Mining Developments News

Mining is a dangerous business. In South Africa, we have some of the world’s deepest mines, a distinction that comes with significant safety risks. In 2016, 73 people lost their lives in mines in this country; this year’s tally could be higher. Addressing and improving safety on a mine requires a multi-faceted approach, ranging from quality worker engagement and training processes, to high tech solutions such as vehicles fitted with collision avoidance systems. In this mix, safety information and warning signs remain a cornerstone of creating a safe work environment. Safety signs and their visibility are crucial in helping employees negotiate high risk working environments. Safety signs have to be visible to be effective. Conditions underground are generally not conducive to visibility due to dust, water, mist and extreme temperatures. These conditions combine to obscure signs and make them illegible. Plascon’s commitment to developing solutions that are Designed for Life, ...

Lonmin notes with great concern the comments quoted in the media attributed to the Mining Forum South Africa and the Bapo ba Mogale Investments (BBMI). A number of grossly incorrect statements have been quoted and require clarity. The company’s compliance with its Social and Labour Plan (SLP) is of absolute importance to Lonmin. The company engages with and reports to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on an on-going basis, and engages directly with other stakeholders, including legitimate NGOs. The current SLP is still in its implementation phase. It runs from 2014 to December 2018. In that period, Lonmin had to resize the company resulting in about 6,000 employees being re-skilled with some losing their jobs. Given the economic environment and the continuing low platinum price, we are currently in consultation with employees about the need to protect the employment of the majority of our workforce by a further reduction of some 1,139 contractors and employees. Followi...

The OSC range of condensate separators for compressed air systems from global quality compressed air technology, equipment and systems specialist, Atlas Copco Compressor Technique, delivers high performance, versatility and low maintenance. Consisting of eight models, the OSC range can accommodate compressed air systems from 35 l/s (74 cfm) right up to 2360 l/s (4984 cfm). Advanced technology in the form of a revolutionary oleophilic and active filtration patented process incorporated by Atlas Copco into the design of the OSC range enables almost all condensate mixtures to be separated, including most emulsions. Unlike most other systems, over-sizing is unnecessary when faced with synthetic oil based condensates. This patented filtration process also ensures that the condensate separators meet strict environmental regulations. According to Charl Ackerman, Business Line Manager of Atlas Copco Compressor Technique’s Industrial Air division, simplicity is a key feature of the prod...

Brick by brick, women are building influence in the NI construction sector and CDE, the Cookstown-based international design and engineering wet processing equipment company, is determined to support them in this endeavour. Today a 15-strong group of young leaders who work in the local construction materials industry, under the umbrella of Quarry Product Association NI (QPANI), visited CDE to learn from the company’s approach to diversity issues and to feed into its drive for solutions. The group included young women poised to become the new diversity champions of the local construction materials industry. Claire Colvin, Talent Director at CDE, became involved at an early stage and welcomed the interest of the group in the company’s diversity ethos: “Despite enduring misconceptions, gender in construction has become irrelevant. CDE’s message to our visitors today is that there should be no barriers for young women to becoming successful professionals in the engineering and constr...