December2013

Vol 9 No 12www.crown.co.za

MODERN MININGIN THIS ISSUE… Komatsu assembles haul trucks at Husab Keaton has robust project pipeline Ivanhoe plans 300 000 t/a copper mine Feature: Pumps and pumping

CONT

ENTS

December 2013

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MODERN MINING

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MINING NEWS6 Mining contractor to participate in Indaba

7 Beacon Hill advances Minas Moatize logistics

8 Sandvik invests in Copperbelt support offices

8 Kaboko/Genet in manganese joint venture

9 Spectacular find by Rockwell Diamonds

10 Water plant earns international recognition

11 Paragon Diamonds issued Botswana licence

12 Lonmin mine wins national safety award

13 Armadale to increase its stake in Mpokoto

13 Namibia Rare Earths reports on Lofdal testwork

14 Tanzanian state miner to acquire Tulawaka

15 Carbonate discovery could enhance Tete project

16 Railway siding to connect to manganese corridor

17 DTI grant will reduce cost of gold project DFS

ARTICLES

Cover

18 Komatsu assembles giant haul trucks at Husab

Coal

20 Keaton to strengthen its Delmas footprint

Copper

24 Phased development proposed for Kamoa

FEATURE – PUMPS AND PUMPING30 FLSmidth makes inroads into Copperbelt market

33 Enthusiastic reception for Mutiflo® pump units

35 Atlas Copco extends WEDA pump range

35 Battlemax® pumps to be rolled out in Zambia

PRODUCT NEWS36 Leapfrog Geo shines at South Deep

36 Shell lining system now available for SAG mills

37 Pilot Crushtec to distribute EDGE Innovate range

38 New telehandlers on the way from Manitou

38 Biometric key solution launched by Booyco

39 Osborn finishes 2013 on a high note

40 Cat General Duty undercarriage introduced

40 Gilbarco AFS offers high-tech fuel management

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MODERNM I N I N G

COVERA Komatsu 960-E haul truck, the largest in the Komatsu range. See page 18 for a story on how a number of these units are being assembled on site at Namibia’s Husab uranium project.

PublisherJenny Warwick

EditorArthur Tassell

Advertising ManagerBennie Venter

Design & LayoutDarryl James

CirculationKaren Pearson

Subscriptions:Wendy CharlesR410 (incl. Vat) per annumPostage extra outside RSA

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The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

Published monthly by:Crown Publications ccP O Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008Tel: (011) 622-4770Fax: (011) 615-6108e-mail: mining@crown.co.za

Average circulation(April–June 2013)

4 337

Deloitte, as it does ev-ery year at around this time (early December),

has just released its review of the top ten is-sues facing the global mining industry. This year’s edition, Tracking the trends 2014, is the sixth in the series and reflects the fact that the last 12 months have been difficult ones for mining, with the optimism associated with the ‘supercyle’ of the early 2000s now just a distant memory, thanks to the global financial crash of 2008.

“Mining companies are no strangers to vola-tility, but this past year delivered a string of se-rious blows,” says Deloitte. It goes on to say that in response to this pummelling mining com-panies are re-committing to cost efficiency in more obvious and vocal ways but adds that this is not enough to master the challenges ahead.

“Shareholder activism is on the rise,” states Deloitte. “Boards are bringing in new manage-ment, with several major companies already seeing CEO transitions. Communities are mounting protests that, in some cases, are re-sulting in project delays and halts. Regulators are enforcing more stringent legislative com-pliance. The industry has even been subject to investigations around price fixing.

“As these changes gain momentum, it’s be-coming clear that they herald nothing less than a seismic shift. To be fair, this is not the first time the mining industry has faced recalibra-tion. It’s just the first time in recent memory, which means few management teams retain the skills to respond effectively. And compa-nies that don’t respond appropriately risk not just their profitability, but their long-term sur-vival as well.”

Deloitte identifies the top trend in mining as the mounting cost of doing business and it il-lustrates this with some pertinent figures, not-ing – for example – that in Australia the cost to build new iron ore capacity rose from US$100 per tonne in 2007 to US$195 per tonne in 2012. It adds that thermal coal miners were hit even harder, with per tonne costs rising from US$61 in 2007 to US$176 in 2012.

Deloitte also notes that mining lower grade – and often deeper deposits – is also having a severe impact on the industry. “Between 2001 and 2012, the weighted average head grade for copper fell by almost 30 %,” it says in the re-view. “Nickel, zinc and gold grades also plum-meted. Some gold projects yield less than one gram per tonne. With 75 % of new base metal discoveries hidden at depths in excess of 300 metres, this practice is pushing up strip ratios – reducing the economic sustainability of mining lower grades. As mining companies work to rectify their cost imbalances, many will need to refocus on return on capital employed (ROCE) by making a business case for produc-ing fewer ounces or tonnes at higher grades.”

According to Deloitte, trend No 2 – which it covers in a section of the review titled Market imbalances wreak commodity price havoc – is

the difficulty of matching supply to demand and it argues that the “legacy of unconstrained project development threatens to push certain commodities, such as iron ore, thermal coal and aluminium, into oversupply.” It does note, however, that the situation is not one of unre-lieved gloom and says that signs of recovery in the US, as well as China’s “relentless” urban-isation, should underpin commodity prices in the medium to longer term.

Moving on to trend No 3, Deloitte says this is the need for companies to innovate – what it re-fers to as the “innovation imperative”. It states that this is about challenging ways of think-ing by revisiting long-standing practices and processes: “For instance, using tunnel boring as an alternative to conventional underground drilling and blasting, AngloGold Ashanti en-visioned a way to mine as little waste material and as much metal as possible. Other compa-nies are rethinking how to move ore around an open pit using hybrid technologies, such as Rail-Veyor, which have the benefits of convey-ors without most of their disadvantages.”

Trend No 4 deals with funding – or, to be precise, the fact that traditional lenders are pulling back from the mining sector – with Deloitte titling this section of its review Debt up, deals down and juniors fight for survival, while trend No 5 is the tapering off of the proj-ect pipeline. On this topic, Deloitte says that to turn the capital project tide, mining companies need to put in place more robust project pro-cesses and better control mechanisms. “They also need to hone their project management performance in areas that frequently lag, such as project scheduling, contractor readiness and project tracking. Until miners improve core competence in these areas, they are bound to face rising investor discontent, capital scarcity and stock market underperformance.”

Space is not going to allow me to deal in any detail with trends 6 to 10 but these are, briefly, the need for mines to engage with communities, the spread of resource nationalism, the issue of corruption, safety (“the need to transition from a culture of zero harm to zero fatalities”) and, finally, the dearth of skills in mining. On this last point, Deloitte – relying on figures from Canada’s Mining Industry Human Resources Council – says that approximately 40 % of the workforce in the resource extraction industry is at least 50 years old with one third expected to retire by 2022. Of course, many mining or-ganisations are currently laying off employees and this will only exacerbate the crisis. As De-loitte says, “A massive exodus today threatens to push up costs in the future as companies scramble to rehire lost talent that is already be-ing absorbed into different sectors.”

Tracking the trends 2014 is an excellent read, if a slightly troubling one. It’s short – only 40 pages – and well worth a look. It can be accessed on Deloitte’s website, whose ad-dress is www.deloitte.com. Arthur Tassell

GLOBAL MINING INDUSTRY FACES A SEISMIC SHIFT

mining news

6 12.13

Murray & Roberts Cementation believes that a company’s success is not built solely on the projects it undertakes, but similarly on its participation in industry events. The company is repeating its attendance at the upcoming Mining Indaba, reputed to be the world’s largest gathering of mining’s most influential stakeholders and decision-makers vested in African mining.

“We recognise that Mining Indaba is Af-rica’s premier mining event. We have been involved with the event for many years and have derived a great deal of value from our participation,” says Allan Widlake, Murray & Roberts Cementation’s Business Develop-ment Executive.

Widlake adds that one of the basic tenets on which Murray & Roberts Cementation bas-es its decision to have a presence at the event is the incredible exposure the conference pro-vides. “If you consider that Mining Indaba is an event at which all mining houses are rep-resented, it is clear that this presents compa-nies with the perfect opportunity to interact with the major decision makers in industry.

Leading mining contractor to participate in Mining Indaba

“The representatives who attend the event not only provide us with valuable information on imminent and future investments, but we are also exposed to investors and commod-ity advisors. The chance to interact with them further provides us with access to forecasts concerning the conditions likely to prevail in the industry in the coming year,” Widlake continues.

“As a service provider to the industry rather than an equipment or consumable supplier, Murray & Roberts Cementation gains maxi-mum benefit from the Mining Indaba through the key analysis of current and future trends. The information and intellectual knowledge that is shared at such an industry event is in-valuable to us in our forward planning.”

While the company will present its standard offerings to the market, it will also utilise the event as a launch pad for its representation in the oil and gas construction services market. “This means that all four Murray & Roberts platforms will be showcased: Construction Australasia Oil & Gas and Minerals; Engineer-ing Africa; Construction Africa and the Middle

East; and Construction Global Mining,” Wid-lake points out.

Construction Australasia Oil & Gas and Minerals consists of the Murray & Roberts Group’s direct investment in Clough Limited, an integrated engineering, procurement and construction contractor focused on oil and gas in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Widlake believes that through this compre-hensive basket of offerings, Murray & Roberts will be able to demonstrate its ability to mo-bilise suitable divisions or companies within the Group to execute unique projects within the diversified sectors. “Dealing with one rep-utable group of companies that can handle all eventualities within large projects is a desire often voiced by major companies. Through our collaborative Group efforts we are able to provide clients with a focused, yet extremely comprehensive service, across mining infra-structure, building and civils, as well as the energy sector.”

While Murray & Roberts Cementation will continue to grow its South African footprint, the company has also made substantial in-vestments into the African continent. “We see growth into sub-Saharan Africa as critical to our sustainability, which is a major reason for our ongoing attendance at Mining Indaba. One example of our confidence in the African mining sector is the opening of a permanent Murray & Roberts operating base in Kitwe, Zambia, late in 2013,” Widlake says.

Murray & Roberts Cementation has worked on several major projects in Zambia, includ-ing its current shaft sinking and equipping contract for the Synclinorium Shaft for Mo-pani Copper Mines (MCM). More recently the company secured a contract to sink a man/material and rock hoisting shaft at MCM’s Mufulira mine.

Work underway on Murray & Roberts Cementation’s contract at Lubambe copper mine on the Zambian Copperbelt.

ASX-listed Blackthorn Resources, which has as-sets in Zambia and a share in the Perkoa zinc project in Burkina Faso, has announced that Mark Mitchell has agreed to join Blackthorn Resources as its Chief Executive Officer. His appointment will be effective from 1 January 2014.

Mitchell has extensive business experience in the mining industry, having held senior operational and general management roles with Perseverance Cor-poration, MPI Mines/Leviathan Resources, Lihir Gold Co and, more recently, Newcrest Mining Limited.

He brings operational and corporate experience in a variety of fields including management respon-sibility for the construction, development and oper-ation of mine site activities and services in Austra-lia and challenging overseas environments, longer term strategic planning, management of social and community engagement programmes and leader-ship development. He holds a Bachelor of Engineer-ing (Chemical Engineering) from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

New CEO for Blackthorn Resources

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mining news

Beacon Hill Resources, the AIM- and ASX-listed coal producer, has provided an update on rail logistics at its flagship asset, the Minas Moatize coal mine in Tete, Mozambique.

The company reports the arrival of the maiden test train to trial the Tete coal loading facility and the imminent completion of five new 2 240 kW diesel locomotives at RRL-Grindrod’s workshop. It also says 90 Transnet Engineering rail wagons are expected to ar-rive by the end of January 2014 in the port of Beira, Mozambique.

“We are very pleased with the strong prog-ress made towards final commissioning of our rail logistics solution in Tete and look forward to the positive cost implications in-curred following completion,” said Rowan Karstel, CEO of Beacon Hill. “Our current fo-cus for Minas Moatize is to build the mine to become a Tier 1 coking coal asset and this will represent an important milestone towards this goal. We look forward to updating the market regarding both our logistics and wash plant upgrades in the coming months.”

Mac van der Merwe, Rail Operations Man-ager, commented: “The first test train has

Minova adopts the Orica identity

Beacon Hill advances Minas Moatize logisticsnow arrived into the newly built Tete siding to undertake a test loading of coal. The locomo-tives hauled 42 rail wagons and loaded 2 600 tonnes of coal under test conditions. This trial exercise was carried out in conjunction with our JV partner JPSL. This commissioning is a major milestone for the company whilst we wait for first delivery of our own rolling stock … . Beacon Hill’s train drivers are now fully accredited to operate in Mozambique and are on the ground and ready to begin our logistics operations for the company and third parties.”

Work on the Tete coal handling facility is continuing with the aim of having it operational by the end of the first quarter of 2014. The fa-cility has been under development during 2013 and covers a total stockpile area of 7 hectares for a capital expenditure of approximately US$6 million. It has two rail lines and dedicat-ed stockpile areas for Beacon Hill and JPSL.

Beacon Hill also reports that all permitting requirements for its Beira off-loading facility (Warehouse No 4) are in place and that it ex-pects to start construction shortly. The facility will receive the coal from the Minas Moatize mine.

Coal handling at the Minas Moatize coal mine near Tete (photo: Beacon Hill).

Minova South Africa, well known for its ex-tensive and well regarded range of ground support products, is in the process of re-branding. Part of the ASX-listed Orica Group since 2007, Minova will in future be known as Orica (legally as Orica Mining Services South Africa Pty Ltd). It will continue to offer the same range of ground support products and services but will trade with the Orica name, a process which will be implemented over the next few months.

The company says it is well advanced in the process of integrating its ground support business into a single Orica structure. Apart from its ground support systems, Orica will also be offering an extensive range of prod-

ucts and services associated with the Orica name globally, including explosives, blasting systems and mining chemicals.

Orica is a leader in the explosives field with its offering including bulk explosives systems, packaged explosives, initiating sys-tems, electronic blasting systems and blast-ing services. It is also a leading supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction and spe-ciality chemicals such as frothers and collec-tors for mineral processing.

It is determined to ensure customers will benefit from Orica’s wealth of engineering and technology resources, its advanced R&D facilities and its extensive manufacturing and distribution network.

mining news

8 12.13

Zambia’s ambition to become the mining capital of Central Africa has received a signif-icant boost with a multi-million dollar invest-ment in new state-of-the-art support offices in Kitwe from global mining and construction giant Sandvik.

According to the MD of Sandvik Mining and Construction Zambia Limited, Jacques Britz, Sandvik plays a critical role in the de-velopment of the mining industry in Zambia. Its ability to support large-scale mining op-erations with customised solutions (including complete turnkey systems) means that inter-national mining organisations can set up op-erations seamlessly with world-class equip-ment supplied by the company.

“Growth in the Zambian and Central Afri-

Sandvik invests in Copperbelt support offices

can mining sector has exploded in recent years and the expansion of existing mines, as well as the establishment of a number of new mines, necessitates the move to modern, more efficient facilities,” Britz says.

The new premises will serve as an admin-istrative head office for Sandvik Mining and Construction Zambia Limited with high-tech support facilities and fully-fledged fabrication workshops. The centralisation of services will also improve logistics and the company will be in a stronger position to communicate with customers regarding progress on orders and maintenance.

“We will be in a position to effectively pro-vide full pre-sales and after sales service of all Sandvik equipment throughout Central

A visualisation of Sandvik Mining and Construction Zambia Limited’s new state-of-the-art offices in Kitwe on the Zambian Copperbelt.

Africa. Technically, our new workshops will have the latest equipment and tooling with facilities for machine rebuilds, component repairs, component test facilities, machining and a lot more.”

Sandvik’s commitment also extends to its people and developing the skills of workers within the industry. As a result, modern train-ing facilities with appropriate tooling will be put in place to develop technicians and other technical staff. In addition, staff and commu-nity wellness programmes will ensure every-one benefits.

Initiatives such as wellness programmes, assistance with establishing services in sur-rounding areas, life skills training and entre-preneurial training (for family members of staff) are the cornerstones of the company’s sustainability programme.

In keeping with the Sandvik Group’s inter-national commitment towards sustainability, the new premises will also make use of envi-ronmentally friendly building techniques in its construction. A number of other green tech-nologies, such as rainwater harvesting and solar energy, will also be incorporated to limit its impact on the environment.

“This is a landmark achievement for both Sandvik and for the country. We are confi-dent that our investment will improve our reach in the territory and will open doors for new investment opportunities in the region. It will also enable our customers to have ac-cess to world-class products and services on their own doorsteps,” says Rob McMas-ter, head of Sandvik surface operations in Central Africa.

Additionally Sandvik expanded its footprint in the country this year with the establish-ment of a branch in Solwezi, the capital of North Western province.

Implats has announced the appointment of Nelson Ndlala as the new Executive Head: Rustenburg Op-erations with immediate effect. He will report directly to Terence Goodlace, the Chief Executive Officer, and will take responsibility for leading the company’s Rustenburg operation. He will serve as a member of the Executive Committee as well as represent the company on a number of its operational boards.

Ndlala is a registered professional mining en-gineer with extensive gold and platinum mining experience. He joined the company in 2005 as a Senior Mine Manager and soon advanced to lead many of the Rustenburg shaft complexes as Gen-

eral Manager. During his tenure with the company, he has also served as the Head of Technical Ser-vices leading the company’s engineering, planning, ventilation, rock engineering, training, safety and risk initiatives at the Rustenburg operation.

In addition to his engineering degree, Ndlala also has a Masters of Business Leadership (MBL) degree from the University of South Africa and has recently completed an Executive Development Pro-gramme at the Harvard Business School in Boston, USA. He is a long serving member of the Associa-tion of Mine Managers of South Africa and cur-rently serves as the President of the Association.

Senior appointment by Implats

ASX-listed Kaboko Mining has secured the rights to a joint venture arrangement with Genet South Africa in respect of the Karee-pan manganese project in the Northern Cape.

The project is located in the Postmasburg Manganese Field, which was discovered in 1922 and was mined predominantly by Ass-

mang and Billiton from 1960 until the early 1980s. Production ceased due to the dis-covery of the higher grade (+44 % Mn) Kala-hari Manganese Field. Increased demand for medium grade manganese ore (34-44 % Mn) over the past five years has led to renewed exploration activity in the Postmasburg Man-

ganese Field with several companies either commencing production or reviewing project potential. Neighbouring farms are mined by Assmang and Mittal.

Historically, small scale mining has been undertaken in the project area and there are four old mining pits and extensive old tailings dumps.

As part of the proposed joint venture terms, Genet South Africa will be responsible for mining exploration, development, operations and infrastructure on a cost recovery basis for an estimated initial US$3 million with prof-its after that being split equally (50:50). The joint venture partners have agreed an initial budget of US$3 million, which includes a min-ing exploration drilling programme and mine plan, infrastructure, jig and screen crush-ing unit, rail guarantee and working capital. Kaboko will be responsible for the marketing and sale of product on behalf of the joint ven-ture as well as logistical support.

Genet South Africa (Pty) Ltd is the South African arm of Gecko Africa (Pty) Ltd and is a mining and minerals processing company that operates across the Southern African sub-region.

Kaboko/Genet in manganese joint venture

mining news

912.13

Rockwell Diamonds Inc, listed on the TSX and JSE, has recovered a 287-carat diamond from its operations in the Middle Orange River (MOR) region which is of commercial colour (tinted white) and makeable in shape.

The diamond will be sold into the benefici-ation joint venture with Steinmetz Diamonds at market value with Rockwell participating equally in the value uplift once it has been polished and sold.

Commenting on the recovery of this large stone, James Campbell, CEO and President, said: “This 287-carat diamond is only the second rough diamond exceeding 200 carats produced by Rockwell in its eight-year history and is one of the largest stones produced in the Middle Orange in recent times. The stone was recovered from the Saxendrift Extension property acquired in March 2012 and follows

Spectacular find by Rockwell Diamonds

James Campbell pictured with the 287-carat stone recovered at Saxendrift Extension.

the recovery of four plus 100-carat diamonds in September 2013.

“These results show that our plants are correctly geared for the recovery of large dia-monds that characterise the Middle Orange River region. This is also a strong validation of our strategy to grow our alluvial produc-tion volumes to 500 000 m3 per month in order to produce large stones more regularly and improve Rockwell’s quarterly earnings per-formance.

“At our other operations, the Saxendrift Hill Complex Bulk X-ray operation is performing well with solid results. At Niewejaarskraal, ramp up operations are ongoing, with the implementation of an in-field screen. We are on track to commission a Bulk X-ray system early in 2014, which was procured on a rental basis.”

Shaw River plans to by-pass pre-feasibility studyAustralian company Shaw River Manganese reports that it will commence blasthole drill-ing and sampling at its 84 %-owned Otjozon-du (Otjo) manganese project in Namibia.

The drilling is the forerunner of a broader plan aimed at by-passing the need to com-plete a more costly pre-feasibility study, whilst building confidence in key operational assumptions such as manganese grade, geo-logical continuity, and metallurgical yield.

The drilling programme of 300 holes for 1  650 m aims to identify an early start-up, near surface, open pittable inventory for early production. These drilling results will factor into a start-up production plan and form the basis of a start-up inventory for mining and subsequent processing.

The areas chosen include the Labusrus deposit, which contains high grades, which is located on a granted mining lease with all

approvals in place and within 500 to 1 000 m of an envisaged plant site.

Labusrus has a mineral resource, reported in accordance with JORC 2004, of 800 kt of indicated mineral resource at 23,3 % Mn and 800 kt of inferred mineral resource at 21,8 % Mn for a total of 1,6 Mt at 22,6 % Mn, at a cut-off grade of 15 % Mn. Follow up sur-face sampling indicates potential for ‘at sur-face’ mineralisation.

mining news

10 12.13

Anglo American’s flagship eMalahleni Water Reclamation Plant has garnered further in-ternational recognition, this time in the World Coal Association’s Leadership and Excel-lence Awards presented at the International Coal and Climate Summit in Warsaw on 18 November.

The awards acknowledge outstanding achievement and innovation in the interna-tional coal industry and its value chain.

Mine development expert joins Energizer

Water reclamation plant earns international recognition

Anglo American’s flagship eMalahleni Water Reclamation Plant.

The plant, situated in the Witbank coal-fields, won the category for Excellence in En-vironmental Practice for projects that deliver outstanding contributions in reducing the en-vironmental footprint of coal.

“The eMalahleni Water Reclamation Plant is a shining example of how an environmen-tal liability – mine water – can be transformed into an asset with extensive benefits for the local community, the environment and our

own operations,” says Godfrey Gomwe, CEO of Anglo American’s thermal coal business.

Since it was first commissioned in 2007, the facility has treated in excess of 49 billion litres of contaminated underground mine wa-ter to pristine quality, 34 billion litres of which have been supplied to the critically water-stressed eMalahleni Local Municipality.

“This partnership demonstrates what can be achieved when government and the pri-vate sector work together,” notes Gomwe.

The plant currently has the capacity to treat a daily 30 million litres of water to potable quality, the bulk of which is piped directly to the eMalahleni Local Municipality‘s reser-voirs. The rest is sent to other Anglo Ameri-can operations, which are now self-sufficient in terms of their water requirements.

The expansion of the plant is set for com-pletion during the first quarter of 2014 and will increase its current treatment capacity to 50 Mℓ/day, peaking at 60 Mℓ/day. Negotia-tions with the municipality are currently un-derway for the provision of additional water from this increased capacity.

“eMalahleni has been identified as a growth node for the region, and we are strategically positioned to provide the area with access to a clean and reliable source of water. Water is directly related to growth and development and without it neither industry nor communi-ties can grow,” says the company’s head of safety and sustainable development, Philip Fourie.

The plant was the only mining initiative to be endorsed by the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change at COP17.

TSX-listed Energizer Resources Inc has ap-pointed Robin Borley as Senior Vice-Pres-ident – Mine Development and he also be-comes a director of the company, effective December 1, 2013.

“On behalf of the board, I am delighted to welcome Robin to the board of directors,” says Peter Harder, Energizer’s Chairman. “Robin’s many years of experience in mine development will add to our strategic focus in bringing the mine into production.

“We look forward to getting Robin ‘on board’ and together our team will work dili-gently to advance the Molo project in 2014 and deliver on our promises to shareholders.”

Adds Richard Schler, CEO: “We are ex-tremely pleased that Robin has chosen to join our Energizer team as it significantly strengthens our company, not only from a mine engineering and technical perspective but also from the management side of the business.

“Having Robin involved from the ‘ground floor’ of the BFS and mine development pro-

cess will ensure that we complete the mine build on time and on budget. His experience will be invaluable as we strive to achieve our stated goal of designing and building an op-erational mine by 2016 with the overriding ob-jective of being a low cost producer of graph-ite concentrate products.”

Borley’s role will be to oversee all matters related to the development of Energizer’s flagship Molo graphite project in Madagascar as it moves toward mine construction and production.

His duties will include oversight of the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) and of DRA Mineral Projects, which has been re-tained as the EPCM contractor. He will also be involved in overseeing the initial years of operation which will be contracted to DRA Mineral Projects through its wholly owned Minopex Division.

Borley most recently served as MD of DRA Mineral Projects and was also instrumental – as the COO of Red Island Minerals – in devel-oping a Madagascar coal venture.

mining news

1112.13

Mark Wragg (left), Branch Manager of Bearing Man’s Isando branch, and Arthur Gray (right), Branch Manager of Bearing Man’s Richards Bay branch, are congratulated by Bell Equipment Group Chief Executive Gary Bell on being awarded the Supplier of the Year award at a gala function at Gallagher Estate. At the event Bell spoke of the relatively good shape Bell Equipment is in now and thanked the suppliers for their part in the success-ful roll-out of the E-series ADTs, highlighting how the full supply chain contributes to the satisfaction of Bell customers.

Bearing Man is Supplier of the Year for Bell

AIM-listed Paragon Diamonds says its whol-ly-owned Motswana subsidiary, Kopje (Pty) Ltd, has been issued with Prospecting Li-cence 203/2013 for precious stones which covers an area of 442 km2 in the Kgalagadi District of southern Botswana, centred 20 km north of the town of Tsabong.

The licence area is on the northern flank of the Tsabong Kimberlite Field, with the clos-est kimberlite pipe approximately 8 km south of the licence. Recently Pangolin Diamonds announced the discovery of new kimberlites which extend the known field to the north-west. Although the diamond potential of these new kimberlites is to be tested, it is evi-dent that at least one of the bodies found is very large, perhaps greater than 200 ha.

The Tsabong Kimberlite Field is remark-able in that it includes many large diatremes, including M1, which at 180 ha is one of the largest kimberlite bodies in the world. The field includes upwards of 60 known kimber-lite bodies. The tectonic setting of the Tsab-ong kimberlites is the same as for the Orapa Field, which hosts several major kimberlite mines.

Historical work in the early 1990s on the western portion of the new Kopje licence area (the ‘T2’ area) recovered kimberlite indi-cator minerals including G9 and G10 garnets, ilmenites, and also a 0,5 mm diamond. This work was completed at a very broad recon-

naissance level, and Paragon believes there is considerable scope to follow up these re-sults. In addition, aeromagnetic surveying has identified 10 targets that have not yet been drilled.

Work will commence with a thorough re-view of historical results and existing data, including extensive geophysical and mineral-ogical results on open file with the Geological Survey of Botswana.

“The award of this licence will complement our holdings of historical kimberlite discov-eries,” says Paragon’s Executive Chairman, Martin Doyle. “I am very familiar with this area and the era of work, having been part

of the team that discovered the Lekgudu kimberlites to the south-west in the 1970s. The recovery of a diamond in widely spaced soil sampling, less than 5 km from undrilled magnetic anomalies and on the margin of the extensive Tsabong Kimberlite Field is highly significant. Securing this licence is a continuation of Paragon Diamonds’ strategy of applying modern-day sampling protocols to historical discoveries to correctly assess grade and diamond values, a strategy we continue to focus on in Lesotho at our flag-ship Lemphane Kimberlite, at the Kaplamp Lamproite Field in Zambia and now at Tsab-ong in Botswana.”

Paragon Diamonds issued Botswana prospecting licence

mining news

12 12.13

Rail and port access for iron ore project confirmed

The highly-coveted and internationally recog-nised John T. Ryan Safety Trophy has been awarded to Lonmin 1B4B platinum mine, which was selected as the national winner in all safety categories at the 2013 MineSAFE conference in Johannesburg in October.

The John T. Ryan Safety Trophy is named after the original founder of MSA, a company which is today a global leader in the devel-opment, manufacture and supply of sophis-ticated products that protect people’s health

Lonmin mine wins national safety award

The Lonmin team with the John T. Ryan Safety Trophy.

and safety. MSA is also the official sponsor of the trophy, which was first introduced to the Canadian mining sector in 1941, before ex-panding globally to include Chile (1996), Peru (1999), Colombia (2011), South Africa (2011), Argentina (2012) and Brazil (2012).

MineSAFE is designed to bring South Afri-can mines to ‘zero-harm’ status. The confer-ence is hosted by the Southern African Insti-tute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), the Association of Mine Managers of South Af-

rica (AMMSA) and the South African Colliery Managers’ Association (SACMA). All parties involved in safety on the mines participate in an endeavour to bring about meaningful change to the industry. Impartial judges at the 2013 conference presented safety awards in five categories.

In addition to being named as the national winner of all categories, Lonmin’s 1B4B mine was also named as the national winner of the platinum mining category. The national win-ner of the gold mining category was Kloof Mining Unit 4 (Ikamva Shaft), while the nation-al winner of the collieries category was the New Vaal colliery. Finally, the national winner of the diamondiferous, base metal and open-cast (other mines) category was Leeuwpan opencast mine.

John Thomas Ryan was involved in safety and rescue programmes in the US coal min-ing industry in the early 1900s. In one year, there were 1 000 recorded fatalities within a 100 mile radius of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – which equated to approximately six deaths for every one million tons of coal. Open flame underground lamps were considered a major contributor to this shocking statistic.

As a result, Ryan founded Mine Safety Appliances in 1914 and worked closely with world-renowned inventor Thomas Edison to create the electric cap lamp which, over the next 25 years, reduced mine explosions by an astounding 75 per cent. Having expanded the company globally, Ryan died in 1941, leading to the birth of his namesake trophy that continues to promote worker safety to this day.

ASX-listed Equatorial Resources has re-ceived formal notification from the Republic of Congo (ROC) government confirming the company’s existing access agreements and the commercial framework for use of the state-owned railway and port infrastructure for its Mayoko-Moussondji project.

The government has confirmed that the high quality iron ore planned to be produced from Mayoko-Moussondji will be exported using the existing railway and the port at Pointe-Noire. The railway and the port will re-main state-owned infrastructure and will con-tinue to be made available to multiple users.

“One of Mayoko-Moussondji’s key ad-vantages is the project’s access to existing railway and port facilities,” comments Equa-

torial’s MD and CEO, John Welborn. “The government has consistently advised Equa-torial that these state-owned infrastructure assets will be made available on a multi-user basis and that commercial terms will be con-sistently applied among companies within the mining sector. The government are fully aware of our staged development plan and the Transport Minister has confirmed that ca-pacity will be allocated to Equatorial to en-able the scale up to 2 Mt/a. The strong sup-port of the government for the company’s plans and the mining sector is very pleasing.”

Equatorial’s recently completed Scoping Study investigated the potential to com-mence initial operations at Mayoko-Mous-sondji by utilising the existing railway line and

exporting product through the port of Pointe-Noire. The Scoping Study also explored op-portunities for synergy and efficiency through potential cooperation with Exxaro Resourc-es. Exxaro is developing the neighbouring Mayoko-Lekoumou project and has a similar staged approach to production.

A mining licence application for Mayoko-Moussondji is currently being prepared and is expected to be lodged with the government before the end of 2013.

Mayoko-Moussondji is located in the south-west region of the ROC. Equatorial Re-sources recently announced a substantial up-grade to the mineral resource estimate (MRE) of the project. The indicated and inferred haematite resource has increased by 78 % to 182 Mt at 35,7 % Fe with the indicated por-tion more than doubling to 55 Mt at 39,3 % Fe. The majority of the increased haema-tite resource is represented by near surface colluvial haematite which is expected to be simple to mine and has been demonstrated to easily upgrade to Mayoko Premium Fines product of 64,1 % Fe.

The total MRE for Mayoko-Moussondji, incorporating both haematite and magne-tite resources, has increase to 917 Mt at 31,4 % Fe.

Aureus Mining Inc, listed on the TSX and AIM, has announced that DRA Mineral Projects has been awarded a contract to provide EPCM services in relation to the design and construction of the New Liberty gold project. New Liberty is located within the company’s 100 % owned Bea Mountain mining licence in Liberia. First gold production from the

mine is due in the first quarter of 2015.DRA has assisted Aureus with the evaluation of

New Liberty for the past three years, having been involved with the Preliminary Economic Assess-ment (PEA), the Feasibility Study (FS), the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and the Front End Engineer-ing Design (FEED) work.

DRA appointed EPCM contractor on New Liberty

mining news

1312.13

TSX-listed Namibia Rare Earths Inc reports that it has received additional results from on-going metallurgical testwork on the Area 4 heavy rare earth deposit located on it Lofdal permit in north-western Namibia.

Significant improvements in grade and recoveries have been achieved on the high grade sample and the flow sheet is now be-ing directed towards optimising grades and recoveries of the low grade sample. Signifi-cant improvements are also reported from XRT sorting calibration tests carried out by Tomra Sorting Solutions which confirm the potential for a 50 % mass reduction with consistent high recoveries (85-90 %) of the rare earths.

The corporate objective remains to pro-duce a mineral concentrate of sufficient grade and quality and to then bring in a quali-fied technical partner to assist in downstream processing (cracking and separation).

“Magnetic separation has clearly proven the most effective primary beneficiation tech-nique for Lofdal,” comments Don Burton, President of Namibia Rare Earths. “Recover-ies on the high grade sample have increased significantly from 65-78 % to 82-90 % with optimisation (scavenging) of magnetic sepa-ration in this first stage. In order to significant-ly boost the grade, we have now determined that scavenging, coupled with a simple acid leach, can effectively double the grades and

Armadale, the AIM-quoted investment com-pany focused on natural resource projects in Africa, has entered into agreements to ac-quire the remaining Netcom Global Inc share capital not already held by Armadale, thereby gaining the right to an 80 % interest in the Mpokoto gold project in Katanga Province in the south of the DRC.

Comments Peter Marks, Chairman of Ar-madale: “Mpokoto is a highly prospective, low capex, low cost gold project. With an estimated resource of 380 000 oz Au from 7,2 Mt at 1,65 g/t gold at a cut-off grade of 0,5 g/t Au and a potential exploration target of 20-24 Mt at 1,5-1,8 g/t Au, Mpokoto rep-resents a compelling investment opportunity.

“As a result, we are delighted to announce that we have agreed to acquire the remain-ing issued share capital of Netcom, taking our interest to 100 %. Furthermore, in order to un-lock the inherent value potential of Mpokoto, we have a defined development strategy in place, which is targeting commercial gold production within 24 months.”

Mpokoto is a well explored project with multiple targets. Previous owners – including Cluff Gold, Gold Fields and Casa Mining – collectively invested in excess of US$20 mil-lion in the project.

Netcom is currently working on completing studies to enable it to apply for a mining ex-ploitation licence over the project. It is antici-

Armadale to increase its stake in Mpokoto

Location of Armadale’s Mpokoto gold project.

pated that these studies will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2014, allowing the application to be made.

Importantly, Mpokoto is amenable to low cost heap leach operations. Metallurgical test work conducted by previous operators established gold recovery rates of over 85 % from oxide mineralisation and over 65 % from transitional material.

Mpokoto is located in the western part of Katanga, approximately 250 km west of Kol-wezi and 25 km from the Zambian border.

The site is located close to a national high-way and the railway from the Atlantic port of Lobito in Angola to the Congolese border at Luao/Dilolo, which has recently been recon-structed by a Chinese consortium. Recon-struction of the line between the Angolan border and Kolwezi is planned for the next two years.

Namibia Rare Earths reports on Lofdal testworkwe have the first data from the sorted product now showing close to 20 % TREO compared to 10 % TREO in April.

“Mintek is completing the acid leach tests on the high grade sample. We have also en-gaged Nagrom laboratories from Australia to assist in flow sheet development. Nagrom has extensive experience with processing of xenotime from Browns Range (Wolverine deposit) and in particular with flotation. Both Mintek and Nagrom are advancing the flow sheet for the low grade sample. Initial grades and recoveries require further optimisation in the same manner as was achieved for the high grade sample.

“It is clearly important that we deliver the

highest possible grades to the mill which highlights the importance of the on-going XRT sorting tests being carried out at Tomra test facilities in Germany,” he continues. “Sort-ing recoveries reported in April were 79 % on the high grade and 48 % on the low grade. Calibration tests carried out in October have achieved indicative recoveries of 82-90  % consistently in about 50 % of the mass.

“The five additional metallurgical drill holes (700 m HQ core drilling) have not only provided over 2 200 kg of material for sorting and further metallurgical testwork, but have also again confirmed the integrity of the geo-logical resource model in terms of grade and geometry.”

LSE-listed Shaft Sinkers Holdings reports it has been awarded additional work by Lonmin on its existing Karee 3 UG2 project in Mari-kana, near Rustenburg.

The work at Karee 3 UG2 project consists of two separate contracts covering the extension of the UG2 decline and the ongoing operation and maintenance of the decline shaft. The ad-ditional work, which commences immediately, is scheduled to be completed in October 2015 and has a total value of £11,4 million.

The Karee 3 UG2 contract, valued at

Shaft Sinkers secures two Lonmin contracts£8,6  million, relates to the development and associated civil and other work for the exten-sion of the Karee 3 UG2 decline from 25 level to 26 level including all associated bulk infra-structure. The extension of the UG2 decline will enable Lonmin to access further ore re-serves to 900 m below the surface, helping to maintain production levels at Karee 3. The UG2 contract is on an agreed target cost basis.

The mine shaft contract, valued at £2,8 mil-lion, is a cost-plus contract to maintain and equip the shaft.

mining news

14 12.13

ASX-listed Kaboko Mining reports that explo-ration drilling at the Mansa, Northern Zambian manganese project has been completed. The initial plan of 60 m deep holes was expanded with four additional holes to a depth of 200 m. The samples are currently with the laboratory for assaying and, once results are available, the company’s independent contractor, Minx-con, will complete its report on the project, which includes establishing a maiden JORC-compliant resource statement. Visual results to date indicate significant intersections which, upon confirmation of latest results, go a long way towards establishing a minimum 10-year mine plan.

Production at Mansa is currently at ap-proximately 5 000 tonnes per month, with the company now having 10 000 tonnes of stock-piled ore and an additional 30 000 tonnes of detrital over-burden to be processed. The mobile crushing plant has now reached the mine and construction of the stationary plant will commence the moment geologists have cleared the development area. This area had to be moved as it potentially would have lim-ited the pit expansion.

Firestone Diamonds, the AIM-quoted dia-mond development company, has announced that Absa Bank Limited, acting through its Corporate and Investment Banking division, has received approval from its credit commit-tee to provide a project debt finance facility of up to US$82,4 million to Liqhobong Min-ing Development Company (LMDC). Owned 75 % by Firestone and 25 % by the Govern-ment of Lesotho, LMDC owns 100 % of the Liqhobong diamond mine, located in the Le-sotho Highlands.

As Firestone announced on 5 November 2013, the initial infrastructure and capital costs for the project are estimated to be ap-proximately US$185,4 million and the facil-ity will support the development of the main treatment plant (MTP) at Liqhobong. The fa-

African Barrick Gold (ABG) has reached an agreement with STAMICO, the Tanzanian State Mining Corporation, whereby STAMICO will acquire the Tulawaka gold mine and cer-tain exploration licences surrounding Tulawa-ka for a consideration of US$4,5 million and the grant of a 2 % net smelter royalty on fu-ture production in excess of 500 000 ounces, capped at US$500 000.

As part of the agreement, STAMICO will take ownership and management of the rehabilita-

Tanzanian state miner to acquire Tulawaka gold mine

Tulawaka showing the portal to the underground mine. Tulawaka ceased production in the first half of 2013 (photo: ABG).

tion fund established as part of the closure plan for the mine, in return for the assumption of all remaining past and future closure and rehabilitation liabilities for Tulawaka, and will indemnify the other parties to the agreement in relation to these liabilities. This will result in a cash payment by ABG to STAMICO of the balance of the rehabilitation fund, which currently stands at US$17,6 million, less the transaction consideration on completion.

Tulawaka is located in north-west Tanzania

in Biharamulo district of the Kagera region. The original discovery of the Tulawaka deposit was in 1998 with Barrick acquiring the project as part of its acquisition of Pangea Goldfields Inc in 2000. ABG assumed ownership of the mine in 2010. The mine operated from 2005 through to H1 2013, initially as an open-pit operation and later as an underground mine. Over that time the mine reportedly produced nearly 1 Moz of gold, nearly double the origi-nal feasibility study estimates.

Drilling completed at Mansa in ZambiaKaboko has also been working with the

Zambian government to improve logistics from the mine site to the port of Dar es Sa-laam in Tanzania. It is anticipated that logis-

tics will improve and exports continue during the on-coming wet season with the imple-mentation of a new export strategy. The com-pany will develop its already owned siding near Serenje to allow for more service provid-ers to be utilised.

Absa Bank to provide Liqhobong debt facilitycility will have a total term of 6,5 years, with an 18-month draw down period for construc-tion and with the repayment of capital occur-ring in the final 4,5 years of the loan term.

Stuart Brown, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Firestone, said: “Receipt of Absa Committee approval to provide LMDC with the facility for the development of the MTP at Liqhobong is a major step forward on our journey. In addition, it marks an independent endorsement of Firestone and our project, in what we believe has been one of the most challenging periods that mine funding has encountered in recent years. The approval underpins the management’s approach and commitment to developing Liqhobong and realising the true value of this asset for our shareholders.”

mining news

1512.13

The Areva desalination plant has begun pro-viding water to Swakop Uranium following an agreement between Areva and NamWater.

The plant was initially built to provide water to Areva’s Trekkopje uranium mine, but Areva stopped development of the mine last year following a slump in the uranium price. Swa-kop Uranium concluded an interim water sup-ply agreement with NamWater on 14 August, back-to-back with an interim water supply agreement between NamWater and Areva.

NamWater will now use the plant to distrib-ute water to Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine. The desalination plant is situated about 30 km north of Swakopmund and is expected to al-

Baobab Resources has provided further in-formation regarding the recently discovered sequence of carbonate rocks located within 5 km of its 550 Mt iron ore Tenge/Ruoni re-source block and proposed pig iron and fer-ro-vanadium operation in Mozambique’s Tete Province. Carbonate is required as a flux in the iron-making process to purge the metal of impurities and manage slag viscosity.

Comments Ben James, Baobab’s MD: “The company’s decision to add value on site through the production of pig iron is due to the project’s unique and strategic position at the confluence of core iron and steel making commodities, namely iron ore, coal, power and water. We can now add carbonate to that

Carbonate discovery could enhance Tete projectlist. Carbonate feed is an essential part of the iron-making process and to find such a sig-nificant deposit so close to the Tenge/Ruoni resource block ticks another box where Bao-bab can guarantee security of supply.

“By incorporating the Massamba carbon-ate material into the on-going testwork pro-grammes, the company will be able to provide the empirical evidence at a pilot scale that the process works and that low impurity pig iron can be won by using Baobab iron ore, Baobab fluxes and locally derived, low-cost coal.”

Baobab’s Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) esti-mates the consumption of 0,44 t of dolomite per tonne of pig iron produced. The com-pany’s exploration target estimate indicates

that the Massamba carbonates are sufficient to support a 1 Mt/a pig iron operation for at least 45 years.

An operating cost (opex) of US$6,60 per tonne of pig iron production was attrib-uted to dolomite materials in the PFS (at US$15  per tonne of dolomite delivered). Preliminary investigations by Baobab indi-cate that the cost of quarrying would be ap-proximately US$3,30/t of carbonate, which is likely to translate into an opex saving of around US$5 per tonne of pig iron produced. Reduced reliance on external sources and transport logistics will also have a meaning-ful impact on the smooth operation of the facility.

Areva desalination plant supplies Husableviate the shortage of water at the coastal towns of Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. The water is pumped via the Rössing reservoir to the Husab site.

Swakop Uranium has signed an interim agreement with NamWater for 300 m3/h of water. “This is more than enough for the Hus-ab project’s construction activities,” confirms Deon Garbers, Swakop Uranium’s Senior Vice-president: Operations.

The agreement is valid until early 2014, when an agreement for the permanent supply of water to the Husab mine will be in place.

According to Hilifa Mbako, MD of Areva Namibia, the agreement between his compa-

ny and NamWater is a prelude to a medium-term agreement that will enable up to 10 mil-lion m3/a to be distributed. At full capacity, the plant will produce up to 20 million m3 of potable water per year thanks to state-of-the-art technology that includes screen filtration, ultra-filtration, reverse osmosis, limestone contact and chlorination.

Construction of the Husab mine started in April 2013 when a ground-breaking ceremony was held at the mine site. The project is val-ued at R20 billion and is said to be the biggest mining project currently underway anywhere in Africa. Husab will rank as the third largest uranium mine in the world and will have the capacity to produce 6 800 tonnes of uranium oxide a year.

mining news

16 12.13

Coffey Mining (Perth) has issued an indepen-dent feasibility study confirming Luiri Gold’s internal studies that the Dunrobin gold proj-ect west of Lusaka in Zambia is a technically feasible and economically viable project in the current gold price environment.

The study estimates gold production of 77 000 ounces (supported by a probable ore reserve of 87 000 ounces) over a six-year mine life with initial capex of US$21 million and cash costs excluding royalties of US$766/oz. The breakeven cost, including capex and roy-alties, is estimated at US$1 134/oz.

The project will deliver total revenues of US$100 million and net pre-tax post-roy-alty cashflows of US$35 million based on a US$1 300/oz gold price over the mine life, ac-cording to the study, which also projects a life

Leading consulting engineering firm GIBB has been appointed as the engineering and construction monitoring contractor for the 20  km Kalagadi Manganese railway siding, connecting to the main manganese corridor from Hotazel in the Northern Cape to Port Elizabeth.

The railway siding will serve Kalagadi’s mine which will export manganese ore (sin-ter) through the Port of Coega in the Eastern Cape. The railway line will also be used to im-port coke for the beneficiation process.

The mine will produce 2,4 million tons of sinter products of which 71 % will be sold to the export market. The remaining 29 % will be beneficiated in the Coega IDZ to produce fer-romanganese. The mine will create approxi-mately 1 000 permanent jobs in Hotazel and 300 in Coega.

The project in its entirety will support ap-proximately 8 800 jobs in the Northern Cape and 5 500 jobs in the Eastern Cape if the direct and indirect effects are considered. These are some of the most poverty stricken areas in South Africa.

“GIBB was appointed by Kalagadi Manga-nese for the design and construction moni-toring of the Kalagadi Manganese railway siding. The railway siding consists of an elec-trified and signalled running line with a bal-loon configuration of 12 km. Yard 1 consist of 3,4 km of electrified lines and yard 2 of 4,1 km of un-electrified lines. The yard layout consists of a balloon for the rapid loading of the sinter product, a linear yard for the tip-pler off-loading of coke, a yard for shunting movements and a locomotive shed for light maintenance,” said Technical Executive: Rail at GIBB, Wimpie Oosthuizen.

Oosthuizen added that three design issues relating to the site conditions were solved by the innovative use of material. Due to the

challenge of obtaining construction mate-rial, one of the pavement layers that required material from a commercial source was changed to utilise the abundant calcrete ma-terial. This was processed with 3 % cement to meet the same structural requirement as imported material.

Oosthuizen explained the second design element: “Kalahari sand is highly collaps-ible when loading is increased and water is added. The predicted subsidence was more than the allowable specification. The design to mitigate the potential collapse/subsidence of the soils was to excavate the material by 500 mm and wetting and compacting the in-situ material with a three-sided impact roller. The in-situ material was then strengthened by placing a 500 mm thick pioneer layer on top of the in-situ material which formed the foun-dation for the bulk fills.”

Railway siding to connect to manganese corridor

GIBB has been appointed as the engineering and construction monitoring contractor for the 20 km Kalagadi Manganese railway siding.

The third design element was that the trac-tion substation was changed from a tradition-al brick building to a containerised solution. This provided a total off-site design, supply and assembly solution. The completed con-tainerised substation will then require minor installation works on site and in its installa-tion will realise cost savings compared to the original planned substation.

Oosthuizen added that one of the major challenges on the project was to find suitable construction material for the bulk earthworks (fills, pavement layer works and service road). “The importing of calcrete material from the neighbouring mine and utilising discarded rock material from the mining activities solved the major challenge of obtaining good construction material.”

The project will be completed by the first quarter of 2014.

of mine average head grade of 2,67 g/t and recoveries of 88,1 %.

The Coffey Mining study will be immedi-ately lodged with potential debt financiers to advance debt negotiations.

“The Coffey Mining feasibility study has ver-ified the internal feasibility studies generated by the company over the last 12  months,” says Melissa Sturgess, Chairman of ASX-list-ed Luiri Gold. “Although the initial Dunrobin development anticipates modest production of 12 000 to 17 000 oz per annum, it will satis-fy the mining licence development conditions and provide the company with both the time and cash flow to unlock the full value of its under-explored 277 km2 mining licence hold-ing. We expect this report to accelerate our ability to finalise debt negotiations.”

Coffey Mining completes Dunrobin study

mining news

1712.13

Hummingbird Resources, which is developing the Dugbe 1 gold project in Liberia, reports that MDM Engineering, appointed as lead consultant for the Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) and Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) in July 2013, has received approval from the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for a grant to support MDM’s consultancy work in relation to the DFS.

As a result, Hummingbird – whose non-executive Chairman is Ian Cockerill, ex-CEO of Gold Fields and current Executive Chairman of Petmin – will expect to benefit from a 55 % reduction in the cost of its DFS and FEED work completed by MDM.

MDM is providing a range of consultancy services in relation to the DFS including: process, civil, structural and mechanical engi-neering; platework; piping; electrical engineering; control and in-strumentation engineering; infrastructure; project implementation planning; and capital and operating cost estimates.

Supporting MDM as resource and reserve and mining consultants is SRK. A site visit to Dugbe to review Hummingbird’s data, drill core and methodologies was completed during June and SRK is now advising Hummingbird on the resource categorisation and geologi-cal modelling.

Following on from the previous work Coffey carried out on the geotechnical section of the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), the company has been appointed to run the geotechnical studies for the DFS, including the design of the Tailings Manage-ment Facility (TMF). An ESIA is also currently underway and is being undertaken by AMEC plc.

The DFS, including FEED, is fully funded and is expected to be completed in Q3 2014.

The Dugbe 1 project – which has a 3,8 Moz resource at 1,24 g/t Au – is located in the Dugbe Shear Zone area covering 2 000 km² in central eastern Liberia, lying some 40 km north-east of the coastal town of Greenville. The project is underlain by Birimian geology, making it highly prospective for gold, and is currently Humming-bird’s most advanced project.

Hummingbird, which is listed on London’s AIM, released a PEA on the project earlier this year. Based on an owner-operated, open-pit, CIL operation of 3,5 Mt/a, the study estimated an NPV of US$337 million and an IRR of 43 %. Initial capex was put at US$212 million with payback in three years with average production over a 20-year LOM of 125 000 oz/a.

DTI grant will reduce cost of gold project DFS and FEED

MDM awarded Misisi PEAMDM Engineering has been awarded the preliminary economic as-sessment (PEA) for Casa Mining’s Misisi gold project in the DRC.

The project is located in the east of the DRC, 152 km south-east of Banro’s Namoya gold project. Casa has been exploring the proj-ect area, where artisanal miners have been recovering gold for ap-proximately 35 years.

As of July 2013, over 14 000 m had been drilled. Metallurgical testwork has provided favourable results for both gravity and leach recovery.

Casa requested that MDM comment on the testwork results achieved to date and on the proposed PFS test programme with particular reference to the experience gained at the Namoya mine currently being constructed by MDM.

In parallel with this, further metallurgical testwork will take place to assess potential recovery of the gold. Subject to the results, this will lead through to a Feasibility Study.

Comments Kevin Stock, MDM’s GM of Proposals: “MDM has an excellent track record in the DRC and is in a good position to put to use its in-country expertise alongside its team’s extensive gold knowledge for the Misisi gold project’s PEA. MDM looks forward to working with Casa Mining in what we believe will be a long and suc-cessful relationship from its PEA through to execution.”

18 12.13

Swakop Uranium’s order for 23 of these trucks was one of the largest ever received by Kom-atsu Southern Africa. The first eight trucks are

currently being assembled on the Husab site follow-ing the manufacture of the various components all over the globe and their shipment to Namibia.

The long journey to siteThese massive trucks, which are Komatsu’s largest payload capacity haul trucks, are almost a project within a project. It takes up to six months to manufac-ture the components, up to a month to transport them to the site and up to six weeks to assemble them.

Once manufactured, the chassis, electric drive systems, and other components such as the engines, traction alternators, radiators, sub-frames, spindle hub and brake assemblies, suspensions, axle boxes, blown grid assemblies and control cabinets are partly assembled at Komatsu’s Peoria plant in Illinois, USA. From there, they are railed to the port of Houston in Texas from where they are shipped to Walvis Bay.

In Walvis Bay, they ‘meet’ with the enormous tyres, the first 96 of which have been shipped di-rectly from the manufacturer, Bridgestone in Japan, to Walvis Bay since January this year (2013). From Walvis Bay harbour, the components are transported to the Husab project site, where they are ‘introduced’

KOMATSU ASSEMBLES GIANT HAUL TRUCKS ON HUSAB SITEWhat do a chassis in America, an electric drive system in Germany, an engine in the United Kingdom, a set of tyres in Japan and a dump body in South Africa have in common? The answer: they are all parts of the Komatsu 960E-2KT haul trucks that will be used on Swakop Uranium’s Husab mine in Namibia.

cover story

to the massive dump bodies, the first two of which arrived on site at the end of June. The dump bod-ies are manufactured in Johannesburg and brought to site by road.

Big, yellow and powerfulThe Komatsu 960E-2KT haul truck is the biggest made by the Japanese company and is rated to car-ry 327 tonnes. Its diesel motor delivers 2 600 kW of power (3 500 horsepower) and is coupled to an alter-nator that sends power to two Siemens AC (alternat-ing current) induction traction motors mounted on each side of the back axle.

The ‘T’ in the model name refers to ‘trolley-assist’, whereby the truck can couple onto overhead power lines using pantographs.

“We receive each Komatsu haul truck in sections comprising the chassis with the engine, radiator and rear axle box fitted. This section alone weighs 64 tonnes,” a Komatsu spokesman explains. “The rest of the truck then arrives in five open-topped 12 m con-tainers with a few items such as the fuel tank, braking system and transmission packaged separately.”

Safe, ‘al fresco’ assemblyThe amazing thing about assembling these massive haul trucks is that it can safely be done out in the

cover story

1912.13

Above: This photograph gives some idea of the scale of the Kom-atsu 960E-2KTs, which will each weigh 249 tonnes when fully assembled.

Left: Komatsu 960E-2KT haul trucks being assembled at the Husab site.

Below: The dump bodies are manufactured in Johannesburg and brought to site by road.

Komatsu 960E-2KT payload: 327 tonnes Weight of an empty vehicle: 249 tonnes Maximum weight of a loaded truck: 580 tonnes Maximum speed: 64,5 km/h Haul truck length: 15,34 m Haul truck width: 10,0 m Haul truck height: 7,67 m Weight of dump body: 51 tonnes Capacity of the fuel tank: 5 300 litres Tyre height: 4,5 m Thickness of dump body steel plate: ranges from 8 mm to 20 mm Number of man-hours to construct one dump body: 3 360 Number of welding rolls used per dump body: 40 of 15 kg each Litres of paint used on a dump body: 80 to 90

Fast Facts

open. Using one or more mobile cranes, the haul trucks are assembled in the following manner: First the deck supports and platform for the cab are

installed. Next comes the platform for the electric panels and

74 kW electrical blower. Then the front and back suspensions are installed,

followed by the transmissions on both sides of the back axle box.

Then only are the tyres fitted, two in the front and two double sets at the back.“The tyres are big, heavy and expensive,” the Kom-

atsu spokesman adds. “Each rim and tyre has a com-bined weight of 7,2 tonnes.”

With the planned mining programme for the Husab mine, each haul truck should deliver 6 000 hours of service a year. The tyres are set to last between 6 000 and 8 000 hours (about one year), depending on the conditions in the pit and on haul roads.

The dump bodies are fitted last and measure just over 10 m wide, 14 m long and stand 4 m at their highest point. This important component adds anoth-er 51 tonnes to the haul truck’s overall mass.

“We are banking on taking eight to ten weeks to as-semble the first two Komatsu 960E-2KT haul trucks,” the spokesman says. “We envisage that the process

will run faster as our assembly teams gain more ex-perience. If they get the hang of it and put shoulder to the wheel, they should be able to assemble a truck within a month or two.”

Acknowledgement: This is a slightly edited version of an article which originally appeared in ‘Husab Voice’, the newsletter of Swakop Uranium.

coal

20 12.13

As Keaton’s CEO Mandi Glad explained to a media/analyst group (including Modern Min-ing) which recently visited Vanggatfontein,

Moabsvelden is an almost perfect fit for Keaton. The project’s proximity to Vanggatfontein means that it can leverage off the considerable infrastructure al-ready in place at the mine, thus reducing both capex and development time.

Xceed completed a feasibility study on Moabsvelden in April 2012 which estimated an annual ROM pro-duction of 3,0 Mt from an opencast operation over a 15-year mine life. The study estimated the capex at R266 million. “We will be revising the feasibility study over the next several months, as we will obvi-ously be tackling the project entirely differently from Xceed, which was working towards a standalone op-eration,” said Glad. “We will use our existing coal processing facilities at Vanggatfontein to treat the 5-Seam and domestic power generating quality coal from Moabsvelden but we will also build a new two-stage wash plant for the higher quality coal plies on

Moabsvelden. We envisage that this will be erected adjacent to our existing Eskom plant on the Vang-gatfontein property.” She added that Moabsvelden would be primarily an Eskom product mine but would produce up to 480 000 t/a of B-grade export product.

Glad’s colleague Graham Stacey, GM Projects, said that Keaton would “run hard” with Moabsvelden. As he pointed out, the project has all its permitting in place, including an executed mining right and NEMA approval, as well as a signed project finance term sheet. “We would expect to start mine construction in 2014 with full production being achieved in mid-2015,” he said. “The operation will be very similar to Vanggatfontein, with the stripping ratio being slightly lower at 2,3 compared to 2,5 at Vanggatfontein. The haul distances are reasonable – around 4,5 km. We envisage total ROM production being approximately 2,4 Mt/a, translating to 1,4 Mt/a saleable.”

Keaton will be looking to repeat the success it has had with Vanggatfontein at Moabsvelden. Vanggat-

KEATON TO STRENGTHEN ITS DELMAS FOOTPRINTJSE-listed Keaton Energy’s acquisition of Australia’s Xceed Resources – a transaction expected to be com-pleted in February 2014 – will mark a major milestone on Keaton’s road towards mid-tier status and its goal of becoming a 5 Mt/a (saleable) coal producer. The major asset Keaton will acquire as part of the deal is the advanced Moabsvelden project, located just 3 km from its flagship Vanggatfontein Colliery near Delmas. The project hosts a 44 Mt run of mine coal reserve and will double Keaton’s footprint in the area.

Cat 777 haul trucks belonging to Liviero at work at Vanggatfontein Colliery.

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The 2- and 4-Seam Eskom plant at Vanggatfontein Colliery.

Loading of 5-Seam peas at Vanggatfontein.

fontein – which delivered its first coal in December 2010 and which is managed by Isak Nkosi, one of Keaton’s most experienced operational managers – has been going from strength to strength in recent months, with coal deliveries in the most recent six-month reporting period (to 30 September 2013) in-creasing by 55 % compared with the six-month pe-riod ending 30 September 2012.

The colliery delivered 1,14 Mt of washed 2- and 4-Seam thermal coal to Eskom in the first half of the 2014 financial year compared with 738 498 tonnes in the comparable half year. Over the same period, the mine’s 5-Seam metallurgical coal sales into the domestic market increased by an outstanding 76 % from 31 272 tonnes in the comparable half year to 55 154 tonnes as at the end of September 2013.

Glad attributes much of the improvement to the replacement of the mining contractor in mid-2012. “The new mining contractor, Liviero, has been on site now for well over a year and we’re exceptionally happy with their performance,” she told the visiting media/analyst group. “In addition, we’re now open-ing up Pit 4 – which we’ve financed from operational cash flows – which gives greater mining flexibility. It will increase our strip ratio temporarily but the net result is that we will have 1 700 m of face length to play with in our three active pits – Pits 2, 3 and 4.”

To carry out the mining, Liviero has assembled an impressive fleet on site, which includes a sizeable 250-t Liebherr R9250 excavator, as well as a 100-t Liebherr 9100 and several Liebherr 984s, 974s and 964s. The haul fleet consists of Cat 777 rigid trucks and 40-t Volvo ADTs. When awarded, Vanggatfontein was Liviero’s first big contract in the mining field – the company made its name in civils and earthworks

– and has given it an excellent platform to demon-strate its mining skills.

Vanggatfontein has two processing plants – a 100  t/h 5-Seam washing plant that produces duff, peas and nuts for sale into the domestic metallurgical industry and a 500 t/h washing plant that produces thermal coal for Eskom. Both plants – which are man-aged by Minopex – have DMS units and cyclones, with the Eskom plant, in addition, being equipped with spirals and centrifuges. Other infrastructure at the mine includes twin-lined co-disposal facilities with related water dams and drainage system.

In terms of safety, Vanggatfontein – and indeed Keaton Energy – has been fatality free since inception and in the 2013 financial year (to 31 March 2013)

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Above: One of Liviero’s Volvo 40-t payload ADTs hauls a load at the Vanggatfontein operation.

Right: This blast was recently viewed by the media/analyst group visiting Vanggatfontein (photo: Arthur Tassell).

Liviero excavators and dozers withdraw from one of the pits prior to a blast (photo: Arthur Tassell).

operated without a single LTI – a remarkable achieve-ment given the scale of the operation. The unblem-ished record has unfortunately not been maintained in the first half of FY2014, due to seven LTIs across the group since March 2013. These are taken very se-riously by Keaton’s management, which prides itself on the unrelenting attention given to safety. The lost time injury frequency rates for the Vanggatfontein operation and Vaalkrantz (Keaton’s colliery in KZN) to date are 0,10 and 0,17 respectively.

While Vanggatfontein forms the backbone of the Keaton operation, Vaalkrantz – located 20 km east of Vryheid – is the centre of its KZN footprint. Ac-quired by Keaton in late 2011 as part of its takeover of Leeuw Mining & Exploration, Vaalkrantz produc-es anthracite for domestic consumption and export to Brazil, and in the latest six-month reporting pe-riod sold 154 145 tonnes of product versus 151 248 tonnes for the comparable half year, an increase of 2 %. Vaalkrantz is an entirely underground operation

with mining taking place – in Stacey’s words – in a “tough, narrow-seam environment”.

The two seams exploited are the Gus and Alfred. The Alfred Seam mining height is typically 1,8 m to 2,3 m while the much narrower Gus Seam has a min-ing height of between 0,9 m and 1,2 m. Until recently, Keaton operated Vaalkrantz using a combination of owner-operated and contractor-operated shafts on the West and Enyati Shafts respectively. The West adit operation was however recently converted to con-tractor-operated. Run of mine coal is washed through a 110 t/h two-stage processing plant which produces duff, peas and nuts. Like the Vanggatfontein plant, it is operated by Minopex on contract.

Vaalkrantz has only four years of life left. Briefing the analysts and media on Keaton’s plans for KZN, Stacey said the company would increasingly rely on regional satellite shafts to keep the Vaalkrantz plant operating at full capacity, with the first of these be-ing the Koudelager deposit, 35 km by road east of

coal

Alfred Seam portals at the West adit of Vaalkrantz Colliery near Vryheid in KZN.

Vaalkrantz. “This is a small project – the resource is just under 12 Mt – which will produce an anthracite similar in quality to Vaalkrantz,” he said. “The life of mine is 20 years but the annual production would only be of the order of 95 000 t saleable. We will con-clude a feasibility within the next four months but present indications are that the capex, reflecting the fact that we will use the existing Vaalrantz plant as well as mining kit from Vaalkrantz, will be a modest R15 million. We will probably be in production in late 2014.”

Two other anthracite prospects in the Vryheid area that Stacey referred to are Mooiklip, located 30 km north-east of Vaalkrantz, which could host a resource of 4,5 Mt, and Balgray, near Utrecht. The first phase of drilling at Mooiklip is due to start shortly with a view to understanding the Gus Seam structure and qual-ity. The Balgray resource, mined by Kangra Coal and Natal Anthracite between 1968 and 1983, is presently being investigated with a view to opening a new adit. If a viable resource is proved up, run of mine coal could possibly be trucked to the Vaalkrantz plant, but Balgray’s distance from this facility could equally jus-tify the construction of a standalone plant.

Keaton’s biggest growth prospect in KZN is in fact not an anthracite project but a thermal coal deposit, Braakfontein, which is located 10 km south-east of Newcastle. It has a reserve of 25 Mt and a resource of 60,7 Mt and the potential to support a production of

approximately 1,1 Mt/a saleable over a 15-year mine life from a two-seam mining operation.

Braakfontein – which has a new order mining right in place – would be primarily an underground bord-and-pillar mine but with a small opencast com-ponent. It would be served by a 220 t/h wash plant. A concept study has been completed but a full fea-sibility study is still to be undertaken. At this stage, Keaton believes that Braakfontein could enter pro-duction in either late 2015 or 2016 and involve a capex of approximately R500 million. It would pro-duce a primary product for supply into the B-grade export market and a secondary product for supply to Eskom.

Summing up Keaton’s present status and prospects to the media/analyst group visiting Vanggatfontein, Glad said the company would continue to optimise its operations, maximise cash generation and ad-vance its project pipeline with a view to reaching 5 Mt/a of saleable production by 2018. She concluded by saying while Keaton was now trading profitably – the gross profit was R117 million or 17 % of rev-enue in the six months to 30 September compared to a gross loss of R38 million in the corresponding period in FY2013 – the market remained skeptical about its sustainability. “The biggest challenge the management team faces is to reverse this perception,” she concluded.Photos courtesy of Keaton Energy (unless otherwise credited)

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Commenting on the PEA, Robert Friedland, founder and Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, says it confirms that Kamoa truly is in

a class by itself in terms of the world’s known, unde-veloped copper deposits. “Kamoa has the rare com-bination of a very high copper grade and very large tonnage, qualities that position Kamoa to become a substantial copper producer with one of the lowest cash costs anywhere in the world,” he says. “This thorough, independent assessment gives us added confidence as we proceed with the planning of our next steps to advance Kamoa’s development into a world-class copper mine.”

Ivanhoe, which also holds the Kipushi project in the DRC and the Platreef project in South Africa, was previously known as Ivanplats. In October this year (2013) it began trading on the TSX following a suc-

cessful IPO that raised C$306 million. It adopted the name Ivanhoe Mines in August this year.

The PEA, which conforms with the requirements of Canada’s National Instrument 43-101, was prepared by AMC Consultants, AMEC E&C Services (AMEC), SRK Consulting, Stantec Consulting International, Hatch and Golder Associates Africa.

The PEA anticipates that the first phase of mining at Kamoa would target high-grade copper minerali-sation from shallow, underground resources to yield a high-value concentrate. The second phase would entail a major expansion of the mine and mill and construction of a smelter to produce blister copper.

The PEA contemplates the establishment of a con-ventional copper mine and concentrator complex at Kamoa with an initial mining rate and concentrator capacity of 3 Mt/a. Initial mill feed would come from

PHASED DEVELOPMENT PROPOSED FOR KAMOA

Drill rigs in operation at the Kamoa site west of Kolwezi in the DRC’s Katanga Province.

Ivanhoe Mines has released the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of the company’s major Kamoa copper discovery near the mining centre of Kolwezi in the DRC’s southern province of Katanga. The study reveals that Kamoa could ultimately achieve a production of 300 000 tonnes per year of blister cop-per, which would establish it as one of the world’s largest copper mines. The PEA proposes a two-phased approach with a relatively small scale start-up being developed first as an operating platform to support expansion.

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The Benguela railway is being rebuilt and reconstruction to Dilolo station in the DRC was completed in October 2013. The first train in approximately 40 years arrived at Dilolo from Lobito on 3 October.

Kamoa exploration drill core. As of January 2013, Ivanhoe Mines had discovered indicated mineral resources of 739 Mt grading 2,67 % Cu, containing 43,5 billion pounds (19,7 Mt) of copper, and inferred mineral resources of 227 Mt grading 1,96 % Cu, contain-ing 9,8 billion pounds (4,5 Mt) of copper.

the Kansoko Sud mineralised zone and lead into the Centrale area of Kamoa’s mineralised zones.

The initial mining rate and concentrate feed capac-ity of 3 Mt/a would be followed in Year 5 by an ad-ditional expansion of 8 Mt/a in concentrator capac-ity and the construction of an on-site smelter with a capacity to produce 300 000 t/a of blister copper. In addition, an estimated 1 600 tonnes of sulphuric acid per day would be produced as a by-product in the copper smelting process. It is envisaged that the sul-phuric acid produced at Kamoa would be sold to cop-per-oxide mining operations on the Central African Copperbelt that currently purchase acid from Zambia or from overseas.

The production scenario schedules 326 Mt to be mined and milled at an average copper grade of 3,0 % copper over a 30-year mine life, producing 7,8 Mt of payable blister copper (plus 0,5 Mt of payable copper in concentrate, in the initial concentrate phase) over the life of the project.

The PEA is based on a long-term price assumption of US$3,00 per pound for copper and a sales price for sulphuric acid of US$250 per tonne. The eco-nomic analysis returns an after-tax NPV, at an 8 % discount rate, of US$2,55 billion. The project would have an after-tax IRR of 15,2 % and a payback period of 8,4 years. The life-of-mine average total cash cost, after credits, is US$1,18 per pound of copper.

Steady-state production from Year 6 onward of 306 000 tonnes per year of blister copper would es-tablish the Kamoa project as one of the world’s larg-est copper mines. Kamoa also would have the highest average grade among the 20 largest copper mines cur-rently in production or expected to be in production, according to data from Wood Mackenzie, an interna-tional industry research and consulting group.

Kamoa is located approximately 25 km west of the town of Kolwezi and about 270 km west of the pro-vincial capital of Lubumbashi. Access to the project from Kolwezi is via unsealed roads. The road net-work throughout the project area has been upgraded by Ivanhoe to provide reliable drill and logistical ac-

cess. A portion of the 1 500-km-long railway line and electric power line from Lubumbashi to the Angolan town of Lobito passes approximately 10 km to the north of the project area.

Kamoa was discovered by Ivanhoe in 2008, west of the known limit of the Central African Copperbelt in the DRC. The deposit lies under cover and does not outcrop. The copper mineralisation identified at Ka-moa is typical of sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits and – says Ivanhoe – is similar to the Polish Kupferschiefer and Zambian Ore Shale deposits.

In August 2012, the DRC approved Ivanhoe’s appli-cation to convert three exploration permits at Kamoa to exploitation permits (mining licences). The Kamoa mining licences, covering a total of 400 km2, allow the company to develop and exploit copper and other minerals for a renewable 30-year term.

A regional exploration programme is ongoing, with

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Mineral zonation at the Kamoa deposit. Features of the orebody include true thicknesses from 2,4 m to 17,6 m (average 5,6 m).

The camp at the Kamoa project.

drilling planned at prospective targets on the more than 9 000 km2 of exploration tenements held by Ivanhoe in a variety of geological settings within Ka-tanga Province.

Given the favourable mining characteristics of the Kamoa deposit as derived from the December 2012 mineral resource – including its relatively unde-formed, continuous mineralisation, local continuity between closely spaced drillholes and flat-to-mod-erate dips – it is considered amenable to large-scale, mechanised room-and-pillar or drift-and-fill mining. The low dip and the flat, geometry of the resource make it conducive to room-and-pillar mining in the shallow portions of the deposit, transitioning to drift-and-fill mining in the deeper sections. These conven-tional mining methods are the accepted standards for mining deposits such as Kamoa.

A minimum mining thickness of 3,5 m was used for the PEA. Any blocks less than 3,5 m thick were di-luted to 3,5 m using the average grade of the adjacent hanging wall and footwall blocks. Room-and-pillar panels are designed to be 80 m wide and 500 m long,

with in-panel extraction ratios ranging from 60 % to 80 %, depending on the panel depth below surface. Partial extraction of the barrier pillars (up to 50 %) is planned at the end of mining of each section. The overall extraction ratio in the room-and-pillar areas is expected to be between 56 % and 82 %, depending on the depth below surface. Higher in-panel extrac-tion ratios of up to 95 % are expected within the drift-and-fill areas, with an overall extraction ratio of 85 % after partial extraction of barrier pillars.

A strategy of prioritising higher-grade mining areas early in the mine’s life, and then returning to the low-er-grade areas later in the mine’s life, has been built into the mine plan.

The mine infrastructure for the project has been designed to support a 30-year mine plan. The facil-ity design incorporates early access to the Kansoko Sud and the southern portion of Kansoko Centrale, which are higher-grade areas within the deposit. De-velopment of the Kamoa Sud access begins in Year 1 and provides access to Kamoa Sud, Kansoko Cen-trale and Kansoko Nord mining sections. Later in

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the mine’s life, at Year 16, as the production from the Kansoko Sud mining section is ramping down, production from the Kamoa Nord mining section is scheduled to begin.

The planned accesses to each mining section in-clude a conveyor decline and two access declines. Ad-ditional infrastructure requirements, such as surface and underground offices, surface and underground maintenance facilities, ventilation raises and paste backfill plants, are designed to support operations at the blister-copper production rate of 300 000 t/a.

Since the separation between the three portals ranges from 2,2 km to 5,8 km, each site will require separate infrastructures.

Excavation of the first mine-access decline at Kan-soko Sud is expected to begin early next year (2014). The decline will provide access to high-grade, near-surface copper resources that are targeted for the planned first phase of production.

As regards metallurgical testwork and concentra-tor design, circuit development work during 2011 to 2013 was primarily conducted at Xstrata Process Support (XPS) Laboratories in Sudbury, Ontario. A flow sheet was developed that was tailored to the fine-grained nature of the deposit. The circuit relied on a traditional mill-float-mill-float (MF2) approach to partially liberate particles, followed by fine re-grinding of concentrates to achieve a concentrate grade suitable for smelting. Separate treatment of the primary and secondary rougher concentrates allowed for separately-optimised cleaner flotation of fast and slow species.

This configuration became known as the Milestone flow sheet and forms the basis of the Net Smelter Return (NSR) model and mine plan. The circuit was tested on various composites from across the resource and was able to achieve a recovery of 85,4 % and a copper grade of 32,8 % for hypogene material, and a recovery of 83,2 % and copper grade of 45,1 % for supergene material.

In the first half of 2013, the focus of development work shifted toward a reduction in the silica content of the final concentrate. Adjustments were made to the reagent dosages, as well as the grinding media type, resulting in an improvement to 86,7 % recovery at a 37,0 % copper grade for hypogene material, and 82,9 % recovery at a 51,4 % copper grade for super-gene material. Silica levels in the final concentrate also dropped from 19,1 % to 13,1 % for hypogene and from 26,0 % to 18,1 % for supergene.

Although these improvements were not realised in time to be incorporated into the mine plan and NSR, the updated hypogene results were incorporated into the design basis for the concentrator and smelter and form the basis of the PEA and associated economic results.

The concentrator is expected to be constructed in two phases and consists – as mentioned earlier – of a 3 Mt/a run-of-mine concentrator during the first four years of operation, followed by the commissioning of an additional 8 Mt/a run-of-mine concentrator in Year 5.

The design incorporates a three-stage crushing circuit (underground primary crushing, run-of-mine stockpiling and secondary and tertiary crushing at the concentrator) to feed the primary mill-feed stock-

pile. The primary and secondary ball mills would op-erate in closed circuit with hydrocyclones. The flota-tion circuit would consist of primary and secondary rougher flotation, with a secondary grind stage located between the primary and secondary rougher flotation stages. The cleaner flotation circuit would consist of primary cleaners with scavengers and re-cleaners, and secondary cleaners with re-cleaners. The cleaner circuit would incorporate concentrate regrind stages for both the primary and secondary circuits. The final concentrate would be thickened before it is pumped to the concentrate filter(s).

During the initial years of production, the concen-trate would be bagged in a bagging plant to facilitate transport. Following commissioning of the smelter, the concentrate filter cake would be conveyed to the smelter’s concentrate storage and blending area. The secondary rougher tails and multiple non-float streams from the secondary cleaner circuit report to the final tailings facility.

The smelting process proposed in the PEA is based on the use of Direct-to-Blister flash smelting technol-ogy (DBF). For slag cleaning, a two-stage electric fur-nace process is applied. The smelter has a concentrate smelting capacity of 800 000 t/a, which corresponds to a copper product capacity of 300 000 t/a.

In the DBF concept, copper concentrate is pro-cessed by flash smelting to produce blister copper (approximately 98 % copper) in a single smelting stage. Blister copper is transferred via launders to re-fining furnaces, after which it is cast as final product.

Power for the Kamoa project is planned to be sourced from the DRC grid following the rehabili-tation of three existing hydropower plants: Koni, Mwadingusha and Nzilo 1. A financing agreement between Ivanhoe Mines and the DRC’s state-owned power company, SNEL, has been finalised and ini-tialled by the two parties for the rehabilitation of these plants to secure a sustainable power supply to meet the requirements of Kamoa’s planned mine and smelter development. Kamoa will be powered by electricity from the national grid and on-site diesel generators until rehabilitation of the existing plants has been completed.Photos courtesy of Ivanhoe Mines

The Nzilo 1 hydro-electric plant on the Lualaba River. Once up-graded, it will be one of three hydro facilities to supply Kamoa.

pumps and pumping

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Key orders include the supply of all mill dis-charge and tailings pumps to a new copper mine in Zambia and a slurry pump supply

contract for another copper project in the DRC, as well as all the pumps for a gold mine. Comprising more than 110 pumps, this order is one of the larg-est Krebs® pump contracts in Africa and the first complete set of pumps supplied to the gold sector in Southern Africa by FLSmidth.

“All three orders involve our primary strength, which is mill discharge duties, as well as high pres-sure tailings and flotation,” says Brad Moralee, FLSmidth Krebs® products general manager. “Re-cently developed products like our UMD – Ultimate Mill Discharge – pumps are starting to gain traction in the industry. The UMD is the latest addition to our millMAX® mill discharge pump family and the most advanced centrifugal slurry pump on the market. Its design effectively combines our patented millMAX® suction side sealing technology with customer feed-back and computational fluid dynamic research to outperform the competition in power consumption and wear life. The UMD design minimises hydraulic turbulent wear within the pump while maintaining all of the advantages of the suction side sealing sys-tem.”

The millMAX® UMD pump has all of the benefits of the millMAX® suction side sealing system in addition to a hydraulically improved design that minimises

turbulence inside the volute, increases the wear life of the wet end components, reduces downtime, in-creases slurry efficiency and maintains consistent pressure to hydrocyclones.

“The millMAX® UMD pump is the product of our continual efforts to partner with our customers by listening to their feedback and improving our de-signs to best meet their needs,” Moralee continues. “The increasing market uptake we’re experiencing is therefore taking place in tandem with the expansion of other areas of our product line to the point that our combined offering now covers a complete spectrum of slurry pumps. The range originally started out with an all-metal pump, the millMAX® pump, that was specifically designed for very aggressive duties such as mill discharge. This all metal range was later expanded to include the gravelMAX™ pump and today we’ve moved way beyond these metal ranges to offer a complete rubber-lined range under the slurryMAX™ pump banner.

“We’ve also added the vMAX™ vertical cantilever pumps and, more recently, we’ve developed a tail-ings product line. All of our horizontal end suction slurry pump ranges feature a patented on-line wear clearance adjustment that minimises the cost-per-ton pumped compared to conventional hard metal and rubber lined slurry pumps. We continue to improve our customers’ total cost of ownership through ongo-ing product development and implementation, and

FLSMIDTH MAKES INROADS INTO COPPERBELT MARKET

Two Krebs millMAX® 28 x 26 pumps on mill discharge duty in Zambia.

FLSmidth, reputedly the fastest growing slurry pump supplier to industry in Africa and a leading supplier of large mill discharge pumps through its Krebs® product line, is making robust inroads into the Copperbelt regions of Zambia and the DRC, with more than 100 slurry pumps alone installed in operations in the DRC to date.

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Krebs vMAXTM 3 x 3 pumps destined for a gold plant in the DRC.

Krebs 14 x 12 slurryMAXTM pump installed in a gold plant.

A Krebs 28 x 26 millMAX® pump on mill discharge isolated by a Krebs Technequip knife gate valve.

additional products are well advanced in the devel-opment pipeline.

“Our product development has also enabled us to offer specific pumps for low pH applications to the copper and gold sectors and a full range of high pres-sure pumps. In addition, our growing customer base is becoming aware that we’re able to partner with them to design and deliver pumps that suit their unique requirements in a comparatively short period. This is one of the many benefits of being a streamlined and flexible operation, backed by the global assets of the greater FLSmidth Group.”

All Krebs® centrifugal slurry pumps, including the slurryMAX™ pumps, incorporate a unique externally adjustable wear ring that closes the suction side im-peller clearance between the suction liner and the eye of the impeller. This clearance eliminates the problem conventional rubber lined pumps experience – that of pressure pulsations caused by the close proximity of the rotating raised expelling vanes to the suction liner, necessary to maintain flow, and subsequently generating heat in the liner and rubber devulcanisa-tion failure. Further to this, the ability to control the suction side clearance reduces the hydraulic recircu-lation and therefore contributes to maintaining the design flow over the life of the pump, increasing the life of the impeller.

“This feature maintains the efficiency of the pump throughout its lifecycle and, in a nutshell, is what makes our products offer a lower operating cost than the competition,” says Moralee. “We see

ourselves as a supplier of solutions, as opposed to just equipment.”

The Krebs® pumps offering was acquired by the FLSmidth group of companies in 2007 and has since thrived within the Group, steadily adding more mod-els to its pump offering. Moralee says a strategy to significantly increase market share across commodity sectors is currently rolling out and, beyond copper and gold, there has been promising growth in coal, building on its current installed based at a number of major collieries in the Witbank area. The company also offers world class products to platinum, dia-mond and iron ore production amongst others.

FLSmidth has a robust stockholding of Krebs® pumps and spares at its facility in Stormill, Roode-poort, with smaller stockholdings held by its repre-sentatives in other parts of Africa.

“As a ‘one source’ company, whose support and service extends to the complete lifecycle of a project, we make sure the benefits of total lifecycle support far surpass the initial investment,” says Moralee. “A key element of this is maintenance contracts, supported directly by our Johannesburg office as well as by our representatives throughout Southern Africa.”

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Multiflo® branded diesel and electric pontoon and skid designs were originally devel-oped in Australia by Multiflo Australia, a

company which was acquired by the Weir Group in 2007. “We looked at the Multiflo® range and realised there would be a market for it in Africa,” says Far-quhar. “We worked with Weir Minerals Australia to manufacture them here in South Africa using their designs.”

The pump generally used in the Multiflo® brand manufactured locally is the Warman® DWU dewater-ing pump, the DWU standing for ‘dirty water unit’ meaning that it can handle water with a medium level of suspended solids – for example, light slur-ries. “The DWU pump was designed by Weir Min-erals Africa to suit global markets,” says Farquhar. “It can handle high head mine dewatering, as well as any general dewatering applications. Since being introduced a year ago, it has experienced substantial demand, with over 140 units having been sold, pre-dominantly into the mining sector across the world.”

The range is made up of four pump frames – the DWU 200, 150, 125 and 75. At maximum operat-ing speed, the DWU 200 pump will achieve a head of 135  m with smaller units being able to achieve 150 m. The pumps are able to handle dirty water with a specific gravity of 1,05. A casing pressure of 7  000  kPa allows for series pumping when higher heads are required.

Weir Minerals Africa’s R&D engineers have utilised a double volute casing design and impeller balance holes to reduce the radial and axial hydraulic loads to prolong bearing life. By making use of the new Warman® WBH® mechanical end design, the custom-er enjoys component interchangeability, thus reduc-ing the need for a large stockholding of spares. WBH® mechanical ends are available in either grease or oil lubricated options.

“The DWU is a very tough pump which has a cas-ing made of SG 500 ductile iron and an impeller and side liners made of 27 % chrome white iron,” Farqu-har continues. “It is also highly efficient – in fact, it achieves efficiencies of up to 74 % compared to the 68 % offered by most pumps currently used in simi-lar applications.”

Combined with the Multiflo® MF-design, which consists of a base which houses the engine, fuel tank, a self-priming unit and electronic control equipment, the DWU offers a versatile pump solution for mine applications. “In essence, we can offer skid, trailer or pontoon-mounted units and either diesel or electric drive as the ME range,” notes Farquhar. “In practice, the majority of units are diesel driven and mounted on skids although we are seeing growing demand

ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION FOR MULTIFLO® PUMP UNITS

A Multiflo trailer-mounted diesel driven Warman DWU pump set.

Weir Minerals Africa is reporting an excellent reception from the marketplace for its Multiflo® MF mine de-watering pump unit, which it launched just over a year ago. According to Ian Farquhar, Dewatering Manager of Weir Minerals Africa, the product has already been purchased by diamond and iron ore mines in South Africa and is also proving popular in the company’s rental fleet.

for pontoon-mounted pumpsets. The diesel-driven pump units feature the Vactronic™ auto vacuum priming system which eliminates priming problems. We also offer various customised options such as an auto start/stop and a range of monitoring and instru-mentation configurations.”

He adds that the South African manufactured Mul-tiflo® has some differences from its Australian coun-terpart. “The skids and pontoons we use are designed to local specifications and we’ve also increased the thickness of the roof from 3 mm to 8 mm plate – because of the tough conditions we typically have in this part of the world. We also have two diesel take-off points instead of one which allows for uneven site conditions to ensure a continuous supply of die-sel to the engine. We’ve been delighted at how robust the product is and we’ve had one working in a coal mine for a full year without requiring any attention other than minor maintenance.”

Farquhar believes the Multiflo® brand is well on its way to becoming a flagship product for Weir Minerals Africa, with numerous units already sold, including six to a single South African diamond mine and two in Ghana. “The demand has more than met our ex-pectations and we even see possibilities in exporting the African Multiflo® to the international market,” he says. “This has been a highly successful initiative for us which reinforces Weir Minerals Africa’s position as a leader in mine dewatering technology.”

pumps and pumping

3512.13

feat

ure

South African based slurry pump specialist Pump and Abrasion has announced that its well-known Battlemax® pump range will be

rolled out to the Zambian mining market through its exclusive partner Tri-Pump.

The Tri-Pump Group is a pump solutions company which originated in Zambia 19 years ago, supplying global brands and pumping solutions to the African mining industry. Tri-Pump currently has offices in Ghana, Tanzania and the DRC with its head office lo-cated in Kitwe, Zambia, in the heart of the Copperbelt.

Battlemax® has been distributed to other countries in Africa including Mozambique, Botswana and Tan-zania. This latest roll out in Zambia, however, will be the largest yet for the Battlemax® brand outside of South Africa.

Tri-Pump is enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of Battlemax® in Zambia. “We have both the capability and capacity to ensure that this roll out is successful in the long term. We believe that the prod-

Atlas Copco extends WEDA pump range

WEDA small range pumps from Atlas Copco.

Atlas Copco Portable Energy has introduced five new additions to its WEDA range of pro-fessional pumps to meet customer demand

for quick and efficient dewatering solutions. The new models are the WEDA04 and WEDA08 drain-age pumps, the WEDA04B residual pump and the WEDA04S and WEDA08S sludge pumps.

The WEDA04 and WEDA08 are single-phase elec-tric submersible dewatering pumps with flow rate capacities of 8 to 20 m3/h, with heads of 11 to 15 m. Easy to move and install, they can be quickly put to work in a wide range of dewatering situations. This includes excavations in small construction sites, mines, shipyards and other industrial sites.

The WEDA04B residual pump draws water down to 1 mm. With the built-in non-return valve, the pump can be moved without spilling or losing suction.

Finally, the WEDA04S and WEDA08S sludge pumps are sand and mud-resistant. Designed with a vortex cast iron impeller, particles and debris of 25 mm diameter can go through the pump housing with minimal wear, says Atlas Copco.

The new pump range was designed to improve du-rability and simplify maintenance. The new WEDA additions feature a small, lightweight and high ef-ficiency motor and their triple shaft seal design en-sures reliability. They are equipped with a motor pro-tection system that automatically stops the pump in case of either overheating or overload/over-current.

Battlemax® pumps to be rolled out in Zambiauct has a bright and sustainable future in Zambia – as has our partnership with Pump and Abrasion,” says Tri-Pump’s Managing Director, Larry Mapani.

Battlemax® pumps are primarily designed for heavy duty slurry applications. They boast a long life span and efficient operation backed up by main-tenance services designed to be easily accessed by clients – all reportedly resulting in a lower total cost of operation.

“Typically we go through a stringent appointment process when choosing exclusive partners and when it came to the Zambian venture, it was clear from the start that a partnership with Tri-Pump was the right way to go,” says James Pienaar, Head of Sales & Mar-keting for Pump and Abrasion. “When it comes to marketing the Battlemax® pumps in Zambia, we feel that we can rest easy as our product is in safe hands. We chose Tri-Pump because they are credible, expe-rienced and well entrenched in the market. We feel that by choosing them, we are here to stay.”

product news

36 12.13

South Deep Gold Mine’s development to its present status as Gold Fields’ ‘flagship ore reserve’ has been preceded by a history of complications punctuated by several chang-es of ownership. So too has the mapping of its complex reef formations been a prolonged and challenging process.

Only recently has the mine’s geological team responsible for its geological modelling, a vital aspect of mine planning, succeeded in fully coming to grips with it. They did this by bringing the dynamic 3D geological model-ling software Leapfrog Geo into play.

Accurate geological modelling is essential in the case of South Deep because of the ex-ceptional complexity of the alluvial deposit. It comprises 16 reef horizons in a west-to-east fan formation that is up to 130 m at its thick-est and is highly faulted throughout. In addi-tion, the reefs ‘pinch out’ at various points as

B&W contributes to furnace conversion

Metso’s Poly-Met shell lining concept Mega-liner™ is now available for SAG mills, in ad-dition to the other large-scale mills already served by the product. The patented system has been proven to reduce lining change out time by 30 % to 40 %.

“With the launch of the Megaliner™ for SAG mills, Metso can now supply this liner system to all large-scale mill applications that use modern 7- and 8-axis liner handlers,” says Tage Möller, Vice President of Mill Lining So-lutions, Metso Mining and Construction. “This is another step forward in improving safety for our customers while also maximising uptime.”

SAG mills are the mill of choice for most major mining operations. They are some of the largest mills around – and are constantly getting bigger with the largest ones present-ly having a diameter of 42 feet with 28 MW installed power. SAG mill linings require fre-quent maintenance, so it is critical that liners can be replaced with a minimum amount of downtime.

The product’s attachment system means that changes are fast and fluid. The bolts are inserted and removed from outside the mill, which also greatly improves safety; workers

Leapfrog Geo shines at South Deepthe fan narrows towards the west.

“In the absence of regu-larly updated and accurate geological modelling, the risk of off-target reef mining fre-quently occurring is a very real possibility. Any mining not perfectly compliant to the mine plan in exact three-dimensional space could be detrimental for the grade and cost profile of any operation,” Hendrik Pretorius, South Deep’s Chief Evaluator, ex-plains.

The fast, fully-mechanised production rate is the second factor that makes regular up-to-date geological model-ling essential at South Deep.

“Leapfrog Geo fully meets our require-ments in this respect by keeping ahead of the production rate. It provides accurate, genuinely three-dimensional profiles of the individual sections that are currently being mined, based on all known geological data,” Pretorius states.

By contrast the digital terrain 3D modelling program used previously for this purpose, while proving useful for processing and con-solidating data, was unwieldy and slow.

To make the analysis of the orebody more manageable for geological modelling purpos-es it has been divided into segments, which have been further subdivided into smaller segments designated ‘fault blocks’.

Not only is Leapfrog Geo more user-friend-

Senior geologists at South Deep view a Leapfrog Geo model of one of the fault blocks in the mine’s orebody. Seated second from left in the picture is Hendrik Pretorius, South Deep’s Chief Evaluator, and seen standing closest to the screen is Desmond Subramani, Principal Geologist and official Leapfrog distributor for the African region.

ly, but it builds a model more than three times faster than the digital terrain program can. “When using the digital terrain program, a geologist cannot quite finish building a mod-el of one fault block in a day, whereas with Leapfrog Geo he can easily build models for three complete fault blocks in a single day,” explains Pretorius

Furthermore, when an existing model re-quires updating as new data becomes avail-able, with the digital terrain modelling pro-gram it has to be completely reconfigured from scratch, whereas Leapfrog Geo updates it dynamically.

In addition, Leapfrog Geo produces a com-plete 3D model that more closely resembles the actual structure of any fault block. “Leap-frog Geo produces the fault block as a model with a volume that can be rotated to isolate individual faults in it, which can be examined and analysed more closely. A further advan-tage of the software is that all the available data can be stored within it, which makes it more integrated, more easily accessible and more secure,” says Pretorius.

South Deep’s geological team, however, continues to use the digital terrain program as part of its armoury of data collection tools that provides the information required to build and update its geological models in Leapfrog Geo.

South Deep, which is situated near the town of Westonaria about 50 km south-west of Johannesburg, adopted Leapfrog Geo in October 2012. Leapfrog’s local distributor of-fice provided the initial training for the mine’s core senior geological team. B&S Geological Software, tel (+27 11) 880-0278

Poly-Met shell lining system now available for SAG mills

JSE Alt-X-listed company B&W Instrumen-tation & Electrical Limited (B&W) was one of the contractor teams that recently assisted Machadodorp Works in Mpumalanga to suc-cessfully convert two of its five furnaces from ferrochrome to ferromanganese production.

“We had to remove existing motor control centres (MCCs), lights, racking and supports, instruments and cabling in order to install the new equipment, racking cabling, and lights,” explains David Gomes, B&W Regional Con-tracts Manager.

“The biggest challenge on the project

stemmed from the fact that it was a brown-fields project, which meant that sections of the plant were still operational,” he says. “We had to decommission portions of the plant before we could remove the old equipment, and then wait for the other contractors (mechanical, civil and structural) to complete the new instal-lation scope before we could install the new equipment and cabling. This made interfacing between the client, engineers and the various contractors on the project a daily task.”B&W Instrumentation & Electrical, tel (+27 11) 907-1663

do not need to stand in the drop-zone of the suspended liners.

Megaliner™ is made from a rubber/metal composite that weighs between 30 % and 60 % less than metallic liners of a similar size. This means that more value-added grinding media can be carried, improving the mill’s functionality.

In addition to the Megaliner™ for SAG mills, Metso is also launching a completely

new concept, the patented Liner Position-ing System. This is the first such tool of its kind, comprising a system that allows the liner handler operator to position the liner us-ing cameras to view operations remotely. The new technology gives the liner handler opera-tor full control of the process. This product is unique to Metso and only available to cus-tomers of its lining products.Metso, tel (+27 11) 961-4000

product news

3712.13

Pilot Crushtec International has been ap-pointed the Southern African distributor of the entire range of EDGE Innovate’s mobile and tracked stackers, stockpilers, tracked feeders, trommels, shredders and picking stations.

The significance of the Jet Park-based company’s strategic alliance with the North-ern Ireland materials handling specialist was underlined by that country’s Enterprise Minis-ter, Arelene Foster, during her recent visit to bauma Africa.

Foster was present as head of a trade mis-sion to promote her country’s products, es-pecially in the fields of mining and quarrying. “South Africa is seen by the Northern Ireland Executive as a country offering substantial business potential, especially in dynamic in-dustries such as materials handling with ap-plications in mining, quarrying, construction, infrastructure projects and recycling,” she said.

Foster also confirmed that the new accord would gain EDGE Innovate sales of £2 million in 2013 alone.

EDGE Innovate MD Darragh Cullen was equally upbeat in announcing the dealership agreement. “We are partnering with a profes-sional and successful dealer whose focus on the customer in terms of after sales service and support matches the ethos of our own organisation,” he said.

Pilot Crushtec to distribute EDGE Innovate rangePilot Crushtec CEO Sandro Scherf

believes that the alignment makes perfect commercial sense. “Our cus-tomers now have access to a range of specialised and innovative mate-rials handling equipment. EDGE In-novate products are designed and built to exacting standards and have been created with increased levels of production and cost efficiency in mind. Experience has shown that they deliver high capacity perfor-mance while handling large quanti-ties of coarse and abrasive mate-rial under the most extreme climatic conditions.”

Three specially selected products typical of EDGE Innovate concepts and technology are available with immediate effect: the EDGE low level tracked stacker LTS75, the Edge TS80 tracked stockpile and the EDGE RTS80 radial tracked stockpiler.

The LTS75 is used by mining and quarry-ing operations to handle and transport hard, abrasive rock and ore at a feed rate well in excess of 1 500 t/h. It has been designed specifically to facilitate the efficient low level offloading of hard ore from the largest trucks excavators, loaders and crushers.

The TS80 has been designed to deliver high volume materials processing performance in heavy duty industries where efficient feed to

screens, crushers and shredders is of para-mount importance. Its design feeding capa-bility accommodates intake from primary and secondary crushers and screens. The stock-piler also boasts dual power systems able to run under both electrical and diesel power. This in itself presents the user valuable oper-ating economies.

The RTS80 can easily produce kidney shaped, or virtually circular stockpiles, utilis-ing its wheeled drive facility which enables it to discharge material through a genuine 360 deg. It is also highly productive, able to handle rock and ore at a rate in excess of 1 600 t/h.Pilot Crushtec, tel (+27 11) 842-5600

The RTS80 radial tracked stockpiler.

product news

38 12.13

The recently launched key licensing system from Booyco Electronics is already reported

to be attracting widespread interest in the local

mining industry. According to the

company, the Booyco bio-metric key unit is the ideal so-lution where controlled ac-

cess to move-able items such

as earthmoving and mining equipment, blast-

ing boxes and carts, as well as conveyor starter panels and sub-stations, is essential.

The unit eliminates the injudicious borrow-ing of keys or access cards, thereby limiting access to sensitive and critical equipment. The system requires dual verification through a smart card that contains the user’s detailed information and the user’s fingerprint.

“When the user’s fingerprint is presented to the biometric fingerprint reader, he will be verbally requested by the system to present his card to the key unit. Once the user’s iden-tity and credentials have been authenticated, he will be permitted to open boxes or start up equipment,” Anton Lourens, MD of Booyco Electronics, explains.

Information such as the user’s red ticket, vehicle licence, induction certification and other work-related credentials are stored on the Mifare proximity card. “Should any of his information be invalid due to expiry of certifi-

The coming year will be a big one for the glob-al Manitou brand, after Manitou announced that two new telehandler models are in the final development stages at its Castelfranco R&D facility in Italy.

In an announcement, Manitou Southern Africa’s MD, Lindsay Shankland, explained: “Manitou is currently in the process of build-ing two new telescopic handlers due for intro-duction to the local market in the first semes-ter of 2014. At this stage, it’s important to say that the larger of the two models has been designed to safely and repeatedly handle up to 33 % more than the highest-capacity pro-duction telehandler currently on the market.”

When asked about the machines’ proposed market, Shankland added that the company has placed a new emphasis on size to cater for the growing heavy-industrial market and, in South Africa specifically, for the handling of conveyor belt reels in the mining sector.

With the possibility of custom attachment design, the new telehandler models are be-ing designed for standard operation with forks, jibs, winches, platforms, tyre handlers and belt reel handlers, among various others. New technologies will make the machines

Lead times in the pressurised African mining industry have become a decisive differentia-tor for suppliers. With this in mind, Multotec has established a bonded warehouse at Tema Port on the Atlantic coast of Ghana that will drastically reduce its equipment supply lead times to mining operations in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.

“For many years the West African min-ing industry has faced lead times as long as seven months for imported items of consum-able equipment and the move to establish a stockholding at a more central location is long overdue,” says Multotec’s Kris Vergote. “We identified Tema Port as the ideal site for such a warehouse, which will be managed by our office in Accra, just 25 km away.

“We’ve already begun the process of ne-gotiating supply contracts with customers in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali, who recog-nise the significant value to be gained from

Biometric key solution from Booyco

One of the new telehandler models with

stabilisers fully extended.

easier to use when multiple attach-ments come into play by automati-cally adapting the mode to the selected attachment without se-lection from the operator.

“Our R&D team has de-signed an automatic at-tachment recogni-tion system to help the telehandlers calibrate their weight limits and envelope tolerances, which means improved safety in every application,” added Shankland.

Manitou has created some of the telehan-dler market’s most sophisticated cab tech-nology – in line with the company’s viewpoint that comfort reduces fatigue, which means greater productivity. “We can expect a radi-cal new cab design with the introduction of the two new models that will give operators more space, as well as enhanced ergonom-ics that’s based on user experience gathered from Manitou’s global customer base,” said Shankland.

Manitou traditionally partners its high-end telehandler models with engines from

Mercedes-Benz. The new models will con-tinue with the tradition by featuring the au-tomaker’s 7,2-litre, 6-cylinder diesel engines, with outputs on the larger telehandler model designed for 1 400 Nm of torque and 240 kW (at 2 200 rpm).

The engines will be matched to a fully au-tomatic hydrostatic transmission, for driving at up to 25 km/h.

Manitou’s current flagship telehandler is the MHT10225, which is able to lift 22,5 tons of dead weight, and can extend its boom by up to 10 m. Manitou Southern Africa, tel (+27 11) 975-7770

New telehandlers on the way from Manitou

cates or possible suspensions, he will not be permitted to access the specific equipment. This registration failure, together with other access data captured during log-in transac-tions, will be stored on the system for future downloading,” Lourens continues.

The system is housed in a robust metallic case that is suited to the harsh conditions found on mining sites. The tamper-proof sys-tem, with an IP54 rating, is suitable for use in mining environments. Booyco also has an approved unit which is intrinsically safe and

suitable for use in hazardous areas.The system incorporates an Ethernet con-

nection for fast and seamless communica-tion with computers and networks, allowing the rapid download of data for analysis. Each registration allows for 10 user fingerprints to be recorded and the entire system stores up to 15 000 fingerprints and 10 000 proximity card IDs. Up to 100 000 access registrations can be stored on the system before down-loading to a PC is required, making it ideal for deployment on remote sites.Booyco Electronics, tel (0861) Booyco (266926)

being able to access the consumable equip-ment they need in a matter of weeks. At pres-ent 99 % of this type of product is imported from Europe, Australia, South Africa or other manufacturing hubs, and takes months to ar-rive on site from the date of order.”

The Multotec bonded warehouse will con-centrate on supplying consumable equip-ment such as mill linings, trommel panels, vibrating screen panels, interstage screens, ceramic tiles and adhesives. Vergote says this fulfils the ‘speed to market’ commitment within Multotec’s consumables supply model that seeks to respond as quickly as possible to customers’ needs.

Also in Ghana, Multotec has launched a dedicated service for the installation of mill liners, screen panels and the servicing and calibration of ore samplers. Bernadette Wilson, Multotec Group, tel (+27 11) 923-6193

Multotec establishes warehouse in Ghana

product news

3912.13

Johannesburg-based Osborn is wrapping up 2013 with a healthy order book, including or-ders for eight apron feeders and two Osborn modular plants.

Four new stockpile apron feeders – 1 500 mm x 6 000 mm in size – are to be sup-plied to the Kansuki Sulphides expansion project in the DRC, reports Osborn Marketing Director Martin Botha. The company secured this order based on the quality of its apron feeders, which are renowned for their perfor-mance and durability, he says.

Four apron feeders also form part of an order awarded to Osborn by long-standing customer Petra Diamonds. The machines are to be employed at the Koffiefontein mine in the Northern Cape, along with two new Os-born 3648 modular jaw crusher plants that have been ordered and will be utilised under-ground.

The two Osborn modular crushing plants each include a 35-ton capacity truck dump hopper, 48 x 16 vibrating grizzly feeder, 36  x  48 Telsmith jaw crusher and a 1 200 mm-wide discharge conveyor mounted onto a modular frame. “The four Osborn Had-fields 1 200 mm x 8 000 mm apron feeders will be feeding into the hoppers mounted on the modular frames,” Botha explains.

He notes that the Osborn modular plants offer substantial benefits for customers such as Petra Diamonds. “The pre-designed mod-

Automatic lubricant dispensers from SKF

ules reduce the engineering require-ment for new plant construction. A further advantage is that the plant can be disassembled quickly and relo-cated to another site. Its outstanding features include a heavy duty modu-lar frame. The standard discharge conveyor is 7  m-long. However, we have manufactured an 11 m-long dis-charge conveyor to meet the client’s requirements,” he adds.

The two modular plants – each weighing some 70 tons – will be dis-mantled and transported by road to the mine.

The scope of Osborn’s order includes the supply of all the equipment, its re-assembly

Osborn finishes 2013 on a high note

Osborn Marketing Director Martin Botha stands on an Os-born 3648 modular jaw crusher plant.

underground and the commissioning.Osborn Engineered Products, tel (+27 11) 820-7600

SKF has announced the introduction of the TLMR series of automatic lubricant dispens-ers for general machinery applications in heavy industries such as mining and oil and gas. The lubricators are resistant to water, dust and vibration.

The new lubricant dispensers deliver maxi-mum discharge pressure of up to 30 bar and provide reliable operation in temperatures ranging from -25 deg Celsius to +70 deg Cel-sius. The TLMR 101 lubricator is powered by

standard-sized, Lithium AA batteries while the TLMR 201 utilises 12- or 24-V DC. Both models are available with 120 mℓ or 380 mℓ, easily replaceable lubricant cartridges for applications requiring high lubricant con-sumption.

The TLMR lubricators are said to be simple to install and to offer a longer service life than competitive products (up to 24 months). SKF South Africa, tel (+27 11) 821-3500

product news

40 12.13

Index to advertisersBell Equipment Company 7Brelko 15Ernest Lowe 4Flexicon 37FLSmidth IFC/1Horne South Africa 23Komatsu OFCM & J Engineering 11MDM Engineering 28Mining Indaba 26

MMD Mineral Sizing 34New Concept Mining OBCNovatek 39Sandvik Mining IBCTenova Delkor 2Transcor Truck Hire 9WorleyParsons 17Verder Pumps 35Weir Minerals 32

Barloworld Equipment has introduced the Cat General Duty undercarriage, a new lower cost per hour option for Cat 320 Series B, C and D hydraulic excavators.

Designed for use in low to moderate im-pact applications, Caterpillar’s new General Duty product line – a form of Grease Lubri-cated Track (GLT) – provides a cost-effective alternative for medium size machine owners and was specifically developed following ex-tensive global research. Essentially, General Duty is built as a ‘run to destruction’ under-carriage, although in some circumstances a turn can be completed.

Customers now have the option of speci-fying either General Duty or Heavy Duty un-dercarriage, depending on job site demands and the requirement for extended wear life, and both products are covered by Caterpil-lar’s Undercarriage Assurance Programme (three years or 3 000 hours for General Duty, and 4 000 hours or four years for Heavy Duty).

“While General Duty undercarriage is a new product, it is not a new design,” explains Bar-loworld Equipment Group Product Specialist, Deon Delport. “In fact, General Duty under-carriage is built on the same principle as the

Cat General Duty undercarriage introducedSealed and Lubricated Track (SALT) system developed in 1974.”

Essentially, General Duty offers an-other alternative to help customers bal-ance product performance and cost, where the extra rug-ged durability of Cat Heavy Duty undercarriage is not always required. However, for extreme conditions such as forestry or waste handling or where high abrasion, impact and packing occur, Heavy Duty remains the best option. Other factors to consider include high machine usage, shoe width and grading.

“General Duty and Heavy Duty are not built to the same performance specifications,” Delport says. “However, the quality and reli-ability are the same in the intended applica-tions.”

Another advantage is that General Duty and Heavy Duty components are inter-changeable. This eliminates the need for ret-rofitting and keeps downtime to a minimum. Cat Heavy Duty shoes can also be installed on General Duty link assemblies to meet more demanding job site requirements.

With sealed track, internal pin and bushing

wear begins immediately due to contact and friction between the

two parts. In contrast, Caterpillar’s grease lubricated track (GLT) contains grease between

the pin and bushing to eliminate the contact and friction wear elements.

“To help customers achieve maximum track life, Barloworld Equipment’s after-sales team provides a Custom Track Service (CTS) where we inspect, measure and report un-dercarriage wear. This enables customers to make informed decisions about service and maintenance,” adds Delport. “CTS will also help determine which undercarriage system delivers the best value.”Barloworld Equipment, tel (+27 11) 929-0000

Since 1995, Gilbarco AFS, a pioneer in the field of managing fuel usage within the mining environment, has successfully installed fuel management solutions on mines in Southern Africa. Gilbarco AFS is the South African sub-sidiary of Gilbarco Veeder Root, a global fuel management and forecourt hardware and technology supplier.

Currently, the company is rolling out fuel monitoring and management systems for the fuel depots on two of the largest open-pit mines in Katanga Province in the DRC.

“With ever-increasing pressure to manage input costs, mine managers must establish effective control and measurement of fuel costs, particularly in opencast operations, where fuel can account for up to 30 % of the overall daily operating costs. In addition, this is essential for mitigating risk to oil compa-nies who provide fuel to the mines on con-signment,” says Graeme Trautmann, Busi-ness Development at Gilbarco AFS.

The company’s system solutions rely on the

Gilbarco AFS offers high-tech fuel managementlatest hardware and software technology along with the support of extensive onsite resources in the form of skilled and experienced techni-cians as well as site and facility managers.

Gilbarco AFS offers a full facilities manage-ment package that includes the provision of automation and infrastructure on site such as filtration, customised self-bunded tanks, light-ing and generators. It offers permanent on-site support staff, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide supervision as well as main-tenance and technical assistance – a unique market offering, according to Trautmann.

Gilbarco AFS also offers asset manage-ment, maintenance services, regular inspec-tions, repairs, tank cleaning, spillage man-agement and environmental services.

“By offering a total solution that accounts for every drop of fuel from receipt to issue, we ensure accountability of utilised fuel to relevant various cost centres, virtual elimina-tion of theft, greatly reduced spillage and bet-ter health, security, safety and environmental

management at fuel depots. The result is sav-ings not only on the total fuel bill, but also the overall cost of running the mining sites,” ex-plains Trautmann.

With sites receiving up to 50 deliveries of fuel each day, it is vital to record and verify the delivery when it is made. “By installing our own personnel and equipping the sites with our world-leading tank gauging and electronic metering technology, we are able to verify every delivery,” Trautmann explains. “We compare the metered delivery and tem-perature compensated delivery recorded by the tank gauge, with the delivery tanker’s me-ter reading, ensuring that the ordered quan-tity is in fact supplied in full.”

The technology constantly monitors the tanks for current inventory volumes and al-lows fuel orders to be placed with enough lead-time to prevent the mine from running dry and causing significant delays in the mine’s operation. Gilbarco AFS , tel (+27 11) 856-3600