Mining Developments News

On 8 August 2018 Atlas Copco once again partnered with the Reality Wellness Group to celebrate Women’s Day at their head office in Jet Park, Boksburg. “We pulled out all the stops as we wanted to dedicate the day to the women of Atlas Copco to show the company’s appreciation for their hard work and to give them an opportunity to let their hair down,” says Wendy Buffa-Pace, Atlas Copco Group Human Resources Manager. The venue was beautifully decorated to make the ladies feel welcome and each received a beauty gift voucher. A photo booth with prizes for the best photos added a fun element to the more serious side of the day, a presentation by Candice Janks from Reality Wellness Group on effective stress management. Stress is part of everyone’s daily life with many women having to find a balance between their career and their role as a wife and mother. So Atlas Copco invited Candice Janks to deliver an educational presentation addressing the different methods of dealing with stress bo...

The recently inaugurated Control Tower located in Epiroc facilities in Örebro, Sweden, is designed to be an innovation arena to collaborate around, and to explore and develop automation and information management solutions. The Control Tower is much more than a showroom – it is a part of the Epiroc strategy to support customers to take the right steps towards safety, productivity and improved operations. In the high-tech Epiroc Control Tower the visitor can also explore remote controlled and automated machines which can be operated anywhere around the globe. Furthermore, Epiroc information management solutions are displayed through telematics and integrated systems, demonstrating the digital and connected mine. “When planning our new Control Tower we knew that it was going to be more than a showroom of our automation and information management solutions. We built it to be a place where we together with our customers and partners will develop the functionalities of tomorrow’s mining ...

Swedish group, SKF, has been implementing its digital transformation since 2015, investing close to €19 million to carry out its digital revolution at its historical Göteborg plant which has, for over a century, been producing the quality bearings on which the Swedish group’s success is based. Over the years the plant has witnessed developments brought about by successive waves of automation including the introduction of the first forklifts in 1970, the implementation of lean manufacturing ten years later and the arrival of the first industrial robots in production in 1995. 2015 saw the Göteborg facility launch the complete modernisation of its spherical roller bearing manufacturing plant. The initiative, based on a model called World Class Manufacturing, saw SKF gradually opening more sites in a bid to bring production closer to customers. The objective was to increase customer uptime and productivity by helping to reduce their stock levels and improve lead times. However, more ...

Elijah proudly showing his ‘Best Turner Apprentice for 2017’ certificate Second year Turner at thyssenkrupp Service Centre’s Turning Workshop, Elijah Ntsiene, was recently presented with the coveted ‘Best Turner Apprentice for 2017’ award. The awards ceremony, hosted by the Artisan Training Institution at the Roodepoort campus on 6 March 2018, acknowledged young apprentices who are excelling in their respective fields. The ‘Best Turner Apprentice’ was one of the most eagerly awaited awards and the certificate was presented by the Artisan Training Institution to a proud and delighted Elijah. Elijah has completed the Technical Apprenticeship Programme which thyssenkrupp Service Centre‘s embarked upon eight years ago in a bid to be part of the solution in meeting the country’s challenges surrounding skills shortages and unemployment. The fully accredited Technical Apprenticeship Programme develops technically competent employees, arming them with advanced skill sets so that they have...

David Stanford (left) & Pamela Finniss from Atlas Copco Power Technique with Raymond Herholdt in front of one of the two XATS1200 compressors purchased by Dynamic Air Dynamic Air recently purchased two XATS1200 compressors from Atlas Copco Power Technique to replace older same brand compressors for one of their customers in the oil refinery industry. “Having reached between 18 000 and 21 00 hours, we can safely say that these two Atlas Copco compressors have served us and our customer very well and it is now time for them to retire from their full time job!” says Raymond Herholdt, Operations Manager at Dynamic Air. “35% more air delivery per compressor coupled with the added versatility of choosing between 5 and 10 bar with the flick of a switch, the efficiency of the new XATS1200 machines will without any doubt add value for the end-user.” “This 5 to 10 bar variant is possible thanks to Atlas Copco pioneered PACE technology which is available on our new range of large compre...

The drive to become a stronger partner and bolster services to customers in Mozambique fueled the decision by global mining equipment specialist, Epiroc, to relocate to larger premises in Maputo on 1 July 2018. Epiroc made the bold decision to establish a foothold in Mozambique with the opening of an office in the country’s capital, in 2013. The key objective was to create a direct presence with higher competence to support local customers. Responsible for serving customers and end-users across a wide spectrum of markets and diverse applications, the Maputo office was becoming increasingly inadequate. Fernando Pedrinho Martins, Country Manager for Epiroc Mozambique Ltd., explains, “Our new premises, situated only a short distance from the old building, consolidates the offices and warehouse under one roof. With the necessary flexibility to accommodate a growing structure, the facility complements our competencies and capabilities and also presents an ideal space for receiving custom...

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday lamented the recent spike in mine deaths, while praising Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe for driving the public engagement process of the draft Mining Charter since he took over in February. Addressing the elective congress of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Ramaphosa said government is committed to finalising the charter, which the industry has criticised as unconstitutional. “We want this charter to be finalised so that we can reposition the industry. I have said that we see the mining sector as a sunrise industry and that there is space for it to play a key role in the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP),” said Ramaphosa. Last week, Mantashe unveiled the revised charter following months of public consultations with the industry and communities. “The Mining Charter will be used to balance policy certainty, deal with the challenges of inequality and also promote transformation,” he said. The Mineral Council, which re...

KenGen is planning to raise Ksh 5.7 billion for the proposed 45-megawatt solar plant which is expected to be complete in 14 months. The electricity producing company is seeking funds from the World Bank, French Development agency and KfW of Germany. The county government of Embu has already identified 600 acres of land in Machang’a area in the county for solar power generation. The firm will sign a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with KPLC, which will specify the cost of tariffs to be sold to KPLC and later distributed to homes and businesses. Currently cost of feed-in-tariffs for 10-40MW go for Ksh 12 per unit. The construction of the 40 megawatt solar power will complement existing hydro power generation sources. Feasibility studies began in November last year which were funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAid) among others. KenGen had disclosed last year that the tarmacking of a 21 km road in Mutuovake in Kiambera Ward at a cost of Ksh340 million had st...

An investor group of multi-national conglomerate General Electric has publicly objected to plans to purchase a stake in a Kenyan coal plant arguing that the project will pollute the environment and deter efforts to fight global warming. According to Reuters, the company received a public letter from about 56 institutional and individual shareholders asking it to change its plans to buy 20 per cent stake in the planned 1000-megawatt coal plant in Lamu, Kenya. The letter read: “We are alarmed by [the] apparent risks involved with the coal plant’s construction and operations. The plant will negatively impact human health as coal production releases toxic pollution into the air and leaves behind ash that can contaminate groundwater supplies.” In addition, the letter said that GE’s plan was contrary to the 2015 Paris climate change agreement that it supports. The letter was signed by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, an association comprising of over 70 UK-based “public sector pensio...

A total turnkey solution to desilt a process water dam at a coal mine in the Middelburg area of Mpumalanga province was all in a day’s work for pump solutions specialists Integrated Pump Rental. According to Integrated Pump Rental managing director Lee Vine, it is not uncommon for factors like high rainfall or an unexpected process fault to cause overfilling of a process dam with silt. In a recent case, a mining customer urgently needed a process dam that had become filled with coal fines to be emptied. The situation raised the risk of an environmental incident which could have potentially interrupted the smooth operation of the coal processing plant. “One of the specific issues with coal fines is that they settle very quickly and create a highly compact layer at the bottom of a pond. This makes it more difficult to create a slurry that can be pumped away,” says Vine. “The SlurryBlaster is our effective hydro mining solution for removing slurry and sediment accumulation on dam walls...

President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law a Bill granting a 15 per cent relief for Kenyans buying houses under the Affordable Housing Scheme. The Head of State also signed an amendment to the income tax to create a new section that establishes an Affordable Housing Relief set at 15 per cent of the gross remunerations. The tax relief is however not supposed to exceed Ksh 108,000 per annum as set out in the act. He also signed into law an amendment to the Stamp Duty Act to exempt first-time home buyers under the affordable housing scheme from Stamp Duty. Amendments to the Stamp Duty Act also include provisions to allow the Collector of Stamp Duties to refer a valuation of property for the purpose of Stamp Duty to a registered and practicing valuer. The amendment to the Stamp Duty Act is intended to fast track valuations at the Ministry of Lands. The reprieve is a goal towards the achievement of the Big 4 agenda that aims at providing affordable housing of constructing 500,000 new ...

Construction of the 250 metres bridge connecting the port of Mombasa to the standard gauge railway (SGR) Mombasa terminus is now complete. The bridge will link to a rail extension that stretches 2.7 kilometres from the SGR terminus to shipping cargo bays. As a result, fewer trucks will be used to transport goods from ship to rail. The bridge will be part of the SGR Port Relief Line that is 2.726 kilometres and covers ten berths at the port of Mombasa according to the China Communication Construction company. Enhancing the Movement of Goods from Ship to Rail The Mombasa port bridge will enable easy movement of bulky goods like cement, iron, clinker, and steel to the SGR. The Kenya Ports Authority has been offloading the goods with cranes which are then transported to the SGR by trucks. Currently, freighters using the SGR pay a flat fee of $347.7 for a 20-foot container and $397.4 for a 40-foot container from Mombasa to the Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD). On the other hand, f...

COMMENTING TODAY, PAUL MCDADE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SAID: “Today’s results are further evidence of the progress that Tullow has made in the first half of 2018. With this firm financial foundation, we can concentrate on growth across our three core businesses. Over the next two years, we will increase production from our current assets in West Africa, progress two large onshore developments in East Africa and step up our search for material new oil fields in Africa and South America through a multi-year exploration campaign which will initially focus on Namibia and Guyana. There is much to look forward to for Tullow’s shareholders, host countries and staff.” PAUL MCDADE ALSO PAID A PERSONAL TRIBUTE TO AIDAN HEAVEY: “Aidan has dedicated his career to the African Oil & Gas industry. He founded Tullow 32 years ago as a small gas producer in Senegal and since then Tullow has had operations in 45 countries around the world including 20 countries in Africa. He has been a pioneer and...

The world’s fifth largest mine, Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, will use advanced techniques enabled by pioneering crane design to fast-track the pre-sink phase at Shaft 6. The time needed will be dramatically reduced by a Condra portal crane that combines a very rapid lift speed with optimised cross travel to waiting dump trucks. Pre-sinking is expected to be completed in less than a quarter of the time considered the norm – four months instead of the usual eighteen. The Condra portal is radically different from the level-luffing type of crane traditionally used for pre sinking. Instead, a high-speed, high-lift main hoist removes excavated spoil vertically, by kibble, through an opening in the centre of a drilling stage positioned by two separate stage winders mounted on the same portal frame. Lift speed is an impressive 1 metre per second – fifteen times faster than the 4 metres per minute found in standard mine workshop applications. South Africa-based Condra researched its advanced portal...

Drive and automation specialist SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa will give insight into the future of mining at Electra Mining Africa 2018 at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg from 10 to 14 September, where it will display its total solutions offering for the mining industry. Long-known in the mining industry as a manufacturer and supplier of geared units, SEW National Sales Manager Norman Maleka highlights that Electra Mining Africa 2018 is the ideal platform to convey the full extent of its services and products to as wide an audience as possible. SEW experts will be on-hand to discuss the latest innovations from the German company, which SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa plans to introduce locally in the future. One of these upcoming trends are Mechatronic Industrial Gear (MIG) units. These represent the convergence of gears, motors, and decentralised inverters in a single handy package. This is an exciting future technology for the mining industry, especially with the increasing trend t...

IRVING, Texas and WOODMEAD, South Africa (July 23, 2018) – Fluor Corporation announced today that it was awarded the front-end loading engineering (FEL) for the Secunda Clean Fuels Baseline Improvement Basket of Projects by Sasol South Africa (Pty) Ltd. Fluor signed the contract in the second quarter of 2018. “We are pleased to assist Sasol with the start of this important program,” said Tolani Azeez, general manager of Fluor’s Sub-Saharan Africa region. “Our team will use its global expertise in clean fuel refineries and in-depth knowledge of Sasol’s requirements and the Secunda refinery site to develop this initial phase.” Fluor’s engineering team, based in Secunda and Woodmead, is due to complete the work by July 2019. Fluor’s relationship with Sasol dates back to the award of the first project in Sasolburg in the early 1960s. In 1975, Fluor was named the managing contractor by Sasol to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for Sasol II, and later...

The New Development Bank, set up by the Brics group of emerging economies, has approved loans of $300-million for energy projects in South Africa and $300-million for a transportation project in China. South Africa, which will host a Brics summit later this week in Johannesburg, is trying to diversify its energy mix to reduce its reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired power plants. It has launched several bidding rounds for billions of dollars of renewable energy deals in recent years, with the latest expected to open later this year. The Brics development bank said in a statement that its $300-million loan to South Africa would be channelled via the Development Bank of Southern Africa and would focus on projects which reduce carbon dioxide emissions and boost energy efficiency. Its $300-million loan to China is for a new metro line in the city of Luoyang. With the two projects, the bank's portfolio of loans stands at more than $5.7-billion. The Brics grouping comprises Braz...