Mining Developments News

MONROE, Wash. (Nov. 27, 2018) – Brokk, the world’s leading manufacturer of remote-controlled demolition machines, introduces the Brokk 170. With SmartPowerTM — the company’s signature intelligent power management system — the new machine offers 15 percent more power than its predecessor, the Brokk 160, but retains the same compact dimensions. The Brokk 170 is one of four new next generation Brokk remote-controlled demolition machines Brokk is launching at World of Concrete 2019 at booth C4249 in Las Vegas. “Contractors work in some of the most confined spaces, and to get their jobs done successfully they can’t sacrifice power or safety,” said Martin Krupicka, president and CEO of Brokk Group. “That’s why maintaining the same footprint as the former model and boosting the machine’s power was a must. This new machine truly tests the limits of compact power.” The Brokk 170 incorporates the revolutionary new SmartConcept™ system, which ensures improved performance and uptime. SmartC...

Lonmin’s mines are located on the western limb of South Africa’s Bushveld Igneous Complex Shares in struggling South African platinum producer Lonmin (LON:LMI) climbed Wednesday after the South African Competition Tribunal approved the company’s takeover by Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE:SGL) (NYSE:SBGL), with conditions By late afternoon, Lonmin had climbed 8% to 48.12p, while Sibanye was slightly up in New York at $2.74 as the regulator imposed as condition a moratorium on planned layoffs at Lonmin operations for a period of six months from the implementation date. The requisite adds to others the Competition Commission imposed in September. One of them forces Sibanye to embark on three short-term mining projects to avoid the loss of over 3,000 jobs, subject to platinum prices rising and costs being kept low. Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive Neal Froneman said the company believed the terms of the approval were “fair, reasonable and in the best interest of all stakeholders.” The 285-mil...

BP Southern Africa (BPSA) will invest $1-billion in South Africa in the next five years with more than a quarter of that set aside to upgrade the SAPREF refinery to produce lower sulphur diesel, its chief executive said. The 180 00 barrels per day SAPREF refinery, South Africa's largest, is a 50:50 venture between Royal Dutch Shell and BPSA, a subsidiary of British oil major BP. The plant is located in the east coast city of Durban. BP would invest R3.5-billion to R4-billion ($252-million to $288-million) in the refinery upgrade, Chief ExecutivePriscillah Mabelane told Reuters, adding that about 40 percent of the total $1-billion investment would go on retail activities. She said the upgrade would make "sure the refinery can meet the new specifications in terms of low sulphur and Marpol regulations." The plant would shut for maintenance from May to June 2019, she added. The upgrade has been driven by new rules demanding a lower fuel sulphur content and changing customer p...

Atlas Copco proudly introduces a new generation of ZB 5 – 6 VSD+ magnetic bearing turbo blowers, one of the most efficient oil-free turbo blowers on the market. Featuring a unique design, proven efficiency as well as insensitivity to process changes, the ZB proves incomparable in both reliability and lifetime. The ZB magnetic bearing technology is extremely strong and ensures safe operation regardless of the environment. The shaft is always fully controlled due to the magnetic force which constantly adjusts its position. Another great advantage of using the magnetic bearing turbo technology is that no air is used from the system to operate the machine. Compared to other technologies, this makes the machine independent from downstream conditions which may prevail as a result of any operation trouble. Additionally, with this new generation of machines, Atlas Copco has developed technology that does not require a power bank in the case of power failure, making the ZB one of the most ...

When a UK-based company was experiencing constant bearing failures on an autoclave bogie wheel assembly, expert guidance from NSK was sought to resolve the issue. Bearings for autoclave bogie wheel assemblies need to withstand high loads On average, the customer was witnessing bearing failures on the 10 axles of the autoclave bogie wheel assembly every 2-3 weeks. To make matters worse, the failures of the deep groove ball bearings were resulting in damage to the surrounding hardware (housings and axles), which in turn would lead to high labour and parts costs as components needed regular replacement. NSK’s team of expert engineers performed a failed bearing analysis, during which it could be determined that the ingress of hard particulates and moisture, combined with excessive load, was the root cause of the premature bearing failures. Concluding its application review, NSK could clearly show that the original deep groove ball bearings were inadequate. In this regard, the engineer...

SANBORN, New York (Nov. 20, 2018) — KINSHOFER, a global leader in high-quality excavator and loader crane attachments, offers railway Tie/Sleeper Changer attachments for efficient railway maintenance and repair. The three attachments — the RBS, RBS20 and RBS20HPX — can be used with 12- to 24-ton rail excavators to quickly exchange existing concrete and wooden ties without disrupting the track. The RBS20 can also switch from handling standard mono-block ties to bi-block ties with no modification, thanks to internally and externally fitted pads. “Railroad crews don’t have time to bring in large tie exchangers for quick repairs and maintenance; it’s a cumbersome and time-consuming process,” said Francois Martin, KINSHOFER North America general manager. “Our Tie Changers enable quick and easy repairs with a machine that’s readily available — an excavator. An experienced operator can change as many as 40 sleepers per hour with one of our attachments.” KINSHOFER designed the tie change...

TSX-listed RNC Minerals on Monday announced that it would strengthen its board with significant gold operating experience by appointing Paul Huet and Warwick Morley-Jepson to its board of directors. Huet will service as a director of RNC and Morley-Jepson will serve as a board observer. Both will serve on a newly-created technical committee of the board, which will be chaired by Huet. Most recently, Huet was president, CEO and director of Klondex Mines from 2012 to 2018, until it was acquired by Hecla Mining. Morley-Jepson previously served as executive VP and COO of Kinross Gold from October 2014 to December 2016. RNC executive chairperson Scott Hand said that having Huet and Morley-Jepson join the team was a “strong endorsement of the potential of the Beta Hunt mine”. In October, RNC’s Beta Hunt mine, in Australia, reported a major increase in third-quarter production, with output hitting a record 31 360 mined ounces. The mine hosts the recently discovered high-grade Father’s Da...

Nearly 14 000 workers of gold miner Sibanye-Stillwater will down tools at its South African gold operations this week, after months of wage negotiations with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) reached a deadlock. The gold miner confirmed on Monday that AMCU members would embark on a protected strike from the evening shift on Wednesday. AMCU represents about 43% of the 32 200 people that Sibanye employs at its South African gold operations. The affected operations will include Driefontein, Kloof, Beatrix, the Cooke shafts, as well as health services, property services, the South African region and corporate office, protection services and the Gold Academy, AMCU said in a statement. Sibanye earlier this month reached three-year wage agreements with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa. AMCU is demanding an increase of R1 000 a year, while some of the negotiating gold mines are offering R650 for the first year, R700 for the second year...

Örebro, Sweden: With over 60000 operating hours, Epiroc is now expanding its proven battery offering and zero-emission fleet with the second generation in underground loaders, trucks and drill rigs and a new battery service offering. Battery-electric equipment allows a mine to unlock a number of benefits: improved health and safety, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and decreased operating costs. “We are leading the charge towards sustainability in mining through battery electric, zero-emission equipment,” says Stevan Topalovic, Vice President Marketing Underground Rock Excavation division at Epiroc. “At Power Change Days, we proudly presented our second generation electric battery 14 and 18-tonne loaders, our 42-tonne truck and our mid-sized drilling family including face drilling, production drilling and rock reinforcement rigs.” Power Change Days in Örebro, Sweden highlights knowledge and development at the forefront of this industry shift. Key speakers share their expertise in b...

The Minerals Council South Africa congratulates the Women in Mining (WIM) Top 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining revealed today at the launch of the 2018 publication in London, with Daphne Mashile Nkosi (a 2015 South African nominee) - executive chairperson, Kalagadi Manganese - as the guest speaker. This is the WIM third edition of the Top 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining, which aims to showcase the significant impact and contribution of women within the global mining industry while identifying inspirational role models. The search was open to any woman working in the mining sector, including industries related to or supporting the industry. This year’s 100 most inspirational women were selected by their global peers from a record 642 nominations. They are recognised, among other attributes, for their trail-blazing approach to the industry and their activities to empower others, including being a voice and role model for diversity and inclusion. WIM Managing Director, Ni...

Mobilaris Mining Intelligence (MMI) from Epiroc enables superior situational awareness to oversee a mining operation in all its complexity. Kimberley Ekapa Mining will use MMI to embrace mine digitalization and create a superior decision support system to proactively enhance safety and increase productivity. With the use of MMI, Kimberley Ekapa Mining will be able to track assets in real-time; to integrate and visualize machine data, machine location and the shift plan together to close the loop between the plan and the reality. “MMI will help us start to modernize our old diamond mine and be the tipping point in terms of production optimisation.” said Howard Marsden, General Manager of Kimberley Ekapa Mining. “It will allow us to tag and keep better track of our mining personnel and equipment and give us access to real-time data, which will shed some light into the normally dark world of the underground mine. We expect this is to be productivity game changer”. Thanks to its open ar...

12 November 2018 (PSCU) – Kenya targets to attain 100 per cent transition to green energy by 2020 as it scales up investment in renewable energy to address the climate change challenge concretely, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said. President Kenyatta pointed out that, in concrete terms, renewable energy makes up 70 per cent of Kenya’s installed electric power capacity. The President said the aggressive investments to reach this figure have been made simultaneously with Kenya almost tripling the size of its population served by the electricity grid to more than 60 per cent of the population. “Our target is to attain 100 per cent green energy sufficiency by 2020. We will do this while we achieve 100 per cent access to power for our population, and sharply lower costs to industry to aid our manufacturing push,” President Kenyatta said. The Kenyan leader spoke on Sunday during a roundtable discussion on "Don't drop climate efforts" session of Paris Peace Forum in France. Spe...

Mining production decreased by 1.8% year-on-year in September, with the largest negative contributor being gold production with a decline of 19% and contributing -3.1 percentage points. The largest positive contributor was platinum-group metals (PGMs), which had a 7.2% production increase, contributing 1.7 percentage points. Seasonally adjusted mining production increased by 1.2% month-on-month in September, which followed month-on-month changes of 1% in August and -8.6% in July. Seasonally adjusted mining production decreased by 2.2% in the third quarter, compared with the second quarter. Iron-ore was the largest negative contributor, with a decline of 13% in production, contributing -1.8 percentage points. During the third quarter, PGMs had a decrease of 7.4%, contributing -1.8 percentage points. Investec commented South Africa’s mining sector continued to face numerous challenges, including access to and escalating costs of fundamental inputs, notably mounting electricity fees. “Ho...

The Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF) has advocated strongly for coal to be retained as a sustainable part of South Africa's energy mix for the short to medium term. “Contrary to the popular belief that ‘coal is dead’, South Africa’s coal resources are abundant and can provide low-emitting, cost-effective reliable and sustainable power well into the future with the correct technology,” the FFF said during public hearings into the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2018. The FFF has called for an intense review of all energy sources, saying the current IRP draft dealt almost solely with solar and wind. The organisation wants the government to appoint appropriate experts to undertake studies into all energy sources to ensure the most appropriate energy mix. The organisation said total coal sales, both local and exported, generated R120-billion in 2017 and was the country’s highest foreign exchange earner. It was the largest mining income earner, beating gold, platinum and diamonds. T...

Foundry and engineering company Thos Begbie is working in the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, close to the town of Shurungwi, where it is helping to construct the Unki platinumsmelter, adjacent to a mining operation owned byplatinum mining company Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). Middelburg, South Africa-based Thos Begbie was awarded the contract for the new smelter last year by Amplats, owing to a government regulation set out in 2015, which replaces the Mines and Minerals Act of 1963, restricting the exportation of raw minerals from Zimbabwe. The new regulation – the Mines and Minerals Development Bill – was approved in 2016 by then President Robert Mugabe, who was replaced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in November 2017. “Amplats previously only had a concentrator plant, but it needs a smelter, as the new regulations require the miner to produce final product for sale,” says Thos Begbie sales engineer Esli Bantjes. The Mines and Minerals Development Bill aims to regulate the export of ...

Industry leader in bearing and rotating technology, SKF, provided a complete power transmission solution for a longstanding key customer, one of southern Africa’s foremost cement suppliers who had been experiencing problems with a bucket elevator over a protracted period. The additives bucket elevator handles exceptionally abrasive and sticky materials such as natural and synthetic gypsum, limestone and slag. Frans Odendaal, SKF Product Manager, Power Transmission, explains that the machine already started giving problems in 2016 as a result of inappropriate chain selection for the particular application which was leading to costly unplanned downtime. “At that time we conducted a survey and made a few recommendations based on the existing chain condition. A few months later, in April 2017, the customer decided to not only replace the existing chain but to simultaneously upgrade the bucket elevator. Due to our earlier involvement, the customer approached SKF alongside a number of t...

For greater safety and efficiency in underground mining, Epiroc releases a number of automation features for the Scooptram underground loader. The Scooptram Automation Regular package allows the Scooptram to be controlled through an operator station from a remote location. "With the new Scooptram Automation Regular package, the operator can control the loader even while it is out of sight from a safe stationary or mobile control station", explains Vladimir Sysoev, product manager of automation at Epiroc. "The automation package also makes it possible for our customers to quickly and easily transition from manual to automatic mode, which is crucial in mines with a dynamic environment or quick advancements. The automation package is an effective way for our customers to boost their productivity in today's world, where mining operations have to contend with a variety of complicated production issues." To minimise environmental impact and keep personnel out of h...

Congratulates chosen finalists of the Isidingo Drill Design Challenge Johannesburg, 25 October 2018. The Minerals Council South Africa congratulates the three finalists selected at the conclusion of the first phase of the Isidingo Drill Design Challenge. The competition is aimed at instilling new, creative approaches to local innovation and design, and in this case also improving the efficiency, health and safety with which drilling occurs in the overall mining cycle. The finalists are local equipment manufacturers Fermel, HPE and Novatek. The Isidingo Drill Design Challenge is a partnership between the Mandela Mining Precinct and boutique innovation consulting firm RIIS. The Minerals Council has actively supported the initiative. “With the potential of becoming a widely-used new technology in deep-level mining and elsewhere, the challenge incentivises entrants to rethink the decades-old mining drill technology,” said Sietse van der Woude, Senior Executive: Modernisation and Safety ...

Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum comments: “The acquisition of the Glencore and Kagiso interests in the Mototolo JV results in Anglo American Platinum wholly-owning a mechanised, low-cost, high quality resource, creating another major PGM hub for the company. "The transaction unlocks significant optionality for the company in its adjacent wholly-owned Der Brochen resource, and will increase the life-of-mine to over 30-years creating material value for Anglo American Platinum.” With effect from 1 November 2018, Mototolo will become a wholly-owned operation of Amplats. The upfront purchase consideration to Glencore is R0.9 billion and a deferred consideration will be settled monthly over a six-year period and will be determined based on the Rand PGM prices over the Mototolo JV life of mine to 2024. A total purchase consideration of R267 million was paid to Kagiso, with no further deferred consideration being payable.

UNDERGROUND Technology increases level of industrial safety and transportation efficiency of mining industry. 2ND NOVEMBER 2018 Last month, digital mining implementation of information technologies developer Vist Group presented its digital solution for the global market at the eleventh Mining Show, which is the largest mining and quarrying conference and expo for the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and South Asia. “The industry as a whole saw a slump in 2015 but since then, the sector has recovered, owing to rising commodity prices. The current advancement of intellectual solutions into mining is on average less than 50% globally, and in developing countries, where this industry is most developed – only 25%,” says Vist Group business development director Dmitry Klebanov. Distribution of solutions with artificial intelligence (AI) can add up to $3-billion to the bottom line, which he notes is promising for development and international expansion. One of the digital solutions the gro...

HANDY TECH The radios provide continuous communication signal strength of 5/5 2ND NOVEMBER 2018 With the death toll in South African mines this year having reached 54, dynamic company Advanced Communications has sourced advanced radios, which use the mine’s existing metallic and conductive infrastructure, to create reliable communication paths underground that extend for kilometres. Mine safety is of grave concern in South Africa, with Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe calling on mines to dramatically improve safety for miners. Advanced Communications MD Yoni Margalit says many miners have died because it takes too long to warn people underground, if they can be reached at all, making quick action almost impossible. The existing unreliable ‘mining telephone’ and leaky feeder systems in use only reach developed areas within the mine and are often compromised in underground catastrophes like fires and rock falls. He adds that this allows the mine to have a backup radio system th...

Base Resources has delivered a financially outstanding performance over the last three years, thanks to an optimisation project implemented at its Kwale operation. This has seen the mine in Kenya improve its production and recovery deliverables – quite significantly. Now, the company is looking to build its financial strength further, by investigating the potential to extend Kwale’s mine life and introducing a second producing asset into the stable by 2021, MD Tim Carstens told delegates at the Africa Down Under conference in Perth, Australia in August. Base Resources’ revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) has climbed steadily over the last three years, which in addition to the company’s optimisation project at Kwale can also be attributed to an improvement in mineral sands prices. It has also reduced its debt to US$33.2 million – down from $65.3 million. “We have been in Kenya for the last eight years since acquiring Kwale and believe we ar...

Date: 12 - 13 November 2018 Location: Nairobi, Kenya Website Mining Baraza, previously Kenya Mining Forum is an exclusive annual international platform for mining professionals in Kenya and the East African region. The confex is a stakeholder-led gathering focused on a specific delegate profile with a distinct end goal – the search for credible investors in Kenya and the region's mining industry as well as associated support services. The participation of key Chamber members is incentivising international participation that we are growing to 39% in 2018. Our discussion with the Ministry of Mining and key stakeholders in the region highlighted the fact that now is the opportune time to promote investment in Kenya as the new mining act has been implemented in May 2016 and regulations have been made; providing more transparency and credibility for investors. Moreover, Kenya has been working with McKinsey on a 20-year mining plan that already highlighted a potential of USD 62.4b min...

Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe met with the executive of the Minerals Council and CEOs in the coal and platinum sectors this afternoon to receive a briefing on the challenges faced by companies in these sectors, and to work on finding solutions for the long-term sustainability of the mining industry. This is part of the Minister’s ongoing engagements with the industry, to ensure that it is stable, transforming, competitive and continues to make a positive contribution to GDP and employment creation. “Coal remains a key commodity and is currently leading in terms of revenue generation. It is therefore critical that we proactively and continuously engage to address any issues emerging in the sector,” the Minister said. On platinum, South Africa accounts for 87% of the world’s known reserves and is the industry’s second largest generator of revenue. “We are working together with the sector to explore ways of creating more demand for this metal, because I am of the view th...

The Department and its tripartite stakeholders today concluded the Mine Health and Safety Summit, which was held from 18 and 19 October 2018. The objective of the Summit was to review the health and safety performance of the mining sector and to develop strategies to accelerate the achievement of the goal of zero harm. The ten years to 2017 were positive for the sector, as it recorded a downward trend in fatalities. The upward movement seen at the end of 2017 is therefore concerning and requires decisive intervention. Unfortunately, while the Summit was in progress, five workers lost their lives due to mine accidents. This means that 74 workers have lost their lives this year. The Department has since dispatched a team of inspectors to the respective sites to commence with in-loco inspections. These most recent accidents challenge the stakeholders to work with even more urgency in resolving the challenges the industry faces that impede it from reaching the goal of zero harm. As we move...

Fordia Group is based in Montreal, Canada, and has sales in more than 70 countries. It provides exploration drilling tools such as diamond bits, down-the-hole tools, drill rods and drill casings, as well as water treatment systems and pumps, used by mining houses and drilling contractors. Its high-quality solutions are known in the industry to benefit customers by for example improving penetration rates and extending bit life. Fordia has about 250 employees and had revenues for the 12 months ending September 2018 of about CAD 85 million (SEK 580 million). “This acquisition is strategically important as we increase our focus on the exploration segment,” said Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure. “The solid team at Fordia will play a key role as we continuously strengthen our value offering to customers.” The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2019. The purchase price is not material relative to Epiroc’s market...