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In an effort to revolutionise the mining industry in sub-Saharan Africa, a significant partnership has been established between Canadian-based company, K-Tec and local company, Ukwazi. This collaboration aims to harness the strengths of both companies to boost efficiency, productivity, and sustainability within the mining and construction sectors. Capital Equipment News’ Juanita Pienaar recently spoke to Jaco Lotheringen, Managing Director of Ukwazi to discuss the partnership and what it means for the mining industry.

Revolutionising mining efficiency and sustainability

K-Tec is globally recognised for its advanced earthmoving scrapers, which are designed to offer superior performance, durability, and efficiency. Their product line includes scrapers that are suitable for various applications, ranging from medium-sized to large-scale mining operations and heavy construction projects. K-Tec's scrapers boast high load capacities, fuel efficiency, and the ability to handle tough terrains, making them ideal for the demanding conditions often found in sub-Saharan Africa.

The company’s pull-pan scrapers, towed behind high-horsepower tractors or articulated dump trucks, provide a streamlined solution with one operator and one engine picking up, transporting, and evenly spreading material. K-Tec’s scrapers have a proven track record across all seven continents, demonstrating their effectiveness in applications such as stripping overburden, mine reclamation, haul road smoothing, and the transportation of minerals or metals like gold, salt, lithium, potash, and gypsum rock.

Established in 2004, Ukwazi initially provided mining engineering consulting services but has since evolved into a multi-disciplinary advisory company and is now also a specialised mining operations service provider. Ukwazi offers a diverse range of services including project management, feasibility studies, mine valuations, public reporting, sustainable mining practices, operational technical support, and project implementation.

Their extensive experience spans all commodities and mining methods. Notably, Ukwazi has also introduced a women-in-mining initiative, Tsebokgadi, which focuses on providing niche contract mining and civil works services. Furthermore, Ukwazi is the distributor of K-Tec's innovative ADT pull scrapers for sub-Saharan Africa, offering clients cost-effective, water-saving, and diesel-efficient earthmoving solutions.

K-Tec's specialised earth-moving scrapers, which are well-established in North America and Australasia, will be introduced to sub-Saharan Africa through Ukwazi’s extensive market knowledge and experience accumulated over the past 20 years.

The partnership will provide competitive advantages to our clients by integrating K-Tec's innovative equipment with Ukwazi's extensive advisory services. Lotheringen explains, “We will help clients effectively implement the scraper solution, either through direct purchase, rental options, or operational scenarios where we operate the equipment as any mining contractor would.” This flexibility ensures that clients can adopt the new technology in a way that best suits their operational needs.

By demonstrating the solution's efficiency and sustainability, the partners aim to overcome the mining industry's historical hesitation to implement new systems. “Our first priority is to make demonstration units available within sub-Saharan Africa to physically demonstrate how this works,” Lotheringen notes.

The primary aim of the partnership is to introduce and differentiate K-Tec’s technology from less successful, historical scraper-based solutions in the region. By providing safe, cost-saving solutions that also reduce emissions and water consumption, the collaboration aims to establish K-Tec’s scrapers as the preferred choice for mining and construction projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, Ukwazi’s technical expertise and deep understanding of the local market will ensure effective implementation and ongoing support for these innovative earthmoving methods.

“Our goal is to familiarise the local market with K-Tec’s scrapers as a cost-competitive and sustainable mining approach to moving material,”, said Jaco Lotheringen of Ukwazi. ‘We aim to provide solutions that reduce diesel consumption by 30 to 40% compared to conventional methods, significantly lowering the carbon footprint.’ In addition, Lotheringen points out that, ‘if there is an opportunity for the scraper mining to replace wet mining, there can be a significant saving on water.’

One of the major advantages of K-Tec’s scrapers is their potential to replace traditional mining methods that consume high amounts of water. By opting for scraper mining where feasible, significant savings on water or diesel consumption can be achieved. This is particularly important in the context of dry mining for tailings storage facilities, where the new method can remain competitive relative to the all-in cost basis of wet mining while drastically reducing water usage.

Furthermore, the partnership aims to support the ongoing maintenance and operation of the equipment. “We have the logistics set up to service those mines in terms of maintenance and spare parts.”, says Lotheringen. The collaboration will also involve training for maintenance teams and operators, ensuring that the new technology is effectively integrated into existing mining operations.

The footprint of K-Tec and Ukwazi spans across several continents, but their collaborative efforts are now focused on sub-Saharan Africa. With a shared commitment to enhancing mining practices through innovation and sustainability, the partnership is set to make a substantial impact. As Lotheringen emphasises, “We understand where the solution would add significant value to our clients and where other conventional methods might be more appropriate.” This deep-rooted knowledge of the market, combined with technical expertise, positions the K-Tec and Ukwazi partnership to drive significant advancements in the region's mining industry.

By introducing K-Tec’s cutting-edge scrapers and leveraging Ukwazi’s comprehensive mining advisory services, this partnership is poised to set new standards for efficiency, productivity, and sustainability for suitable projects and operations in sub-Saharan Africa’s mining and construction sectors.

Talking points

“We understand where the solution would add significant value to our clients and where other conventional methods might be more appropriate.”

Jaco Lotheringen, Managing Director of Ukwazi

K-Tec's specialised earth-moving scrapers, which are well-established in North America and Australasia, will be introduced to sub-Saharan Africa through Ukwazi’s extensive market knowledge

The partnership aims to support the ongoing maintenance and operation of the equipment.

Ukwazi offers a diverse range of services including project management, feasibility studies, mine valuations, public reporting, sustainable mining practices, operational technical support, and project implementation

The footprint of K-Tec and Ukwazi spans across several continents, but their collaborative efforts are now focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

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