United Mining Services (UMS) is gaining ground on the critical path to completion of the production and ventilation shafts for the Karowe Underground Project (UGP) in Botswana. Lucara Botswana (Pty) Ltd appointed UMS in 2019 to engineer and design the shafts for the UGP in preparation for the mine to transition from open pit to underground mining. The Karowe mine is world-famous for producing large, high-quality diamonds, including a 1 080-carat Eva Star diamond, recovered in August 2023.
The production shaft, at 8.5 metre internal diameter, and ventilation shaft, at 6 metre internal diameter, are being sunk concurrently and will both reach a depth of approximately 750 metres. The shafts are concrete lined, with the production shaft also acting as the main air intake and the ventilation shaft as the exhaust. The mine will have eight working levels (labelled according to metres above sea level), six of which will be accessed by a shaft station.
William Lamb, Lucara’s CEO, offered his perspective on the ongoing project: “The shaft sinking development work spearheaded by UMS at our site marks a pivotal juncture in Lucara’s strategy. This endeavour is focused on unlocking access to the deeper, more valuable part of the ore body. UMS’s technical prowess and unwavering commitment to safety resonate profoundly with Lucara’s core values.
“A key driver of our current success lies in our collaborative approach, harmonising the interests of all stakeholders across both immediate and long-term horizons. This synergy propels us towards a future of sustainable growth and innovation in the diamond mining sector.”
UMS CEO, Digby Glover, reports that progress on the production shaft is ahead of the contractual schedule by almost two months. The development of 470 level has been completed and sinking is currently underway to 310 level, with just over 180 metres to go before reaching shaft bottom.
“This is an exemplary milestone, considering the challenges we encountered at the start of the main sink for the ventilation shaft that set our schedule back by approximately 42 days. Through a collaborative effort, the production shaft is now ahead of schedule, and we have reduced the contractual time deficit on the vent shaft to 20 days, which we aim to beat by the end of the project,” says Glover.
He adds that shaft sinking at the ventilation shaft has also reached 470 level and lateral development connecting to the production shaft is being done on the level before the vent shaft returns to sinking the remaining depth.
Glover credits this achievement to a series of interventions from all stakeholders to turn things around, including technical modifications and workforce alignment.
The UMS on-site project manager for the Karowe project, Pieter Lombard, elaborates. “Additional engineering was required to accommodate the early challenges, and the project team, including the UMS design office, had resources to find solutions, fast, without relying on external suppliers. For example, the team proposed installing a retractable six-deck for the ventilation shaft stage to allow for greater workspace in the confined ventilation shaft. We had the skills available to develop simulations to prove viability, calculate the costings and cycle times improvements, design it, and then manufacture before installing on site.
“We also had a challenge with the lining and were able to solve it internally by analysing and modifying the design and installation method. The drilling length was changed to longer rounds reducing the cycle times by reducing the number of re-entries’ charging cycles. Our sinking rate currently is over 60 metres per month including cover drilling to test for potential groundwater every 30 metres.
“We are now using smart technology, through our UMS 1Worx business, to monitor and manage almost all key parameters in the shaft sinking cycle. We can interrogate performance in detail from our head office, where a team of experienced engineers can look for trends and recommend improvements that result in significant time and cost savings. We are measuring shaft performance in milliseconds in many instances. The 1Worx intervention has resulted in savings because of: early alerts when things go wrong, increased performance in the winding operations, improved tipping and loading operation, the management of services supply quality as well improved re-entry times through continuous gas monitoring – to name only a few examples. Comprehensive video overview of all shaft operations has also assisted greatly with analysis as well as interrogation and learning when things have not gone to plan.”
Lombard adds that a major contributor to the turnaround was the alignment between the expat and local workforce regarding the project objectives, shift cycles and times to enable teams to work together more effectively, and ensuring that the workforce skill and capacity was sufficient for the workload.
“We hold regular workshops to reinforce communication, quality and safety. There is a very strong drive on health and safety, and we focus on minute details to prevent any serious incidents. The results speak for themselves, and we are proud to have maintained a world-leading safety record of three and a half years without a serious safety incident on this project,” says Lombard.
“UMS is not just a contractor doing the sinking and construction for this prestigious project. We have significant internal project, design and engineering capabilities that help us effectively deal with any required changes in an integrated, seamless manner to provide the solutions quickly.”
Lucara’s Neels Wolmarans, Karowe Underground Project Manager, says the project was confronted with major challenges which were overcome by a dedicated project team.
“Overall, the project reflects positively against the baseline schedule. Progress has improved due to a cohesive team and clear understanding of the work output required.
“As the project moves through the sinking phase, the lateral development, which is integral to reaching the ore body, is receiving the required attention to ensure safe and effective execution. Risk identification and controls play a major part in the project as it moves into different phases, and change management requires a strong and firm structure. At Lucara we believe in a positive work approach as a team to prosper in our work delivered.”
“We promote a culture of collaboration and work as a team with the Karowe Mine personnel, the EPCM team, suppliers and other stakeholders. The value of working as a team is evident in the way the sinking project has been and is currently performing and the significant gains that are being made at this point,” concludes Glover.
The next phase following shaft sinking will be to equip the production shaft with the shaft steelwork, pipes and cables, rock skips and personnel/material conveyance.
