Inside Mining April 2012

Highly commended 2011 PICA Cover of the Year - B2B Publishing

www.miningne.ws

MEDIA

THE KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED

ining FROM THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

HOT SEAT

Mark Berger, Aurecon resources business development manager: on growing their mining client base

COAL The captivating commodity

MINERALS PROCESSING Introducing revolutionary concepts

The new rock solid earthmoving performer ISSN 1999-8872 • R35.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 5 • No. 4• April 2012

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CONTENTS

T H E K N O W L E D G E YO U N E E D

ining

April 2012

FROM THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

Highly commended 2011 PICA Cover of the Year - B2B Publishing

www.miningne.ws

12

MEDIA

THE KNOWLEDGE YOU NEED

ining

ON THE COVER

FROM THE INDUSTRY EXPERTS

The new Terex TA400

HOT SEAT

Mark Berger, Aurecon resources business development manager: on growing their mining client base

Mining’s new rock solid earthmoving performer P6 COAL The captivating commodity

MINERALS PROCESSING Introducing revolutionary concepts

The new rock solid earthmoving performer ISSN 1999-8872 • R35.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 5 • No. 4• April 2012

EDITOR’S COMMENT

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14

Coal – the star attraction, but for how long?

MINING NEWS

4

The top mining stories headlining this month

HOT SEAT

10

Aurecon – rallying clients and their projects

HOT TOPIC

12

Rand Refinery: aiming for another 90 years

ENERGY GENERATOR: COAL

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14 20 24 30

Renewable energy – a possible downside for coal Underground coal mines – Keaton’s key to success Continental Coal – third quarter, third coal mine Sentula Mining aims to monetise its assets

COAL PANEL DISCUSSION

36

Services and equipment solutions for the coal sector

OPENCAST AND EARTHMOVING

46 48

Bell’s pre-owned muscle machines Basil Read Mining moves more than mountains

MINERALS PROCESSING

54

52 54 57 60

FLSmidth fills the process gaps Roymec Technologies revolutionises thickeners Radical reagents for rare earths Ingwenya Minerals Processing: a coal custodian

PROJECT DELIVERY: MOTORS

62 64 66

Delba’s mammoth motor ambitions A premium electric motor growth strategy A magic motor formula

CETERUM CENSEO

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To Indaba or to PDAC? Inside Mining 04/2012

1

Editor’s comment Publisher Elizabeth Shorten Editor Laura Cornish laura@3smedia.co.za Creative Chief Executive Frédérick Danton Senior designer Hayley Mendelow Senior sub-editor Claire Nozaic Sub-editor Patience Gumbo Marketing Manager Martin Hiller Production Manager Antois-Leigh Botma Production coordinator Jacqueline Modise Financial Manager Andrew Lobban Administration Tonya Hebenton Subscription sales Nomsa Masina Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham Printers United Litho Johannesburg

COAL

The star attraction, but for how long?

The population’s general consensus is that the mining industry is rapidly returning to its all-time highs, and who would argue this? Not anyone directly or even indirectly exposed to the coal industry, that’s for sure!

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South Africa: R350.00 (incl VAT & postage) SADC countries: US$80 Foreign: US$100 ISSN 1999-8872 Inside Mining Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. ___________________________________ All material in Inside Mining is copyright protected and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily reflect those of the the publishers.

My fascination

with this issue’s coal feature did not lead me to the big coal mining players (for a change), such as Exxaro and Xstrata Coal, but rather to the multitude of junior (and perhaps mid-tier) companies which together do, and will, contribute significantly to coal production.

No other sector can boast such a vibrant junior industry as the coal industry. Why? The answer is simple: the need for energy, whether for local Eskom and high energy users’ consumption, or for export. The demand for coal is therefore supporting our large-scale companies, as well as our current and emerging juniors.

How can this be when South Africa’s primary coal sources – the Witbank coal fields in particular – are reaching maturity, one might ask? The remaining coal pockets are ideally suited to the smaller players, which will find, secure and ensure that every last coal ‘ounce’ will be extracted and used viably. This is the role (largely) for the junior coal miner.

Last month, I had the fortune to visit junior/ mid-tier coal company, Keaton Energy’s latest project, Vaalkrantz, which now falls under its project stable thanks to its acquisition of Leeuw Mining & Exploration.

Situated in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, Vaalkrantz is one of the few remaining coal mining operations in the area.

Its current operational existence is thanks entirely to Keaton, which acquired the company as a distressed asset. The acquisition injected cash into the mine, brought on line an entirely new mining section, extended its life and subsequently saved 700 jobs. Of course the deal offered Keaton financial benefit as well; nonetheless, it is admirable and praiseworthy, especially considering Keaton’s cash injection into the asset prior to its official takeover.

Looking at this story, we are clearly in exciting coal mining times, but indefinitely? A chat with the chairman for the South African Coal Road

Map steering committee, Ian Hall, who is also the regional head of strategy for Anglo American Thermal Coal, showed he is concerned about the long-term future of the coal sector.

He believes that should the government’s plans to introduce renewable power sources and nuclear power stations into the energy mix succeed, the demand for coal will reduce. This is particularly critical now as substantial investment is required to develop new coal fields, like the Waterberg, for the immediate future. They require massive infrastructure spend and technologies that will enable the coal to be extracted and processed viably.

Will coal companies invest as such if the demand for the product is reducing? A lot lies on how the energy programme will roll out. In 2010, the coal industry was responsible for 74 000 jobs; today, this number is probably much higher. I say this industry’s growth should not be compromised. I know it has a high carbon footprint, but the industry is working on that. Is the mining sector the only sector to blame when it comes to environmental hazard? At least it makes up for that by supplying a vital commodity, and it employs thousands of people directly and hundreds of thousands indirectly.

And what is the future for the junior sector 30 or 40 years down the line?

These are questions that need answers, not in 30 or 40 years’ time, but now.

Laura Cornish

Inside Mining 04/2012

3

Mining news www.miningne.ws

Top mining stories headlining this month SOUTH AFRICA

Minister Molewa outlines progress on acid mine drainage Acid mine drainage

compiled by Ameerah Griffin

| SOUTH AFRICA | Shabangu vows to get tough on non-compliant mines Source: www.miningne.ws Despite the many advances in mining legislation, poor living conditions and general negligence of health issues are still evident in the country’s mines, Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu, said recently.

Speaking at an event to mark World Tuberculosis Day, Shabangu said that although there were improvements over the years, mine bosses needed to do more to control TB in their mines.

Around 22 000 miners are said to be infected with TB across the country’s mines.

“We need technologies to advance the lives and also improve the conditions of mine workers, and we also need to ensure research continues within the mining industry for us to develop best practices in our country,” Shabangu said.

stake in its Zimplats subsidiary to indigenous Zimbabweans in a deal that could ultimately see it claw back shares in the country’s largest platinum miner.

Implats came under pressure to comply with Zimbabwe’s laws which state that foreignowned mining firms are to transfer 51% equity stakes to black Zimbabweans.

Several of its proposals were rejected, leading to ultimatums from Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere.

Implats and Kasukuwere said Implats’ latest proposal for its 87%-held subsidiary had been “accepted in principle” and the 51% would be sold for an independently determined “appropriate value”.

| AUSTRALIA | Australia passes controversial mining tax into law Source: www.bbc.co.uk

| ZIMBABWE | A compromise for Impala Platinum?

Source: www.iafrica.com

Source: www.miningne.ws

Government will intensify its efforts to address the threat posed by acid mine drainage (AMD) in the Witwatersrand area, Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, Edna Molewa, said recently.

Her statement comes after a panel of experts who were appointed to deal with the problem briefed her on the work that is being done to curb AMD. “The issue of AMD is one that government takes seriously and is committed to resolving. Even though the current government inherited the problem of AMD, we are intensifying our efforts and making noteworthy progress,” Molewa said.

The Department of Water Affairs last year released a report regarding the AMD situation, which was compiled by a team of water and geology experts and presented to an Inter-Ministerial Committee on AMD in December 2011.

The experts recommended that AMD intervention and management measures be undertaken ‘as a matter of urgency’ to avert crisis and stabilise the situation. including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata. Strong demand for raw materials from China and India has led to a resource boom in Australia. The mining tax is aimed at distributing the benefits of that revenue to other segments of the economy. It comes into effect on 1 July. “This important reform will provide a revenue stream to ensure that businesses that are not in the fast lane of the resources boom get some tax relief,” Treasurer Wayne Swan told the country’s parliament recently.

| SOUTH AMERICA |

Impala Platinum (Implats) could be paid more than $US500 million (R3.8 billion) in a complex transaction to transfer a 51%

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The Australian Senate has pushed through into law a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies.

The tax will raise A$10.6 billion (R84.6 billion) over three years from major companies

Peru’s gold output rises 13% in January on gains at Newmont mine Source: www.businessweek.com Peru’s gold output climbed to a six-month high in January on

gains at Newmont Mining’s Yanacocha mine, the government said recently.

Gold production rose 13% to 15 116 kg, the Energy & Mines Ministry said in an e-mailed statement. Copper output fell 4.8% to 97 765 t, a nine- month low, on declines at mines operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and Xstrata. Zinc, tin, iron and molybdenum production all fell, while silver and lead gained.

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Cover story: opencast & earthmoving

THE TA400

Mining’s new rock solid performer Heavy equipment supplier Eqstra Construction Equipment, through its Terex distribution agreement, will soon launch a Generation 9 range of Terex articulated dump trucks (ADTs), which have been engineered to endure the toughest applications around the world. The largest machine in the range – the TA400 – is designed to deliver ‘unsurpassed’ performance to the opencast mining industry, writes Laura Cornish.

A

lthough the Generation 9 range is only due to be officially launched in June this year, Terex has a significant number of machines in stock and is ready to deliver to the first client who orders.

“In comparison with the Terex Generation 7 range, the new machines easily demonstrate that they are not only more productive, but extremely fuel efficient,” says Eqstra Construction Equipment technical training manager, Martin Arthur. “They offer as much as a 12% reduction in overall fuel consumption.”

According to Riaan Hoffmann, national sales manager for Eqstra Construction

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Inside Mining 04/2012

Equipment, the machine’s launch falls in line with the company’s growth strategy: “To grow by supplying more machines to the mining industry.”

“While our machines have always played a significant role in the mining industry, we believe our TA400 will offer major operational advantages to the sector. And these advantages will be realised from areas that we believe hold substantial business opportunities in the coal and iron ore industries, as well as along the copper belt in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Hoffmann states.

One of the company’s biggest supporters and machine owners is mining equipment

plant hire company, L&J Plant Services.

“L&J was established in the 80s and has been providing heavy-duty mining machines into the opencast coal mining industry ever since,” says L&J MD, Johnny Gemmell.

Its machines are located on four opencast coal mines as well as a quarry.

Over the last three years, L&J has expanded its Terex fleet of equipment from two machines to 22. Although this BELOW The TA400 is the latest, most robust machine suited to the mining industry

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Cover story: opencast & earthmoving

does not include the new Generation TA400, its fleet does comprise older Generation TA400s.

“The performance of Terex machines is excellent. They are simple to operate and maintain, and we like the combination of the Detroit engine, Allison transmission and ZF axles,” Gemmell continues.

“I like the new TA400 machine and believe it will perform well in the industry.

Terex always does its homework and I will consider this new range of ADTs when I expand my current fleet.”

What the TA400 has to offer: • Lower cost of ownership: The lower cost of ownership is a key feature of the Generation 9 ADTs. All models in the range benefit from oil-cooled multipledisc brakes on each axle, providing extended brake component life, reducing service intervals and

"The performance of Terex machines is excellent. They are simple to operate and maintain" Johnny Gemmell, L&J MD operating costs, and improving overall braking performance compared to traditional dry-disc brake systems, which are standard fitted on other leading manufacturers’ trucks.

• The cab: The Terex cab is developed around the operator to improve comfort, efficiency and productivity. The new ergonomic cab has reduced interior noise

levels, more effective air conditioning, a high-quality sound system and even a new steering wheel and mirror arrangement.

Interior aesthetics have also been updated to anthracite grey with a matte finish to reduce glare and improve durability.

• The power: The powerful TA400 has a maximum payload of 38 t and a heaped capacity of 23.3 m³. It has a gross power of 331 kW, and with six forward gears, one reverse and a two speed drop box, the Generation 9 TA400 can travel up to

Inside Mining 04/2012

7

Cover story: opencast & earthmoving

After-sales service is an area of top priority for the company and something we are placing growing emphasis on 60 km/h. This makes it the ideal ADT for tough, heavy-duty mining applications.

• The engine: The entire Generation 9 range is powered by Scania engines, which are renowned for high uptime and reliability, and underpinned by a worldwide service network.

• Servicing: In an effort to reduce downtime, the service points on the Terex ADTs are designed for quick and easy access. The electronic-assisted hood raise and the fully tilting cab simplify access to major components and ground level service points, which further reduces downtime.

After sales service – a priority Eqstra Construction Equipment national operations manager, Stephen McMaster, says the company’s equipment strategy is strictly aligned with its after-sales service.

“This is an area of top priority for the company and something we are placing growing emphasis on. The end user, who in our situation is largely mining clients, is demanding more efficiency from the OEMs, and we are catering to the demand.”

According to McMaster, the after-sales service division looks after all parts servicing and supply, as well as technical

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Inside Mining 04/2012

support (including training) from point of sales onwards.

“We have adopted the Eqstra Group mining model and have all fast-moving parts (primarily) and technical support capabilities on site,” McMaster continues.

To further cement its dedication to this particular business component, Eqstra provides its top 10 customers (which includes

L&J) with a dedicated product support representative, who is empowered to take decisions regarding equipment support without consultation.

“We will focus on this aspect of the business with growing commitment and are bringing in the best, most qualified people to create a strong impact on the industry in terms of our dedication to- and after-sales service capabilities.”

TOP The Eqstra team BELOW Johnny Gemel, L&J MD, owns a significant fleet of Terex machines and recently test drove the TA400

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Hot Seat

AURECON STRENGTHENS ITS RESOURCES FOCUS

Rallying clients and their projects In line with engineering, management and technical services group Aurecon’s client-centric business model, the company recently appointed Mark Berger as business development manager for the Resources Industry for South Africa, Africa and the Middle East, writes Laura Cornish.

M

y aspiration for Aurecon is to grow our Resources Industry client base on the back of strong business relationships and create the best value for our clients by delivering tailored business solutions,” says Berger.

Berger has been involved in the minerals processing and materials handling sectors of the resources industry his entire working career. It is this knowledge, coupled with his strong existing relationships in the industry, that he will use to grow sustainable client relationships and build further brand awareness to supplement Aurecon’s existing experience and track record in this arena.

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Inside Mining 04/2012

Individualised strategies for clients: “In addition to Aurecon’s strong technical expertise across the 11 industries in which it operates, what attracted me most is its client-centric, focused approach to client service. This sees large amounts of effort directed at our long-term client base and meeting their needs for both their existing and planned projects. This excites me as it enables us, through a cohesive, single-team approach, to develop individualised strategies for each of our clients, not just projects,” Berger explains.

“Exceptional” project delivery capacity: Berger believes that Aurecon’s past success in the resources industry is a result of

the company’s ‘exceptional project delivery capacity’. “Aurecon has a unique business proposition in that our clients benefit from our collaborative business model as it nurtures the development of market-leading expertise across all of our industries. Our technical professionals develop a business advantage for our clients based on a deep understanding of the industries in which they operate. This level of expertise and understanding is evident in the way

BELOW Khumani iron ore mine: Aurecon provided engineering services for both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Khumani Expansion Project in South Africa, including bulk earthworks

Hot Seat

ABOVE The KOV pit is a copper and cobalt open pit mine in Kolwezi in the DRC. In 2006, DRC Copper and Cobalt Project decided to re-open and continue operating the mine. To accomplish this, Aurecon designed a de-watering and desilting system; managed procurement of all equipment and services, as well as the supervision of equipment installation; and conducted the final testing and commissioning up to handover to the client

Aurecon meets the most challenging of delivery outcomes.”

In this regard, Aurecon has delivered a range of solutions, from small start-up facilities through to major engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) projects, including bulk materials handling projects, mine, rail, seaboard import and export terminals, and associated port and marine facilities.

Growth targets Berger’s growth ambitions for Aurecon’s Resources Industry are based on cultivating a deep understanding of its clients' business and internal production targets.

“We are also ramping up our ability to resource major projects in Africa by transferring our skills and experience gained from remote location mining in Australia to meet the market demand in Africa.

The African continent, broadly speaking, is booming, and Berger has his attention focused specifically on bulk commodity countries like Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where new iron ore and coal projects are in massive abundance. “We will follow and accompany our clients into Africa and align our risk appetite with theirs.”

Aurecon offers effective, integrated pitto-port material handling solutions, including a range of engineering services across the entire project life cycle, including master planning, feasibility studies, engineering design, construction management and operations and maintenance.

“I would like to extend this further to include minerals processing, in which I have extensive experience,” Berger notes.

All important alignment Aurecon will continue to align its business with that of its clients’ and business drivers. “Of increasing importance in this regard is safety,” comments Berger.

“I have never seen such a people-orientated business with safety an intrinsic part of its DNA. We do not compromise on health and safety – it comes first in everything we do and is a core value for Aurecon. We foster this by appointing experienced teams that combine a deep understanding of the management of safety with the ability to align our approach to safety management with that of our clients.”

ABOVE Abbot Point Coal terminal: Since 2005, Aurecon Hatch has provided engineering, procurement and construction management services for three expansions of the terminal to 50 Mtpa and is also studying an ultimate expansion to 230 Mtpa

For the immediate future, Berger is excited about the prospect of working closely with Aurecon’s clients to ensure that they experience the best in dedicated client service.

“It is only when we gain a thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses that we are able to effectively tailor our own business solutions to meet their needs.

Aurecon intends on working hard to continually achieve this,” he concludes.

“I have never seen such a people-orientated business with safety an intrinsic part of its DNA” Mark Berger Substantial experience Berger holds a National Higher Diploma (Extractive Metallurgy) and an M Dip Tech (Metallurgical Engineering) from WITS Technikon. He has worked for a number of leading companies in the resources industry, including Mintek, Grinaker-LTA Process Engineering and Aveng E+PC Engineering & Projects Company (Formerly Grinaker–LTA Process Engineering).

Berger brings years of experience in diverse roles to the company, including plant chemical engineer, senior process engineer, business development manager and business development director, among others, while his experience spans work on the: • Two Rivers platinum project, Lydenburg • Grootgeluk Medupi coal mine expansion project, Lephalale • Tarkwa carbon-in-leach expansion project, Ghana • Moma Sands expansion project, Mozambique • Kouilou potash project, DRC.

Inside Mining 04/2012

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Hot topic

REFINING BRAND AND BUSINESS

Rand Refinery: aiming for another 90 years South Africa’s premier gold refinery, Rand Refinery, is proving that after 92 years of business, it can still evolve and adapt to changing market conditions and requirements – ensuring its business remains as successful for the next 90 years, CE Howard Craig, tells Laura Cornish.

R

and Refinery is the largest singlesite gold refining and smelting complex in the world. Since 1921, the organisation has refined more than 50 000 t of gold, nearly one third of all the gold ever mined in the world.

It is also the only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited precious metals refinery and fabricator in Africa.

Despite its ‘industry-leading’ position, the company is focused on diversifying and growing its business further, specifically by expanding into new regions, including Asia and Western Europe, as well as diversifying its current portfolio.

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“Because the last 15 years have seen Rand Refinery successfully extend its footprint across the African continent, we will use this experience as an ideal launch pad to spread our footprint onto an international platform,” Craig points out.

The company established a Singapore trading office in 2011 and has already sold about 100 t of gold to China, via London.

Spreading its presence across the globe is only one tier of a much larger business strategy, however, Craig continues.

Rand Refinery remains active with an initiative it refers to as ‘Walk Sure’. “It is about ensuring our business is sustainable in a

changing and evolving world, and prioritises the ongoing maintenance of old equipment and implementing new technologies where possible to enhance the refining and smelting operational efficiencies.”

Part of this initiative has also seen Rand Refinery closely evaluate its energy consumption and efficiency – critical if it continues to expand its operations. “Even though our electricity consumption is a small component of our business, we view it as a priority and are reducing our footprint,” Craig discusses.

Rand Refinery is rolling out an 18-month programme aimed at reducing its energy efficiency, which includes a power management

Hot topic

Did you know?

• The refinery’s achievements have afforded it the distinction of being the only LBMAaccredited precious metals refinery and fabricator in Africa.

• The refinery was appointed one of only five international LBMA referees, affording it the authority to adjudicate on metal content disputes between other refineries and their customers anywhere in the world. programme for employees. The programme will look at all opportunities of reducing energy consumption, including the installation energy-efficient light bulbs.

Basil Read Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of construction major, Basil Read

• 50% of the gold Rand Refinery processes originates from mines outside of South Africa and Craig expects this statistic to increase even further to approximately 60%.

• As part of a recent rebranding exercise, Rand Refinery has replaced its longstanding Springbok logo with an emblem representing a melting crucible. The new brand positioning centres around the core value of ‘pure refinement’, emphasising the

organisation’s heritage of quality products, craftsmanship and leading technical skills in the refinement process. Says Craig: “Even though our emblem has evolved, our DNA remains the same. Indeed, our partners and customers can expect improvements in quality and expertise, building on the heritage they’ve come to expect from our organisation over the past 90 years.”

Group, has undertaken a study for Rand Refinery to reduce its energy consumption.

According to director, Ian Curry, the company has provided a variety of solutions (such as the light bulbs), which will enable Rand Refinery to increase its production

without further energy supply from Eskom.

“We are also looking to move into value-add downstream beneficiation and have new circuits added to our smelter, which will specifically enable us to refine even lower grades of gold material.”

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Energy generator: coal

RENEWABLE ENERGY

A possible downside for the coal South Africa’s coal industry faces a number of key challenges at this point. While the industry alone accounts for the majority of the country’s electricity needs and brings in significant export revenues, the emergence of alternative power sources is intended to reduce the industry’s share of power generation, Chairman for the South African Coal Road Map Steering Committee (SACRM), Ian Hall, tells Laura Cornish.

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Energy generator: coal

industry?

N

o co-ordinating coal association exists in South Africa – no single body representing the industry or examining its future role in the country – probably because until fairly recently, it was not necessary.

Until government announced its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) in 2010, the coal industry had been acknowledged and accepted as the primary source of energy supply in the country.

Globally, coal has accounted for nearly half of the increase in energy use in the past decade (production has increased from 3.7 billion tonnes in 2000 to 6.3 billion in 2010), and for nearly 30% of world primary energy in 2010, its highest share since 1970.

In South Africa, the coal industry provides about 80% of the total primary energy requirements, is worth billions in terms of exports, and was responsible for the employment of around 74 000 people in 2010, and

optimal way forward for South Africa for the next 30 years,” she adds.

For now, the SACRM is well underway, with the project having been divided into two phases aimed at developing such a roadmap for the sector.

Phase 1 includes the definition of the current state of industry, a description of alternative future scenarios, and a presentation of results.

“Although this document was intended to be released in November last year, some minor changes requested by the Department of Energy (DOE) delayed it slightly. We now hope to release it soon, possibly simultaneously with an updated South African resource and reserve statement to be released by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) – within the first half of 2012,” explains Hall.

Interestingly, no authoritative resource estimate has been carried out since 1982, when an in-situ recoverable reserve of 59 billion tonnes was determined. This figure was ad-

"No other country in the world is as dependent on coal as South Africa” Rosemary Falcon around R14 billion in wages. “No other country in the world is as dependent on coal as South Africa,” says director of the Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF), Rosemary Falcon.

“The IRP 2010 calls for substantial contributions from renewable and nuclear power into the energy mix in South Africa by 2030, with only limited coal generation growth. But while many of our large coal fields are maturing, they have considerable value and resource remaining, enough to ramp up production over the next 10 years,” Hall reveals.

And if production and growth levels are being questioned, what does this mean for the future of potential new coal fields like the Waterberg and Limpopo, and the current infrastructure and logistical constraints the industry is seeking answers to?

“This is one of the key issues facing the SACRM. We are an initiative comprised of industry experts from the major coal companies, Eskom, Sasol, the government and other stakeholders, whose aim is to evaluate the current state of the industry, propose possible scenarios for the future and chart an

LEFT Matimba power station

justed to 33 billion tonnes in 2009.

The second phase, Hall explains, gets to the ‘heart’ of the situation. Intended for release in the first quarter of 2013, it will model and define alternative scenarios, outline an ‘optimal path for SA Inc.’, identify key trigger points, developmental needs, infrastructure requirements – in essence, a ‘roadmap’ for the industry.

Funding has already been approved for the second phase, which commenced in April 2012.

While the release of Phase 1 remains pending, Hall outlines three possible scenarios which the SACRM has already determined, referred to as Scenarios A, B and C.

Scenario A This scenario assumes that capital and other constraints, as well as delays (for example to the nuclear programme) will limit the achievement of renewable and nuclear targets, and that South Africa’s coal resources will be further exploited to provide domestic energy security and continued export revenues.

“The reality is that the extent of new generation required from renewable and nuclear energy presents a significant challenge,” says Hall.

“This means we may need to keep the option of developing coal-fired power stations

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Energy generator: coal

on an amber light.” In terms of carbon emissions, Hall adds that significant improvement to the emissions intensity of coal generation is achieved by raising overall efficiency of power plants: “Eskom’s new plants will operate at around 40% overall efficiencies, which reduces emissions by around a third compared to the world’s average coal plant efficiencies of 28%.”

Possible development of Scenario A • construction of 10 GW new nuclear build delayed, investment in renewables may be insufficient to provide adequate base-load power • decision made (timeously) to bring forward planned coal power stations – with further plant/s planned for Waterberg and elsewhere • coal-fired independent power producers (IPPs) enabled, reasonable

prospects for funding and carbon mitigation allow some coal-to-liquid (CTL) builds to proceed • investment in multi-product mines enables development of the Waterberg, Soutpansberg and Limpopo basins – with domestic and export fractions produced • rail expansion secures supply of domestic coal to the central coal region for life of Eskom stations – and increased exports • exports sustained and increased post 2020, providing foreign revenue in-flows for a significant period. South Africa capitalises on Asian energy boom.

Scenario B This scenario assumes South Africa’s current policy trajectories are achieved, with significant levels of climate change agreements secured, and international support to achieving carbon emission reductions attained.

Possible development of Scenario B

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• renewable and nuclear industries experience significant growth • Grootegeluk expansion and New Largo may be last large-scale coal mines developed in South Africa • CTL delayed to 2025 • Waterberg, Soutpansberg and Limpopo basins are not fully developed • rail infrastructure is developed to support inter-basin and export coal flows – slow ramp-up from the Waterberg • small mines continue to be developed in the central basin for smallscale exports with domestic fractions sold to Eskom for life-extension of existing plants • coal exports potentially increase to 2020, but slowly if at all thereafter.

Scenario C This scenario assumes that future energy will be sourced principally from non-fossil fuels – aggressive climate change mitigation, no new coal-builds and coal exports decline.

Possible development of Scenario C • • • •

binding agreements on climate change renewable and nuclear industries experience aggressive growth limits on fossil fuel infrastructure a few small, private plants are the only new coal-fired power stations after Kusile and Medupi • no CTL plants built • new basins are not significantly developed beyond current mines • exports grow to 2015, plateau and decline post 2020 due to lack of coal mining investment.

“For now, South Africa should look to maximising coal exports, while ensuring security of supply for its consumption. Currently, Eskom has no

Energy generator: coal

robust governance and competition framework had to be developed. The second was the split in government to create the DOE and DMR. New members of government had to be introduced to the SACRM, which resulted in delays. Despite this, Falcon says the initiative is progressing.

According to Falcon, even with the introduction of renewables into the country’s energy mix, the need for coal will remain.

choice but to extend the life of its current power stations, by up to 20 years,” Hall weighs up.

Transnet Freight Rail is investing in new rail lines and capacity to connect the existing coal railway lines to the Waterberg to ensure the country’s future energy demands are met.

The SACRM aims to assist in aligning economic, infrastructural, environmental and social strategies and development requirements for the coal sector.

How the SACRM came to be In 2006, three senior coal executives and FFF members, Roger Wicks, then head of energy for Anglo American, Sipho Nkosi, current CEO of Exxaro and Steven Lennon, a top executive at Eskom, decided that a coal organisation/ body that would focus on determining the future role of coal in South Africa was necessary.

After approaching the FFF council, and gathering significant industry

ABOVE AND RIGHT Wind farms and solar panels could pose a threat to the future coal industry in South Africa BOTTOM RIGHT Ankerlig power station

support and government role players, the SACRM was established. Falcon was appointed chairman.

“At the time, the industry was considering increasing its exports to over 100 Mt and Eskom was planning two (or more) new power stations. There were around 6 000 industrial users of coal (excluding Eskom and Sasol) in the country,” Falcon explains.

The Department of Minerals and Energy initially allocated R2 million to the new SACRM and more money was sourced from stakeholders. A few years on, two problems emerged. The first being that the organisation included competitors directly involved in the sector – this meant that a

“Renewables cannot replace base load or level load requirements. High energy consumers, such as the metallurgical industries, require a constant stream of affordable energy to remain operational. While coal’s overall share in energy contribution may come down, the tonnages it contributes will increase as economies grow and energy demand increases. The role of coal in South Africa and the world will continue to be significant,” says Falcon.

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Energy generator: coal

KEATON’S FUTURE KEY TO SUCCESS

Underground coal mines Advancing a start-up junior coal exploration company into a single asset producing company in four years was always going to be the start of something bigger for Keaton Energy CEO, Paul Miller. The recent LME acquisition and a strong progressing project pipeline are proving this to be the case, writes Laura Cornish.

Vanggatfontein: up, running and ramping up Now that Keaton’s Delmas-based Vanggatfontein project is operational, and the mine ramping up to full production, the company can focus on growing its production profile.

“We have also managed to increase our Eskom supply contract from 16.5 Mt of coal over seven years to 20.8 Mt over 10 years, with potential to extend this even further,” says Miller.

The operation has two large open pits with a 163.4 Mt coal resource and a 32 Mt

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Inside Mining 04/2012

one. Vanggatfontein’s 2 and 4 seam plant is expected to reach 175 000 tpm nameplate capacity this year and the 5 seam production profile maintained.

Mining contractor, Megacube, is moving between 700 000 t and 1 Mt of overburden every month.

Vaalkrantz: a low-sulphur anthracite attraction “Considering our aspiration is to become a 5 Mtpa ‘mid-tier’ coal miner, our acquisition of a 74% stake in Leeuw Mining & Exploration (LME), its project portfolio and

207 000 t Richards Bay coal terminal export allocation, together with our Sterkfontein prospect, will help us achieve this,” Miller notes. “Although we will likely need to acquire an additional asset in order to reach our target.”

The acquisition announcement was made in February last year, however the physical implementation of the deal only took place in January this year. “The deal has given us a controlling interest in Vaalkrantz, LME’s

BELOW Vanggatfontein

Energy generator: coal

existing operational metallurgical anthracite underground colliery in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal.”

According to Miller, it is the last remaining substantial anthracite mining operation in the district. Considering there is a huge shortage of this particular product, Vaalkrantz places us in a strong financial position,” says Miller.

Even prior to the acquisition, Keaton’s investment into the distressed company Sterkfontein: underground mines – the upper hand Within the original, ‘founding’ Keaton portfolio is the Greenfields Sterkfontein underground project in the Bethal district of the Highveld coalfield.

It covers an area of 7 280 ha, from which a 69 Mt coal resource has been declared.

The No 4 seam – the only seam of interest – is on average 1.87 m thick and is estimated to contain 44% export quality coal and 35% domestic power station coal.

Having completed drilling and geological modelling, a feasibility study will be undertaken sometime this year.

Contradictory to popular practise and opinion, Miller has a preference for underground mines rather than high-volume open-pit operations.

“Open-pit mines require large amounts of upfront capital and these days are accompanied with a lengthy list of environmentalcompliance requirements,” Miller explains.

“In an ideal world, I would hope to add export-quality, underground coal prospects to Keaton’s development and/or operational portfolio.”

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How LME was founded LME was established eight years ago through a BEE transaction with Anglo American’s coal division. The deal included the acquisition of Vaalkrantz and its other KwaZulu-Natal assets.

Both the IDC and Anglo Khula Mining Fund contributed financially to the company. When the market for anthracite coal crashed in the midst of the recession, Vaalkrantz was placed on care and maintenance.

ensured its sustainability. The mine’s west adit was opened and is currently accounting for 80% of its production – between 40 000 and 50 000 tpm (run-of-mine (ROM)). It has its own 64 000 tpm plant and a dedicated railway siding facility nearby. It is a narrow, underground drill-and-blast operation comprising the Alfred and Gus seams.

Although the mine’s lifespan is short – another four years –

“We are also looking within a 30 to 40 km radius to source additional coal reserves to extend the life of the Vaalkrantz operation” Miller says there is opportunity to extend this to eight through the Koudelager extension project (if current production rates are maintained). Mining rights have already been granted.

“We are also looking within a 30 to 40 km radius to source additional coal reserves to extend the life of the Vaalkrantz operation, as Keaton is now responsible for 700 employees and contractors.

The LME acquisition brought with it the Newcastle-based Braakfontein thermal coal underground deposit, another development asset, where a 48 Mt resource (according to historical Anglo data) has been identified.

“With our current knowledge, a mining right and 1 500 ha of surface rights, Braakfontein has the potential to be a 1 Mtpa, 20 year life-of-mine (LOM) operation, with export potential,” Miller notes.

Now that the acquisition has gone through, Keaton will have the resource verified through a competent person’s report and convert its exploration property – Balgray (near Utrecht) – to a SAMREC-compliant status (in terms of resource, reserve and LOM).

ABOVE Vanggatfontein is ramping up to full production

Energy generator: coal

DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS

In the thick of coal A level 1 BEE accredited process equipment company, MIP Process Technologies (MIP), contributed significantly to the success of Keaton Energy’s Vanggatfontein project having executed contracts for the supply and installation of a 12 m- and 26 m-diameter thickener for Phase I and Phase II of the project.

T

he order for Phase 1 of the Vanggatfontein project was placed in January 2010 and was completed in May 2010. Both thickeners are high rate, which allows for larger throughput and higher underflow densities. They are both fitted with MIP’s feed dilution system that allows for enhanced dilution and equal distribution of the incoming feed.

The rakes are designed to take into account the raking capacity required. MIP provided a complete process service solution to Keaton Energy for the project, from test-work, in-house design and draughting, and project management to installation and commissioning.

Although thickeners are only one of MIP’s equipment ranges, the company has already received significant orders this year, including the supply of a 10 m diameter thickener and flocculant plant for a chrome project in

Thabazimbi, a 24 m diameter thickener for a phosphoric tailings application and a 28 m diameter unit to treat chrome tailings in the Steelpoort area.

The company’s thickener installation base is well established, particularly for the treatment of diamond tailings, chrome tailings, platinum concentrate and tailings, phosphoric acid, pregnant liquor solution, counter current decantation and manganese tailings, as well as gold pre-leach and tailings.

MIP’s growth aspirations are aimed at extending its footprint beyond the African continent. It successfully opened an office in North America in 2011. “This office will serve North and South America,” says MD, Phillip Hoff. “The next stop is Australasia.”

ABOVE RIGHT Inside an MIP installed thickener BELOW A new 12 m installed thickener

MIP’s vast product range The company’s product range includes: • thickeners • clarifiers • attrition scrubbers • flocculant plants • linear screens • slurry samplers.

MIP is also the official distributor of international process equipment company Chemineer agitators, as well as Moyno progressive cavity pumps, on behalf of a sister company of Chemineer.

Inside Mining 04/2012

23

Energy generator: coal

THIRD QUARTER, THIRD COAL MINE

Continental Coal’s catchy project pipeline ASX/AIM-listed Africa-focused thermal coal mining and exploration company, Continental Coal, is on track to meet its strategic business targets: delivering one new mining operation every 12 months and realising a 7 Mtpa run-of-mine (ROM) production in the medium-term future, CEO Don Turvey, tells Laura Cornish.

Penumbra Continenatl Coal (CCL) may already have two operating mines – Mpumalanga-based Vlakvarkfontein (operational since May 2010) and Ermelo-based Ferreira (a producing mine acquired in August 2010 through Mashala Resources) – but it is actively under way with the development of its R320 million Penumba project.

The project’s development is fully financed through a $US35 million (about R269.3

24

Inside Mining 04/2012

million) debt funding package signed with banking major ABSA Capital in February this year, Turvey points out.

The package includes a coal hedge (20% of all coal produced) for the next four to five years, at a ‘premium price’ of approximately R1 050/t.

Turvey says CCL will start drawing finance from the next quarter. “Situated adjacent to Ferreira, and separated by our Delta Processing Operations (plant), the 88 Mt Penumbra

thermal coal resource project’s development commenced in September last year,” says Turvey.

First coal is scheduled for the third quarter of this year, with a six-month build-up period.

Because the mine will be an 840 000 tpm (ROM destined for exports) underground operation (board and pillar) with an average BELOW Development of the decline shaft at Penumbra is in progress

Energy generator: coal

1.8 m seam, CCL will run this mine in-house and not outsource it to contractors as it has done for its two operational opencast mines.

Turvey says about 200 people will be employed, mostly from the Ermelo area.

At peak, it is expected to supply Delta with about 70 000 tpm, where the raw material will be processed to produce export-quality thermal coal – to be railed from the Anthra Rail Siding on site to Richards Bay Coal Terminal for export.

“This project is based in close proximity to one of the last sizeable sidings en route to Richards Bay.” Ferreira already supplies around 60 000 tpm of material to the plant, which has a nameplate capacity of 150 000 tpm (ROM). CCL brings in coal from neighbouring mines to keep the plant running optimally.

TWP Projects was appointed in 2009 to undertake the feasibility study for Penumbra

by Mashala Resources and was consequently awarded the full engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) contract by CCL. According to Adam Wilkinson, project manager and mining engineer in the coal department at TWP Projects, the scope of work includes all the earthworks, which will be undertaken by earthworks contractor Leomat; decline development; installation of all surface infrastructure, including a water treatment plant, offices, change house and workshops; procurement of all underground mining equipment; procurement and installation of conveyors; and all surface and underground electrical reticulation. The earthworks commenced shortly after establishing on site, with the pre-split and box-cut blasts taking place in October. The box-cut, which is 17 m deep, will access two declines approximately 390 m long, to a depth of 65 m; one of the declines will be equipped with a conveyor and the second will serve as a trackless man and material decline. Work on the declines, contracted to Murray & Roberts, commenced in January 2012, which will also serve as the primary ventilation in-takes of the mine.

Two mechanised coal production sections are planned, each equipped with a continuous miner (already procured from Joy Global); and three shuttle cars, suitable for low- to mid-seam mining heights.

“Penumbra has a 10-year plus life-of-mine (LOM), with extension opportunities to increase this to 15 years. This fits in with our strategic objective to acquire and develop long-life assets,” Turvey notes.

VLAKVARKFONTEIN AND FERREIRA: IN SUMMARY

Vlakvarkfontein

Ferreira

• conventional opencast contract mining operation • 17 Mt of resource sufficient for +10-year mine life • Ntshovelo Mining Resources, the joint venture entity that operates Vlakvarkfontein, has executed a coalsupply agreement with South Africa’s state utility company Eskom. The agreement is for the supply of 720 000 tpa of thermal coal of quality suitable for some of Eskom’s power stations, over an initial three-year period commencing 1 March 2012. The agreement with Eskom is a major step forward for Vlakvarkfontein, which now becomes one of only 25 direct suppliers of coal to Eskom in South Africa.

• mining of two seams, each approximately 5 m in width • the mining contractor, Trollope Mining Services (TMS), was appointed 1 February 2010 • first coal production and sales in May and June 2010 • from acquisition to production within 12 months • crushing and screening commenced in August 2010 • targeted production of 100 000 tpm domestic-quality thermal coal • demonstrated ability already to produce in excess of targeted rates • production for 2010 of 432 565 t ROM • budgeted production for 2011 of 1.2 Mt ROM • currently three off-take agreements in place.

• conventional opencast thermal coal contract mining operation mining commenced in August 2008 and is forecast to continue through to mid-2012 • opportunity to acquire additional resources has potential to extend mine life further • opencast mining contractor: Stefanutti Stocks Mining • located 2 km from the Delta Processing Operations and the adjacent 1.2 Mtpa Anthra railway siding • production for 2010 of 942 950 t ROM • export sales for 2010 of 389 680 t and domestic sales of 121 370 t • ROM production of 177 547 t for the quarter ended 30 June 2011, up 38% on the previous quarter and by 109% from the December 2010 quarter during which the company assumed control of the operation • Delta Processing Operations washed a total of 229 339 t of ROM coal during the quarter end 30 June 2011, a 25% increase on the previous quarter • Production of 136 514 t of a primary export thermal coal product during the quarter ended 30 June 2011 from the Delta Processing Operations. This represents a 72% increase on the March 2011 quarter and a 119% increase on the December quarter.

• budgeted export sales for 2011/12 of 500 000 t • production to be gradually replaced by Penumbra following commencement of underground operations in 2012.

De Wittekrans Complex “Once operational, the 30-year LOM De Wittekrans Complex (comprising four deposits) will represent CCL’s flagship operation,” Turvey admits. The project has over 400 Mt of insitu resource, located within a 10 km radius and adjacent to major infrastructure. It is located close to Hendrina and Total Coal South Africa’s Forzando operation.

TWP Projects completed a bankable feasibility study in September 2011, which

shows the project to be economically and technically viable.

The initial target, Turvey explains, is to operate an opencast mine for between five and seven years, and then take the mine underground from the high wall and develop it as a board and pillar operation. A production rate of 3.6 Mtpa ROM is targeted. The sales target for De Wittekrans is 0.8 Mtpa in export sales and 1.7 Mtpa in domestic

Inside Mining 04/2012

25

Delta processing plant

We’ll Bend Over Backwards To Improve Your Efficiency.

The 88 Mt Penumbra thermal coal resource project’s development commenced in September last year sales (discussions with Eskom for this are already underway).

“Upon receipt of our mining right, expected imminently, we could be mining from De Wittekrans within the first half of 2013,” Turvey reveals.

The initial plan, he continues, is to process material at our own plant at Delta some 50 km away. We are considering other optimisation studies to delay the building of our own plant on site.”

Vlakplaats

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In November 2010, CCL executed a joint development agreement with Korea Resources Corporation (KORES) over the Vlakplaats project, situated close to the Leeuwpan Colliery near Delmas and to CCL’s Vlakvarkfontein project.

“It remains an exploration asset at present, although we know the resource to be about close to 200 Mt. This could support a +2 Mtpa mine for over a 20-year mine life,” Turvey states.

An agreement has been entered into with KORES for the offtake and marketing of export thermal coal production from Vlakplaats following the decision to mine the deposit.

The rest – and Botswana Call us, or visit www.twp.co.za TWP South Africa T 0861 TWP TWP (SA) / +27 11 218 3000 E twpinfo@twp.co.za

CCL is also the owner of three prospecting licences in Botswana.

All three are located close to infrastructure and are adjacent to advanced projects close to the country’s only producing coal mine – Morupule.

The CCL board has approved a R20 million exploration budget, currently underway, which includes an initial 60 drill holes on the properties.

In South Africa, the company is reviewing its smaller scale coal assets, situated between eMalahleni (Witbank coal fields) and Ermelo.

Although as individual projects the assets are small in size, their combined resource is significant.

The projects include Project X, Mooifontein, Leiden and Wesselton II – all situated in close proximity to Ermelo and Eskom’s Camden power station.

Their combined gross in-situ resource value (including measured, indicated and inferred resource) is 54.2 Mt. Project X is situated adjacent to Koornfontein Mines, which belongs to Optimum Coal.

Minerals Beneficiation & Processing Overcoming the regulatory, strategic and technical challenges to drive localised development in the minerals beneficiation and processing industries 15, 16, 17 & 18 May 2012 Convention Dynamics, Isando, Johannesburg

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Key topics that will be covered include:

• Angus Auchterlonie, Head: Mineral Economics, Mineral Economics & Strategy Unit, Mintek • Fidelis Madavo, Portfolio Manager, Resources Cluster, Public Investment Corporation • Ebrahim Takolia, Mining Advisory Leader, Deloitte • Neale Baartjes, Mineral Resource Consultant and Mineral Economist, Eco Partners • Kurt Petersen, Group Minerals Processing, Rockwell Diamonds • Phineas Mohlala, Founding President, Minerals Processing & Beneficiation Industries Association of Southern Africa (MPBIASA) • Charlaine Baartjes, Managing Director, Eco Partners • Petrus Venter, Deputy Regional Director: Water Resources Management, Department of Water Affairs • Dr Salmon Lubbe, Technical Manager, Geratech • Manus Booysen, Partner, Head of Natural Resources and Environment Law Department, Webber Wentzel • Gerhard van Wyk, Process Manager, Polysius • Faried Sallie, Managing Director, Diamond Trading Company South Africa (A division of De Beers Group Company) • JD Singleton, Product Manager: Cyclones and Engineered Systems, Weir Minerals Africa

Minerals Beneficiation: • How will minerals beneficiation enable SA’s mining industry to grow and prosper?

• Understanding the Government’s role in driving minerals beneficiation • Meeting the challenges of skills development for minerals beneficiation • Determining what infrastructure development is needed in order to ensure that beneficiation is a success • Reviewing the current legislation affecting beneficiation • What would a beneficiation strategy look like for a mining house?

• Examining how to increase international and local investment to drive beneficiation

Minerals Processing: • Examining a strategic approach to alluvial diamond value management • Investigating the latest developments in High Pressure Grinding Rolling (HPGR) technology on hard rock • Waste minimisation at mines to reduce desertification and enhance biodiversity • The use of platinum group metals in auto-catalysts • Examining the development of a laminar spiral dense media cyclone for the Southern African mineral and coal industries

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Assessing the strategic implementation of beneficiation: looking at business objectives, viability analysis, incentives and long-term strategies (half day) Facilitated by: Ebrahim Takolia, Mining Advisory Leader, Deloitte How to plan your beneficiation strategy around the required legal and environmental authorisations (half day) Facilitated by: Charlaine Baartjes, Managing Director, Eco Partners

Investigating the use of in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) methods to enhance the liberation and comminution stages of minerals processing (full day)

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Energy generator: coal

SOARING SOMKHELE

Exciting export Anthracite mining company, Petmin, has signed a renewable five-year agreement that will enable it to export up to 600 000 tpa of metallurgical anthracite from Grindrod Terminals’ Kusasa dry bulk facility in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

T

he agreement, effective from 1 February 2012, gives Petmin the capacity to ship its expanded anthracite production from the Somkhele mine 85 km north of Richards Bay. Under the terms of the agreement, Petmin was allocated 45 000 t of exclusive stockpile and an indicated vessel loading rate of 12 000 tpd.

The Grindrod facility replaces Petmin’s previous throughput arrangements at Richards Bay.

Richards Bay Terminal

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Inside Mining 04/2012

Somkhele is increasing production from its current 535 000 tpa (sales) to in excess of 1.2 Mt annually. Long-term sales contracts are already in place with domestic and international customers.

The mine produces anthracite with low phosphorous and sulphur, and high vitrinite content, for export via Richards Bay (55% of production in 2010/11) to iron ore pelletising and sintering markets mostly in Brazil, and for the South African ferro-alloy industry (45% of production in 2010/11).

Anthracite produced by Somkhele is

Somkhele anthracite mine

transported by road from Somkhele to Richards Bay, and to domestic customers.

Notes Petmin is a cash-producing dividend-paying high-growth junior miner listed on AIM (PTMN) and JSE (PET) The Grindrod Terminals Kusasa facility at Richards Bay has a 60 000 m³ warehouse, silo capacity and an open area of approximately 15 000 t. It is connected by conveyor to the port and is mostly used for coal and heavy minerals.

Exploration, investment and development for miners, financiers and investors 16 - 19 July 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa Africa Mining Congress 2012 is about finding the right mining projects and accessing funding and finance in Africa. The event brings together senior, junior and mid tier mines with African governments, financiers and investors.

Learn from leaders in the African mining sector including: Charles Siwawa, Chief Executive Officer, Botswana Chamber of Mines Niel Pretorius, Chief Executive Officer, DRD Gold John C Anyanwu, Chief Research Economist, Africa Development Bank

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Energy generator: coal

SENTULA’S MINING OBJECTIVE?

Monetising its assets Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed coal company, Sentula Mining, owner of the Nkomati anthracite operation (currently under care and maintenance) and numerous exploration assets, has one strategy in mind: to monetise its assets. The direction it will take to achieve this will make its journey over the next few years an interesting one, CEO Robin Berry, tells Laura Cornish.

THE COAL ARM South Africa When Sentula reopened the Nkomati anthracite (coking coal) mine close to Komatipoort and the Mozambique border in 2007, its ‘mining claim to fame’ as a producer was acknowledged. The Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency holds a 40% stake in the project.

“Although the mine has been on care and maintenance since May last year pending an integrated water use licence, we are progressing well with regulatory framework compliance, and expect to have the mine operational again in August/September of this year,” says Berry.

The mine, when in operation, is a major source of employment in the area, and is capable of between 250 000 tpa and 300 000 tpa of saleable anthracite.

It has an 80 Mt resource,(of which 10 Mt is at an inferred level). “Based on the current known resource and production levels, this mine has another 20 years of operational life,” Berry adds.

“And while coking coal remains in short supply, Nkomati’s future is encouraging.”

The future of Sentula’s overall mining business arm will likely be determined by its near-development Bankfontein and Schoongezicht assets in South Africa, and its exploration prospects in Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique.

“While we are not desperate to sell any of our projects, or exit from our coal portfolio entirely, it remains possible that the best route to monetising value from our portfolio would be to sell certain assets at the right price. Greenfields deposits that have LEFT Nkomati prior to its care and maintenance closure OPPOSITE A CCT site

30

Inside Mining 04/2012

Energy generator: coal mining rights and licences are attractive to a buyer’s, and we are far advanced with attaining these for our South African projects,” Berry outlines.

Bankfontein, situated near Carolina in Mpumalanga, is the most advanced in its mining licence application, and Sentula already owns the surface rights for it.

Following the award of the mining licence, the next step, explains Berry, will be to firm up on the economic feasibility of the project, “which we already know is a thermal deposit comprising both Eskom-quality coal and an export fraction. This could take another year. Once this is determined, we must decide to develop the project ourselves or perhaps sell it to a keen buyer.”

A similar procedure for the Delmas-based Schoongezicht will be followed.

Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique Exploration drilling has been completed and a small-scale mining licence awarded for the Zambia-based Indongo project, in which Sentula holds a 25% stake.

“We are already looking at funding options for this project, which will be one

of just a few operational coal mines in the country,” Berry notes.

A small local community has already been engaged, and has agreed to be relocated.

Berry says the project is capable of delivering 0.5 Mtpa of unwashed thermal coal product to the domestic market, which is desperate to secure its own energy supplies.

“With the adequate funding in place, this

project could be operational before the end of the year.”

The Asenjo joint venture with Jonah Capital and Aquilla Resources is situated in Botswana, and has undertaken a lot of exploration and feasibility work on its tenement, and continues to do so.

“The long-term value of these projects lies in the country’s infrastructure

Equipment supplied by MBE Minerals SA has been operational in coal applications in southern Africa for the past forty years.

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MBE Minerals SA Pty Limited Formerly KHD Humboldt Wedag SA Pty Limited 36 Wankel Street Jet Park, Boksburg T +27 11 397 4660 F +27 11 397 4411 E info@mbe-minerals.co.za W www.mcnallybharat.com

Produced by Coralynne & Associates +27 (011) 422 1949

Energy generator: coal Nkomati

development, which will be largely dependent on China and India’s intention to develop the necessary infrastructure in exchange for coal off-take agreements.

We own a range of thermal coal tenements in the country, and they have value,” Berry outlines.

During 2010, Sentula acquired an option to earn an interest, through exploration, in the Carborifera de Changara coal project, situated south of Tete in northern Mozambique. While initial exploration results have not proven to be particularly encouraging, neighbouring properties look to be more prospective and Sentula continues to weigh up its options in this region.

THE MINING SERVICES ARM It is the money generated from Sentula’s mining services arm that will be required to provide substantial ongoing funding into the coal mining, development and exploration business.

The mining services business comprises three opencast, earthmoving companies – Megacube, Benicon and Classic Challenge Trading (CCT), as well as overburden drilling and blasting company, JEF Drill and Blast, exploration drilling company, Geosearch, and crane hire company, Ritchie Crane Hire.

“Although we implemented a strategic plan to turnaround Megacube’s business, we have decided that the way forward is to establish one larger, more successful opencast contractor,” Berry explains. Read the Benicon/Megacube story on page 50 for more details on this new strategy.

JEF Drill and Blast’s success is dependent largely on the specialised overburden drilling and blasting work it undertakes for third parties and through Sentula. “It supports

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many of the sites Benicon currently has contracts with.”

At the moment, about 65% of Geosearch’s work is African-focused. The company has a significant contract in the Ivory Coast. Now that the country has stabilised, the company can return to its profit-making position as its contract recommences.

“More lately, Geosearch has taken on a lot of new project work in West Africa, specifically Liberia, one of Africa’s gold-central areas, as well as the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Botswana, Mozambique and Ethiopia.”

Exploration drilling is a relatively low-capital business, which requires on-the-ground skills. “Geosearch has 135 rigs, and is on a par with Benicon in terms of profits.”

Ritchie is a fairly small company, well positioned in Mpumalanga, and has a fleet of 26 cranes with lifting capacities of between 30 t and 220 t. “We are growing the business slowly, and do not want to over-trade in this market.”

A successful B-BBEE transaction announced On 2 March 2012, Sentula concluded agreements with Anglo American Khula Mining Fund (AAKMF) in relation to the proposed B-BBEE transaction.

Through Cintacure (to be renamed Sentula Contracting), which is an existing wholly-owned subsidiary of Sentula,the Sentula Mining Employee Trust (a trust to be established by Sentula for the benefit of employees of the South African mining services businesses as defined), the Sentula Mining Empowerment Trust (a trust to be established by Sentula for the benefit of learner beneficiaries and communities around certain of Sentula’s mining operations) and AAKMF wil, acquire a 16.675% direct equity interest in certain of Sentula’s South African mining services businesses, namely Benicon Opencast Mining, CCT, JEF Drill and Blast, and Ritchie Crane Hir).

Sentula’s South African exploration drilling operations are already empowered through a separate initiative. Following the implementation of the proposed B-BBEE transaction, the South African mining services businesses will have an effective black ownership of more than 25%.

CCT site

3AMPLING s !NALYSIS s "IAS 4ESTING s 0LANT %FFICIENCY s %XPLORATION

Wet Screening

Hargrove Index ROM samples

Total Carbon

Exploration Borehole Samples Fine Coal Wash

Stockpiles

Sample Preparation

Tr ains

Washability

Sampling

Belt Cut Plant Efficiency Face samples

noko

Abrasive index

Calorific Value

analytical services

Dry Screening

Total Sulphur

Total Moisture Wet Tumbling

Free Swelling Index

Drop Shutter

Proximate Analysis

Fix Carbon Inherent Moisture

Volatile Ash

Mechanical and manual sampling; Sample preparation to international standards or client’s specifications; Analysis of coal and various minerals’ borehole core samples; Sample scheme planning with regards to “stockpile, bunker” sampling; Bias testing of processes and equipment; Equipment validation and efficiency testing; Method through “blind” sample preparation.

Normal and specialized sample / product transportation; Stock management of floor control and logistics; Third Party services (monitoring, sampling and testing); Training on in-house methods and best practice habits; Auditing of processes and laboratory facilities to determine suitability; t New laboratory set upcosting; t General dailytrained labour as well as risk ODERXU

With us you can be sure!

5 Tungsten Street | Witbank P.O. Box 3620 | Emalahleni Central 1035 | Mpumalanga | RSA t | 013 690 2818 | f | 013 690 2867

www.nokoanalytical.co.za

3AMPLING s !NALYSIS s "IAS 4ESTING s 0LANT %FFICIENCY s %XPLORATION NOKO Analytical Services (NAS) may only be three years old, but has already been causing waves and has become a house hold name among many Coal Laboratories and other entities. It is inundated with work as the coal industry continues to boom and Eskom’s demand to secure coal keeps climbing, says NAS founder and MD, Abram Ngobeni and managing member, Retha Pienaar.

Sidebar: How NAS was established NAS was formed on the back of Noko Technical Solutions, also founded by Ngobeni – and was a vibrant and dynamic company which started from humble beginnings and emerged as a provider of high quality coal sampling and transportation of samples for four years. ”We worked hard and with a dedicated team we ensured satisfaction of our services to our current and prospective clients,” says Ngobeni.

When the decision was taken to look at growing its market share, the company undertook business development research and in 2009,after realising there was potential growth in the sampling and transportation of samples,Ngobeni and Pienaar opened a coal analytical laboratory and called it NOKO Analytical Services (NAS).

Today, NAS provides high quality analytical services to the coal industry(primarily)- from pit to pot. Being a 100% BBBEE South African company, Pienaar believes that Noko’s growing success can be attributed to the successful joint efforts between herself and Ngobeni, and their “demanding and no-compromise attitude on quality, which leads their own workforce to adopt the sameattitude of hard work, team dedication, speedy turnaround times and first-rate service delivery.”

Another important element to Noko’s workload hit rate is its location – the heart of eMalahleni (Witbank), which is almost a stone’s throw from most operating coal mines and power stations. It also has an additional on-site laboratory in Carolina.

“At NAS, we believe in being innovative and proactive, and promote continual improvement of processes and increase efficiency and improve quality,” Ngobeni continues.

In conjunction with Pienaar’s long-term analytical service to the coal industry over her entire career period, NAS’s future success path is mapped out. In the space of three years, the company’s head count has increased from two (Pienaar and Ngobeni) to 103, and this looks set to continue climbing.

The company’s vision is to become an internationally recognised and acclaimed analytical laboratory. It has already received its accreditation from SANAS (South African National Accreditation System) and is well recognised and respected within the South African mining industry and beyond. Ngobeni says the company also has intentions to expand its business and its footprint by attaining more work on the African continent, particularly in coal-dense countries like Botswana.

“For now, we are extremely busy, and are testing numerous power station coal samples, specifically analysing the quality of the coal,” Ngobeni explains.

The company is additionally quite active with test samples for new exploration projects in Mozambique and Mpumalanga.

Its mining client base includes blue chip mining clients such as BHP Billiton SA, Xstrata, Exxaro and Anglo American Thermal Coal, as well as junior and mid-tier players such as Wescoal and Sudor Coal.

With us you can be sure! t | 013 690 2818 | f | 013 690 2867

Panel discussion: Coal

COAL FINES

A treatment necessity The treatment of coal fines is an essential environmental and economic issue in coal processing today. Minerals processing company, MC Process, is making inroads in the treatment of fines, which can easily be treated down to 150 microns, thereby reducing the need to discard -1 mm fraction material.

O

ver the past two years, MC Process has installed five Stokes Hydrosizers/Teetered Bed Separators (TBS), comprising machines with feed rates of between 200 and 300 tph.

A TBS Hydrosizer is a hindered settling classifier, which is used to separate mineral particles into two groups either by size or, where there is a mixture of relative densities, by specific gravity.

According to MD, Mark Craddock, the TBS process has been in use since 1934, specifically in coal recovery from waste piles and tailings lagoons since the 60s. It has also been used to treat run-of-mine (ROM) coal in the United Kingdom, United States and Europe since the 80s.

“The treatment of fine coal (nominally -1 mm) is very important economically at most coal mines as this fraction can constitute up to 20% of the ROM feed, including a slimes fraction, which is nominally -200 microns,” says Craddock. “However, in an

A TBS unit is simple to operate, produces a quality product and has short payback times increasing number of cases, the fines are not being treated as the value after beneficiation is too poor in terms of quality, moisture or both to add back into the coarser product.”

A number of methods can be used to treat fine coal at a lower density, the most obvious being the use of dense medium separation (DMS) cyclones, which has been attempted many times, mostly abandoned, but has been revived by Coaltech 2020.

“Globally more than 600 TBS units are in operation today,” reveals Craddock.

LEFT AND BELOW An installed TBS

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Awareness of coal fines began in 1998 in Australia where 13 units were installed between 1999 and 2003, with a further 20 installed between 2004 and 2007. “In these applications, the TBS is being used to treat coal in the -3 to +0.25 mm size range at cut points below 1.60.”

In order for the technology to gain acceptance in the South African mining fields, multiple tests have taken place at a number of local collieries. MC Process has two test units running, with full control of density and teeter water. Results of the tests are comparable with those obtained in Australia.

“Fine coal is being discarded, but can be treated at minimal cost. A TBS unit is simple to operate, produces a quality product and has short payback times,” says Craddock.

South African coals probably need more sophisticated washing than Australian coals.

The use of large DMS cyclones makes the bottom size cut-off very important; if a TBS can wash up to 3 mm, then overall plant efficiency can be improved.

Coarser particles and fines may need different TBS regimes. This will depend on tests carried out.

“In general, some fines will always be discarded, spirals will work well in some mines and some fines will have to be treated using DMS. However, the majority should use TBS/ Hydrosizers, either in a single or two-stage operation, or sometimes even in combination with spirals or DMS,” concludes Craddock.

In South Africa, Anglo Coal has led the way with a unit at Landau, which has enabled the second-stage spirals to work properly and improve overall plant yield by up to 3%. Further units recently commissioned are at the Mafube project and Kleinkopje colliery.

Panel discussion: Coal

Osborn’s mineral sizer

SIZING UP

The one-stop coal handling shop With worldwide coal use continuing to grow – led by China and India – the future looks bright for equipment suppliers that can contribute to meeting the burgeoning demand for coal-fired energy. Bulk materials handling company, Osborn, is one such supplier, and with the addition of a new mineral sizer to its product range, it offers a virtual one-stop shop for the coal industry.

M

arketing manager, Neill du Plessis, elaborates: “Osborn has been supplying the coal industry with robust, highquality materials-handling equipment for more than five decades, and we are exceptionally well positioned to meet current and future demand. Osborn’s machines have gained popularity as far afield as Australia and Turkey, and closer to home in Zambia and Zimbabwe.”

“Osborn offers all of the equipment in the coal handling process, including the largest jaw crushers and rotary breakers, mineral sizers, double-roll crushers and rolling ring

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crushers, and even smaller components such as conveyor idlers.

A new range of mineral sizers The most recent addition to Osborn’s coal industry equipment offering is its new range of mineral sizers. “Our design can be configured to a range of single shaft and twin shaft sizers,” Du Plessis states. “We’ve maintained a heavy-duty low-profile design capable of handling high tonnages while using minimal installed primary power. The low profile and small footprint of these machines makes them ideal for primary tips where the mine does not want

a huge installation, as is required by a big gyratory or jaw crusher.”

One of the biggest advantages of a mineral sizer is that it keeps most of the dynamic loads within the framework of the machine, which means lighter foundations and lower installation costs compared to a conventional crusher system. The Osborn mineral sizer can be configured to operate in two ways, depending on the material output size required. Du Plessis explains: “As a primary crusher, for example, rotation of the breaker shafts will be towards the centre of the machine, but by reversing the rotation of the breaker shafts towards

Panel discussion: Coal LEFT An Osborn jaw crusher RIGHT An alternate view of the mineral sizer and bottom, Osborn offers all of the equipment in the coal handling process

the sides of the machine and changing the tooth or segment configuration, it can be used as a secondary or tertiary crusher.”

The rest of the coal process Referring to the typical process flow for a 1 000 to 2 500 tph coal mine, Du Plessis says the coal is generally drawn from a primary tip hopper onto an apron feeder, which then discharges onto a vibrating grizzly. The undersize material is fed directly onto a conveyor, with the oversize being fed into a primary jaw crusher or rotary breaker from a second apron feeder. The jaw crusher employed is often Osborn’s biggest: the Osborn Hadfields 80 x 60 Single Toggle Jaw Crusher. This immense machine, which weighs 140 000 kg and stands as tall as a double-decker bus, is one of the largest

manufactured in the world. “It has found its niche in primary opencast mining operations throughout southern Africa,” Du Plessis says. “It is also firmly positioned as the primary crusher of choice in the African coal industry, handling up to

2 x 1.5 m feed sizes with throughputs in excess of 1 600 tph.”

The undersize and crushed material is conveyed to a scalping screen, with the oversize being further reduced in a rotary breaker.

Osborn’s rotary breaker is a product that in recent years has come back into favour in the coal industry, because, he states, customers are once again recognising its value.

Osborn has seen rotary breaker orders increasing in the last year, with a number of machines sold in the past 12 months, Du Plessis says. “The rotary breaker has proved to be the most efficient machine for use in ‘dirty’ coal mining environments,” he adds.

Backing up Osborn’s range of robust, high-quality machines for the coal industry is a 24/7 service department and spare parts division.

Panel discussion: Coal

FIT FOR PURPOSE

Fastidious filtration experts Filtration specialist, Filtaquip, is offering the mining industry what it believes is one of the most advanced filtration and dewatering equipment and technology on the market thanks to its partnership with international filtration company Matec, Filtaquip MD, Kobus Boshoff, tells Laura Cornish.

B

ecause we believe in supplying the right equipment for the right application, our focus has always been to secure international partnerships with companies with business models that are aligned with ours and with equipment that is competitively positioned in the market,” Boshoff points out.

About 18 months ago, Filtaquip secured an exclusive African partnership with Matec, a company globally recognised for its complete high-pressure technology dewatering systems, which include high-rate thickeners, fully automated flocculant plants,

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agitated surge tanks, filter presses and a full range of heavy-duty slurry pumps.

“Matec has a significant installation base worldwide, across Europe and America, and Filtaquip will contribute towards adding to this base through Africa,” says Boshoff. “We can supply entire dewatering systems or individual components.”

With regards to the technology behind the Matec brand, Boshoff says the filter press high-pressure feed technology reduces cycle times to between 15 and 20 minutes per cycle, even when applied to ultra-fine and ‘hard-to-dewater’ materials,

generally yielding a cake not exceeding 19% residual moisture.

The filter press control system and clearing mechanism is also unique and allows a press with up to 160 plates (plate size up to 2 m x 3 m) to clear in less than five minutes, all achieved with very simple hydraulic electromechanical systems.

“Mechanically agitated surge tanks are typically installed before the filter press, BELOW A 2 m x 3 m, 140 plate press.

It is fully automated, discharging into bin and conveyor system

Panel discussion: Coal

The differences summarised • Filtaquip prefers to supply stainless steel thickeners, surge tanks and flocculant plants due to their longevity, low maintenance requirements and environment-friendliness • The design of its high-rate thickeners ensures that flocculant consumption is the lowest in its class • State-of-the-art, fully automated flocculant dosing plants, with a patented Doson automatic sampling system, ensure continuous flocculant addition rate adjustment, ensuring optimal thickener performance to flocculant addition ratio at all times • Filter press frames are fabricated from solid steel and outweigh competitors by at least 20%, ensuring the highest mechanical rigidity, with high resistance to tortional forces, ensuring extended useful working lives in excess of 15 years • Filtaquip high-pressure technology allows for 20 to 30 minute press cycles, with a product moisture content less than 20% on average.

• Filtaquip fully automated presses clear in less than five minutes, from stop feed to start feed • Filtaquip’s patented gasser/shaker system ensures excellent automatic cloth cleaning with every clearing cycle • Specialised filter cloth knowledge allows Filtaquip to select the right filter cloth for the medium to be filtered, ensuring correct matching of aperture size with cloth permeability, giving the clearest filtrate and lowest residual moisture in the filter cake.

allowing continuous operation of the filter press circuit – because of the short cycle times established and the quick clearing,” Boshoff explains.

More conventional filter press application cycle times range between 15 and 30 minutes a cycle and are not conducive to continuous

We can offer presses among the largest in the world, capable of processing high volumes of material operation, generally requiring multiple units if continuous processing is required.

While the dewatering systems are suitapp ble for most miningg and industrial applicax xplains tions, Boshoff explains that they are most c industry. relevant to the coal “We can offer presses among the largest a apable of processingg in the world, capable 0 high volumes off material – up to 50 tph in a single cycle. This is there-i ited bul ulkk comcomfore ideally suited to bulk h modities, such re re as coal, where en en profit is driven to by the need to ss ss move and process high volumes off tl ” material constantly.”

An additional benefit well suited to the coal industry, Boshoff continues, is the system’s ability to recover high volumes of water.

A complete de-watering system consisting of a high-rate thickener, surge tank, flocculant plant, all pumps and filter press (Capacity: 15 tph of dry solids)

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“Our high-pressure feed system (with recess chamber-equipped plates) achieves excellent residual moistures in the final filter cake product.”

Furthermore, these dewatering plants are completely automated and require an absolute minimal level of operator involve-

ment, all in line with first world operating philosophy, while still being simple and easy to maintain and operate.

With all of the benefits the Matec range h as to offerr linked li has to Filtaquip’s filtration ex expertise, Boshoff says sa y Filtaquip ys Fil ilttta taq can offer the m most cost-effective d dewatering soluttions available on tthe h South African m market today.

“It is also importtant a to note that aall ll the components hav h have simple-to-operate mechanisms and d are easy to mainttain,” i ”h h he echoes.

ABOVE A fully automated stainless steel flocculant make-up and dosing plant

Profile: opencast and earthmoving

BENICON OPENCAST MINING

The coal contractor of choice Sentula Mining’s opencast subsidiary, Benicon Opencast Mining (Benicon), is emerging as one of the most significant opencast coal contractors in South Africa. It is also set to achieve substantial growth over the next year as it absorbs Sentula’s Megacube contracts, Sentula CE, Robin Berry and Benicon CEO, Gideon van Heerden, tell Laura Cornish.

Absorbing Megacube “Part of the Sentula Mining Services strategy has been to create and establish one, large opencast coal contracting company,” Berry starts.

While Benicon has grown from strength to strength since Sentula acquired it in 2006 with the backing and balance sheet of a large, listed company, Megacube has faced numerous challenges, and never achieved similar successes.

Berry believes Benicon’s success lies primarily in the length of time it has been in business (since 1979) and its balanced fleet of new and older equipment.

The plan, explains Berry, is for Benicon to absorb Megacube’s existing contracts over the next 18 months, and monetise its

remaining idle assets, through selling, trading old equipment for new equipment, and utilising what can be utilised.

Megacube currently has three contracts – the first with Keaton Energy’s Vanggatfontein, the second with Exxaro’s

To date, Benicon has eight opencast contracts with Anglo American Thermal Coal in South Africa Glisa colliery and the third with South African Coal Mining Holdings’ (SACMH) Umhlabu colliery.

Although the Glisa contract is up for renewal in April this year – Benicon has already tendered for the contract- and the Umhlabu pit due for closure around March, the Vanggatfontein project contract, which is currently ramping up its production, is long-term. “Bringing Vanggatfontein into the Benicon stable will see the company grow by about 25% over the year,” says Van Heerden.

Substantial coal contracts To date, Benicon has eight opencast contracts with Anglo American Thermal Coal (AATC) in South Africa, and late last year diversified outside of the Anglo stable when it was awarded a two year contract with Xstrata Coal South Africa’s (XCSA) Tweefontein colliery.

“The nature of the Tweefontein project is very niche,” explains Van Heerden. “I believe we were awarded it because of our understanding of what the project requires. Our contract at one of the projects, AATC’s Landau colliery, is similar.”

The contract specifically entails extracting old underground mining pillars via opencast methods. “All of our contracts are long-term,

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Landau’s for example, has been renewed continuously since 1997. We are a professional business, are close to our clients, and believe that our close relationship with Anglo has seen us adopt many of their operational and safety values,” Van Heerden explains.

ABOVE Benicon has one of the best repair workshops in eMalahleni

Growth objectives Benicon currently has a fleet of 380 machines, including five draglines. “We recently supplemented our fleet with the addition of 16 Cat 740 ADTs and five Hitachi excavators, aimed at accommodating the expansion at Zibulo and the new Tweefontein contract,” Van Heerden continues.

Speaking of his growth aspirations for the company, Van Heerden says he prefers ‘controlled growth’, “the challenge is to grow in a controlled manner, while still adding value to our clients, and equally important, our shareholders”.

While Benicon’s core focus area has been South Africa to date, Van Heerden believes it will be important to expand in countries where the industry is growing, which for the coal industry specifically is in Mozambique

and the Waterberg. “My intention is to establish an operational presence in the country over the next two years.”

In addition to taking on new mining contracts, Van Heerden expects a lot of growth to emerge from rehabilitation projects, as environmental government compliance becomes increasingly compulsory.

“Our services to the coal industry also include drilling and top soil removal, in addition to opencast mining.”

Caring for its fleet

and quickly. “We already have over 100 systems installed.” Van Heerden believes this is a fairly new initiative in the industry.

“We also have one of the best repair workshops in eMalahleni, with every necessary facility to repair and fully rebuild machines.”

Safety, training and employees In line with its commitment to safety and training, Benicon introduced a training department about two years ago.

“We are now starting to see the results and benefits from our employees who have been trained and taught to our high level working standards, and who understand the safety and production culture that is so important to Benicon’s business.”

The pride Benicon takes in its equipment fleet is a key company priority.

“While you cannot keep replacing equipment, you can ensure it is taken care of properly,” Van Heerden notes.

Benicon has life extension equipment programmes in place, which include condition monitoring and monitoring the operational performance and specifications of every machine.

It is in the process of installing satellite technology into all its machines, ena- Benicon’s AATC sites bling its head office to watch • Landau colliery – 3 sites and monitor the machines at • Goedehoop colliery – 2 sites all times. This will prevent • Zibulo downtime periods as prob- • Kriel lems can be detected early • Mafube

ABOVE Benicon has a fleet of 380 machines, which includes five draglines (below)

Benicon only accounted for a single losttime-injury (LTI) on their operations in 2011, and was a finalist in Anglo’s 2011 supplier awards, for safety.

“Safety has been a big company driver, especially since 2010. Our safety achievements are something we are proud of.”

The company also retained all of its ISO accreditations in 2012, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001.

Van Heerden is excited about the B-BBEE transaction Sentula recently secured, and believes it will not only motivate Benicon employees, but reward them financially, and provide them with job satisfaction and encouragement to excel.

Inside Mining 04/2012

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Opencast and earthmoving

PRE-OWNED MUSCLE MACHINES

Mining with mettle The Bell B40D Articulated Dump Truck (ADT) is generally viewed as a machine that has made its mark – specifically within the African opencast mining market – with its proven reliability in tough circumstances.

I

ts resale value as a pre-owned machine has now been highlighted as an added benefit for this machine. One African opencast mining operation in particular has high praises for its fleet of pre-owned B40Ds that still deliver on the mantra of tough, reliable machines, even when pre-owned.

Danie Pienaar and long-standing friend Jason Venter started Erftrim Plant Hire some 10 years ago. One of their biggest client was Erftrim Civils and Construction, a company owned by Jason’s father Piet Venter.

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“Piet had done a lot of the construction work on the Muhanga coal mine outside Middelburg,” says Pienaar. “This gave us a link to mining and we realised that to grow the plant hire business we would need to increase our fleet of machines and perhaps change our focus to concentrate on the opencast mining side of the business.”

Their fleet, although modest in size, consisted of ADTs, excavators, water bowsers and rigid tippers, ranging from 10 m³ to 15 m³.

“Exposure to mining prompted us to look into the possibility of undertaking

contract mining and we took this decision in 2010,” Pienaar continues. “We decided to buy four Bell B40D ADTs which were pre-owned and had been imported from the United Kingdom.

Erftrim took delivery of its first four preowned Bell B40D ADTs in late 2010. The machines were reassembled by the Used

BELOW Erftrim took delivery of its first four pre-owned Bell B40Ds at the end of 2010 and has high praises for its fleet that still delivers on the mantra of tough, reliable machines

Division of the Bell Equipment Customer Service Centre at Jet Park. Machine hours varied between 2 500 and 3 500 hours.

This strategic move enabled Erftrim Plant Hire to move into the competitive field of contract mining and operational success.

“Our clients see us as serious players in this competitive field,” Pienaar adds. “We believe a large part of our success lies in the fact that the Bell B40 ADT is the machine with the best pedigree in the market.”

ABOVE Erftrim’s chief mechanic, Flip Kruger, with Bell Equipment sales representative, Carel Venter and Danie Pienaar, a partner in Erftrim

fire extinguisher and handrails. This all adds to the cost of the machine, but Pienaar and his colleagues were satisfied that they were still able to buy the equipment at reasonable prices.

Haul distances generally don’t exceed 2 km and fuel consumption averages around 25 to 27 ℓ/h, depending on

Bell B40 ADTs are the ideal haulage tools with their all-wheel drive traction, even under full loads Erftrim has dramatically grown its fleet of Bell ADTs in the last year and now has 18. The fleet consists of six Bell B40C and 12 Bell B40D ADTs. Where it was initially tasked with only hauling overburden, clients now have the company haul coal as well when production pressures are high.

Financing its fleet was originally done through Bell Finance and WesBank. Taking delivery of a Bell ADT, even a preowned one, does not mean one can put it into service straight away. According to Pienaar, a host of safety equipment as specified by the particular mining client has to be fitted and this included a reverse camera, GPS collision warning system, air conditioning, two-way radio,

the material carried. Erftrim’s fleet of Bell ADTs is used daily in three eighthour shifts with strict daily maintenance checks taking place during shift changes.

Erftrim’s eight diesel mechanics ensure that their fleet delivers high mechanical performance “Together with our clients, we can truly say that in the wet underfoot conditions and narrow pits that we find in the Mpumalanga coal fields, our Bell B40 ADTs are the ideal haulage tools with their all-wheel drive traction, even under full loads,” Pienaar states. “We’re also excited about Bell Equipment’s agreement with Liebherr, which could soon see our Bell B40 ADTs fitted with serious loading tools.”

Opencast and earthmoving

BOLD ASPIRATIONS

Moving more than mountains Construction major Basil Read Group’s mining division, Basil Read Mining (BRM), has not only picked up two new projects recently, but is also contemplating branching its business into new areas to help support its long-term growth objectives, BRM MD, Antonie Fourie, tells Laura Cornish.

A

lthough the end of 2011 saw one of BRM’s largest mining contracts come to an end, Fourie anticipates a big year for the company

in 2012.

“The good reputation we have earned from the successes we achieved at Rio Tinto’s Rössing uranium mine in Namibia will last us well into the future and contribute to the awarding of new mining contracts,” says Fourie.

BRM secured two new contracts recently, one with De Beers Consolidated Mines Venetia diamond mine and the other with Beeshoek iron ore mine in the Northern Cape.

“These two projects are in addition to the contract BRM is busy with at Jwaneng in Botswana,” Fourie notes. “In addition to my focus on attaining new mining contracts, I am also investigating the opportunities of growing the business by introducing exploration drilling into our service suite. Exploration drilling

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is a niche business, and it requires specific expertise and equipment. I believe this could be a new arm to the Basil Read mining business and will help us achieve greater growth over the long term.”

Looking back over the last year, Fourie says their mining division grew substantially, particularly with regards to its fleet size.

“As Jwaneng draws to an end, however, we need to replace it with an equivalent project.

We are anticipating the award of a five-year contract with a major coal operation, which should take place toward the middle of this year. If we secure it, it will be the first fiveyear contract we have ever been awarded. It is my intention to secure more five-year contracts as part of my growth strategy.”

Fourie expects that his aspiration to sustain the division’s profitability and grow annual turnover by about 10% will be achieved through new business emerging from the

SADC region – specifically Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.

“Right now though, my focus is to attend to fleet replacement requirements, which will take place over the next two years, as well as maintain our good safety records and drive home the message that our contracting capabilities can improve production rates,” Fourie outlines.

In August 2011, BRM achieved its ISO 9001: 2007 and OHSAS 1800:2008 certification.

Beeshoek iron ore mine Employees on site: 220 The beginning of this year saw BRM awarded a three-year opencast mining contract at Northern Cape-based Beeshoek mine, which is co-owned by Assore (through Assmang) and African Rainbow Minerals.

“We were awarded the project in a joint venture with Murray & Roberts’ Concor Mining,

Opencast and earthmoving

and we moved onto site and commenced with mining during the middle of February,” Fourie adds.

The contract is valued at R720 million.

“The timing could not have been better.

With Rössing coming to an end, we were able to relocate the machines from Namibia to our new site, which includes four excavators and 16 trucks.”

Work at Beeshoek is well underway

Venetia diamond mine Employees on site: 168 BRM was awarded a bench cleaning contract at Venetia, together with a small portion of the waste stripping late last year. “The expansion to the pit requires a significant amount of cleaning of the existing benches, and we also need to make sure that it is still secure for the mine to operate in the bottom of the pit.” An expansion plan at Venetia to take it from an opencast operation to an underground operation is on the cards.

“The amount of waste and cleaning is valued at about R7.2 million,” Fourie estimates.

BRM subsidiary, B&E, also has the drilling contract until 2014 to undertake all percussion drilling for the mine. “We have established a second Pit Viper to increase the drill capacity,” Fourie notes.

Jwaneng diamond mine Employees on site: 702 In May 2011, BRM announced its preparation was underway for its largest contract to date at Debswana’s Cut 8 project at Jwaneng in Botswana – the richest diamond mine in the world. The Majwe Mining joint venture, which consists of BRM, Australian-based Leighton and Bothakga Burrows of Botswana, will move more than 156 million cubic metres to recover another 102 million carats and see the pit level deepen from 330 m to 625 m.

This contract, which includes mine

scheduling, drill and blast, truck and shovel waste removal and limited ore mining, will keep Jwaneng at a production level of 13 million to 15 million carats a year until 2024.

The BRM portion of the contract is due to be completed at the end of 2012, although

"Right now, my focus is to attend to fleet replacement requirements, which will take place over the next two years" Antonie Fourie

Majwe will continue its activities on site for another five years.

Cut 8 could well be followed by Cut 9, on which a feasibility study is pointing to a positive opencast outcome.

Rio Tinto bids BRM a fond farewell (an extract from the Rio Tinto e-Rössing bulletin: February 2012) In 2006, Basil Read was contracted to a project termed the ‘Pioneering Work’. The project basically served to open up the ‘hilly’ uneven surfaces in the north-west area of the open pit. This activity, commonly known as prestripping, was in preparation of the mine’s

Inside Mining 04/2012

49

Opencast and earthmoving BRM’s safety statistics Site

Period

Man-hours worked Loss time injuries DIFR

Jwaneng

2011

1 406 384

1

0.14

BRM/B&E Venetia (combined)

2011

489 521

0

0.00

Rössing

Total project Jan 09 to Feb 12

2 414 233

5

0.41

3 378 002

3

0.18

BRM and B&E Company 2011

“BRM learnt a lot from Rössing. We always strived to incorporate the standards and add value to the mining operation as well.” Basil Read plant manager, Len Green

main Phase 2 mining. By the end of 2007, Basil Read had mined 6.5 Mt. Five years later, BRM has assisted with the pre-stripping of Phase 3, pre-stripping and mining at SK4, as well as mining for the coarse ore stock pile.

When Basil Read joined the mine, it was required to comply with Rio Tinto’s safety standards and ensure that its whole operation and maintenance workshops adhered to the ISO 14001 standard. “The company upped their safety culture to our level, even surpassing us in certain areas,” says pioneering project superintendent, Hendrik Bok. He explains that they were responsible for the drill and load and haul, using their own equipment. “The BR project team were always willing to assist and were very accommodating in the scope of the project,” says Bok. He also credits the success of the relationship to good communication between the two teams.

Sharing his experience on working with Basil Read, Immanuel

Shikongo, superintendent drill and blast, says, “They are very efficient and can almost do the impossible.”

Basil Read plant manager, Len Green, shares that Basil Read’s experience at Rössing was both challenging and rewarding.

“BRM learnt a lot from Rössing. We always strived to incorporate the standards and add value to the mining operation as well.”

Speaking on safety, he noted that the company is a big supporter of Rossing’s Zero Harm concept.

“Basil Read has the right technical team and operating practises, and we wish them all the best in their future contracts. They have added a lot of value to our operations, and we are grateful for the great partnership we have had with them,” Shikongo concludes.

Work at Beeshoek is well underway

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www.basilread.co.za

Another legacy from Basil Read.

Jwaneng Cut 8 Diamond Mine - Botswana

Basil Read continues to shine in the opencast mining sector, through medium and long-term projects across Africa, forging alliances with the biggest players in the industry. Our drilling and blasting activities, housed in our subsidiary, B&E, is the largest company of its kind in the region. And our recent merger with TWP could see Basil Read getting even more involved in the mining sector in the future, as we pool our resources and expertise, and build legacies.

T +27 11 418 6300 | E communications@basilread.co.za

Minerals processing

SINGLE SUPPLIER, SINGLE SOLUTION

Filling the process gaps Minerals processing company, FLSmidth (South Africa) remains actively focused on a business strategy implemented globally a few years ago – to be recognised as a one-source, full service and solutions provider. A recent acquisition, and another imminent, aimed at enhancing its technology and equipment offering is embedding this business tactic, writes Laura Cornish.

A

ccording to FLSmidth Group’s 2011 annual report, the company is anticipating that its future growth will primarily take place in the minerals sector, although it remains active in the cement industry.

For this reason, the group will gradually develop its organisational structure towards six key industries: coal, iron ore, fertiliser minerals (phosphates), copper, gold and cement.

Minerals extraction is on a growth curve and many minerals are already in limited supply, which in turn causes higher prices. FLSmidth’s minerals business experienced a record number of orders in 2011, and the vast potential in minerals appears to be continuing.

“Having achieved our goal that the minerals business was to be equal in size to the cement business, it is

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natural for us to set new goals. It is our ambition that the company should be a market leader and preferred supplier in processing and handling of minerals in selected industries,” says FLSmidth Group board chairman, Vagn Sørensen.

“We will, however, retain an active presence across all commodities,” says Peter Lohrmann, MD for FLSmidth in South Africa. “We can provide our clients with anything from upfront engineering, through to supplying, installing and commissioning equipment, as well as after-sales service, support, maintenance, spare parts supply and operation. Basically, we can build, supply and operate an entire process plant and have been doing so internationally for years, including African countries such as Zambia (an entire copper concentrator) and Angola.”

Although the local company has been evolving over time to ensure its capabilities as a single-source solutions provider to the mining industry are entrenched internally, it continues to benefit from and further enhance its technology and equipment solutions through group acAn illustration of the quisitions aimed at Vertical Stirred Mill (VSM)

Inside Mining 04/2012

ABOVE A Vertical Stirred Mill (VSM) Pilot Plant

achieving this very objective and ‘filling the equipment technology gaps’.

“We are currently integrating the equipment range from one of the group’s most recent acquisitions, which it concluded in the latter half of last year,” says Alistair Calver, GM and director for FLSmidth in South Africa.

Through the September 2011 acquisition of Canada-based Knelson, FLSmidth has added the FLSmidth stirred mill to its line of equipment offered. FLSmidth Knelson manufactures and installs equipment for the recovery of precious metals such as gold and platinum, as well as the enhanced gravity separation of base metals and industrial minerals.

“FLSmidth Knelson’s global presence is substantial, particularly in the gold industry where it is recognised for the Knelson gravity concentrators,” says Calver.

The FLSmidth stirred mill is available in sizes ranging from 10 ℓ to 2 500 ℓ.

The product now has the opportunity to realise its maximum potential with the backing of a big organisation. We are already designing and building bigger units,” Calver adds.

The group is further on the brink of acquiring Australian headquartered, global

minerals processing company Ludowici. “This acquisition is particularly useful to the company as it is technologically advanced in both screens and centrifuges,” Calver continues.

These are among several international acquisitions the global entity has made over the last year.

“Our strategy to enhance our product and technology is not only through acquisitions, however,” says Terence Osborn, capital sales and marketing manager for FLSmidth in South Africa.

Investment into research and development accounts for around 2% of the group’s revenue. The company’s aspiration is to launch a minimum of one new invention or innovation every year.

“We have handpicked industry experts in the solvent extraction field and have been promoting this particular product line for about a year now, particularly in Zambia and the Democratic

Through the September 2011 acquisition of Canada-based Knelson, FLSmidth has added the FLSmidth stirred mill to its line of equipment offered Republic of the Congo where it is highly applicable to copper projects,” Osborn continues.

The company is also running pilot trials in North America on its high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technology. HPGR technology was the last piece of comminution equipment that was missing from the FLSmidth crushing and grinding product range.

“Locally, we are building an industrial minerals HPGR plant for one of the country’s platinum majors,” Osborn notes.

“HPGR technology is not new as it has been around for about 25 years, which in mining terms is not at all long. Rapid advancement and subsequent interest in these technologies has only really occurred in the past seven years. HPGRs are widely accepted in the cement industry, in which FLSmidth has a substantial international presence.

In certain processes, it has shown to lower energy consumption and improves the liberation and recovery of minerals.

A disc impeller with grinding media

Minerals processing

DEVELOPING A GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

And revolutionising thickeners and other equipment Both 2011 and 2012 will represent major growth and development milestones in minerals processing equipment supplier Roymec Technologies’ history. The company has secured international partnerships to further grow its global footprint.

It launched a fully workshop-fabricated bolted tank concept for remote mine sites; a high speed, fine cut linear screen unit and more recently a revolutionary feedwell technology for thickeners, sales director, Hoosen Essack, tells Laura Cornish.

A revolutionary technology for thickeners “In addition to the various ongoing product developments, our greatest efforts have been spent in the last two years on intensive research and development (R&D) on thickener technology, and we are launching a new thickener feedwell technology into the market,� Essack reveals. Having employed the services of a University of Witwatersrand post-graduate, not directly involved in the

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mining industry, Essack believes Dr Alexei Krassnokutski has brought an entirely new and fresh approach to thickeners and feedwell design and efficiency inhibitors.

The conventional approach to testing the settling properties of a particular ore using a measuring cylinder is insufficient when trying to replicate this performance on a dynamic system. To counter this conundrum associated with this decade old approach,

ABOVE Platinum concentrate thickener unit

Roymec Technologies has spent significant time running a myriad of experiments on scale model thickeners and a series of feedwell models. Options taken into account included shelves, baffles, plates and trays in various configurations and geometries.

This process has shed light on the adverse effects associated with standard industrial

Minerals processing feedwells, including tangential swirl, radial recirculation and flow asymmetry.

The biggest advances made by Roymec Technologies in understanding thickener shortcomings and consequently in developing its patented Radflow feedwell were principally made in a 1 m diameter Perspex scale model unit. This model was built to scale off the plans of an operating 21 m diameter Roymec Technologies full scale thickener.

“Ultimately we have designed the Radflow feedwell, (entirely different to any currently available feedwell) which counters all of the adverse effects encountered on operating units thereby ensuring that flocculated feed is symmetrically introduced into the thickener body”, says Essack.

The Radflow feedwell works by dissipating energy and distributing the feed particles evenly across the thickener which does not inhibit settling, particularly directly below the feedwell, with no associated asymmetry.

This also means the rakes need to do very little work to draw the pulp to the centre. The resultant settling pattern is suggestive that the flux rate of the thickener can be dramatically increased using the Radflow feedwell.

Additional benefits of the Radflow feedwell seen during testing include: • intense mixing in the feedwell zone, which allows for intense flocculant/feed contact and therefore a reduction in flocculant consumption • an auto-dilution effect, in which eddies formed on the outer surface of each blade draw supernatant surrounding the flow shaper back inwards.

“With a more efficient feedwell design, thickeners could operate close to the average flocculant settling rate measured during testwork. This is equivalent to saying that a traditional (current) thickener could be replaced with a thickener of almost half the area when utilising the Radflow feedwell,” Essack sums up. “This results in a

RIGHT Flocculant make up plant using bolted tanks - Malawi BELOW Ion Exchange plant at Langer Heinrich - Namibia

phenomenal saving in terms of thickener cost, space requirement, power consumption and overall operating costs.”

The company has already conducted on-site test work at Gold One International’s plant in Springs, and is due to send its 2.5 m diameter test thickener to Exxaro’s Leeuwpan coal plant operation.

A new shareholder and a growing global presence The year 2011 saw Tamela Holdings, a black owned and managed investment company, acquire a 15% stake in Roymec Technologies. Tamela founding members, Vusi Mahlangu and Sydney Mhlarhi have significant investment backgrounds, and are looking to create long term strategic partnerships with management and shareholders in the manufacturing, industrial and financial services sectors. “Their hands on approach to business will assist with alternate strategic

ABOVE New and old board & management members

paths and help us grow locally, while affording Roymec the opportunity to contribute to the growth of local BBBEE entities,” says Essack.

In terms of expanding its global footprint, Roymec has established a partnership with engineering company, PWA Technology, a Malaysia-based engineering and trading company. “That part of the world has not been as dramatically affected by major business fall-outs as a result of the recent recession. This coupled with the fact that many mining houses are looking to Far East Asia for new project opportunities we believe will result in significant business.”

And signs of this can already be seen. “We have supplied kit (linear screens, thickeners and flocculant plants) to two gold projects in the country namely, Peninsula Golds’ Raub and Monument Minings’ Selingsing.”

The company has also secured a South American partner to grow its footprint on the mining-rich continent. “Tecpromin in Chile is focused largely on the supply of minerals processing equipment and with the use of our designs and through local fabrication facilities, will tailor our equipment for their markets throughout Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Peru,” continues Essack.

“We have been regionally locked into the African continent since our establishment over 10 years ago, and while we have had great success we acknowledge the need to be less exposed to the cyclical nature of minerals project activity on the African continent,” Essack outlays. Despite this the company is currently involved with numerous contracts in Africa for major projects such as FQML’s Kansanshi Oxide project, Katanga’s Phase 4 project and the FMI’s Tenke Fungurume expansion project.

Inside Mining 04/2012

55

YOUR M MET METALLURGICAL REAGENT TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT EXPERT TECHNOLO

METALLURGICAL ICAL SUPPO SUPPORT • Ore tested in our own fully eq equipped labs • Reagent sele selection • Reagent nt optimisation support • Ongoing oing on-site sup su

INTEGRATED INTEGRAT NTEGRAT LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT • Assistance Assist with w on-site stock management Delivery to mine-site • Delive tracking service • Daily Dail delivery d de documentation • Import/Export Import mport Clearing and forwarding • Clear ar balance sheet finance • Off b stock • Consignment Co

PRODUCT RANGE: P PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY • Rinkalore series of Oxide and Sulphide Collectors • AM2/AM28 Oxide collectors PRIMARY COLLECTORS • Xanthate Collectors • Fatty Acids SULPHIDISING AGENTS • Sodium Hydrosulphide (NaHS) • Sodium Sulphide (Na2S) G GRINDING MEDIA LA LAB CHEMICALS LU LUBRICANTS RES RESINS FRO FROTHERS GUA GUAR COAG COAGULANTS/FLOCCULANTS MGO

SODIUM SILICATE SODA ASH SMBS LIME ACIDS SECONDARY COLLECTORS • Dithiophosphates • Dithiocarbamates PAM FLOCCULANTS • Brontë Flocculants • Magnafloc® Flocculants DEPRESSANTS • CMC • Starches • Guars • Lignosulphonates • Rinkalore D depressants for ore specific solutions

The core bu business of Axis House is understanding the needs of our mineral processing c processing clients and aggressively addressing those needs with quality products, people and service. and se

Contact us us: www.axishouse.co.za • info@axishouse.co.za CAPE TOWN Trevor McLean-Anderson McLean-Anderso Managing Director Tel: +27 21 790 0481 Fax: +27 21 790 0519

JOHANNESBURG Justine Stubbs General Manager Tel: +27 11 463 4888 Fax: +27 11 463 7081

LUBUMBASHI DRC Lukusa Makenga Manager Tel: +243 997 027 251

Minerals processing

FLOTATION MASTERMINDS

Radical reagents for rare earths Axis House, a niche chemical company which supplies specialised reagents to the minerals processing industry, has grown substantially over the last two years. This momentum is set to continue as the company continues to tap into new industries – this time in rare earths, MD Trevor McLean-Anderson, tells Laura Cornish.

T

raditionally, Axis House’s success is generated largely from the work it has, and continues to accomplish in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia – on the numerous copper projects.

The company is recognised for the ‘pioneering’ work undertaken at its in-house laboratories in developing tailor-made oxide mineral flotation reagents, as well as being involved in the development of better performing precipitation agents in copper and cobalt circuits.

“Our oxide suite of reagents and chemicals has, in many cases, improved plants’ recoveries, delivering unviable projects as viable ones. The work we did with Metorex on its DRC-based Ruashi Phase 1 project years ago, for example, is evidence of our capability,” McLean-Anderson mentions.

After acquiring the chemical division of ASX-listed company Ausmelt in 2008, the company’s oxide flotation offering was broadened to include sulphidisation

reagents, modified fatty acids and amines (Rinkalore range of chemicals), as well as Ausmelt’s range of hydroxamate oxide collectors. “This move enabled Axis House to offer a full range of oxide flotation

reagents, and owning the technology enables us to improve on it.”

“Our most exciting project work at present is the development of flotation reagents for the rare earth oxide (REO)

A larger local footprint The last year saw Axis House secure an agreement with AECI group company, IOP (Industrial Oleochemical Products). The agreement sees IOP manufacturing Axis House reagents under licence.

According to McLean-Anderson, the company provides support to Axis House with regards to reagent molecule development.

Inside Mining 04/2012

57

Minerals processing BELOW The Axis House warehouse

market, which is currently booming,” McLean-Anderson points out.

The REO market is gaining substantial market recognition lately, but remains de-

far as Greenland.

“As it turns out, the additives we are using for the REOs are also applicable for industrial flotation applications, such as flu-

Axis House has added two Mandarin-speaking employees to its staff complement in anticipation of the growing level of business emerging between it and the Chinese in Africa pendent on the ability to extract the various rare earths viably.

“We are using our existing technology, modifying chain lengths within certain reagents to create an REO suited and adapted oxide technology chemical suite.”

The company is already underway with various ore-testing projects at its laboratories, with sample material provided from projects in South Africa, Tanzania and as

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Inside Mining 04/2012

orspar and other phosphate oxides.”

Axis House plans to retain its strong presence and focus in the DRC, although its growth strategy is diversification and the establishment of a greater global presence (which already includes Russia, Canada, Alaska and Morocco).

McLean-Anderson says the DRC is booming again “and the level of Chinese investment in the country is substantial”.

According to Axis House GM, Justine Stubbs, the company has already been involved with numerous Chinese-owned projects and believes the experience is overall positive.

“It does make for a more challenging environment and requires a greater level of understanding, but other than that their processes and modus operandi is advanced,” Stubbs adds.

Axis House has added two Mandarinspeaking employees to its staff complement in anticipation of the growing level of business emerging between it and the Chinese in Africa.

From a country point of view, the lack of and deterioration in infrastructure (roads, rail and others) is already imposing pressure on the minerals sector growth in the country.

“We have invested in our own infrastructure in the DRC to handle the volumes of work being generated from the country,” McLean-Anderson concludes.

Minerals processing

COAL CUSTODIAN

A processor, and an operator From small and modest beginnings processing coal in South Africa, mid-tier coal minerals processing specialist, Ingwenya Minerals Processing (IMP), is growing its portfolio beyond local borders – as far afield as Russia, and is further involved in technological advancements which will see the industry advance, operations director, Mpho Mothoa tells Laura Cornish.

H

aving started only six years ago, IMP has today completed the design, construction and commissioning of a number of successful operational coal washing plants in the industry. “We additionally have operating and maintenance contracts on all our plants as well,” Mothoa says.

In addition to its core focus – delivering coal plants to clients, and operating them as well, IMP’s skills include due diligence studies, feasibility studies, trouble-shooting and general metallurgical consulting.

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“The IMP team has over 100 years experience in the coal industry,” Mothoa claims.

New projects and current aspirations “The management of IMP has one main growth objective, that is, to build two new modular plants and take on two new operation and maintenance contracts every year,” says Mothoa.

Russian coal mining company, Kolmar Coal, recently awarded IMP the contract to design a new 500 tph plant for one of its coal operations in Russia.

“IMP has opted to work with local Russian

companies to help facilitate the speed of the project for the detailed engineering design work portion. Our main contribution will be to provide metallurgical knowledge,” Mothoa explains.

Earlier this year, IMP was also awarded a substantial contract, specifically to profile and supply steel structures for Eskom’s new Kusile power station.

“The contract was awarded to us by SMEIPP specialists, Cosira, and will be conducted from our Hendrina-based BELOW Kiepersol plant

Minerals processing

workshop facilities (Bomax Engineering).”

The contract is due for completion in May.

Project portfolio IMP’s portfolio list comprises blue chip clients, including Petmin, Sentula Mining, Anglo American Thermal Coal (AATC) and Jindal Steel.

also contracted to operate the plant.

“Although the plant is currently on care and maintenance, we have people based on site to look after it. We will continue with the operations contract once the plant is brought back on line,” Mothoa notes.

Umlalazi coal mine - AATC Somkhele - Petmin “Our very first project, which we commissioned less than a year after we were established, was the Phase I, 120 000 tpm runof-mine (ROM) plant for Petmin’s Somkhele anthracite mine in KwaZulu-Natal,” Mothoa recalls.

IMP worked in conjunction with EPCM contractor, SENET, and was responsible for managing the construction and commissioning of the plant.

“We were also awarded the operation and maintenance contract for the plant, which we managed successfully until February 2011, after which Petmin took over.”

IMP was largely involved with local community training programmes which empowered people with plant operational skills and successfully work the plant.

“This project will always remain close to our hearts.”

Nkomati anthracite – Sentula Mining In 2007, IMP helped re-commission Sentula Mining’s Nkomati 50 000 tpm (ROM) anthracite operation, and was

In April 2008, AATC awarded IMP the contract to design, build, operate and maintain a 200 000 tph (ROM) modular coal plant for its Umlalazi coal operation in Mpumalanga.

The plant was commissioned in October 2008, and is operated by IMP. “Thanks to our 4000 m² Bomax workshop facilities, we are able to build easy-to-operate tailor-made, modular plants with very short lead times. We can also erect and commission (depending on the size of the plant) in about three or four months.”

“It is important to note that we use traditional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for our major equipment items,” Mothoa adds.

An exciting test trial In conjunction with the Coaltech Research Association, Anglo Thermal Coal and coal equipment supplier Enprotec, IMP has installed a three product cyclone at Umlalazi, which is currently undergoing test trials.

“What makes this cyclone unique is its ability to separate various coal products in a single stage process, as opposed to a multi-stage process,” Mothoa mentions.

LEFT Three product cyclone RIGHT An alternative view of the Kiepersol plant

Mothoa believes that modular plants, in which IMP specialises, are gaining popularity in the coal industry. “They are ideally suited to our remaining Witbank coal reserves, which are mostly widespread small pockets. A modular plant can be designed to process small or large amounts, and is easy to re-locate as well.

Kiepersol – Jindal Steel In 2010, IMP was contracted to build and commission a 200 000 tpm modular coal plant for a Piet Retief-based coal operation belonging to Jindal Steel.

“We have since then also added 100 000 tpm discard re-wash module to the plant, which we run as well,” Mothoa adds.

“On behalf of minerals processing equipment supplier, Malvern Engineering, we have installed a new belt press at the mine.

Sourced from the United States, this is the first of its kind in South Africa, and is designed to recover water in a closed circuit,” Mathoa reveals.

“The management of IMP has one main growth objective, to build two new modular plants and take on two new operation and maintenance contracts every year,” Mpho Mothoa Inside Mining 04/2012

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Project delivery: motors

REFURBISHMENT AND RESTORATION

Delba’s mammoth electric motor A family-owned electric motor refurbishing company, Delba Electrical’s sharp business acumen has seen the business grow substantially since it was first founded in 1963. In 2012, the business is still growing, so much that it has acquired a substantial portion of property adjacent to its current premises, writes Laura Cornish.

N

ot only are we a certified SKF and WEG (Zest Motors) premium efficiency electric motor rebuilder, we were recently appointed as sub-Saharan African distributor and service provider for United States-based Flanders electric motor range,” says Armando Balocco, founder and executive director of Delba Electrical.

Flanders is globally recognised as one of the leading international companies in the technology and supply of electric motors for draglines.

“As a result of our confidence in the mining industry’s growth path, together with our new distribution agreement, we have decided to expand our premises to accommodate the additional business we are already bringing in and expect to in the future,” Delba MD, Dave Balocco, explains.

Delba’s fully equipped workshop facility in Springs is 9 000 m². The new premise, formerly belonging to Macsteel and situated

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directly adjacent to the current workshop, will be opened up and renovated during the course of the year, and is anticipated to be operational within the first quarter of 2013.

“It will have a 100 t lifting capacity,” Armando adds.

Both father and son believe that one of Delba’s leading attributes in the field of motor repair and refurbishment is its investment in technology-leading workshop equipment.

“We have made it our goal to stay abreast of current industry standards and practices, and continue to apply new innovations as they become available, with the objective of increasing the capabilities of the company for the benefits of its clients.”

Delba Electrical was the first company in South Africa to purchase and install a pyrolitic burn-off oven to facilitate the safe removal of electric motor windings through PLCcontrolled combustion. It also includes a full water spray quenching system in the event of spontaneous combustion,” Dave reveals.

ABOVE Pyrolitic kiln for safe and efficient removal of motor windings BELOW LEFT 2800 kW Stator on completion of rewinding BELOW 1100 Hp Winder motor armature nearing completion

engineering

This critical part of the motor repair process ensures that stator core iron losses are not compromised by exceeding critical core temperatures during the burn-off process and original motor design performance and efficiency levels remain uncompromised. In addition, emissions from the post combustion chamber comply with international environmental standards.

The company invested R1.5 million in the oven, which was installed in 2010.

Although no longer unique to Delba Electrical, it was also the first motor company in South Africa to install its own copper extrusion covering facility to complement its coil shop. “We produce the sectional copper conductors ourselves, cover it with the required insulation and proceed to manufacture the coils on our premises,” Dave

ABOVE Copper extrusion and wire covering department BELOW 3110 Hp GEC Salient pole rotor on completion

notes. These particular applications are facilitated by a young, competent female staff complement.

Delba’s entire staff is about 200 personnel.

Delba’s dedicated departments include: • electrical department (winding shop) • mechanical department (including motor test bay) • machine shop • boiler shop • fan and pump shop • copex department (copper extrusion and wire covering) • coil department • field service department.

Project delivery: motors

PREMIUM ELECTRIC MOTORS

Premium electric growth strategy Not only an electric motors and solutions provider, Zest WEG Group aims to grow its business substantially over the next few years. It is aiming to do so with the latest in premium, optimal energy-efficient motors and related products, CEO, Louis Meiring, and group sales and marketing director, Gary Daines, tell Laura Cornish.

Targeting the African continent – further Having accepted the position as new CEO, following the recent retirement of former CEO and chairman James Blakemore, Meiring says the foundations of the company are solid “and I intend to ensure it continues this way”.

Alongside its major shareholder, Brazilian motor supplier WEG, Zest is aligned to contribute significant growth to the group, Meiring continues.

Zest has distributed WEG products in South Africa for more than three decades and began representing the company in southern African 12 years ago. Following the purchase by WEG of a controlling share in mid-2010, the African market is being targeted for further business opportunities.

“We are now responsible for marketing and distributing WEG’s products across the continent, which is experiencing a resurgence of interest from international investors and project houses.

The Zambian

A Weg permanent magnet motors and Weg CFW11 variable speed drive combination

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Copperbelt and West Africa offer significant growth opportunities for the group, onand we aim to be awarded new contracts in these areas, as well as other areas where project activities are robust,” Meiring says. “We plan on investing a great deal of itime and resources to grow our African market share, which we believe will result in enhanced revenues for the group.” ked in To date, the company has worked mibia, countries including Ghana, Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana and Mozambique, and plans on becoming more active in Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

Energy efficiency – a key electric motor element “Considering electric motors are responsible for about 60% of the world’s energy consumption, mining houses in particular, are calling for maximum efficiency, longevity and sustainability,” says Daines.

In 2010, Zest launched the full W22 range of electric motors in IE1, IE2 and IE3, which today is its largest selling electric motor range.

Sasol has since then

ABOVE A cut out frame showing the permanent magnet on the rotor of the WEG permanent magnet motor

standardised the use of W22 IE3 motors across its entire business.

According to Meiring and Daines, the range has cemented Zest WEG’s position as a premium electric motor supplier in the mining industry.

While this particular product range has come to be recognised as environmentally friendly and longer lasting, it can also reduce the average electric motor bill by about 3%.

“Even though our W22 range of electric motors has set the benchmark, as a group we are always looking to improve our motors further, especially with regards to efficiency,” Daines adds.

“While the efficiency of large electric motors is upwards of 95%, the technology to improve the efficiency of smaller electric motors is advancing. Smaller motors have an average 92% efficiency,” he continues.

WEG has introduced a technology it calls the ‘permanent magnet motor’. By placing permanent magnets on the rotor, there is

Project delivery: motors

no need to ‘excite’ the rotor, meaning heat losses within the motor are reduced. The result is improved efficiencies of around 2 to 4%.

Like any new product and technology introduced into the market, the cost of a permanent magnet motor is above the average price range. However, once clients start to purchase and recognise the product as viable and cost-saving, and manufacturing volume increases, the product will become economical for everyone.

In 2011, WEG invested 2.2% of its total revenue into research and development.

Although Zest has yet to sell any product locally, it is commercially available,

offers 24/7 running times and requires less maintenance. “We are already educating repairers on how to maintain and repair this new motor,” Daines notes.

Accredited repairers are given the necessary information to ensure that motors are repaired correctly according original manufacturing standards. Outside of motors, Meiring says that drives – variable speed drives (VSDs) – are the company’s fastest growing equipment items.

Although VSDs are not a new technology, the industry has accepted the benefits they offer in terms of energy

“The foundations of the company are solid and I intend to ensure it continues this way” Louis Meiring CEO Zest WEG Group

efficiency, especially when coupled with items such as pumps.

Retaining its acquisitive nature Zest has always been acquisitive by nature, says Meiring. A number of the company’s subsidiaries, including EnI, Shaw Controls, Zest Energy and IMS Cape, joined Zest through acquisition, helping diversify the company’s product range and capabilities.

The same can be said for WEG, which in addition to acquiring a majority stake in Zest, recently acquired United Statesbased Electric Machinery.

Founded in 1891, the company custom designs and manufactures motors, generators and brushless exciters. It has an installed base of more than 5 500 units in operation and is technologically advanced in terms of high value add products, such as two-pole turbo generators and slow speed synchronous motors.

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Project delivery: motors

THE MAGIC MOTOR FORMULA

The art of balancing Local rotating electrical equipment repairer, Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C), recently commissioned a new multi-million rand 32 t Schenck HM U/S balancing machine at its 9 500 m² state-of-the-art workshop in Cleveland, near Johannesburg. This is the only machine of its type and capacity in South Africa, and it is the third largest high-speed dynamic balancing machine in sub-Saharan Africa.

M

&C Works executive, Craig Megannon, tells Inside Mining that the decision to make this significant investment was taken to ensure that the company stays abreast of world technology and to improve its offering to local clients.

“A number of local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are already making use of the new machine, which allows us to process more than double the number of rotors balanced in a day, compared to our former capacity,” he says.

“Now, not only can we balance at full operating speeds, but the new machine has also extended our overspeed capability. This enables us to ensure that abnormalities will not occur if the rotor is exposed to overspeed in the field.

“The commissioning of this machine has filled a big gap in our market as it is the first one fully dedicated to use by external customers on a first come, first served basis. This service is also considerably cheaper and faster than what has been available up until now.”

The balancing machine has a measuring range of between 100 and 5 000 rpm and can measure up to 0.5 g/mm.

ABOVE M&C has doubled its resources and capacity in the space of five years LEFT The new 32 t Schenck HM U/S balancing machine now in operation at M&C

M&C marketing and commercial executive, Mike Chamberlain, adds: “The new machine will realise cost savings through improved efficiencies, and eliminate the middle man markup. Inaccurate balancing can cause unnecessary delays if found on final testing. Balancing to a higher accuracy will improve vibration levels, increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs.”

The commissioning of this machine, together with several other improvements,

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Project delivery: motors has doubled the size of the company’s resources and capability in five years and established it as one of the country’s leading repairers of large rotating machines from 9 MW upwards.

Other recent introductions include the company’s new burn-off oven, an 80 t crane, new coil presses that enable large coils to be manufactured, an upgrade to the company’s machine shop, a new vertical boring mill, two CNC lathes and the commissioning of a specialised rotational curing facility for large machines that ensures even distribution of the resins within the windings, resulting in better insulation and better heat distribution.

“M&C has grown and will continue to grow,” Chamberlain says. “We have substantially increased our market share in terms of providing maintenance and repair services for rotating electrical equipment. Owing to the increased volumes of the past few years, we purchased a 12 000 m2 facility in Benoni to supplement our Cleveland operation and we’re already re-

M&C is the largest repairer and manufacturer of medium- and high-voltage electric motors and alternators in Africa furbishing large machines, turbo rotors and power generators at this facility.”

The company has also acquired workshops in Rustenburg and Zambia to ensure faster service for customers. The dedicated rotating machinery repair operation in Zambia has expanded M&C’s African footprint and it will service the growing customer base both in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Chamberlain says the company recognised that it was time to establish a permanent presence in Zambia and made a significant investment into the operation with an upgrade to the existing Kitwe workshop bringing it in line with international standards of design and engineering equipment currently prevalent at all M&C facilities.

M&C is the largest repairer and manufacturer of medium- and high-voltage electric motors and alternators in Africa. The company also manufactures motors under licence for some international OEMs and has more than 300 of its own designs.

The company has its own design room and has invested in critical equipment such as ‘full load’ test bays and crucial testing equipment

that enable the M&C team to manufacture and repair motors with unparalleled results.

Actom acquires Savcio Actom, the largest locally owned manufacturer of electrical equipment in southern Africa, recently acquired Savcio Holdings, which provides maintenance and repair services for rotating electrical equipment and transformers in Africa. It is also M&C’s holding company. The acquisition has effectively broadened Actom’s scope of activities, which comprises a local OEM with aftermarket repair and maintenance capabilities that facilitates total life

ABOVE The burn-off oven at M&C

cycle management and turnkey solutions.

All former Savcio divisions, including M&C, will continue to operate in their existing forms under their own names and with their current management and personnel.

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SHEQ: safety

NEW SAFETY INNOVATION

Fighting fire with water The Akron Brass Severe-Duty electric/hydraulic monitor, now part of fire protection company DoseTech’s ‘Special Risk Fire Protection’ range of firefighting hardware, has been designed for mining washbays and watercart industries, and can withstand continuous operation while mounted on heavy-duty equipment like off-road fire, construction, mining or landfill vehicles.

T

he Severe Duty range can withstand continuous use due to its double-thick wall casting and sealed, non-lubricated polymer bearings,” says Mike Feldon, DoseTech sales director.

“The Severe Duty monitor is excellent for fixed site washdowns on heavy-duty vehicles or fire protection, and operates effectively with poor-quality water in normal everyday mining conditions,” Feldon continues.

Applications include dust suppression, vehicle cleaning, firefighting and general washdowns.

Powerful 12 V or 24 V electric motors with planetary gear drives or direct-drive hydraulic motors are used for smooth movement and control.

Discussing the operational life of the Severe Duty monitors/water cannons, Feldon adds: “The Severe Duty range has a 10-year warranty and has been thoroughly tested in many differing mining applications.”

Through a recent collaboration with Cobra Petro Projects, well-known specialist

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truck builders for the mining industry, an Akron electric joystick-operated Severe Duty water cannon was installed on a Cobra Projects CAT 740 ‘Supa Tanker for mine washdown and dust suppression application in the Northern Cape.

“With a water tank capacity of 30 000 ℓ, the Supa Tanker is truly impressive,” says Corné White, DoseTech national product manager. White adds: “The electric Severe Duty cannon, complete with deluge tip, has a flow rate of 2 900 ℓ/min with an effective reach of 80 m and more. Low on maintenance and ideal for mounting on equipment subject to vibration, the Akron Severe Duty range is a great mining solution.”

Feldon adds: “the Akron Brass product quality is in keeping with the high standards expected by users of fire protection products and Akron is rated top in that industry. We are pleased to be able to bring this top-quality product range to the South African mining industry, having already established a sound reputation for supplying quality products to the local fire protection industry.”

“The inclusion of a foam inductor turns the severe-duty water cannon into a highly effective foam water cannon for fire protection,” says White. “We would recommend a 1% Aqueous filmforming foam concentrate as this offers an effective

Technical specs: • • • •

320 degree rotation 155 degree elevation Fast travel, 20 degrees per second 2½” waterway (65 mm).

Control options: • Joystick control • Toggle switch control • Custom control panel.

Nozzle options: • FireFox™ electric nozzle • Brass AkroFoam 300-750 electric selfeducting with pickup tube and shutoff valve • Brass electric rampage nozzle. fire attack as well as provide extended foam fire fighting time. For example, with 3% concentrate at 2 900 ℓ/min and 1 000 ℓ storage of foam concentrate you will achieve around 11 minutes of attack time, whereas with 1% concentrate this is extended to 34 minutes,” he adds.

DoseTech, in partnership with Akron Brass, Cobra Petro Projects and other partnered manufacturers, offers a quality package of water cannons, fire protection equipment and a selection of mobile trailer options including backup powered booster pumps, foam dosing systems and water monitors, many of which are already installed on fuel tank farms and in mining installations around the country. “We provide quality products backed by quality service,” concludes Feldon.

SHEQ: safety

NEAR HEARING TECHNOLOGY

Escaping the sound booth Saying goodbye to the sound booth is welcome news for the mining sector. When people are tested in remote locations, often the case in the mining industry, sound proof booths can prove inconvenient and expensive to work with. The good news is that a recent study has confirmed a trusted option for testing hearing outside of a sound booth in selected environments.

BY DR. DIRK KOEKEMOER A valid study Hearing testing is usually administered while a person sits in a sound booth wearing headphones connected to an audiometer. A sound booth is required to ensure a sufficiently quiet environment for reliable diagnostic pure tone audiometry. A recent study was designed to investigate the validity of hearing threshold testing, outside of a sound treated booth. To achieve this, an audiometer especially developed for mobile applications, equipped with insert earphones, covered with circum-aural enclosures was used. The audiometer is also equipped with external microphones which monitor noise levels in the environment.

Subjects (elderly and mostly with elevated hearing thresholds) were tested inside the sound treated booth then outside of the booth. The results of the study1 showed that there were no statistically significant differences in threshold values.

Flexibility that saves costs sts and time The use of an audiometer with this technology is still subject to use within the es for testing SABS standards guidelines h. But outside of a sound booth. its noise attenuation, comund parable to that of a sound treated booth, gives the tester more flexibility in n be terms of where testing can ens done. This technology opens

1 Swanepoel D, Maclennan-Smith F, Hall III JW, Koekemoer D (2012). Validity of diagnostic pure tone audiometry without a sound-treated environment.

World Congress of Audiology, Moscow, 29 April to 3 May 2012 (Abstract Accepted)

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up opportunities for doing testing in areas where sound treated booths cannot be accessed and workers do not have to be transported to testing facilities, increasing costs and time away from their jobs.

There is another key feature that this technology introduces, that is, the ability to monitor environmental noise and to further automatically stop testing when the noise exceeds permissible levels for testing, and resume testing when the conditions comply.

This feature increases compliance by removing the burden from the operator of having to be acutely aware of unexpected background noises that may affect the accuracy of testing being conducted outside of the sound booth.

Testing outside of a sound booth is currently allowed under SABS standards once certain guidelines are followed.

Seeing the challenges with sound booths The wide spread access acces to and use of technology as introd introduced above will eventually reduce redu the reliance on sound tre treated booths for compliant te testing in certain environment environments. “During the course of my work, which takes me across South Africa, I have often witnessed testers str struggle with the complian compliant use of sound booth booths when faced w with challenging environments.

Sound booths have been observed with doors left open

due to high temperatures inside. I have seen people reluctant to get in due to the fear of contracting TB germs from previous occupants of the booth. I have sat in booths and heard rain falling or air condition fans competing with the hearing testing. But I have never witnessed sound booths being evaluated for noise levels as stipulated by the SABS standards. And when it comes to remote applications, portable booths are bulky, costly and limited in their compliance levels,” says the author of the study, Dr Dirk Koekemoer.

The stakes are high The thought of access to instruments that increase compliance in hearing testing should be welcome. What is at stake is the hearing of thousands of workers and this is where the focus should be. This technology will not replace the use of all sound booths, but it can and does provide trusted options for remote and difficult testing environments as commonly experienced in the mining sector. This technology has the potential to do what airbags and ABS brakes have done for driving safety. They are not compulsory, but highly desired and could dramatically increase compliance. Audiometers with this technology are available in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

About the Author Dirk Koekemoer is an experienced General Practitioner/Programmer/Innovator/Health Informatics Specialist and Consultant to medical device and software companies. He is extensively involved in the development of medical devices and software tools to automate, speed up, and improve the quality of primary health care examinations in a society with too little health care resources.

Ceterum censeo

To Indaba or to PDAC?

BY WILLEM SMUTS

Well actually that is a silly question. If you have a mining interest in Africa you have to attend Indaba and if you have any interest in any mining, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) convention is a no-miss event.

This year folks clearly took this to heart and both events were rip-roaring feeding frenzies.

Both have been steadily growing over the years, but it seems that is happening faster now. Indaba, however, took a significant step up in size and quality in 2012. At 18 the youngster is kicking the proverbial and taking names!

More than 30 000 people attended the 2012 PDAC convention in Toronto, breaking last

year’s attendance record of 27 714 – Inside Mining was there as well. It is the convention’s 80th year, attracting investors, analysts, mining executives, geologists, prospectors and international government delegations from across the world, as well as more than 1 000 exhibitors at its feature trade show. The convention has injected a massive contribution into the local economy, with more than CAD$72 million (R556.7 million) accounted for from last year’s delegates.

South African mining shafted?

In terms of attraction for mining investment, South Africa has moved up one position from last year in the Canadian-based

JF JORDAAN INCORPORATED reg. no. 1996/009457/21

Koos Jordaan Director Attorneys, Notaries & Conveyancers PO Box 298, Menlyn 0063 • Cell: 082 824 3730 Fax: 086 686 5187 • E-mail: jfj@law.co.za Also PO Box 1716, Potchefstroom 2520

Fraser Institute survey and certain folks in government understandably are very happy with this. However the country slipped from 37 out of 64 in 2006 to 67 out of 79 countries and territories surveyed in 2010/11. The sobering fact is that South Africa still firmly sits near the bottom, only ahead of Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Therefore there is a long and hard climb back to where we were…

The good thing is that it seems the idea of nationalisation has been booted to where it firmly belongs: in the long-drop; let’s hope government doesn’t get hung up on fresh ideas to kill the golden goose, such as punitive taxes designed to kill any commercial activity in the industry.

Casting a little further back, Alec Hogg branded this years’ Davos the best meeting yet for Africa. Rather than begging, the continent’s leaders are now confidently stating Africa’s investment case and the powerful and rich are listening, really closely – how refreshing. A warning note, however, is the forecast of 85 million Chinese jobs relocating to the continent as wage rates

in the East drive the low-cost engine to the world’s last remaining frontier market. No wonder South African Airways launched non-stop flights to Beijing.

Diamond universe central coming to Gaborone Over 200 sightholder representatives will be expected to visit Gaborone every five weeks from diamond centres across the world when the Diamond Trading Company finally relocates its sights from London next year, the Botswanan Director of Mineral Affairs, Nchidzi Mmolawa, told a two-day diamond beneficiation workshop recently in Gaborone. One can only hope that the Botswana government is also chasing up all and sundry to start preparing for this influx.

Even if none of these sightholders decide to set up shop in Gaborone (which I think a good number will want to do), the people flow will put severe strain on hotels and airlines, which already can get rather ‘interesting’ rather quickly in Gaborone. Here’s hoping kid...

In my opinion this move is long overdue, after all is southern Africa not the home of diamonds?

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Africa Mining Congress Atlas Copco Aurecon SA Axis House Barloworld Equipment Barloworld Equipment BASIL READ Bell Equipment Benicon Opencast Mining BME DoseTech Eqstra Construction Equipment Filtaquip

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29 13 10-11 56 17 18 51 47 44-45 63 69 OFC 41

Husqvarna Ingwenya Minerals JF Jordaan Incorporated Joy Global Komatsu Loesche SA MBE Minerals MC PROCESS Medgo Metso Minerals/Aftermarket Division Minerals Beneficiation & Processing MIP Process Technologies Multotec Group

5 2 72 OBC IFC 21 31 37 71 65 27 19 67

Noko Analytical Services

34

Osborn Engineered Products SA

39

Roymec Technologies RSV Enco Sentula Mining

59 IBC 33

SEW EURODRIVE

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The Green House

16

TWP

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Unplugged

43

Vermeer

22

Veyance Technologies SA

53

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