January 2011
Every January we publish our feature entitled ‘Southern Africa's Top Five Mining Projects'. In the feature we look at five projects, either planned, under development or recently commissioned, which we at Modern Mining believe are notable for their sheer size, their innovation or the fact that they are pioneering new mining ‘provinces'. This year we have selected two platinum, one gold, one diamond and one coal project, three located in South Africa and the remaining two in Botswana and Mozambique.
 The platinum projects are Impala's No 17 Shaft complex near Rustenburg and Northam's Booysendal mine on the Eastern Limb while the gold project is Great Basin Gold's Burnstone mine near Balfour, now entering production after four-and-half years of development. In Botswana we cover Cut-8 at Debswana's Jwaneng mine and in Mozambique Vale's Moatize coal mine near Tete on the Zambezi. All the developments are big and testify to the generally robust health of the mining industry in Southern Africa.
In other articles in this issue we look at Deep Yellow's Omahola uranium project in Namibia, currently in the prefeasibility phase, and African Eagle's Dutwa nickel project in Tanzania. Preliminary results from the Omahola PFS suggest that the opencast mine being planned by Deep Yellow could have a production capacity of 1 000 t/a and a capex of approximately US$330 million. Dutwa, in the Lake Victoria goldfield, consists of two nickel laterite deposits. A new economic model for Dutwa prepared by Perth-based consultant Simulus indicates improved economics compared to the scoping study completed 18 months ago.
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Mining booms for BME In our cover story, we talk to Francois Hay, MD of BME, one of South Africa's ‘Big Three' explosives suppliers, who says the company is currently busier than it was at the height of the last mining boom. BME, which is about to launch its latest Electronic Delay Detonator (EDD), known as AXXIS, believes it supplies roughly a third of the explosives used in Africa. ENCO grows on the back of a buoyant coal sector An interview with Neels Engelbrecht, CEO of RSV ENCO Consulting, one of the ‘Linked Enterprises' of the RSV Group. Enco's current flagship projects are Thubelisha and Impumelelo, two major new coal mines being developed by Sasol Mining. No 17 Shaft destined to be a world beater Impala Platinum's No 17 Shaft - one of our Top Five Mining Projects for 2011 - is probably the biggest shaft-sinking project currently underway anywhere in the world. It is actually a three-shaft complex with a Main Shaft which is being sunk to 1 922 m, making it the deepest shaft within Impala Platinum. The finished shaft system, which will feature sophisticated refrigeration, will be operational by late 2016. Burnstone - a ‘new look' Wits Basin gold mine Burnstone, another Top Five project, differs from other gold mines in the Wits Basin in a number of ways. Not only is it very shallow - the Kimberley Reef, the main target, was intersected at below 400 m - but it will also make use of the long hole stoping method. In addition, the labour force is well educated by the normal standards of the mining industry and has a high proportion of women in its ranks. In another break from convention, the official language of the mine is English. Cut-8 project to create ‘super-pit' at Jwaneng The US$3 billion Cut-8 project at Debswana's Jwaneng diamond mine in Botswana, also part of our Top Five feature, was officially launched in December. A massive exercise in earthmoving, it will see 658 Mt of waste being removed to expose an additional 91 Mt of ore, allowing open-pit mining to continue at Jwaneng until at least 2025.
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