November 2010

Genuinely new technology is relatively rare in mining but in this issue we highlight two products that appear to have the ability to raise productivity and cut costs and which are both readily available to South Africa's mining industry.

In our cover story we look at Joy's Flexible Conveyor Train or FCT, due to go into operation in South Africa in 2011 at two Anglo American collieries - Greenside and Goedehoop. The FCT is a continuous haulage system that is designed to eliminate any haulage related bottlenecks from typical underground continuous miner operations. According to Joy, it is the next step forward for coal mines which are already getting maximum efficiency from the combination of continuous miners and shuttle cars but which want to lift production still further.

The second product which we highlight is Peterstow's Aquapower drill, now rolling off the production line at a high-tech factory - which Modern Mining recently visited - in Swaziland. Making use of ‘water hydraulics', it is designed to replace the standard pneumatic drill and numbers among its supporters well-known mining personality Ian Cockerill, who regards it as potential ‘game changer'.

The gold sector is covered in articles on Vantage Goldfields, which is transforming the Lily mine in the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB) into an underground operation, and on CRG, the company which is attempting to revive gold mining within the environs of Joburg after a hiatus of 40 or so years.

With the renaissance of nuclear power around the world, the uranium mining industry, of course, has received a big boost with - in our part of the world - Namibia being a big beneficiary. There are several new mines planned in the area around the existing Rössing uranium mine but one of the real stand-outs is Husab (previously Rössing South), which could be developed into the world's second biggest uranium mine. In an article on this project, we look at the proposed development strategy and touch on the reasons for the ‘rebranding' of the project as Husab.

Flexible Conveyor Train to make its local debut

Although it has been around for some years, Joy's Flexible Conveyor Train (FCT) is now in its fourth generation and can be considered a mature, proven product. It will enter service locally next year with one of the coal majors and its performance will be keenly watched by other coal miners as it has the potential to increase production rates in continuous miner operations by up to 30 %.

Upgrade of gold plant comes in under budget

Vantage Goldfields, which owns the Lily and Barbrook mines in Mpumalanga, has completed an upgrade of the old Barbrook plant which it now calls the Central Metallurgical Complex (CMC). The CMC will initially serve Lily, enabling it to take its production to 35 000 ounces of gold a year by mid-2011.

BET positions itself for an upturn in the market

Bateman Engineered Technologies (BET), essentially the product and equipment arm of the Bateman Engineering Group, has enjoyed one of the best periods in its history over the past several years, notwithstanding the recession. Although focused on equipment supply, BET also ‘houses' Bateman's very successful Bulk Materials Handling business, which has recently been responsible for two massive projects in the coal sector.

Green Mining Awards for 2010 announced

The winning projects this year in the prestigious Nedbank Capital Green Mining Awards were entered by Afrisam, Lonmin, Exxaro, and E Oppenheimer & Son in association with De Beers Consolidated Mines. The Awards were recently presented at a dinner held at Nedbank's headquarters in Sandton.