Mining Developments News

Gys Kappers, CEO of Wyzetalk The mining industry is in a crisis. Failure to get the policy, legislative, administrative and operating environment right is being compounded by a recline in resource demand and resulting excess capacity, weakening prices and increasing volatility. Many also need to mine deeper to reach new deposits, which is resulting in a significant increase in the cost of extraction and these costs are forcing mining companies to make difficult decisions to sustain short-term operations, while still adhering to long term objectives. What’s more, advanced technologies are severely impacting the broader industry albeit in a seeming unrelated way. Emerging products and services require new materials which is changing the mix in the demand for minerals and metals and this is expected to continue. This of course has long term implications for the demand for primary resources. And for the foreseeable future, this state is the ‘new normal’. To cope with this ‘new nor...

[Johannesburg, 13 November 2017]: A relentless research and development (R&D) regime at Monitech Mining Monitoring Systems, a South African industry leader in mining safety and monitoring solutions, has resulted in an incessant rejuvenation of its Hazardous Area Control System, which has become the methane detection technology of choice in underground coal mining applications. The presence of methane gas in coal mining processes is highly probable. As such, monitoring methane levels in operational mining sections has become obligatory. Available legislation calls for the installation of methane monitoring technology on mining machines to monitor and inhibit production whenever the existence of methane beyond predetermined levels is detected. As a result, methane monitoring technologies have become the gold standard in coal mining applications. Use of modern-day technologies such as Monitech’s Hazardous Area Control System has helped shape the coal mining industry, especial...

Samantha Du Toit - PR, Communications and Marketing Manager, Detlev Duve - Managing Director of DACHSER SA and Charles Dey - Chairman LAA Exco At the 29th Logistics Achiever Awards ceremony held on Thursday evening, 2 November at Montecasino in Fourways, Gauteng, DACHSER SA scooped a Silver category award for leading in skills development. Managing Director of DACHSER SA, Detlev Duve, was at the black-tie ceremony to receive the award, of which all winners were only announced during the ceremony. Duve says of the achievement, “This is the first time that DACHSER South Africa has participated in the Logistics Achiever Awards. The application procedure was a rigorous process that included a site visit by a champion judge. We were very pleased to have made the shortlist. Receiving a silver award from among 89 entries is gratifying because it is an acknowledgement of DACHSER SA’s commitment to skills development for the logistics industry.” The Logistics Achiever Awards is...

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, h...

Lonmin is deeply concerned by the recent fatal shootings across the platinum belt. The company is aware of at least six deaths and three injuries in various shootings across the region in the past three months including three at Lonmin. In the latest incident which took place on Tuesday 17 October, Mr Tholakele Dlunga, an employee of Lonmin, was shot by an unidentified assailant and later succumbed to his injuries. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. He is survived by his wife and three children. In the same incident, a relative of Mr Dlunga was also injured Lonmin has embarked on various measures to encourage calm, peace and tolerance. “We are invested in the success, peace and stability of our company, our employees and our communities. This violence is deeply concerning. We have worked hard to establish a sound rapport with unions and employees. The recent violent attacks across the platinum belt only serve to undo these efforts and necessitate an ...

ST. CATHARINES, Ontario (Nov. 2, 2017) – Haver & Boecker, a leading equipment manufacturer and solutions provider for aggregates and mining applications, offers the versatile two-bearing Tyler T-Class vibrating screen for a wide range of materials with a top size of 16-inch minus. The machine has a cut size range of 20 mesh to 6-inch minus. A sheave combination and drive belts power the T-Class. A wide variety of add-on components allow producers to outfit the machine with features to enhance their specific operation. These include a dust enclosure, spray system, ball trays, special paint systems and more. Additionally, Haver & Boecker manufactures the machine with a stainless-steel construction, on a skid mount, or as a stationary or portable structure. Producers can choose from machines ranging in size from 4-by-8-foot to 8-by-20-foot, as well as 8-by-24-foot with a twin shaft. The standard model is inclined at 20 degrees, but variations between 15 and 25 degrees are also...

Clen Cook Digital technology to drive health and safety in mining sector The next wave of growth within the mining sector will be enabled by technology. This is according to newly appointed Tshimologong Precinct CEO, Lesley Donna Williams, who says that while digital disruption has largely been consumer-facing, manufacturing industries and natural resource sectors are starting to take both a human-centered approach, as well as looking to technology to assist with improvements and innovative ways to move these industries forward. In response to this need, the Tshimologong Precinct in collaboration with RIIS, will host Mine.D: Zero Harm - a digitally-inspired hackathon from 3 – 5 November 2017. The hackathon will be focused on Mixed Reality (MR) and Internet of Things (IoT) within the health and safety space of the mining sector. “There is a significant role for technology to play within the mining sector. Looking at aspects of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Io...

In its continued bid to catalyse socio-economic community development, Lonmin today handed over two Social and Labour Plan (SLP) projects for beneficiaries within the Greater Lonmin Community (GLC), being communities situated close to the company’s operations. The community health and road infrastructure projects were handed over to the North West provincial government and commemorated at a ceremony attended by Magome Masike, North West MEC for Health, Ben Magara, Chief Executive Officer at Lonmin and Thandeka Ncube, EVP of Stakeholder Engagement and Regulatory Affairs, Lonmin and local community members in Marikana. Thandeka Ncube explained that the wellbeing of the 126 000 people living in the GLC is of paramount importance to the sustainability of Lonmin: “We view our host and labour sending communities as an integral part of our business. This view has prompted us to take a holistic view of the communities’ socio-economic development, focusing our participation in initiativ...

Clariant Mining Solutions Announces Participation at Flotation ‘17 • Clariant presents research paper Flotation '17 • Clariant Mining Solutions showcases froth floation and mineral processing strength at exhibition stand Johannesburg, Friday 03 November – Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals to the mining industry, is pleased to announce its participation in the 8th International Flotation Conference (Flotation '17) taking place on the 13th November to the 16th at the Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa. Clariant Metallurgist for Sub-Sahara Africa Mining Services, Linda Mahlangu is set to present a research paper, A Revıew of Phosphorıc Acıd Esters for the Flotatıon of Oxıdısed Copper Mınerals on Tuesday, 14th November at 11:00. This paper follows a research study conducted focusing on phosphoric acid esters as potential alternatives to the sulphidizer-xanthate method currently used by most operations to recover oxide copper. In conjunction with the presen...

By Wray Carvelas, CEO of DRA Global Across the world investment appetite seems to be returning to our sector as investors look to unlock the untapped potential the global mining and minerals landscape has to offer. We are seeing an increased number of enquiries and studies and this together with the increased activity in M&A transactions in our sector are certainly positive indicators that the market is coming off the bottom. While I sense that we are witnessing a turning point in our industry, and I expect far more stability moving forward, it does appear that the investment community remains somewhat cautious to invest. For the fourth consecutive year the industry reduced spending on exploration, worldwide, to barely one-third of the record allocated in 2012. Overcoming the increasing regulatory hurdles is somewhat routine for investors and the return on investment remains high, so why do they shy away? One of the biggest deterrents to investment in the mining sector ...

The recent postponement of suspended Eskom executive Mathsela Koko’s disciplinary hearing highlights just how costly and drawn out disciplinary procedures can be when lawyers become involved in the process. It also begs the question: Under what circumstances does the employee have the right to engage legal representation in respect of a disciplinary hearing? The Labour Relations Act is low-key on the issue of legal representation during disciplinary hearings. Schedule 8 of the LRA, the Code of Good Practice for Dismissal deals with some of the key aspects of dismissals for reasons related to misconduct. More specifically, the Code states that “The employer should notify the employee of the allegations, allow the employee a reasonable opportunity to prepare, to state his/her case in response to the allegations and that the employee should be entitled to the assistance of a trade union representative or fellow employee.” Adv. Tertius Wessels, Legal Manager at Strata-g Labour Sol...

Johannesburg, 6 November 2017 – A war of words is currently waging between employer bodies in the engineering and metal industries, with the mud-slinging centring on the wage negotiations which were concluded separately from all negotiating parties by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) and the trade unions in August this year. “The goal leading up to the 2017 wage negotiations was to ensure that an inclusive deal was reached, representing the interests of employer and labour bodies equally,” says David Anderson, newly appointed South African Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA) chairperson. “Mediation and arbitration specialist Johnny Goldberg was brought on board by our association as a lead negotiator on behalf of all employer bodies in good faith, with the intention to ensure an inclusive negotiation process for all parties.” This inclusive process was cut short when SEIFSA and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (...

With only a few months remaining out of a five-year qualification programme by Thor Energy in Norway, the commercialisation of thorium as a supplement fuel in conventional nuclear reactors is imminent. Initiated by The Thorium Irradiation Consortium, it is led by Thor Energy and has the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway; Westinghouse; Fortum in Finland; the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory; the German Institute for Transuranic Elements (ITU); and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) as consortium partners. Three countries, China, India and Turkey, have so far declared thorium as part of their national power policy and the OECD-NEA recently published a paper concluding that the implementation of thorium as a nuclear fuel is sensible, safe and reasonable in the long run, and that this evolution starts with combined uranium and thorium cycles in the near term. The US, France, Japan, China and South Korea have the most uranium-based nuclear reactors. Th...

Effective 1 November 2017, Atlas Copco grows into two separate international groups of companies. Globally, the entire Mining & Rock Excavation Technique Business Area together with the Construction Tools Division of Atlas Copco becomes part of Epiroc while the industrial segment remains with Atlas Copco. With Epiroc dedicated to the mining and civil engineering sectors and Atlas Copco focusing on the industrial market, the split provides the best growth opportunities for both listed companies. As global leaders in their respective areas, the two companies are perfectly positioned to deliver sustainable productivity solutions to their respective customer base. Spearheaded by newly appointed CEO, Per Lindberg, together with the support of a new board, and boasting a new head office, the evolution of Epiroc opens up a new chapter in the global mining and civil engineering industries. Epiroc, still a subsidiary of Atlas Copco, has begun the journey as an independent company o...