the skip unloading facilities and safety equipment for emergencies. This requires significant changeovers between the vari-ous stages.

To assist with this process and to identify steel components that are to be removed and replaced, only prime painting has been done to this steel and flooring. All other permanent small steel components have been hot dipped galvanised and plate girder components have received full paint specifications to prevent the possibility of distortion in the galvanising process.

The design of the headgear and its associated loads is in accordance with the SANS10208 series of specifications. These specifications were drawn up by a commit-tee under the auspices of the SAISC.

The dominant loads are gravity, wind and the forces associated with the loads on the ropes and snapping of the steel wire ropes and the catapult-like effect it would have on the headgear. Skip tipping loads are considered for the permanent use. There are other impact loads from emergency situations such as overwind of conveyances that have been taken into account.

To achieve a quick and safe comple-tion of the steel erection, the Louwill team planned and assembled large assemblies on the ground. At the right point in time, an 1 100-ton crane was brought to site to lift these large assemblies with masses of up to 235 tons.

As expected, there was an abundance of rain just at the wrong time, softening the ground conditions and forcing an emergency decision to bring in dump rock to stabilise the ground on which the crane stood.

“It is amazing how the whole team pulled together to get this done quickly not to disrupt the erection and of course waste money not using that big crane,” Erling says. “Our judges had no doubt that this headgear is a classic example of excellence in the use of steel and truly deserving of the Mining and Industrial Category Award for Steel Awards 2014.”

Bakubung headgear wins in Steel Awards

The main shaft headgear of Wesizwe’s Bakubung Platinum Mine (BPM) has won the Mining and Indus-trial category at Steel Awards 2014.

WorleyParsons (structural engineer and project manager), Louwill Bakgoni JV (main contractor) and Louwill Engineering (steelwork contractor).

Steel Awards 2014, which took place in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban on 18 September 2014, was hosted by the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC).

The structure consists of an A frame designed to resist horizontal, vertical and wind loads. The top three levels of the A frame form the sheave decks with the upper level at 72 m above the bank. There is a 14 m square centre tower between the bank and the underside of the sheave levels that accommodates six operating floors. A 30-ton capacity electric overhead

Development contract at Impala 16 extendedShaft Sinkers Holdings, listed on the LSE, reports it has been awarded a six-month contract extension by Impala Platinum on its existing Impala 16 project in Rustenburg.

The contract, which has an estimated value of £3,7 million, relates to develop-ment work on a number of levels within the shaft complex and comprises mechanised drilling to excavate the levels as well as the removal of waste rock via underground rail. The contract is on a labour rates basis with

a performance-based element.Shaft Sinkers, and its associated con-

tracting and project partners, successfully completed sinking of the main and venti-lation shafts at Impala 16 on 21 June 2013 following the commencement of work in 2004. The company has subsequently been engaged to undertake development work as the project comes into production. The main shaft and the ventilation shaft were sunk to a depth of 1 657 m and 1 400 m respectively.

October 2014MODERN MINING9

MINING News

Tanzanian Royalty Exploration Corporation (TRX) says heap leach pad construction has been completed at its Buckreef re-development gold project, located in the Lake Victoria goldfield of Tanzania. Construction began in April 2014 and was overseen by civil contractor Yale-Constech Company Limited.

Four heap leach cells with dimensions of 100 m by 30 m each are now complete. This will support the processing of stacked ore delivered from the Buckreef South Pit. The company has also completed a sig-nificant portion of the Buckreef South Pit preparation, including grade control drilling, maps and roads.

“Completing construction of the four heap leach cells and preparing the Buckreef South Pit for ore extraction were two of the major objec-tives in our march to production,” says James E. Sinclair, President and CEO of TRX. “Our team managed these projects on plan and our suppli-ers delivered with the utmost professionalism and safety.”

The heap leach project is subject to environmental regulation by the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) and the pads were engineered to exceed the standards established in the Water Resource Management Act No 11, 2009.

A three-layer barrier structure permanently contains all fluids within the boundaries of the heap and connects the leaching field to the pro-cess ponds. From the bottom up, the three layers consist of a one-foot layer of compacted clay base, a 1,5 mm non-porous Bentomat high-density polyethylene liner, and 19 mm of gravel material intended primarily as a buffer to prevent the liner from contacting ore.

While the complete leach cycle is estimated at a minimum of 60 days, the majority of the metal should be recovered in less than 45 days. The company anticipates that a sufficient quantity will have accumulated to begin the carbon elution process after about 30 days of irrigation.

“We remain on track for our first pour,” says Sinclair. “We are look-ing forward to commissioning the new carbon-in-leach and crushing equipment and hiring the remaining processing staff, raising our employment to over 100 people. We are rapidly becoming Tanzania’s newest gold miner and producer.”

Leach pad construction at Buckreef completed

Resource declared for iron ore projectTsodilo Resources has announced the release of its maiden NI 43-101 Technical Report including a CIM compliant inferred mineral resource estimate of 441 Mt with an average grade of 29,4 % Fe for Block 1 of its flagship Xaudum iron project in north-west Botswana.

“We are delighted to say that we have defined large mineral resource tonnage in the Block 1 area of 441 Mt. This is a major step for the project and confirms that Xaudum can be a major iron ore project for Botswana,” says James M Bruchs, Chairman and CEO of Tsodilo. “The project has the potential to supply iron ore and iron products to not only the whole Southern African region but to the world. This resource is also only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ given the previ-ously reported Exploration Target of between 5 and 7 billion tonnes.”

Tsodilo is currently drilling the next exploration area referred to as Block 2a, where the company expects to define a significant inferred mineral resource in due course which will significantly increase Xaudum’s total mineral resource.

10MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

In his Chairman’s statement in BlueRock Diamonds’ interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014, Paul Beck says considerable progress has been made by BlueRock and the Group over the period.

“In particular, we have made good progress with trial mining of the kimberlite pipes at the Kareevlei tenements, and we have completed the transfer of the mining right over the Kareevlei tenements to our subsidiary, Kareevlei Mining (Pty) Limited. Our production to date supports the min-eral resource estimates set out in our initial Competent Person’s Report (CPR) and indi-cates that, at this early stage, both the predicted grade and US$ per carat value are higher than initially anticipated.”

Barloworld invests US$14 million on CopperbeltOfficially opened on 27 August 2014, Barloworld Equipment Zambia’s new Kitwe facility represents an investment of approx-imately US$14 million. The year 2014 also marks Barloworld Equipment’s 20th anni-versary as Caterpillar’s earthmoving and power systems dealer for Zambia, with its head office based in Lusaka. Barloworld Equipment in turn celebrates 87 years as Caterpillar’s Southern African dealer in 2014.

The new Kitwe facility, which replaces an older building on an adjacent site, houses modern workshops; a machine and com-ponent rebuild centre that includes a dyno testing bay for engines up to 2 000 horse-power; a latest generation hydraulic test bench; a 2 200 m² parts warehouse; and a technical training centre. A Cat generator

station provides standby and prime power, ensuring uninterrupted operations.

“We have experienced rapid growth in our Cat machine population in recent years, particularly in the Copperbelt region, which is one of the world’s major copper and cobalt producers, and our new state-of-the-art administration, parts and service centre in Kitwe has been purpose-built to keep pace with current and future demand,” says Deon Heyns, MD for Barloworld Equipment Zambia. “This will ensure that we consis-tently deliver safe and sustainable world class sales and after-sales support to our customers.”

From a health and safety perspective, Barloworld Equipment Zambia recorded a zero LTFR (Lost Time Frequency Rate)

over the past 12 months. During 2014 this includes work on complex in-field machine assemblies such as Kalumbila Minerals’ Sentinel copper mine greenfield devel-opment, situated around 140 km west of Solwezi. Here some 145 000 injury-free hours have been achieved by Barloworld Equipment Zambia personnel during the assembly of Cat 7495 electric rope shovels and Cat MD6640 rotary blast hole drills.

These are very large machines. The Cat 7495, for example, has an operating weight of approximately 1 388 tonnes and a pay-load capacity of 109 tonnes, and is designed to be a three-pass loading match for ultra sized off-highway trucks. Meanwhile, the Cat MD6640 has a working weight of around 172 365 kg and is capable of drill-ing to a multi-pass depth up to 42,7 m at a hole diameter of up to 406 mm.

BlueRock Diamonds plans upgrade of processing plant

He continues: “Now that we have reached the end of our trial mining period, and we are ready to move on to commercial production, the board has decided to invest in new plant and equip-ment to upgrade the existing facility at a total cost of approximately £400 000, including working capital requirements. The company intends to finance this equipment, and its installation, through the issue of convertible loan notes and in respect of which it has entered into heads of terms.”

In the six months to 30 June 2014, following the initial refurbishment and commissioning of the plant in December 2013, BlueRock continued to modify the trial mining plant in order to allow it to

The Kareevlei processing plant, which is to be upgraded to increase production capacity (photo: Blue-rock Diamonds).

operate as efficiently as possible.Beck says that – based on advice from

Frontier Mining, a company specialising in mineral processing plants – the upgrade of the plant will increase production capabil-ity from less than 20 t/h to 80 t/h, which equates to approximately 14 000 tonnes per month based on a single shift per day.

“To date, we have only scratched the surface of the Kareevlei tenements,” he says. “We have removed only 10 m of kimberlite from approximately 10 % of the combined area of the adjacent K1 and K2 pipes. No work has been carried out on pipes K3, K4 and K5. Since the progress update announced on 5 March 2014, the company has continued to recover diamonds and, as at 30 June 2014 and 15 September 2014, the company had 138,69 and 379,17 carats on hand, respectively.

“On 15 September 2014, we put all of our diamond inventory on hand as at 31 August 2014 of 327,3 carats for sale by tender. The parcels contained 1 102 stones ranging in size up to 6,23 carats, with the majority of stones in the +5 sieve class. The diamonds were offered for sale in a number of parcels, and attracted offers of US$77 571 in total, resulting in an average price of US$237/carat. The company accepted tender offers amount-ing to US$58 305 and will re-offer the remaining stones, primarily the smaller stones, together with those produced in September, at a future tender.”

October 2014MODERN MINING11

MINING News

It is reported that an unrivalled safety record has led to Lonmin’s 1B4B platinum mine being awarded the prestigious John T. Ryan Safety Trophy for the third consecu-tive year at the 2014 MineSAFE conference hosted in Johannesburg.

MineSAFE is the South African min-ing industry’s premier safety conference designed to bring local operations to ‘zero harm’ status and is jointly hosted by the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa (AMMSA) and the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA). The 2014 event, hosted at Emperor’s Palace from 20 to 22 August, was concluded with the presen-tation of the highly-coveted John T. Ryan Trophy.

The John T. Ryan Trophy is named after

Platinum mine wins third safety trophy

Lonmin’s 1B4B platinum mine has been awarded the prestigious John T. Ryan Safety Trophy for the third consecutive year (photo: Irma Palm Photographers).

the original founder of MSA – which is today recognised as a global leader in the development, manufacture and sup-ply of sophisticated products that protect people’s health and safety. MSA is also the official sponsor of the award, which is divided into five categories, namely plati-num mining, gold mining, collieries, other mines and the overall winner.

In addition to being named as the national winner of all categories, Lonmin’s 1B4B mine was also named as the national winner of the platinum mining cat-egory. The other national winners were AngloGold Ashanti’s Kopanang mine in the gold mining category, Optimum coal mine in the collieries category and Glencore’s Waterval chrome mine in the diamond-iferous, base metal and opencast (other mines) category.

CRONIMET breaks ground on solar plant in NamibiaCRONIMET Mining Power Solutions officially broke ground and began its engineering, pro-curement and construction (EPC) contracting activities for Namibia’s largest photovoltaic (PV) power plant in August this year.

The PV project is located in Omburu, two hours north-west of Windhoek. When completed, the 4,5 MW grid-connected renewable energy power plant, installed on 16 ha of arid land, will be Namibia’s first utility-scale ground mounted photovoltaic system.

InnoVent, the French wind developer operating locally in Namibia as InnoSun, selected CRONIMET Mining Power Solutions to manage and execute EPC services and to provide the construction risk-wrap for the project.

CRONIMET has established a local Namibian base EPC contracting and energy development services company, CRONIMET Mining Power Solutions Namibia (Pty) Ltd, to employ and transfer skills locally. CRONIMET is responsible for engineering, technical plan-ning, PV plant layout, electrical single-line diagrams, construction and PV component parts integration. It will oversee the connec-tion of the power plant to NamPower’s grid and maintain the plant for up to 20 years.

InnoSun chose CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenium) thin-film panels for the electricity generation, which will be mounted to a horizontal tracking system. Tracking the sun as it rises and sets optimises the angle of the panels in relationship to the position of the sun at any given time during the day, allowing the PV panel to increase its energy output by as much as 25 % when compared to fixed-tilt systems in Namibia.

12MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has announced ambitious plans for the expansion of metals beneficiation ini-tiatives and metal sector investments in South Africa over the next decade.

The CDC is the operator of the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) in Nelson Mandela Bay. Established in 1999, it is wholly-owned by the South African government.

The CDC will target bringing R28 billion in local and foreign investments to the IDZ, according to its newly unveiled 2014-2024

CDC targets R28 billion in investmentsmetals cluster strategy, over the next ten years.

Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, CDC’s head of marketing and communication, believes metals beneficiation initiatives present one of the rarest opportunities for South Africa to continue sustainable growth of its economy beyond mining.

“Our metals clusters strategy is aligned to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)’s Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), the Beneficiation Bill and government’s long term National Development Plan (NDP) that provides focus and clarity for the country’s minerals industry to develop mineral value chains and the expansion of beneficiation initiatives in the country,” he said.

An estimated 8 198 direct and 19 853 indirect jobs for the South African econ-omy can potentially be created, according to CDC projections, and approximately 2 000 ha, or 20 per cent of the total IDZ land surface, will be dedicated to ferrous and non-ferrous metal industrial activity over the next ten years.

According to Mogamad Sadick Davids, CDC metallurgy business development

Mogamad Sadick Davids, Coega Development Corpora-tion metallurgy business development manager, in Zone 5 in the CDC’s Industrial Development Zone.

Discovery confirms Bob Fulker as Chief Executive OfficerDiscovery Metals, listed on the ASX and the Botswana Stock Exchange, has announced that Robert (Bob) Fulker has been con-firmed as CEO of the company, with effect from 18 September 2014. Discovery owns the new Boseto copper mine in the ‘Kalahari Copperbelt’ of Botswana.

Comments Jeremy Read, Executive Chairman of DML: “I am delighted that Bob has been confirmed in his role as CEO. Bob has served as the interim CEO since 4 November

2013 and has led the company through many challenging corporate and operational peri-ods. He has been instrumental in turning around the production at the Boseto mine operation, with record production achieved in April, July and August this year.”

Discovery says that Fulker has more than 29 years’ experience in senior leader-ship positions across the industry, the most recent (prior to his joining Discovery) being with BHP Billiton in its Base Metals Division.

manager, several metals sector and min-eral beneficiation projects are progressing well in the Coega IDZ with a “healthy investment pipeline”.

“The manganese smelter, electro-mechanical component manufacturing plant, composite manufacturing and steel manufacturing of rail components will be converted in feasibility study stages dur-ing the 2014/2015 financial year and these projects are valued at R 13,6 billion.

“Several projects worth R1,3 billion are currently in funding stages, and include an iron ore plant, steel rolling mill and steel tube manufacturing plant.

“We have also received letters of intent from investors for a steel manufacturing plant and a manganese smelter collec-tively valued at R7,8 billion,” he said.

Davids also said Agni Steels SA, a high-tech R400 million smelting facility, had gone into pilot production and was mov-ing towards full production.

“We will intensify investor relation activ-ities and are eager to pursue steel, stainless steel, rolling-mills, manufacturing, ferro-chrome, ferro-nickel and ferro-manganese smelting projects over the next 10 years,” he said.

Berkeley Mineral Resources (BMR), which is primarily engaged in processing min-ing tailings at Kabwe, Zambia through its wholly-owned subsidiary Enviro Processing Ltd (EPL), reports it is making good progress towards production, fol-lowing its receipt of project approval from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).

During the assessment by ZEMA of EPL’s submission, the company was

temporarily prevented from carrying out any further technical testwork at its Kabwe site. It did, however, continue to conduct metallurgical studies and test alternative gravitational solutions. It also commissioned a desk-top study of leach-ing solutions for processing both the washplant and leachplant tailings.

Since receipt of the ZEMA approval, EPL has continued its testwork programme, evaluated the results of the desktop study

and expects to receive a revised simpli-fied flowsheet for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) shortly.

The simplification of the gravity flow-sheet is expected to provide a more robust and manageable process that should enhance the already attractive economic returns reported in the DFS, says Berkeley.

Additionally, BMR is reviewing propos-als it has received from interested parties for co-financing the project.

In order to co-ordinate and manage the processing, BMR has engaged the services of Dr Geoffrey Casson, who has extensive previous experience of base metals mining and processing in Zambia.

Masoud Alikhani, Berkeley’s Chairman, commented: “We remain clearly focused on reaching the position where we can order, install and put into operation the lead and zinc washplant tailings processing plant which will maximise BMR’s returns. Since receiving the ZEMA approval, we have commissioned the final studies and put in place the management resources to achieve this aim in the short-est possible time.”

Kabwe project gets ZEMA approval

www.catminestarsystem.com

14MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

Tsodilo Resources secures BK16 exploration licenceTsodilo Resources, listed on the TSX-V, reports it has been granted a prospecting licence over the BK16 kimberlite pipe located within the Orapa kimberlite field in Botswana. BK16 is located 37 km ESE of Debswana’s Orapa mine, 13 km NNE of Debswana’s Letlhakane diamond mine and 28 km ENE of Lucara Diamond Corporation’s Karowe mine. The licence grants the com-pany the exclusive right to prospect for precious stones for an initial period of three years commencing October 1, 2014.

Dr Mike de Wit, President and COO of Tsodilo, stated: “We are delighted in securing the exploration licence in the diamondiferous BK16 kimberlite pipe. This development affords us an opportunity to

accelerate our kimberlite exploration and evaluation efforts in the largest diamond producing country by value in the world.

“There has been a growing trend in Botswana focusing on brownfields explo-ration where more modern evaluation techniques are being applied to previously discovered kimberlites. This has, in many cases, improved diamond grades, and coupled with increasing diamond prices, has resulted in projects now meeting the required hurdle rates. Botswana is renowned for its investor-friendly environ-ment, and is also served by an excellent infrastructure, making it one of the lowest cost producers in the world.”

BK16, which was discovered in 1970, is

known to be diamondiferous and was origi-nally modelled to be 3,5 ha in size although later work has suggested that the surface area of the kimberlite could be bigger.

Tsodilo is planning an evaluation programme that will include detailed geophysics and core drilling to more accurately establish the size and internal geology of the kimberlite. Dependent on the results of the diamond drilling which would include petrographic, mineral chemistry and micro-diamond results, 24 inch large diameter drilling will follow to recover representative bulk samples from the different kimberlite phases in order to establish a grade and average diamond value with more confidence. The plan is to complete the first phase of bulk sampling in the first year.

ASX-listed Kimberley Diamonds Ltd (KDL) has engaged Consulmet to undertake the detailing and design work required for the modifications of the plant at its Lerala diamond mine in Botswana. The engagement of Consulmet is the first step in re-commissioning the plant and recommencing mining at Lerala. The aim of the modifications is to enable the plant to reliably treat 200 t/h.

Kimberley Diamonds is planning to restart mining at Lerala in Q4 FY2015 fol-lowing the approval of the environmental impact assessment and once work to re-commission the plant has been completed.

A photo of the Lerala plant taken at the time the mine was first commissioned (photo: Arthur Tasssell).

Consulmet appointed for Lerala plant modificationsOnce in production, Lerala has a fore-

cast mine life of seven years treating 1,4 Mt/a of ore and producing an average of 357 000 carats per year.

Consulmet specialises in the design, supply and construction of mineral processing plants, and has significant experience in designing plants for dia-mond producers, having operated in Africa since 1993. Recent diamond proj-ects undertaken by Consulmet include the design, supply and/or installation of dia-mond plants for the new Ghaghoo mine in Botswana, Alexcore in South Africa, Koidu in Sierra Leone and Murowa in Zimbabwe.

It has also previously provided assis-tance to KDL in respect of the plant at its Ellendale mine in Australia.

Consulmet commenced work on the detailing and design work in September 2014, and expects to complete this work by mid-November 2014. KDL is also in ongoing negotiations with Consulmet to undertake the supply and installation work required on an LSTK basis.

There has been talk in the marketplace recently that KDL is attempting or intend-ing to sell Lerala but the company has issued a statement saying that there is no truth to these rumours.

October 2014MODERN MINING15

MINING News

More drilling planned at Helio’s SMP projectHelio Resource Corp, listed on the TSX-V, has announced that, following the successful completion of a US$4 million financing in July, it has approved a US$1,5 million dia-mond drill programme for the SMP project in the Lupa goldfield of south-west Tanzania.

The drill programme is expected to include 5 000-7 000 m of drilling and be completed by the end of November 2014. It will focus on adding additional higher-

grade resources from the Porcupine target. In February this year Helio released a

new resource calculation from the Kenge and Porcupine resource areas focusing on the higher-grade aspect of the project. At a 1 g/t cut off, the resource reported 9,44 Mt grading 2,1 g/t gold (628 000 ounces) in the indicated category and a further 3,62 Mt grading 1,5 g/t gold (180 000 ounces) in the inferred category.

South African mining must mechanise and research has a crucial role to play in helping industry to get there. The country urgently needs to build a new cohort of mining researchers and there is no bet-ter place to do it than the Wits School of Mining Engineering, the largest English-speaking mining school in the world, which houses the Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems (CMMS).

This is according to Dr Declan Vogt, the newly appointed Director of the CMMS, who says that South Africa has allowed some segments of its mining industry to deteriorate. “We have seen a tremendous drop in productivity and that is making us uncompetitive. We are now under enor-mous pressure to become more productive.”

At the same time, there has been a decline in the quality and quantity of min-ing research, beginning in the 1990s when mining companies began to experience economic pressure due to the drop in the gold price and research became seen as an unnecessary overhead. In addition,

Mining must mechanise, says CMMS Directorpolitical transformation meant that com-panies could invest offshore, in countries with easily accessible reserves, and did not need to conduct the research necessary to drill for deeper deposits in South Africa.

As a result, there is an urgent need for mining research in South Africa, particularly around mechanisation, and Vogt sees the CMMS as the starting place for where min-ing research in South Africa is set to go. “Now is the time and this is the place,” he says.

Vogt has joined the CMMS from the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is a Wits alumnus, with bachelor and masters degrees in electri-cal engineering. After his masters studies he joined COMRO, which became CSIR Miningtek. He was the Acting Manager of the Centre for Mining Innovation before mining at the CSIR was restructured and the Centre was closed. During his time at the CSIR, he travelled to York University in the UK to complete a PhD in geophysical instrumentation.

16MODERN MININGOctober 2014

MINING News

Universal Coal, listed on the ASX, is to go ahead with the development of its sec-ond coal operation following the granting of the Integrated Water Use Licence at its 74 %-owned Roodekop project, located in the Witbank coalfield.

With the granting of the water licence,

Marking the first six months since commis-sioning and ramp up of its Tormin mineral sands project on South Africa’s West Coast, ASX-listed Mineral Commodities Limited (MRC) has delivered a first half net profit of US$1,5 million and expects an improved second half performance.

MRC reported revenue of US$12,6 mil-lion for the six months to 30 June 2014 and – having secured recent offtake agree-ments – has now commenced exporting garnets.

Ramp up reached nameplate capac-ity towards the end of the half with 4 000 tonnes per month of non-magnetic zir-con/rutile concentrate. For the six months Tormin produced 20 387 tonnes of non-magnetic zircon/rutile concentrate, 45 227 tonnes of ilmenite concentrate and 103 480 tonnes of garnet concentrate.

Universal Coal ‘green lights’ Roodekop

Roodekop and New Clydesdale will be operated as a single mining complex.

mate at Roodekop has increased by 13 % to 10,6 Mt, following a 48-hole drilling pro-gramme completed over the open-pit area in 2013. Roodekop has total resources of 84,36 Mt.

Integration of the NCC and Roodekop geological data is progressing and an updated resource and reserve estimate for the combined NCC Roodekop project is scheduled for completion in Q1 2015.

“With our Kangala mine operating at steady state and delivering to schedule, we are delighted to now have all the licences in place to commence development of our export-focused project, Roodekop,” com-ments Universal Coal’s CEO, Tony Weber.

“Once the acquisition of NCC is com-pleted, we will operate NCC and Roodekop as one complex, taking advantage of the natural synergies in place. In essence, the combined NCC Roodekop contains sufficient coal resources to support the installed 2,0 Mt/a processing capacity at NCC for the foreseeable future, with a sig-nificant proportion of production able to be beneficiated for the export market. The development of NCC Roodekop brings Universal Coal one step closer to becom-ing a mid-tier coal producer, already having installed processing capacity of 6,25 Mt/a and the coal resources and development initiatives in place to nearly double the current 2,4 Mt/a ROM produc-tion in the short term.”

Roodekop has all the necessary approvals in place to commence development. As Roodekop is located adjacent to the New Clydesdale Colliery (NCC), which Universal Coal is set to acquire, mining activities will be fast tracked to commence before year-end.

In addition, the proved reserve esti-

Tormin generates profits for MRCM ineral Commodit ies Executive

Chairman Mark Caruso commented: “Despite production in the first three months of the year being impacted by issues during commissioning related to the magnetic separation equipment, we have had a steady and assured start at Tormin and look forward to a stronger second half in terms of sales and financial metrics.

“We aim to sell/produce approximately 4 000 tonnes a month of non-magnetic zir-con rutile concentrate and 120 000 tonnes of garnet concentrate for the remainder of this year and it is pleasing to report that optimisation studies have identified a potential 20-25 % lift in nameplate pro-cessing through the existing secondary concentrate plant, including higher grade/value garnet concentrate production.

“Demand for the company’s non-mag-

netic concentrate remains strong in the Chinese market due to the ceramic grade quality of the finished zircon product. Average zircon and rutile prices remain stable and in line with current market reconnaissance which suggests some potential for a moderate lift in prices for the balance of calendar 2014.”

Negotiations in respect of the ilmenite produced at Tormin continued during the period. The company has contracted to deliver 20 000 tonnes of ilmenite concen-trate to Tronox’s Namakwa mineral sands processing facility located approximately 100 km away from Tormin. By the end of the period, approximately 11 000 tonnes of Ilmenite concentrate had been delivered.

The company’s first shipment of 33 000 tonnes of garnet concentrate occurred in August to the world’s largest producer and global distributor of industrial garnet abra-sives, GMA Garnet Group of Australia.

October 2014MODERN MINING17

MINING News

Minbos announces new CEOASX-listed Minbos Resources has appointed highly experienced mining company executive Lindsay Reed as its CEO. Minbos is focusing on the development of the high-grade Cacata phosphate project in Cabinda whilst growing its current resource base in incremental stages at its remaining deposits in Angola.

Reed was previously Director and Chief Executive Officer of resource develoment company Aviva Corporation which divested its West Kenyan gold and base metals assets in late 2012 to African Barrick. He was responsible for joint venturing into the asset with Lonmin and oversee-ing funding and exploration activities until the divestment of the asset. Reed also oversaw the environmental approval of two power station projects in Australia and Botswana and attracted international heavy-weights GDF Suez and AES Corporation as joint development partners.

Reed’s immediate focus will be to finalise the scope of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) pursuing capital and operating cost reductions, extend the high grade component of the resource base and present the company to international investors and potential strategic and off-take partners.

White Rivers enters exploration joint venture with HarmonySouth African mineral explorer and developer White Rivers Exploration Pty Ltd (WRE) has entered into an exploration joint venture (EJV) with South Africa’s third largest gold miner, Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (Harmony).

The EJV has been established to explore and develop potential gold resources at WRE’s Beisa project and abutting exploration areas within Harmony’s adjacent operations in the Free State.

Under the terms of the agreement, WRE and Harmony will have an initial and fixed 65 % and 35 % interest respectively in the EJV, with WRE funding and managing exploration activities to Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) level.

Both parties will subsequently contribute to the completion of any Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) based on their initial percentage inter-est. Once a positive BFS is completed, the EJV will be transferred into a Mining Joint Venture (MJV) and Harmony and WRE will hold 51 % and 49 % respectively.

WRE Executive Chairman Neil Warburton says the EJV is a major devel-opment for the company. “The partnership with Harmony, one of the world’s biggest gold miners, is a significant step forward on our path to production on our large South African prospective gold projects. If the future exploration programme proves up significant gold resources, as expected, then access to Harmony’s neighbouring infrastructure will enable the mining and production of the EJV resources to be fast-tracked. Therefore limited capital funding will be required by the EJV partners.

“This EJV has the potential to position White Rivers as a substantial mining operation. We will be looking at a number of funding options as the venture progresses, including potential listings on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges.”

Founded in 2007 in Johannesburg by Australian explorer and share-holder, Mark Creasy, WRE is majority owned by the Creasy Group (64 %) and has established a portfolio of 12 exploration properties which it is looking to commercialise through to production.

COVER STORY

18MODERN MININGOctober 2014

Under the watchful eye of Sand-vik Mining Systems’ technical staff, these multi-million Rand operations are able to minimise downtime and ensure that tar-

gets are consistently met. Expert planning and execution of maintenance regimes also enable resources to be correctly utilised where and when they are needed – allowing production issues to be ironed-out and profitability to be boosted as a result.

On sites such as the Exxaro-owned Groote-geluk coal mine near Lephalale, where coal is being mined to feed the massive new Medupi Power Station, Sandvik Mining Systems’ crews are in constant attendance. The project is one of the largest mining growth projects in Southern Africa at present and – on completion – will result in Grootegeluk becoming one of the larg-est coal operations in the world producing some 35 Mt/a of power station, coking and steam coal.

To accomplish the high production require-ments for the project, the spreader solution implemented by Sandvik Mining Systems is at present the largest of its type in Southern Africa, with a spreading capacity of more than 6 000 tons per hour and a massive overall reach of 100 m. It will be required to keep up with the staggering production rates at Grootegeluk over a period of about 40 years.

All-round solutionAccording to Rudi Pieterse, Market Develop-ment and Sales Manager for Sandvik Mining Systems, Exxaro’s requirement was for a spreader able to deal with high volumes of dis-card material for backfill and reintegration into the mined pit. The spreader solution is more flexible than traditional methods and is more capable of dealing with the massive produc-tion volumes that will be required of this mine in future.

“The Sandvik PA200 spreader is the latest in spreading technology available from Sandvik and utilises our inherent technical skills and abilities to provide incomparable levels of per-formance and productivity for our clients,” says Pieterse. “It is manoeuvrable and compar-atively fast, which allows it to achieve the best possible spreading of material in the shortest space of time possible.”

The provision of professional technical support and service for large-scale materials handling projects across the

country is a full-time operation for Sandvik Mining Systems, a division of Sandvik Mining RSA (Pty) Ltd, with dedicated

crews assigned to ensure operations run optimally 24-hours a day as required.

Fine-tuning mine production

COVER STORY

October 2014MODERN MINING19

Left: The PA200 spreader at Grootegeluk is the latest in spreading technology avail-able from Sandvik.

Below: The PA200 has a spreading capacity of more than 6 000 tons per hour and an overall reach of 100 m.

its Shondoni shaft near Secunda. This is one of the longest conveyors of its type anywhere in the world and provides a turnkey materials handling solution from the mining face to the company’s coal-to-liquid facility on the other side of town.

In-house expertiseAt 21 km long and carrying high volumes of run-of-mine coal, the conveyor has to oper-ate flawlessly at all times to avoid production losses. Pieterse explains that the project com-prises other conveyors as part of the overall system and begins underground with a shaft incline conveyor to transport coal from the mine’s main ore pass to the surface. This con-veyor has an impressive incline angle and a capacity of 3 600 tons/hour, which requires power from its massive 3 MW-installed variable speed drive to deposit the coal onto the surface level bunker conveyor.

With the same capacity as the previous conveyor, the bunker conveyor is required to lift the material to the main 15 000 ton bun-ker. Once on top, a tripper conveyor spanning 160 m with a 6 m lift uses a bifurcated chute to provide even distribution of materials across the surface area and minimise drop forces to prevent degradation of the material. The mate-rial finally makes its way to the main overland conveyor.

“The main conveyor takes a massive 5 MW

Another landmark project requiring high levels of engineering expertise and support from Sandvik Mining Systems is the impres-sive overland conveyor for Sasol Mining at

At 21 km long and carrying high volumes of run-of-mine coal, the conveyor has to operate flawlessly at all times to avoid production losses.

www.miningindaba.com

COVER STORY

October 2014MODERN MINING21

of installed power (four drives at the head and a single drive at the tail) to move the coal over the required 21 km. Complicating the overland journey, its route requires five horizontal curves (6 000 m radius) to guide it through an existing corridor,” says Pieterse.

Africa-wide projectsPieterse adds that Sandvik Mining Systems staff and expertise are also being deployed beyond the country’s borders where equally interesting projects are ensuring that Africa’s mines remain at the cutting-edge of produc-tion. A good example is in Namibia, where work is currently underway on a project to construct a large-scale materials handling sys-tem for Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine. This system comprises both overland and in-pro-cess conveyance systems to transport ore from the mine to the processing plant in an efficient and safe manner.

This is yet another large-scale mine, which upon completion will produce an expected 15 million pounds of uranium oxide per annum, making it the second largest uranium mine in the world. Its production will more than dou-ble the total current uranium production of Namibia and will push Namibia’s volumes past those of Australia, Canada and Niger to second place among the world’s uranium producers (behind only Kazakhstan).

“These and other similar projects across the continent provide a clear indication of the capabilities we have in-house and show the

The Shondoni conveyor is 21 km long and has a capacity of 3 600 tons/hour. Its route requires five horizontal curves (6 000 m radius) to guide it through an existing corridor.

Above: The impressive overland conveyor for Sasol Mining at its Shondoni shaft near Secunda under con-struction. This is one of the longest conveyors of its type anywhere in the world.

diverse solutions that are on offer to the min-ing industry throughout the continent. Whether it is coal, uranium or any other commodity that needs to be mined, we are showing that Sandvik Mining Systems has the ‘right stuff’, Pieterse concludes.

DIAMONDS

22MODERN MININGOctober 2014

While not as venerable as Pe-tra’s mines in Kimberley (Kimberley Underground and Koffiefontein), which date back over a century,

Finsch definitely classifies as a mature opera-tion. The Finsch kimberlite – located 165 km north-west of Kimberley and originally cov-ering 17,9 ha on surface – was discovered in 1960 by two prospectors, Finscham and Schwabel, and the Finsch mine itself was of-ficially opened in 1967 by De Beers, which

had acquired the rights to the deposit from the discoverers in 1964. Mining was initially by open-pit methods but by 1990 Finsch had evolved into an underground mining opera-tion, with access provided by a spiral decline from surface and a 763-m deep vertical shaft of 9 m diameter.

Total diamond production to date at Finsch over its nearly 50-year life amounts to approxi-mately 130 million carats, making it one of the world’s great diamond mines. While most of this has been derived from virgin kimberlite

Petra Diamonds injects new life into ageing Finsch

An Atlas Copco Simba M4C production drill rig in opera-tion on 63 Level at Finsch.

South Africa’s second biggest diamond mine, Finsch, is well on track to become bigger still with its owner, LSE-listed Petra Diamonds, confident that by 2018 the mine’s production will have moved

from the present block cave (Block 4 on the 630 m level), which is nearing the end of its life, to deeper areas of the orebody where dilution of ore by the influx of overlying waste rock will be much reduced. Run of Mine (ROM) production will increase from approximately 2,9 Mt/a at present to 3,5 Mt/a while

carat production will move up from 1,88 million carats (the figure for Petra’s 2014 financial year to 30 June) to around 2 million carats. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently visited the operation.

DIAMONDS

October 2014MODERN MINING23

Petra Diamonds injects new life into ageing Finsch

Delegates from the recent Kimberley Diamond Sym-posium visiting Finsch. ‘Modern Mining’ was part of the tour party (photo: Arthur Tassell).

Section through Finsch showing the current block cave and the Block 5 expansion.

ore, tailings retreatment has been undertaken for some years now, contributing a very healthy 776 138 carats to overall carat production in FY2014 (although it should be noted that this is an estimate as the mine is not able to exactly measure the ROM/tailings carat split, as ore from both sources is processed through the same plant).

The current Block 4 production area spans from 510 to 630 m below surface and has been in production since January 2003. It was ini-tially mined using sub-level open stoping but is now a fully fledged block cave operation. Finsch – and specifically the Block 4 cave – attracted worldwide attention in 2005 when De Beers introduced the world’s first fully auto-mated underground trucking system – using Sandvik 50-t capacity dump trucks – on 630 m level. Modern Mining in fact reported exten-sively on the automation project at the time, headlining one of its articles ‘The future comes to Finsch’.

The automation system is still in use today – as Modern Mining was able to observe on its recent visit, which was made in the company of delegates attending the recent Kimberley Diamond Symposium. The ROM ore is loaded by manually operated LHDs – Toro 007s, although Sandvik now refers to these as LH410s

– from the draw points in the block cave and is then transported to tipping points where it is transferred to the driverless trucks that run on a pre-planned routing and guidance system. The trucks haul the ore to a Kawasaki primary crusher after which it is hoisted via two skips to surface for treatment in Finsch’s plant.

An electronic scheduling system generates daily production targets which – via a control room system – are interfaced with the LHD management system. At the end of each day the cycle is completed when the LHD management

DIAMONDS

24MODERN MININGOctober 2014

An LHD working in the Block 4 cave (photo: Arthur Tassell).

Utility vehicles in the track-less service area (photo: Arthur Tassell).

system feeds the actual production details back to the scheduling system so that this informa-tion is built into the next production run.

Although the Block 4 cave operation has been highly successful, it is now extremely mature and has therefore become diluted with waste rock, as the block of kimberlite ore has been progressively mined out. To extend Finsch’s life, deeper areas of the orebody now have to be accessed. Faced with the prospect of having to commit major capital to taking mining operations to deeper levels, De Beers decided that it would prefer to divest itself of the asset and in 2011 sold Finsch to Petra, believing that the latter was the ideal candidate to ensure the mine’s long-term sustainability.

Petra has not disappointed and now has plans in place to extend the life of mine by at least 15 years, as Pieter Boshoff, Petra’s Technical Services Manager, and Andrew Rogers, Petra’s Group Geology and Mineral

Resources Manager, explained to the tour group visiting the mine. In essence, Petra’s strategy will see it establishing a new cave – Block 5 – with the new production areas extending from 630 m to 900 m below surface. A phased approach is being adopted which will see the top of Block 5 being extracted using the sub-level caving (SLC) method to a depth of 780 m over four levels, after which a conventional block cave is planned to 900 m.

According to a briefing document on Finsch given to the tour party, Block 5 extraction will require careful sequencing to ensure geotechni-cal stability and a sustainable production rate. Early production is an important advantage of the SLC mining method.

Geotechnical assessments have indicated that the most stable sequence of extraction will be to commence on the south-east and prog-ress towards the north-east. Stress modelling has dictated that two-thirds of the main pipe

DIAMONDS

October 2014MODERN MINING25

Another view of 63 Level with the Simba rig being operated remotely.

footprint will be extracted through a long, flat sequenced mining front with an average lead/lag of 6 m tunnel to tunnel. The remaining relatively lower grade portion of the pipe will follow as Phase 2, accessed by tunnels perpen-dicular to the first phase that will be retreated in a north-westerly direction.

The SLC design has a tunnel spacing of 21 m to improve pillar integrity and reduce the reha-bilitation requirements associated with SLC mining. To offset the consequent reduction in recovery and to improve on the production profile, a fourth level was added to the initially envisaged three-level SLC. This SLC expansion has allowed for the Block 5 block cave to be delayed by two to three years.

Mining the SWPC (south-west precur-sor), a satellite orebody which sits adjacent to the Finsch orebody, is planned as part of the Block 5 SLC mining layout. SWPC mining will be sequenced to lag just behind the sub-level cave. SWPC extraction is planned in three phases with the extraction being achieved through a combination of normal up-hole rings as well as compound up- and down-hole rings.

The Block 5 block cave has been designed with an undercut on 880 m level and an extrac-tion level on 900 m level. Due to the presence of the SWPC, large excavations will not be sited along this section and a one-sided herringbone layout appears most suitable. It is currently planned to follow an advanced undercut approach with only every alternative extrac-tion drive being advanced across the footprint prior to the undercut passing overhead. Only then will the remaining extraction drives and drawpoints be developed.

The Block 5 ore will be extracted by means of LHDs, tipped at ore-passes fitted with grizzlies and rock breakers, followed by crushing before being conveyed by means of inclined conveyor belt installations feeding into the three Block 4 silos on 650 m level to tie into the existing ore handling and hoisting system.

With regards to the timeframe for the devel-opment programme, Petra currently envisages first production from the SLC from FY2015 with mining of the SWPC following in FY2016. The dedicated conveyor ore-handling infrastructure to transfer SLC ore to the existing infrastruc-ture at 650 m level will become operational in FY2016. Decommissioning of the Block 4 auto-mated ore-handling system will take place in FY2017. Predicted expansion capex to get the SLC into production is approximately R2,7 bil-lion over the period 2014 to 2019.

Reporting on progress to date on the Finsch expansion plan, Petra notes in its recently

released preliminary results for FY2014 (to 30 June 2014) that the development of the infra-structure to access the Block 5 orebody made good progress during the year, with a total of 4 055 development metres delivered over the reporting period. Over the same period, raise-boring activities yielded 302 m.

The report says that as Finsch’s production profile gradually changes from diluted to undi-luted ore, the ROM grade (38,1 cpht in FY2014) is expected to increase to around 46 cpht by FY2016 and 58 cpht from FY2017 onwards. The Block 5 block cave expansion will be con-structed over the five-year period FY2020 to FY2024, with this new block cave contribut-ing 3,5 Mt/a at an average recovered grade of approximately 60 cpht.

The Finsch development plan is being mir-rored at Petra’s Cullinan mine near Pretoria, where a new block cave, known as C-Cut Phase 1, on the western side of the orebody in the upper portion of the major C-Cut resource (estimated to contain some 133 Mct in total), is in the process of being established. Commenting on both these expansion programmes in Petra’s 2013 annual report, the company’s CEO, Johan Dippenaar, said: “As the production profile at both these major mines gradually switches over from diluted to undiluted ore, the diamond content of the ore mined will increase signifi-cantly. At the same time as we gain access to these higher grade tonnages, our unit costs will further improve due to higher volumes and increased efficiencies, particularly in the ore-handling systems, and we therefore expect to substantially increase our operating margins in the coming years.”

Photos (unless otherwise acknowledged) courtesy of Petra Diamonds

“As the production profile at both these major mines gradually switches over from diluted to undiluted ore, the diamond content of the ore mined will increase significantly.”

Petra Diamonds CEO Johan Dippenaar

26MODERN MININGOctober 2014

RARE EARTHS

Lofdal PEA provides a “clear path forward”

Commercial scale sorting machine used for Lofdal test work at Tomra Sorting Solu-tions in Germany.

Canada’s Namibia Rare Earths Inc, listed on the TSX, reports that an NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic

Assessment (PEA) of its Lofdal heavy rare earth project in north-western Namibia confirms the technical and economic potential of the project. The PEA concludes that Lofdal currently has the potential to produce an

average of 1 500 t/a of separated Rare Earth Oxides (REOs) which would generate after tax cumulative cash flow of

US$257 million with an NPV10 %

of US$147 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 43 %. Donald Burton,

President of Namibia Rare Earths, believes the PEA provides a “clear path forward for development of the project.”

strengths in terms of the low capital costs and significant cash flows.”

He adds that management believes there remains considerable upside to the project as Namibia Rare Earths moves it towards prefea-sibility and feasibility studies. “Together with on-going metallurgical optimisations, we will target additional drilling to significantly expand mineral resources and to establish mineable reserves thereby extending the life of mine,” he says. “The company will aggressively pursue the most expeditious path towards develop-ment of Lofdal through all available options.”

The PEA utilised the initial 43-101 compli-ant mineral resources for the Area 4 deposit at a cut-off grade of 0,1 % Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREOs). This provides 2,88 Mt of indicated mineral resources yielding 9 230 t of REO, of which 7 050 t are estimated to be Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (HREOs), and 3,28 Mt of inferred mineral resources yielding 8 970 t of REO, of which 6 700 t are estimated to be HREOs. The remainder of the REO is made up of Light Rare Earth Oxides (LREOs).

As recommended in the PEA, mining will be by conventional open-pit methods utilising an owner operated mine fleet at a mining rate of 2 500 t/day (840 000 t/a) with the ultimate pit reaching a vertical depth of 200 m. A total of 6,04 Mt of mineralised material at a diluted grade of 0,28 % TREO will be provided to the primary crusher over the seven-and-a-quarter year life of mine (LOM).

Following secondary and tertiary crushing, the feed is delivered to X-ray technology (XRT) and X-ray fluorescent (XRF) sorters to eliminate internal waste, thereby reducing volume to the ball mill for fine grinding. Ball mill product slurry is fed to the rougher magnetic separator with tails going through three scavenger mag-netic stages. The magnetic concentrate product is subjected to a cleaner flotation circuit and

The PEA – undertaken by MDM En-gineering with contributions from The MSA Group and MineTech In-ternational – indicates that there is considerable potential to expand

the current mineral resource and recommends that additional drilling be carried out to pro-vide for an extended mine life in conjunction with a six-month Prefeasibility Study (PFS) programme.

“This PEA provides shareholders and inves-tors with the first indications of the economic potential of Lofdal,” comments Burton. “The PEA confirms the strengths of the project in terms of its favourable rare earth distribution and amenability to conventional mining and processing, and demonstrates its financial

October 2014MODERN MINING27

RARE EARTHS

Lofdal PEA provides a “clear path forward”

Top: Drilling in progress at Lofdal in north-western Namibia.

Above: A cathodo-luminescence (CL) photograph of very coarse grained xenotime (green) in calcite host (purple) with iron oxides (red). Bar scales are in microns. The ore mineral at Lofdal is xenotime.

then passes through a concentrate thickener prior to the acid leach circuit.

The leach circuit utilises a four-stage hydrochloric acid (HCl) leach to dissolve the carbonate minerals. A gangue leach centrifuge circuit provides for a primary acid water wash to remove the entrained dissolved calcium chloride solution and a secondary potable water wash with a second centrifuge for solid-liquid separation. The resultant solids are filtered in a filter press for final concentrate bagging and shipping to a hydrometallurgical facility which is proposed to be located at the deep water port of Walvis Bay.

Concentrate batches of 29 t each will be shipped in containers over a distance of 375 km to the hydrometallurgical facility for caustic cracking and washing. The caustic cracking plant is designed for the purpose of breaking or ‘cracking’ the phosphate component of the rare earth mineral xenotime in order to access the contained thorium for removal by subsequent HCl leaching. Following the caustic crack-ing stage, the washed residue is transferred to the HCl digestion tank to leach the thorium. Subsequent precipitation steps will produce a thorium hydroxide product for storage and a rare earth hydroxide product to be combined with the HCl digestion residue as a final prod-uct for drying and drumming.

According to the PEA, the project is not of sufficient scale to support capitalisation for a separation plant and it is envisioned that the final product will be delivered to a third-party facility and subject to an offshore treatment charge.

The total capital costs for the project are esti-mated at US$155,73 million and include direct capital costs for mining, mill site processing facilities, the cracking plant processing facili-ties and the tailings storage facility. Indirect costs, including EPCM, owner’s costs, first fills

and spares, have been estimated at 30 % of direct costs.

Operating costs include the costs of the owner operated mine fleet, processing at the mill site and cracking plant facility, transpor-tation costs for concentrates from the mine site to Walvis Bay and from port to an offshore treatment facility for separation. Technology Metals Research of the United States has indi-cated that a tolling charge of US$15-20/kg of finished REOs would be a reasonable estimate for the processing (outside of China) of an inter-mediate concentrate with a rare earth element distribution similar to the one associated with the Lofdal project to commonly required purity levels and finished forms.

An Environmental Impact Assessment has not yet been undertaken; however, the PEA indicates that the project can be developed in an environmentally responsible manner with significant economic benefits to the town of Khorixas and the local communities, and to Walvis Bay. Photos courtesy of Namibia Rare Earths

URANIUM

28MODERN MININGOctober 2014

The award of the major contracts follows completion of a competi-tive tendering process as well as receipt of the Environmental Clearance from the Ministry of

Environment and Tourism. The capital cost is estimated at A$1,4 million.

The operation of the plant for at least 12 months will enable demonstration of the heap leach design at a larger scale to investors and financiers, as well as provide input data for the detailed engineering of the plant. First results are expected in the June quarter (2015).

Owned 80 % by Bannerman, the Etango ura-nium project is located on the Namib Desert sands approximately 38 km (by road) east of

Swakopmund and has proved and probable reserves totalling 279,6 Mt at an average grade of 194 ppm for 119,3 Mlb of contained U3O8. Other uranium mines and projects in the same area include the Rössing mine and the Husab project – currently being built – to the north-east and the Langer Heinrich mine to the east. According to Bannerman, Etango ranks as the seventh largest uranium only project in the world.

The ‘Rössing type’ uranium mineralisation at Etango occurs within a stacked sequence of leucograntic sheets that have intruded the host Damara Sequence of metasedimentary rocks. The uranium-bearing minerals are pre-dominantly uraninite and uranothorite and are hosted within granitic intrusions that vary in thickness from 3 to 135 m. They occur over 150 m to 1 400 m in length and dip between -20 deg to -40 deg to the west. The granite host unit is locally termed ‘Alaskite’.

Bannerman published a very exhaustive DFS on Etango in April 2012, which confirmed the viability of the project – although it should be said that its conclusions were based on a base-case uranium price of US$75/lb U3O8, which is well in excess of the present price. The DFS

Bannerman awards contracts for Etango demonstration plant

Layout of the pilot plant.

Australia’s Bannerman Resources has awarded the major contracts to construct and operate the Etango heap leach

demonstration plant in Namibia. Activities have already begun and construction is scheduled for completion by

early 2015. The purpose of the pilot plant is to confirm the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) processing assumptions

– in particular the acid heap leach concept – and further de-risk the project.

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October 2014MODERN MINING29

A drill rig working at Etango. Over 240 000 m of resource drilling have been under-taken for the project.

Etango heap leach cribs – four 2 m x 2 m x 6 m columns.

detailed a mine processing 20 Mt/a via on-off sulphuric acid heap leach operation. It envis-aged the mine producing 7 to 9 Mlb U3O8 per year over a minimum mine life of 16 years – with plenty of upside for this to be extended – and put the pre-production capital cost at US$970 million.

The DFS estimated cash operating costs at US$41/lb U3O8 in the first five years and an average of US$46/lb over the life mine, giving a cash operating margin of 24 % at the then cur-rent long-term contract price (US$60/lb U3O8)

and 39 % at an assumed base case long-term price of US$75/lb U3O8.

As outlined in the DFS, Etango would be a conventional open-pit mining operation utilis-ing 550-t hydraulic back-hoe excavators and 220-t diesel/electric haul trucks. Drilling and blasting would be conducted on 12 m benches and mining on 4-4,5 m flitches to minimise ore dilution. With this configuration, the mining rate is scheduled at a maximum 100 Mt/a.

The Etango deposit outcrops at surface and, as a result, processing would commence three

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October 2014MODERN MINING31

months after the first production blast. The open pit has an average end-of-mine depth of approximately 240 m below surface and an average waste to ore strip ratio of 3,3 to 1.

As regards processing, a treatment route incorporating three-stage crushing, heap leaching and solvent extraction (SX) was rec-ommended in the DFS. Metallurgical testing and engineering studies have identified the Etango mineralisation to be most suitable for heap leaching for a number of reasons includ-ing the absence of clay in the ore and the fact that the mineralisation is free of acid consum-ing carbonates (or marble), thereby keeping sulphuric acid consumption relatively low at 18 kg/t of ore processed. Moreover, the pre-dominant uraninite (UO2) mineralisation is located at grain boundaries allowing rapid and high recoveries at a relatively coarse crush size. Finally, there are consistent leach characteris-tics across the entire deposit.

Heap leaching also does not require fine grinding, solid-liquid separation or a tailings storage facility. The process is therefore rela-tively simple, efficient and cost-effective.

Given its location near Swakopmund, Etango is blessed with good infrastructure com-pared to many mining projects in Africa. The DFS envisaged that grid power would be drawn from the nearby high voltage lines owned by Nampower, the state-owned power utility. Water – up to 5 gigalitres per annum (Gl/a) – would be sourced from either the existing 20 Gl/a desalination plant at Wlotzkasbaken to the north of Swakopmund or a second proposed

20 Gl/a plant to be located immediately north of Swakopmund.

Assuming the mine goes ahead, drummed uranium oxide from the Etango site will be shipped from Walvis Bay. The port is approxi-mately 73 km by road from the Etango site and already handles exports from the Rössing and Langer Heinrich mines. There is an existing railway line from Swakopmund to Walvis Bay and this, says Bannerman, provides an option for the transportation of U3O8 and key reagents to and from the port.

Commenting on the latest developments at Etango, Bannerman’s Chief Executive Officer, Len Jubber, said: “The commitment to the Etango heap leach demonstration plant programme, with the support of our major shareholder RCF via the investment from their recently established Fund VI, will enable main-taining our early mover advantage and ability to fast track the development of the Etango proj-ect in a rising uranium price environment.

“There is growing awareness that a looming supply shortfall will require a uranium price of at least US$70 per lb U3O8 (double the current spot price) to incentivise supply. However a key contributor to the impending supply deficit is the number of years it will take to bring new significant projects into production due to the lengthy technical, permitting and construction timeframes involved. Bannerman’s advanced Etango project remains one of the very few globally significant uranium projects that can realistically be brought into production in the medium term.”

The proposed bulk sample site. Some 3 000 t of ore will be extracted.

Given its location near Swakopmund, Etango is blessed with good infrastructure compared to many mining projects in Africa.

32MODERN MININGOctober 2014

COMPANIES

Bond Equipment’s client for the Zimbabwean order is Makomo Resources, a relative newcomer to Zimbabwe’s coal-mining indus-try. The company was founded in

June 2010 but has since experienced excel-lent growth – in fact, according to Zimbabwe’s Chamber of Mines, it overtook Hwange Col-liery Company last year to become the coun-try’s largest coal producer, apparently account-ing for nearly three quarters of Zimbabwe’s coal production for the year of 4,9 Mt. Apart from its roughly US$14 million investment in the coal plant, it has also invested in a substan-tial mining fleet which includes 20 haul trucks (Cat 777s and Cat 785s).

Makomo mines in northern Matabeleland in the Sinamatella area at the northern end of Hwange National Park. As Senekal says, the area is environmentally sensitive and con-struction and erection of the plant had to be undertaken with a view to keeping environ-mental impact to a minimum. “Our modular

Bond Equipment supplies coal plant to Zimbabwe

Errol Senekal, MD of Bond Equipment, pictured at the company’s outdoor stand at the Kimberley Diamond Symposium.

Although it tends to keep a low profile in the media, one of South Africa’s most successful suppliers of modular minerals processing plants is Klerksdorp-based

Bond Equipment. Modern Mining recently caught up with its MD, Errol Senekal, at the recent Kimberley Diamond Symposium to learn more about the company

– including one of its latest successes, the supply of a 350 t/h coal plant to a Zimbabwean company operating in Matabeleland North Province.

design assists in this respect, as all the modules of the plant are skid-mounted and there is very little necessity for any permanent structures,” he says. “In addition, the plant can easily be disassembled and re-located once mining at the site is complete.”

According to Senekal, the order for the plant – which saw it beating off fierce competition from other suppliers – is one of the largest the company has ever had from the coal sector. “We undertook the supply of the plant in stages over a two-year period and the facility is now in the process of being commissioned. As is our nor-mal practice, we provided a full turnkey service to our client, from site preparation through to commissioning.”

The new plant will allow Makomo to offer a range of products to the market, including thermal coal for the nearby Hwange Power Station and premium grade coal for the met-allurgical market. Once in full production, it will take Matomo’s capacity to 300 000 tonnes/month, potentially enabling it to supply not

October 2014MODERN MINING33

COMPANIES

only Zimbabwean but also regional customers.This order is by no means the first foray of

Bond Equipment into Zimbabwe as it has been active in the Mutare area of the country in the past but it is the first time it has supplied to a mining operation in Matabeleland. Apart from Zimbabwe, the company exports to other coun-tries in Southern Africa, notably Botswana, Angola, Zambia and the DRC, and is also in the process of entering the Ghanaian market.

Despite the growing importance of African markets, South Africa remains responsible for the bulk of Bond Equipment’s turnover, with the alluvial and kimberlite diamond miners of the Middle Orange River region being par-ticularly prominent in its client base – hence the company’s attendance as an exhibitor at the Kimberley Diamond Symposium, where it had a skid-mounted 50 t/h DMS for small to

A view of the 350 t/h coal plant supplied to Zimbabwean coal mining company Makomo Resources.

The DMS section of the Makomo plant.

medium-sized operations on display.Say Senekal: “Our core business is supply-

ing modular plants based on DMS technology to customers mining coal, gold, diamonds, manga-nese, chromites and copper/cobalt. In the case of diamonds, we can also supply related equip-ment such as X-ray sorters and pan plants. Our range is very wide and we manufacture small prospecting plants of 1 to 5 t/h capacity right through to 150 t/h plants for metallic ores and 700 t/h for coal.

“In essence, we’re a ‘one-stop’ supplier with our services encompassing everything from metallurgical consulting at one end of the spectrum through to final commis-sioning of plants at the other. Generally our plants comprise standard modules which can be combined on a ‘mix and match’ basis but they can also be built to the customer’s exact

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October 2014MODERN MINING35

COMPANIES

specifications. Our delivery times are good and we can have a plant on site within a cou-ple of months of order.”

Proprietary items – electric motors and pumps, for example – are sourced from leading industry suppliers and Bond Equipment also has a small procurement office in Shanghai, China, tasked with identifying economically priced – but good quality – equipment that can be incorporated in its range.

All manufacturing takes place in Bond Equipment’s modern factory in Klerkdsorp, an ISO 9002-rated facility offering 22 000 m2 of space. “We’re cost-effective because we do everything in house whereas most of our competitors tend to outsource all their manu-facturing,” says Senekal. “We also employ some of the best metallurgists and plant engineers in the business. Additionally, we get constant feedback from the field on the performance of our plants and this is used to update and improve our designs on a continuous basis.”

Bond Equipment has been in business since the 1950s and was started by Senekal’s father as an engineering company servicing the gold-mining industry. Senekal has been involved since the mid-1980s when the company first entered the process plant field. Today, it has grown to the point where it has approxi-mately 140 full-time employees. Apart from the Klerksdorp factory, Bond Equipment also maintains a sales office in Sandton.

The company regards itself as a medium-sized player in the industry with junior and mid-tier miners forming the bulk of its cus-tomer base. It does, however, also supply

bigger ‘blue chip’ organisations, having worked for – among others – Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti, Debswana and Trans Hex.

“Whatever the size of the companies we deal with, our goal is to have a close personalised relationship with them,” Senekal explains. “We’ve made our mark by our attention to detail, by our insistence on quality and dura-bility and by offering genuine value to our customers and this remains our philosophy going forward.”

Another view of the Makomo plant, which will allow the company to offer a range of products to the market, including thermal coal for the nearby Hwange Power Station and premium grade coal for the metal-lurgical market.

A skid-mounted 50 t/h DMS for small to medium-sized operations from Bond Equipment was on display at the recent Kimberley Diamond Symposium.

36MODERN MININGOctober 2014

DRILLS & DRILLING

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The majority of the new drill results are from the Série Récurrente (Re-curring Series) zone, which con-tinues to return high-grade copper and zinc-rich intercepts. Results

(all estimated true widths) include 16,1 m grading 4,9 % copper, 5,8 % zinc and 23 g/t silver and 9,7 m grading 9,0 % copper, 0,5 % zinc and 30 g/t silver.

Ivanhoe says it has commenced drilling of the Big Zinc zone – a resource which was

Kipushi drilling delivers high-grade intercepts

Schematic Kipushi cross-section showing mine infra-structure and the Big Zinc and Kipushi Fault zones.

Ivanhoe Mines reports that the second batch of assay results from its underground diamond-drilling programme at the Kipushi copper-zinc-germanium-lead and precious-

metals mine in Katanga in the DRC has returned more exceptionally high-grade zinc and copper drill intercepts.

discovered over 20 years ago and remains unmined – from the hangingwall drill drift on the 1 272-m level, a significant develop-ment since drilling from this drift provides the geometry for near-true-width intercepts across the Big Zinc zone. The first hole from the 1 272-m level, hole KPU040, has just been completed and represents the first of Ivanhoe’s holes designed to allow estimation of the his-torical Big Zinc indicated resource – originally established through pre-1993 drilling by the previous owner – in line with current guide-lines set by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

Historical estimates of the Big Zinc’s resources between the mine’s 1 295- and 1 500-m levels total 4,7 Mt averaging 39 % zinc and 0,76 % copper.

Hole KPU040 was drilled at -65 degrees

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DRILLS & DRILLING

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between two historical Gécamines holes and intersected massive sulphide mineralisation over a downhole distance of approximately 90 m. The observed mineralisation in this hole confirmed the overall geometry of mineralisa-tion seen in the adjacent historical holes of a massive sulphide body approximately 70 to 80 m thick on this section line.

The intersection consisted of massive sphal-erite (zinc), chalcopyrite and bornite (copper) and pyrite of the Big Zinc zone. The second hole in the hangingwall drilling programme tar-geting the Big Zinc zone is currently underway.

Ivanhoe cautions that the presence of observed mineralisation is not presented to confirm historical assay results. It confirms only the presence of mineralisation similar in style to that observed in historical holes drilled by state-owned mining company Gécamines. Assays are pending for a number of drill holes, including KPU040.

Comments Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe: “These latest assay results continue to highlight the remarkable grades and widths of mineralisation present at Kipushi. The completion of the first of our planned drill holes across the Big Zinc zone from the hangingwall drill drift marks the suc-cessful attainment of another milestone in our

Close-up of massive copper sulphides (chalcopyrite and bornite) in drill hole KPU040 through the Big Zinc zone.

Drilling the Big Zinc zone on the 1 272-m level.

goal of establishing an updated, compliant resource in the Big Zinc zone.”

Ivanhoe has now completed 35 holes total-ling approximately 7 350 m of its planned 20 000-m underground diamond drilling pro-gramme. Safe drilling access to the important 1 272-m level is now complete. Two diamond drill rigs are active. The first is in the hanging-wall drill drift on the 1 272-m level targeting the Big Zinc zone. The second rig is expected to complete the drilling of five remaining holes in the Série Récurrente zone in approximately two weeks, after which it will be relocated to the

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DRILLS & DRILLING

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1 272-m level. Hole KPU040 represents the first of 24 holes and 5 680 m of drilling planned for the Big Zinc hangingwall drilling programme. An additional 12 drill holes are also planned to test for deep extensions to the Big Zinc zone, of which seven will be completed from the hang-ingwall drift and the remainder from various locations on the decline.

Ivanhoe also reports that it is continuing to make significant infrastructure upgrades on the surface and underground as part of its planned redevelopment of the Kipushi mine. Most fab-rication work has been done on site utilising the re-commissioned machine shop and boiler-maker shop facilities.

Key recent upgrades include: installation and commissioning of the new main ventila-tion fan at Shaft #4; construction of a water dam and installation of a major pump station on the 1 112-m level; and winder upgrades at Shaft #5 to facilitate the installation of permanent pumping arrangements and shaft restoration.

The installation of the new main ventila-tion fan at Shaft #4 has significantly increased the airflow on the Cascades side of the mine, where the majority of expected future mining operations would be conducted. Good prog-ress has been made in the rehabilitation of Shaft #5, its winders and associated infrastruc-ture. Access to the 1 210-m level on the Shaft #5 side of the mine is expected in Q1 2015 to enable re-equipping of the mine’s settling and pumping facilities.

The Kipushi mine is located approximately 30 km south-west of the provincial capital of Lubumbashi and less than 1 km from the inter-national border with Zambia.

Following its start-up in 1924 as the Prince Léopold mine, Kipushi produced a total of 6,6 Mt of zinc and 4,0 Mt of copper – from 60 Mt of material grading 11 % zinc and approxi-mately 7 % copper – until political instability prompted the suspension of operations in 1993. The mine also produced 278 tonnes of germa-nium between 1956 and 1978.

In addition to the recorded production of copper, zinc, lead and germanium, historical mine-level plans for Kipushi also report the presence of precious metals, specifically silver and rhenium. There is no formal record of pre-cious metal production on the property.

The lower levels of the mine flooded in early 2011 due to a lack of pumping mainte-nance over an extended period. Ivanhoe Mines (formerly Ivanplats) acquired a 68 % interest in Kipushi in November 2011 and has assumed responsibility for ongoing redevelopment, dewatering and drilling. The state-owned

mining company Gécamines holds the remain-ing 32 % interest in Kipushi.

Previous mining at Kipushi was conducted from surface to approximately the 1 220-m level; mineralisation was projected to extend to 1 800 m below surface, based on Gécamines drilling. Mining historically occurred primarily within three contiguous zones: the North and South zones of the approximately north-south-striking, 70 deg west-dipping Kipushi fault; and the approximately east-west-striking, steeply north-dipping Série Récurrente zone in the footwall of the fault.

The Série Récurrente zone derives its name from the geological formation with which it is associated, which is characterised by a series of alternating or recurring beds of dolomite and siltstone/shale.

Scooptram removing mud from access on 1 150-m level.

Three-dimensional model of the Big Zinc zone based on historical Gécamines drilling, showing Ivanhoe’s planned and completed drill holes. The location of Ivanhoe’s recently com-pleted drill hole KPU040 is indicated.

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DRILLS & DRILLING

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Founded by current Chief Execu-tive Officer Danie Pretorius in 1986 with two raisebore machines, the Group now operates worldwide, has a fleet of drilling machines

numbering 158 units and listed on the JSE at the end of 2012.

Over the years since it was founded, the Group’s original focus on raiseboring has been broadened to include more conventional drilling methods, such as blasthole and grade control drilling, as well as exploration drill-ing, with a key acquisition in this respect being that of Australian-owned drilling company, Drillcorp Africa, in 2006. Today, the Group has 67 slim drill rigs in operation, either RC rigs or surface and underground diamond drill rigs.

In Africa the Group oper-ates in South Africa, Zambia, the DRC and Mali while its current overseas contracts are mainly in Central and South America in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Chile. Latin America, in fact, is currently the Group’s biggest single mar-ket, accounting for 49 % of revenue in the six-month period, followed by South Africa (36 %) and the ‘Rest of Africa’ (13 %).

In terms of revenue by stage of mining activity, production stage drilling accounted for 77 % of the total, capital stage drilling for 19  % and exploration stage drilling for 4 % during the reporting period. Looking

at the revenue by commodity, the most impor-tant commodity was gold (31 % of revenue), followed by iron ore (21 %) and copper (16 %). Not surprisingly, platinum accounted for just 7 % (down on the 11 % recorded for 2013).

Master Drilling’s management uses a variety of key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor performance against targeted objectives. These include rig availability, rig utilisation, achieved drilling hours (hours drilled per day), achieved penetration rates (metres drilled per hour) and revenue contribution per rig.

Utilisation in H1 2014 was 76 % for the Group’s 91 raisebore rigs (1 % down on the figure for FY 2013) and revenue per operating rig per month was US$111 303 (compared to

If there’s a recession on in the mining industry, no one seems to have told JSE-listed Master Drilling Group. The Fochville-based company, focused on both raiseboring and conventional (or ‘slimhole’) drilling, recently announced a 40,4 % increase in profit to R100 million (US$9,3 mil-lion)) and a 29,2 % increase in headline earnings per share for the six months ended 30 June 2014 (H1 2014). As at the end of the reporting period, Master Drilling had committed orders totalling R2,1 billion.Danie Pretorius, CEO of Master Drilling Group.

Master Drilling’s biggest machine, the Wirth HG380 SP, at a site in the Western Bushveld. A 3 m long drill rod weighing 2 tonnes is being lifted into position.

Drilling services specialist reports 40 % profit increase

www.beowolfmining.co.za

October 2014MODERN MINING43

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US$117 047 for FY 2013. The 67 slim rigs in use in the six-month period achieved a utilisa-tion of 50 % (54 % in 2013) and a revenue per operating rig per month of US$58 570 (up on the FY 2013 figure of US$50 740).

Commenting on the results, Pretorius said: “Master Drilling’s business strategy aims to grow our reputation as a leading, global spe-cialised drilling services group – and to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through further development and expansion of our drilling services.

“Consistently focused on expanding our global footprint, we believe that growth into the rest of Africa will be achieved from our solid South African base, and in partnership with major blue-chip mining companies.

“To sustain our growth, we believe that it is imperative to expand our services beyond raisebore drilling. To this end, we have made significant progress by diversifying our service offering in presenting solutions to the chal-lenges faced by our customers.

“We also believe that ongoing research into and development of mechanisation, automa-tion and remote drilling services continuously improves the quality of our service offering.

“Our order book for 2015 onwards reflects the success of our business model, particularly our strategy to diversify across commodities and mining stages.

“With the platinum strike in South Africa and delays in commissioning some of our recent projects behind us, we look forward to completing the expansion of our capital fleet scheduled for deployment in 2015.”

Master Drilling believes that its relative

resilience in the face of the global mining cutback is in part attributable to a diversified exposure to a mix of commodities and multi-ple emerging markets. It also points to the fact that raisebore drilling is a niche drilling seg-ment used extensively in on-mine development

Master Drilling site showing innovative environmental solutions for specific project requirements in Europe for two 700 m deep plus ventilation shafts to be drilled. The sound-proof hood allows 24-hour operation in close proximity to residential areas. Also seen here are drilling mud containers for no site soil con-tamination and complete removal of all cuttings from site.

Master Drilling’s RD7 rig is designed for large diameter and deep raise boring work using 15 inch (381 mm) diameter raise bore rods at 3,3 m length each.

www.sandvik.com

DRILLS & DRILLING

(ventilation shafts and ore passes) by existing producers and tends to be insulated from the mining capital cycle.

Primary services offered by the Group include raisebore drilling, boxhole and slot-riser boring/drilling, drain-hole drilling, drop raising, shaft support and surface blast-hole drilling and (through Master Drilling Exploration) core drilling, percussion and RC drilling. Secondary services offered, either directly or through third-party providers, extend to earthworks, piling and foundation construction, directional drilling and wedging and core logging and cutting.

The Group has an integrated business model which includes the design, manufac-ture, service and operation of rigs, with the design and manufacture of equipment taking place at its extensive facilities at Fochville on the West Rand.

Master Drilling has recorded a number of milestones over the years. In 2001 it acquired the largest raise drill ever built (an HG380), in 2004 it designed and built a remote-operated shotcrete application machine and in 2005 it achieved ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. In 2006

Master Drilling’s raisebore drillers cabin. The unit is ergonomically designed, extremely safe and allows full operational views. The control panel features remote operation and automated controls.

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it drilled Europe’s deepest 4 m hole with the HG380 machine at Tara Mines, Ireland. This saw 692 m being drilled in 90 days. In 2010 it completed a 7,3 m diameter hole with the HG380, reportedly the largest to date, and in 2011 it designed the ‘first-ever’ low profile blind hole borer. A year later it was responsible for what it describes as “the longest and most accurate raisebore hole ever drilled”.

46MODERN MININGOctober 2014

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COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

The mine, which extracts coal from three pits using a mining fleet which includes three draglines and five shovels, as well as a sub-stantial number of trucks, makes

extensive use of wireless – and GPS – tech-nology to support its operations, with the ma-chines being integrated with voice-video-data networking on a 24x7x365 basis to optimise mine efficiency, production and safety.

The problem the mine faced was that it was reliant on multiple applications running over two wireless networks that were operated and maintained by separate groups on site. However, neither network had the bandwidth to accommodate the data volume generated by the existing dispatch, mine operations and equipment health monitoring applications – or the additional applications planned for deploy-ment. To compound the situation, many pieces of equipment relied on systems that ran on both networks, requiring multiple transceiv-ers and dependent on the availability of both networks. The mine was expanding operations and needed to add new applications, yet nei-ther network was up to the task.

The sheer number and mobility of the personnel, trucks, shovels and reclama-tion equipment required at the site requires a network that is robust, flexible and able to accommodate a broad range of applications and massive amounts of data.

The company readily recognised the need for a new, unified network, and was ready to

make the investment in new technology. The only caveat was that the tran-sition to the new network had to be completed without any disruption to operations. Everything needed to be migrated to the new network with-out any communication interruption between the equipment and the mine’s ‘mission critical’ applications.

Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh Networking technology was selected based on its ability to connect the many fixed and moving assets with a reliable, flexible mesh network with no single point of failure and the ability to grow more robust as nodes are added. Rajant

Seamless upgrade to coal mine’s wireless network

Modern opencast coal mines typically make extensive use of wireless technology to support their operations. Wireless networks need to be robust and flexible with the ability to accommodate a broad range of applications and – in many cases – massive amounts of data.

When one of North America’s largest and most productive coal mines – whose operations extend over

70 square miles – recently needed to upgrade its wireless networks it turned to Rajant Corporation of Malvern,

Pennsylvania for assistance. Rajant – represented in South Africa by SCAN RF Projects of Centurion, Pretoria – successfully implemented a solution based on its Kinetic

Mesh Networking technology which allowed the mine to migrate to a new, robust and unified network with no

disruption to its around-the-clock operations.

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COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

BreadCrumb network nodes and InstaMesh routing software were already in use at many other large mines, and were known to be able to handle the projected volume of data.

Rajant engineers developed a transition plan to migrate to the new, unified network with no downtime and 100 % application availability. Key to this plan was Rajant’s BC|Commander network management utility, which enables full management and configuration, including remote flash-ing of software and configuration of Rajant BreadCrumb network nodes.

Rajant realised that the project required a multi-frequency network, and devel-oped a new BreadCrumb configuration specifically for the project that included 900 MHz, 2,4 and 5,8 GHz radios. To complete the transition, the multi-fre-quency BreadCrumb network and the existing 2,4 GHz and 900 MHz networks would operate in tandem, with individual applications ported to non-overlapping channels on the new network.

After trial testing the concept, Rajant’s engineers, along with its local dealer, imple-mented the new infrastructure throughout the mine – starting with the fixed points and mobile trailers that provide the general coverage for the mine. While Rajant did add a few new mobile trailers to improve and extend network coverage, all trailers from the existing network were re-used. The legacy trailers were modified to handle the additional power demand of hardware for both networks during the transition.

Once all infrastructure nodes were installed, the incremental migration began, with applications moving from the old networks to Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh network using non-conflicting channels within the frequencies. As part of the tran-sition, the Caterpillar Computer Aided Earthmoving System (CAES) and AQUILA drilling applications were also upgraded to the latest version.

As the project progressed, the Rajant team encountered radio interference from 900 MHz radios being used outside of the facility for railroad and nearby oil and gas well monitoring. The flexibility of the Rajant platform and the frequency utilisa-tion capabilities of the InstaMesh routing software helped mitigate this interference issue.

The implementation strategy employed by Rajant allowed the transition to occur

smoothly over a long period of time. The first phase of the project involved 165 nodes, which provided the foundation to support all of the mine’s primary appli-cations and the most critical elements of the fleet, with the remainder of the fleet gradually migrated over the next year. Meanwhile, the mine itself expanded significantly. The combination of these activities resulted in the addition of another 110 Rajant Breadcrumb nodes, along with additional applications running over the network.

With no single point of failure, the Rajant solution resulted in a more robust and reliable network for the applications that keep the mining operations running at peak productivity, and also provides a platform to accommodate the mine’s expansion and implementation of addi-tional applications. The Rajant Kinetic Mesh network provided an exponen-tial increase in network bandwidth and allowed the mine’s operators to stan-dardise – using the same radio hardware across all mobile and infrastructure nodes.

Today, there are 275 Rajant network nodes, with more being added. They pro-vide the mine with secure, reliable, and flexible mesh networking. The system has been running continuously since 2010, sup-porting data from 17 applications, at last count, running simultaneously and keeping the mine operating at peak efficiency.

Rajant’s South African distributor, SCAN RF Projects was founded in 1999 and has since established itself in the South African market as one of the leading companies in the design, delivery and maintenance of wireless licensed and unlicensed band net-works to a broad range of both public and private sector clients.

It offers a broad range of products and systems and its services include site survey and network analysis, network design and implementation, network integration/com-missioning, full on-site support and service level agreements and 24/7 network moni-toring from its Network Operations Centre (NOC) in Centurion.

Scan RF Projects announced its dis-tributorship agreement with Rajant in September last year. The company says that with the addition of Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh technology, it is now able to offer a proven, scalable, fully mobile broad-band networking solution to the African mining industry.

www.scanrf.com

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Just recently South Africans endured a 5,5 magnitude earth tremor that shook large parts of the country, causing one death and the evacuation of thousands of miners from the Great Noligwa and

Moab Khotsong mines in North West Province. Whilst tremors such as these are not frequent occurrences in South Africa, seismologists have warned of more frequent seismological events as a result of underground mining.

Recent labour protest action and confron-tations with illegal miners underground have further added instability to an already volatile mining environment.

While most mines take great care to operate safely, crisis situations do occur, and in these instances good, quick and efficient communica-tion is imperative. “In a crisis situation, every second is crucial,” says Sibanda. “Disastrous incidents like the collapse of an underground tunnel are almost always associated with panic, shock and confusion that often leads to impul-sive actions. This is where injury and loss of life can occur.”

Sibanda believes that clear, efficient, man-aged and controlled radio communication mitigates the risks associated with mining activities as it facilitates a seamless flow of information and data, thus enabling decision makers to continuously monitor situations and allocate appropriate resources.

“In a crisis, you want to know where all your personnel are at that exact moment, their status, whether they are secure, trapped or injured and what resources are available to be deployed to attend to them,” he observes.

Sibanda says that while all mines in the country are mandated by legislation to be equipped with the necessary radio commu-nications systems, some are still relying on old outdated analogue radio communications technology, which could compromise workers’ safety in the event of a crisis.

He points out that like most evolving commu-nications technologies, radio communication

too is undergoing its own digital revolution. Much like cellular phone technology, DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) has seen the introduc-tion of applications and devices that go beyond pure ‘walkie-talkie’ voice communication. Modern digital radio communications solu-tions now integrate data and other applications into one device.

“Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), an interna-tional non-proprietary standard for digital radio communications, facilitates access to applica-tions developers so that bespoke cost-effective solutions and services can be provided,” says Sibanda.

Some of the new features of DMR include the recording of resource tracking, which allows a replay of incidents to recreate scenarios and better prepare for future events.

“With real-time tracking and biometric sen-sors connected to digital handheld radios, you can even define whether a person is standing, lying down or sitting in an upright position,” he notes.

According to Sibanda, radio has today evolved to such an extent that the technology makes it possible to integrate radio with other wireless and wired communications mediums such as cellular telephony, PABX and land-line. A radio operating off a suitably designed network is able to call a GSM phone or PABX extension, and vice versa.

Sibanda stresses that mine radio communi-cations networks are critical infrastructure and should be subject to the same attention as other key tools, plant, technologies and equipment. “It is a well-known fact that mine operators will allocate more budget to one large hauler truck than to a radio network,” he adds.

EMCOM Wireless – which has offices in Joburg and Durban – provides integrated profes-sional radio communications solutions. Along with its strategic partner, Tait Communications in New Zealand, it claims to be at the forefront of the design, development and deployment of DMR technology in Africa.

When men and machines work close together in confined spaces, it takes high levels of consistent vigilance to ensure safe and profitable mining operations. To imple-ment a credible safety methodology balanced with an efficient and profitable pro-

duction plan, a mission-critical radio communications network is a pre-requisite. This is the view of Tony Sipho Sibanda (left), Business Development Executive for EMCOM Wireless, who has been assisting several Southern African mines in the upgrading of their radio communication systems.

Digital radio can improve mine safety

“In a crisis, you want to know where all your personnel are at that exact moment, their status, whether they are secure, trapped or injured and what resources are available to be deployed to attend to them.”

Tony Sipho Sibanda, EMCOM Wireless

PRODUCT News

50MODERN MININGOctober 2014

The pricing and quality of the company’s machines, as well as its ability to meet a challenging delivery deadline, reportedly netted Osborn an order for two apron feed-ers and an Osborn rotary coal breaker for a new coal processing plant in Mpumalanga.

Product sales special ist Etienne Swanepoel reveals that new client MRD ordered two 1 500 mm x 8 000 mm D4 apron feeders and a 3 600 mm x 5 800 mm Osborn rotary breaker for a new plant that the company has built, and is operating, for Universal Coal at the Kangala coal mine near Delmas.

The scope of Osborn’s order included manufacturing and supplying the equip-ment, as well as supervising its installation and commissioning.

This order reflects Osborn’s reputa-tion as a ‘one-stop shop for coal handling’, Swanepoel states. “Osborn has been sup-plying the coal industry with robust, high

Joy highlights new technology at Electra MiningSeen below is the Joy 14HM27 low seam continuous miner – just one of an array of new or upgraded products and tech-nologies from Joy Global which were on

display at the recent Electra Mining show. This 72-tonne machine, with a rated cutting power of up to 695 kW, has a maximum cut-ting height of 2 500 mm and a minimum

cutting height of 1 400 mm and the cutting system can be sized to match seam conditions.

Joy estimates that its machines have an 86 % share of the continuous miner market in South Africa.

Also featured on the stand were P&H wheel loaders for surface mining, the new Joy shuttle car – a mainstay of the coal mining industry for batch haulage underground – and the Fletcher HDDR roof bolter. Joy Global, tel (+27 11) 872-4000

Osborn units selected for Kangala’s processing plantquality equipment for more than five decades, and offers a full range of coal processing equipment – from jaw crush-ers and rotary breakers to mineral sizers, apron feeders, double roll crushers, rolling ring crushers, conventional screens, stack-ing conveyors and high frequency screens, right down to the smallest components in the process, the conveyor idlers.”

Osborn’s rotary breaker has proved to be the most efficient machine for use in ‘dirty’ coal mining environments, he adds. “Its simplicity makes it the machine of choice for this application. Osborn’s rotary coal breakers are used to crush, size and clean the run of mine or coal from a pri-mary crusher. This is the only unit that can execute more than one process function in mineral processing plants.”

Outlining the Osborn rotary coal break-er’s simple, but effective, method of size reduction, Swanepoel explains that it uti-lises gravity impact.

“This is achieved by lifting the ore (coal and stone) within the drum using lifter segments which lift the material to a pre-determined height and then simply drop it onto the screen plates and ore below,” he

says. “Size reduction is achieved by impact between the material and the steel screen plates. The coal breaks along natural cleav-age lines and undersize material passes through the screen plate apertures while the uncrushed material is transported through the breaker, via feed ploughs, to eventually end in the refuse ploughs where it is discharged as waste.

“Using a single Osborn rotary coal breaker in a primary application can sig-nificantly reduce capital expenditure by processing large ±800 mm feed material at up to a feed rate exceeding 2 000 t/h to a product size of ±80 mm while remov-ing oversize stone. A single machine can perform the function of primary crusher, scalping screen and secondary crusher while removing stone and other debris.”

Osborn apron feeders are designed and built in a wide range of sizes – from 900 mm to 3 500 mm wide. “They capably handle heavy, lumpy and abrasive materials and provide a reliable means of controlling the feed rate to prevent surge loads to primary crushers, belt conveyors and other plant and equipment,” Swanepoel notes. Osborn Engineered Products, tel (+27 11) 820-7600

Seen installed at the Kangala plant are an Osborn Had-fields 1 500 mm x 8 000 mm D4 apron feeder (left) and an Osborn 3 660 mm x 5 800 mm rotary coal breaker.

Becker Mining South Africa’s hydraulic rail benders, which have been developed for bending and forming rails on railway lines in heavy industrial and underground trans-

port systems on the mines, easily handle rail up to 40 kg/m.

“These rail benders – standard on many South African mines – are powered by 25 ton/250 kN hydraulic cylinders and acti-vated by two-stage hand pumps to cope efficiently in harsh operating conditions,” says Eugene Davids, Product Manager for Becker Mining South Africa. He adds that they are manufactured locally at the company’s Bellambie Mining & Industrial facility in Alrode.

For ease of maintenance, the pump and cylinder are detachable from the rail bender.

The main frames of these rail benders are cast and forged from ASTM-E487/78/110 steel and are fitted with specially designed handles for easy transportation. The back frame section, which provides stabil-ity to the unit, enhances portability and facilitates accurate alignment for faultless operation, says Becker Mining. Becker Mining South Africa, tel (+27 11) 617-6300

Hydraulic rail benders from Becker

October 2014MODERN MINING51

PRODUCT News

New Barloworld home for Metso mobile businessMetso’s mobile crushing and screening solutions footprint in Southern Africa has been given new traction with the launch on 1 October 2014 of a dedicated Metso mobile business unit within the Handling division of the Barloworld group.

The transfer of Barloworld’s Metso business, previously part of Barloworld Equipment, to Barloworld Handling has the support of Metso Minerals Southern Africa, which ten years ago appointed Barloworld as sole distributor of the full range of Metso mobile crushing and screening equipment in Southern Africa.

For Metso mobile plant customers it will be business as usual, with added focus provided by a dedicated resource. The Metso mobile team remains in place, headed up by new GM Brandon Arnold, and will con-tinue to provide optimised mobile crushing and screening solutions to construction, quarrying and mining customers in Southern Africa, with full aftermarket care.

Barloworld Handling is geared to help broaden Metso’s market-lead-ing mobile footprint in Southern Africa, says Barloworld Handling SA Chief Executive Godfried Heydenrych. “The new business unit will benefit from synergies within the Handling division, which has an extensive sales, service and support network throughout the region. Our existing markets include those of the Metso mobile business, making this a good fit.”

Barloworld Handling has been the Southern African Hyster lift truck dealer for more than 80 years and also distributes the Massey Ferguson and Challenger product ranges through its Agriculture business unit. Over the past six years Barloworld Handling’s strong customer support infrastructure has been instrumental in establishing SEM as a leading util-ity wheel loader brand in the local market. Similar synergies will benefit Metso, says Heydenrych.

Focus areas will include the strengthening of service capability and parts availability throughout the region.

“Our ultimate objective is to provide more dedicated time and sup-port for the Metso product, ensuring that customers have the correct equipment, excellent parts availability and the highest levels of technical support in order to maximise their uptime and increase their production capability,” says Heydenrych.Barloworld Handling, tel (+27 11) 929-0000

Providing cost-effective solutions in mobile crushing and screening, Metso’s track-mounted Lokotrack range is a market leader in Southern Africa.

PRODUCT News

52MODERN MININGOctober 2014

Managing mill liner optimisationIf not designed, monitored and managed correctly and timeously, mill liner wear can result in expensive equipment failure and inferior grind quality, which will have a neg-ative ripple effect on the operation of mills.

Multotec Rubber ensures that liner design is optimal for the life of the liners and performs condition monitoring on installed liners to ensure maximised uptime by facili-tating proactive maintenance.

The liner optimisation system comprises a number of elements including MillTraj modelling design software as well as Mill Liner Scanner and Hawkeye to perform condition monitoring for a complete and efficient way of managing mill liners.

MillTraj is a software package used to optimise liner design by assessing the impact of varying operational and design parameters on mill charge trajectory to achieve the most effective grind. The Mill Liner Scanner is a laser measuring device that provides Multotec with the ability to perform quick and accurate profile mea-surements using a more cost effective solution than other traditional mill scanning

systems. This system is currently undergo-ing developmental testing and will be launched to the market during the course of 2015. Hawkeye converts readings from a Mill Liner Scanner into easy to understand graphical displays of liner wear.

According to Multotec, acquiring a pre-emptive understanding of the dynamics involved in mill liner wear gains valuable ground and provides a distinct market advantage for organisations driven by maxi-mised uptime. During the life of the lifters, the rate at which they wear increases due to greater slippage of the charge and this means that straight-line tonnage or time-based predictions of the liner change-outs can result in unscheduled stoppages due to liner failure.

By being able to proactively and pre-dictively determine liner wear based on recorded tonnage, Multotec is able to replace customer liners before failure occurs. This eliminates unnecessary down-time and allows scheduled maintenance programmes to be implemented.Bernadette Wilson, Multotec Group, tel (+27 11) 923-6193

BMG’s industrial productivity exhibition, which was held at BMG Park recently, attracted more than 2 000 visitors over the two-day event.

“The BMG Expo focused on productiv-ity and how we integrate our extensive product range and technical services into tangible operational efficiencies,” says Dave Russell, Director, BMG. “Activated

“Over 50 global suppliers – including NTN, NSK, Tsubaki, Nord, Varvel, Rexnord, Hallite, Esco, Timken, Fenner and Parker –came to South Africa to participate in this event.”

Charles Walters, who has been BMG’s CEO for the past eight years, has been appointed CEO of Invicta Holdings, suc-ceeding Arnold Goldstone who becomes Executive Deputy Chairman. Under Walters’ leadership, BMG’s turnover and profits have increased dramatically – the company currently generates about R4 bil-lion of the Invicta Group’s R10,5-billion revenue a year.

Nichles, who was previously CEO of ARB, takes over the helm at BMG in November and also joins Invicta’s board as Executive Director.

BMG, which has grown dramatically from a single Bearing Man shop, estab-lished in Durban in 1974, now has over 120 outlets throughout Southern Africa and continues to expand on the conti-nent. BMG has become Africa’s leading distributor of bearings, seals, power trans-mission components, electric and geared motors, as well as belting, fasteners, filtra-tion and hydraulics. An important area of growth is in the tools and equipment sector.

The company boasts 10 specialist divi-sions, with advanced technical skills to support the company’s commitment to applying technical knowledge and depth of experience to maximise the efficiency and profitability of every customer.

More positive news for BMG is the expansion of its distribution and engineer-ing facilities in Droste Park, Johannesburg, which currently carries about R400-million worth of stock.

The company has started work on an investment of an estimated R330 million, to increase its warehousing capacity at BMG Park and to improve supply chain processes across the Group.

Growth at BMG has been organic and – through strategic acquisitions – the company has significantly increased its operation. Recent acquisitions have been the purchase of OMSA, a leader in valves, instrumentation, filtration and lubrication products, and Man-Dirk, a key player in the local tools and equipment sector. BMG Bearing Man Group, tel (+ 27 31) 576-6221

Big turnout for BMG industrial productivity exhibition

demonstrations took place during the Expo, which practically presented tech-niques and product features, specifically intended to transfer knowledge and skills on reliability centred maintenance.

“Highlights of the event encompassed the announcement of BMG’s new CEO, Byron Nichles, and the celebration of the company’s 40th anniversary milestone.

BMG’s industrial productivity exhibition attracted more than 2 000 visitors over two days.

PRODUCT News

October 2014MODERN MINING53

Manitou Southern Africa returned to Electra Mining Africa this year to launch the world’s largest telehandler, the MHT-X 14350, as well as three new flameproof mining machines, a scaler, roof bolter and tow tractor.

With a nominal lift capacity of 35 tons on its 14-m duplex turret, the Manitou MHT-X 14350 delivers – says Manitou – an unprecedented level of mobile handling capacity to surface mining, heavy and gen-eral logistics industries.

The model features advanced usabil-ity improvements with a 7,2 litre, 240 kW Mercedes-Benz engine delivering a mas-sive 1 300 Nm to cater for the mining and heavy-industrial sectors, with enhanced handling ability of large conveyor belt reels, tyre assemblies, wheel motors, gran-ite blocks, and so forth.

In addition to advancing the lift capacities of mobile material handling equipment, Manitou launched three new flameproof mining machines to its range of

mining equipment: the Manitou Scaler, RoofBolter and ManiTrax Tow Tractor.

The Manitou Scaler enables operators to scale hard and soft rock from secure areas on its 7 m, 180 deg rotational turret, either from within its fully-enclosed cab, or from up to 20 m away via remote control for maximum safety.

The Manitou RoofBolter is an automated drill and bolt rig that offers manoeuvrability and performance in confined soft and hard rock hanging walls as low as 1,8 m. The RoofBolter, a permanent fixture to the Manitou MT-X 742 tele-scopic handler, consists of a single six-bolt rotating carousel head to enable drilling, automatic epoxy injection and bolting functions in a single procedure to offer cost-savings for customers.

The ManiTrax Tow Tractor, used for

Show sees launch of world’s largest telehandler

The world’s largest telehandler, the MHT-X 14350, on show at Electra Mining.

hauling, towing and transporting pur-poses, is designed with full four-wheel and crab steering functionality for maximum manoeuvrability in confined underground spaces. Positioning operators forward in the carriage, the ManiTrax offers enhanced visibility, and thus safety. Manitou, website: www.manitou.co.za

PRODUCT News

54MODERN MININGOctober 2014

Weir Minerals Africa says that techno-logically improved Warman® AHF™ froth pumps, which derive from the proven Warman AH™ series of horizontal slurry pumps, are being recognised as a signifi-cant advancement in the efficient handling of air entrained froth slurries. This innova-tive new development enables flotation plants to achieve improved froth transfer efficiencies with reduced concentrate spillages, as well as greater froth handling operation windows.

There are notable differences between conventional Warman® AH slurry pumps, which are still currently installed on many froth transfer applications, and the next generation AHF pumps. For instance, the Warman® AHF features an open vane flow inducer froth pump impeller with a

upgrade, the company’s team of special-ists embarked on a comprehensive study of the customer’s complex flotation circuit. The objective was to ensure a full under-standing of the flotation process and to identify the root causes of the pumping instability and concentrate spillage prob-lems being experienced by the customer.

A Warman® 6F AHF froth pump was installed on a trial test basis on the plant’s rougher concentrate froth transfer circuit to determine if it had the ability to handle the high FVF conditions. This application was identified by the customer due to its cyclic instabilities and periodic overflows. Before the trial commenced, the customer carried out modifications to the existing sump suction line, increasing the line from a 300NB to a 400NB to accommodate the larger Warman® 6F-AHF froth pump inlet dimension.

During the trial the Warman® 6F-AHF™ froth pump showed far more impressive sump level control than the original pump. On completion of the trial, the Warman® 6F-AHF™ froth pump was disassembled for visual inspection of its froth inducer vane impeller, its Hi-Seal™ expeller assem-bly and other wet-end components. After approximately 12 months of operation, the froth impeller was still in excellent condi-tion, with very little signs of impact, sliding or erosion damage to any of the wet-end components.Rene Calitz, Weir Minerals Africa, tel (+27 11) 929-2622

Warman® froth pumps a “significant advancement”

A Warman froth pump combined with Linatex hose in an application environment.

greatly enlarged cover plate pump inlet and matching throat bush liner. However, the volute, frame plate, gland assembly, bearing assembly and the pump base are interchangeable between both the Warman AH and the Warman AHF pump designs.

The unique froth impeller ’s open inducer vanes protrude into the large intake throat area, extending the vanes’ leading edges and drawing the difficult air entrained froth slurries into the eye of the impeller. Consequently, the impeller vanes are able to swirl the slurry in the intake pipe, adding kinetic energy and affording smoother entry of the frothy slurry to the impeller radial passageway.

Warman® AHF pump technology was applied with great success during a

recent trial at a local phosphate producer, where the phosphate containing mineral is recov-ered via a flotation process. The presence of air within the froth concentrate slurry had posed specific problems for the conven-tional centrifugal slurry pumps at the plant, highlighting the need for a horizontal froth pump with good suction performance to pre-vent air binding.

When Weir Minerals Africa was consulted by the phosphate producer in the conceptual design stage of a flotation plant

Tega displays its range at Electra Mining 2014African mines are focusing increased atten-tion on improving efficiencies of minerals processing plants in order to boost produc-tion outputs.

Speaking after this year’s Electra Mining exhibition which was held in Johannesburg recently, Vishal Gautam of Tega Industries South Africa said the majority of visitors at the company’s stands were interested in finding total solutions to improve all aspects of their processing requirements.

He said it was clear that a trend was emerging where mines were seeking assis-tance from companies like Tega Industries who are able to offer complete materials handling solutions under one umbrella. Rather than shop around for mill liners from one supplier, screens from another and

conveyor components from yet another, mines were looking towards specialised solutions where all aspects of a process are viewed holistically and optimised through properly engineered solutions.

“Electra Mining was an important opportunity for us to show our full product range and introduce people to all our differ-ent divisions and showcase our capabilities. As a result of the increasing demand for total solutions, we invested in two stands this year and were able to show visitors our solutions and introduce them to some of our experts who were present at the show.”

Tega Industries introduced a number of new products at Electra Mining. These included Tega Scanning Solutions, a cali-brated 3D scanning system to measure

wear of linings and assist with the specifica-tion and requirements for new linings.

New injection moulded screen panels also received a great deal of attention as these are able to be made to customers’ exact requirements using the latest plas-tic and composite materials to match ore types.

For the first time in South Africa visitors were also introduced to the company’s Combi Liners which combine different lining materials to provide the right flow, protection and other characteristics for dif-ferent processes. Combinations of ceramics, metals, rubber, plastics and composites are used together in a single operation to ensure equipment is protected, bottlenecks are reduced and cost and maintenance requirements are minimised. Tega Industries, tel (+27 11) 421-9916

PRODUCT News

Martin Engineering of the US – which is represented in South Africa – has announced a secondary conveyor belt cleaner engineered to improve perfor-mance and reduce maintenance time, even as average belt speeds and loads continue to increase. The Martin® SQC2S™ cleaner features individually cushioned tungsten carbide blades for effective cleaning with-out risk to the belt or splices.

The new design forms a single sealing edge that maintains steady, adjustable pressure. Patented rubber buffers main-tain the cleaning pressure throughout the blade’s life, while deflecting sufficiently to allow splices to pass without harm and ensuring compatibility with reversing belts or those that experience backup at shutdown. Moving parts are zinc plated to resist seizing or rusting.

“The blades conform to the belt profile, adjusting individually to deliver continu-ous contact across the belt,” explains Dave Mueller, Senior Product Specialist at Martin

Belt cleaner designed for easy maintenanceEngineering. “In a perfect world, bulk materials would load uniformly, wearing the blade evenly, but that rarely happens. By having multiple segments attached to a single rigid assembly, the tension can be maintained and adjusted accurately, quickly and safely.”

The rugged construction is engineered to withstand punishing conditions, such as high belt speeds, high-impact trans-fers and high tonnage loads. Designed for a maximum belt speed of 5,08 m/s, the cleaner is suited for belt widths from approximately 400 to 2 400 mm.

To match the requirements of specific applications, the unit features straight 151 mm individual blade sections or 76,2 mm individual blade sections attached to a sturdy square mainframe. Replaceable urethane blades are color-coded according to their continuous temperature rating, ranging between -40 to 177 deg C. Tungsten carbide tips can be specified for normal, acidic or high-impact

The Martin® SQC2S™ secondary belt cleaner is engineered to improve performance and reduce maintenance time.

conditions. The rubber wear strip is sup-plied in continuous lengths up to 30,48 m.

Blade removal and replacement is a sim-ple operation on the SQC2S by removing the lock pin from the main assembly and sliding out the cartridge. The lock pins are a key component of Martin Engineering’s ‘no-reach design’, which allows workers to conduct their lockout/tag-out procedure more safely.Martin Engineering, tel (+27 13) 656-5135

Condra has completed one of the crane industry’s biggest manufacturing con-tracts for the past year, and announced an order for a further four cranes from the same customer, AMEC Minproc.

The order was received in the same week that Condra despatched a 24-m span, 50/50-ton maintenance crane with two 15-ton auxiliary hoists, the final machine in AMEC Minproc’s initial order for seven.

The eleven cranes have a combined value well in excess of US$2 million and are all for installation at Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine in Namibia. The Husab project is an open-pit mine under development near Swakopmund on the west coast.

Condra supplies Namibia’s Husab uranium projectThe high grade, granite-hosted uranium deposit at this mine is Namibia’s largest, and the third-largest uranium-only deposit in the world.

A number of Swakop Uranium’s Condra cranes have unusually large spans, neces-sitated by the very large size of the mining machinery that they will be used to maintain.

The 24-m span of the 50/50-ton machine just completed is itself larger than that of the average maintenance crane, but Condra earlier this year manufactured two 40-ton cranes with spans of 30 m for this mine, and two of the four machines in AMEC Minproc’s latest order are 20-ton

units with spans of 22 m.The remaining six cranes in the clutch

of eleven have spans of 20 m and under.All cranes feature case-hardened gears,

live-axle direct drives, squirrel-cage motors and adapted V-belt technology, all of which increase machine reliability.

On the 50/50-ton crane just completed for Husab, Condra installed controls that include a selector switch connected to the main hoist drives, allowing synchronised movement of the two 50-ton hoists to lift a load of 100 tons, or allowing independent operation of each hoist to manipulate a load of 50 tons.Condra, tel (+27 11) 776-6000

PRODUCT News

56MODERN MININGOctober 2014

B&E International has successfully com-pleted an EPCM contract for the design, manufacture and installation of an aggre-gate crushing plant in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape for client Raubex Aggregates. “The plant needed to produce at least seven different types of aggregate speci-fications at any given time,” says Dewald

B&E International completes versatile aggregate plantJanse van Rensburg, MD of B&E International.

This was in order to be able to cater for the diverse requirements of the Queenstown market in the most cost effective and effi-cient manner possible. “Normally the produc-tion of so many different aggregate specifica-tions calls for a major plant that has to be stopped for screen and liner changeover when

the specification needed to be altered. Instead B&E International designed a plant that can produce all these specifications simultaneously as well as allow for the opportunity to produce larger volumes of a single specification for major proj-ects,” Janse van Rensburg says. “With our plant it is very easy to make all these dif-

The crushing plant comprises a Metso C100 jaw crusher with a vibrating grizzly feeder, a three-deck CVB 1845-3 screen, a four-deck CVB 1845-4 screen and two HP 200 cone crushers.

ferent aggregate sizes work with the least amount of downtime.”

The head feed capacity of the plant is 200 t/h while the crushing equipment specified comprised a Metso C100 jaw crusher with a vibrating grizzly feeder, a three deck CVB 1845-3 screen, a four-deck CVB 1845-4 screen and two HP 200 cone crushers. Typical products produced by the plant include all road stone specifica-tion materials, namely 6,7 mm, 9,5 mm, 13,2 mm, 19 mm and sand fractions, in addition to ballast and gabion and base course specification materials.

“The plant has been designed in such a way that the changeover needed to shift production from one specification to another has been optimised,” says Janse van Rensburg. This was achieved by means of SCADA automation in addition to highly mobile and flexible conveying systems being incorporated in the design philoso-phy of the plant. B&E International, tel (+27 11) 966-4312

October 2014MODERN MINING57

PRODUCT News

As the mining industry faces growing pressures of contain-ing costs and maintaining profits while overcoming industry chal-lenges, mining houses are looking towards the engineering industry to offer innovative ways to do so.

This was the challenge which faced the Mogalakwena platinum mine near Mokopane in Limpopo Province. The mine turned to Tshwane-based Rand Technical Services (RTS) to provide an innovative solution to its air fil-tering requirements on a project which had specific design parameters.

Ian Fraser, MD of RTS, says the com-pany supplied a tailored air filtering system to the mine which had to meet certain requirements while also overcom-ing these challenges.

“There were significant space con-straints on the project which the mine outlined from the start. RTS had to design an air filtering unit that could run at 32 000 Nm3/h on a platform which had other items of equipment on it. RTS held a number of meetings with Anglo American Platinum and we designed the product which was installed in January,” he explains.

Another challenge which RTS had to

RTS provides innovative solution at platinum mine

Pictured in front of the spin filter system on site at Mogala kwena is RTS Technical Director Gary Dodd.

overcome, according to Fraser, was the amount of dust which was created by the process of stripping the overburden. This is a common problem on opencast mining operations; and although the dust created on platinum mines is not as much as on coal mines, it is still a signifi-cant problem.

“We provided an air filtration system that forced air into the machinery space – thus preventing dust rising through the open floor grid into the enclosure. The solution which was offered to the mining company was a standard indus-try product which was modified to suit individual needs.” Rand Technical Services, tel (+27 12) 933-9620

Although significant progress has been made to address the acid mine drainage (AMD) issue, it is still a concern in South Africa and other mining countries.

Set Point Laboratories believes that with the right planning and relevant test-ing the mining industry can avert acid mining drainage before it causes grave damage to the environment.

“We offer various environmental test-ing for mine, surface water as well as borehole water for compliance to the National Water Act,” says Kevin Gerber, Managing Director of Set Point Labs. “Our services can assist the mines with their impact studies such as the potential for underground and surface material that can develop into acid mine drainage,

and equip them to plan for future occur-rences as well as assist with preventative measures.”

Set Point Laboratories is an ISO 17025 accredited analytical chemistry labora-tory. The laboratory holds a COR from the National Nuclear Regulator to trans-port, handle and analyse radioactive isotopes.

“We offer speedy and quality service to our customers. Our prices are competitive and we can handle significant volumes of sample testing,” says Gerber.

The laboratory has Level 4 B-BBEE rat-ing, verified as a value adding supplier, resulting in 125 % preferential procure-ment recognition.Set Point Laboratories, tel (+27 11) 923-7000

Set Point can assist in preventing AMD

PRODUCT News

58MODERN MININGOctober 2014

Field testing of the Longi-Multotec Wet High Intensity Magnetic Separators (WHIMS) in all minerals sectors is report-edly producing excellent results. Minor adaptations to the Longi WHIMS to accommodate the demands of the African environment have resulted in magnetic separation equipment that clearly comple-

Field testing produces “excellent results”ments and enhances Multotec’s existing solution offering.

“Multotec will only distribute prod-ucts that meet the high quality and reliability standards we have set to provide customers with maximum productivity and guaranteed availability,” says Willem Slabbert, Application and Process Manager for Multotec’s solid liquid and magnetic separation business line. “Hence, all new products are subjected to extensive field testing to ensure that they are able to per-form according to spec in situ.”

Slabbert says that since the introduc-tion of the Longi WHIMS to the African market, interest has been shown by the chrome, PGM, manganese and iron ore sectors. “Testing started in January 2014 and the duration of each study varies from single spot tests to 50 run campaigns. The feedback we have received is that custom-ers are very impressed with the results the WHIMS has achieved to date.”

WHIMS use electromagnetic coils to

Longi-Multotec LGS-2000 1.0T, LGS-2000 1.3T and LGS-3000 1.0T machines installed on a martite and haematite processing plant.

generate a very high magnetic force that can be implemented to allow separation of para-magnetic minerals. This technology also employs unparalleled high gradients, within their exchangeable matrices, to allow recovery of fine material down to 15 micron.

“One of the major advantages of the Longi-Multotec WHIMS is that the coil surface area that is exposed to the air is optimised and they can therefore be cooled directly with cooling water as opposed to the environmentally unfriendly cooling oil that must be used in older gen-eration models,” Slabbert points out.

The machines are also operated with ampere control (instead of voltage control) which allows a constant energy supply to the coil for consistent metallurgical perfor-mance. The electrical transformer-rectifier converts the alternating current supply to high voltage, low ampere direct current and this configuration requires a smaller electrical installation infrastructure while achieving higher electrical efficiency.Bernadette Wilson, Multotec Group, tel (+27 11) 923-6193

October 2014MODERN MINING59

PRODUCT News

Johnson Crane Hire opens Northern Cape branchCatering to customer demand was the driving force behind Johnson Crane Hire establishing a fully-fledged branch at Deben in the Northern Cape. Situated 25 km from Kathu, the branch was established earlier this year.

“While we have been active in the Northern Cape for some time, we previously transported cranes from our other branches as the need arose. However, we have established strong relationships with a num-ber or our clients, specifically in the mining sector, so the decision to have a permanent presence in the area was part of our strategic plan to grow our footprint in the area,” says Nigel Levendale, Johnson Crane Hire Regional Manager for Mpumalanga South, Vanderbijlpark and the Northern Cape.

Levendale, who has 13 years’ experience in the crane hire industry, explains that the company has seen an upsurge in demand for qual-ity lifting services from the construction and mining sectors. Johnson Crane Hire differentiates itself by providing a turnkey project lifting solution, driven by client-specific needs that call for individualised and customised packages.

The new facilities include offices, a fully equipped workshop and yard. The branch is manned by branch manager Raymond Swanepoel, two salespeople, two fully-qualified service technicians, a safety/Load Monitor Indicator (LMI) representative and an administrator. Johnson Crane Hire, tel (+27 11) 455-9242

HPE Africa hosts wheel loader demonstrationHigh Power Equipment Africa – HPE Africa – hosted a working demonstration recently of the new Hyundai wheel loader HL 760-9 series, which is an upgrade on the previous -7 series.

“These robust wheel loaders, which were launched in South Africa last year, have been designed for efficient performance in ardu-ous working conditions in mining, construction and agriculture,” says Alex Ackron, MD of HPE Africa (a division of the Capital Equipment Group, Invicta Holdings Limited). “These versatile machines, with an operating weight of 18 400 kg and heaped bucket capacity of 3,1 m³, are suited to the terrain and load of every specific application.”

Hyundai -9 series wheel loaders, fitted with fuel efficient, low noise Cummins 2 tier engines, have an in-line fuel pump that is said to deliver more power at high injection pressure.

The fully automatic transmission system is designed for durability, minimum power loss, low noise and improved travel speed. The new clutch control design and reduced shifting shock ensure a smoother ride when travelling.

An advanced colour LCD monitor display unit is fitted onto an adjustable swivel mount to enable the operator to easily and efficiently control the machine.HPE Africa, tel (+27 11) 397-4670

The new Hyundai wheel loader HL 760-9 series, which is an upgrade on the previous -7 series.

PRODUCT News

60MODERN MININGOctober 2014

Index to advertisersAEL Mining Services IFCAir Liquide 58APE Pumps 53Atlas Copco 38Babcock 40Barloworld Equipment 56Barloworld Metso 51Becker Mining South Africa 47Bell Equipment 5Beowolf Mining 42

Brelko Conveyor Products 15Cummins SA – Mining IBCDRA Mineral Projects 9High Power Equipment 57Horne Group 55Hosch Fördertechnik SA 59Joy Global Africa 11Komatsu 34MDM 2Master Drilling Group 45

Mineral Process Services 7

Mining Indaba 20

New Concept Mining OBC

Sandvik Mining 44

Sandvik Mining Systems OFC

Scan RF 48

Simantel (CAT Global Mining) 13

Toyota Hino 30

WorleyParsons 17

BIOMIN South Africa reports it has suc-cessfully concluded development of its third-generation BIOX® design resulting in a bio-oxidation gold refractory solu-tion that is more robust than previously believed, making it a safe and convenient alternative to other refractory orebody extraction processes.

“We continue to be encouraged by the positive results that our bio-oxidation technology BIOX® demonstrates – even under previously untested conditions, the bacteria we use to extract refractory gold from ore continue to thrive,” says BIOMIN’s Managing Director, Jan van Niekerk.

The BIOX® process is becoming an

Remcon system monitors multiple gasesBooyco Electronics’ Remcon range of products provides industrial networking, telemetry, monitoring and control solu-tions and has been designed to function optimally with both conventional and con-temporary technology.

The innovative Remcon fire detection system meets the mining industry’s specific requirement for monitoring multiple gases at precise locations underground. Booyco Electronics has supplied some of the indus-

try’s biggest installations in the gold and platinum sectors, including a system com-prising 750 sensors.

The Remcon fire detection system incor-porates Booyco Electronics’ Smart Sensor that enables a localised display of sensor information. Incorporating this sensor in a ‘plug and play’ format makes system main-tenance faster and easier, allowing sensors to be replaced underground without the need for recalibration. The sensor can also accommodate up to 15 different gas types.

The equipment used for the system uses open wire modem technology and can run over long distances. The control room system is able to use any industrial type SCADA software package, such as Adroit, iFix, Citect, InTouch and Wincc.

All panels are supplied standard with battery backup, a feature considered criti-cal in today’s mining environment where power supply is not always assured. Booyco Electronics, tel 0861 BOOYCO (266926)

Booyco Electronics’ Remcon fire detection system incorporates sensors in a ‘plug and play’ format.

Third-generation bio-oxidation technology developedincreasingly popular technology among global gold producers due to its safe and easy-to-operate nature and minimal staff requirement, its continued ability to oper-ate in both hot and cold climates, as well as its relative low-cost and decreased envi-ronmental waste impact.

“Compared to other methods of refrac-tory gold extraction, we believe BIOX® to be by far the safest and most efficient solu-tion to recover gold in an environmentally friendly manner,” van Niekerk says.

The BIOX® plant at Pan Afr ican Resources’ Fairview mine in Barberton South Africa has been a successful opera-tion for both BIOMIN and its client and

has maintained a steady increase in gold production levels, in line with the mine’s increased capacity, since the plant was built nearly 25 years ago.

Pan African Resources Metallurgy Manager at Barberton Mines’ Fairview gold mine, Jonathan Irons, has been closely observing the evolution of the BIOX® tech-nology and agrees with van Niekerk that BIOX® is a safer process than other refrac-tory processing technologies. He adds that one particularly attractive feature of BIOX® technology is the ease of operation.

“BIOX® is user friendly compared to other refractory treatment processes,” Irons says, adding that in order to operate the Biomin BIOX® technology only basic tech-nical skills are required.

Irons likens the maintenance of the BIOX® bacterial process to that of caring for any living organism: “The bacteria used in this process operate similarly to humans in that they work best when they are comfort-able. We’ve found that the BIOX® bacteria operate best within a controlled tempera-ture range at around 42 deg Celsius but as long as the bacteria’s environment can be maintained at a fairly consistent level, there is little risk to the effectiveness of the technology.”

The bacteria used in the BIOX® tech-nology require simple nutrient additives and Irons says that as long as the bacteria receive the required nutrients and main-tain a stable diet they will continue to thrive.

Fairview has also invested in BIOMIN’s ASTER™ water treatment technology which uses patented bio-technology in order to destroy thyocianate and cyanide in water used in the gold extraction process.BIOMIN, tel (+27 87) 702-2000

www.cummins.com/southafrica

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