June 2014
MODERN MINING
23
PLATINUM
A
ddressing the media contingent,
BPM’s General Manager, Eddie
Mohlabi, said that the sinking
rate was slightly behind sched-
ule with – as of mid-May – the
Main Shaft having being sunk to a depth of
518 m (instead of the planned 528 m) and the
Ventilation Shaft at a depth of 680 m (instead of
the planned 780 m). He stressed though that the
shortfall was mainly historic – and partly due
to the late supply of Eskom’s phase one 20 MVA
power supply to the site – and that the present
sinking performance was satisfactory. Moving
forward, the rate of advance on the shafts is tar-
geted at 58 m per month for each shaft.
He noted that the original method proposed
for the execution of the 69 Level station cut
had been modified due to the intersection of
an unexpected fault – the ‘Surprise’ fault. This
would require, among other things, the instal-
lation of additional 6,5 m long rock anchors to
support the shaft brow.
On the subject of safety, Mohlabi said the
project was thus far fatality-free over a total of
more than 530 000 shifts with the health and
Above:
Members of the Bakubung project team on the
69 Level of the Ventilation Shaft.
Left:
A view of the Ventilation Shaft with the developing
Styldrift mine of RBPlat in the far background.
Right:
The 87 m high Main Shaft steel headgear (photo:
Arthur Tassell).
