Inside Mining May 2013

iningwww.miningne.ws

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ISSN 1999-8872 • R40.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 6 • No. 5 • May 2013

DIAMONDS & GEMS

Celebrating rare and unique discoveries

UNDERGROUND MINING

Changing perceptions and reality

Challenge us to clean your water

NuWater

WATER: the issues, the challenges and the solutions P37

SPECIAL FEATURE

Golder Associates’

Francois Marais and Charles Naidoo on the challenges, emerging

trends and best practice applications for tailings P8

HOT SEAT

T H E K N O W L E D G E Y O U N E E D F R O M T H E I N D U S T R Y E X P E R T S

1Ins ide Mining 05 /2013

ON THE COVER


iningN O W L E D G E Y O U N E E D F R O

May 2013May 2013CONTENTSNuWater: Challenge us to clean your mine water

P4P4Whether the challenge is too little or too much water, the requirements for fl exible, effective and effi cient treatment and desalination solutions suited to the specifi c demands of the sector continue to grow. NuWater has the answers.

18

14

74

EDITOR’S COMMENT33 A sparkling issue

HOT SEAT88 Tackling tailings – Golder Associates

tackles Africa

HOT TOPIC1212 WorleyParsons and TWP take the fi rst step

DIAMONDS & GEMS1414 Karowe – a truly rare and spectacular fi nd

1818 Letšeng’s big expansion on a minimal budget

2222 Lace – DiamondCorp’s leading lady

2626 Another gem from Cullinan

2626 De Beers’ ancestral heart

2727 Rockwell Diamonds kisses Klipdam goodbye

3030 Crystal-like andalusite

3434 Diamond process professionals

WATER WATCH3838 Central Basin’s AMD treatment plant takes shape

4444 Technical paper: Pollution remediation with nanoscale materials

4848 Salty solutions sink in for process water recycling

5050 AMD tailings retreatment

5252 Anglo ladies lead the water way

5454 MC Process takes dissolved air fl otation a step further

5757 The beginning and end of water preservation

5858 Top treatment for mine camp wastewater

6262 Gas detection – a water awakening

UNDERGROUND MINING7070 Redpath Mining SA – shaft sinkers, not

contract miners

7373 20 side-discharge hopper wagons en route to Rustenburg Platinum Mines

7474 A shameful reality for women underground

7676 Underwater mining: Marine miner trawls for more carats

MINING SERVICES7878 Software standardisation

8080 Enterprise development clean-up

52

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Highly commended 2012 PICA Cover of the Year - B2B Publishing

ISSN 1999-8872 • R40.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 6 • No. 5 • May 2013

DIAMONDS & GEMS

Celebrating rare and unique discoveries

UNDERGROUND MINING

Changing perceptions and reality

Challenge us to clean your water

NuNNuNuNuNuuuuuuWaWaWaWWaWaWWaWaWaWWWaWW tetetetetetetteteteeteerrrrrrrrrrrrNuNuNuNuNuNuuNuN WaWaWaWaWaWaWaWaWaWWaaaW teteteteteteteteteteterrrrrrrrrrr

WATER: the issues, the challenges and the solutions P37

SPECIAL FEATURES

Golder Associates’



HOT SEAT


Ins ide Mining 05 /2013 3

Publisher Elizabeth Shorten

Editor Laura Cornish

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Hot topic knockout

A SPARKLING ISSUE

To our avid readers, be sure to sign up and get the latest updates and inside scoop from the mining industry. Check out what we are talking about on our website, Facebook page or follow me on Twitter and have your say.

@mining_news

www.facebook.com/pages/Mining-News

I’ve been trying desperately to fi nd the right words to portray my experiences in putting this issue together, and I’m coming up with too many to fi t into a single page! So let me put it simply: it has been amazing, for a number of reasons, and I will tell you why…

Diamonds – need I say more? Any woman who says she doesn’t like diamonds is lying. For me, writing about diamonds is only one facet to my love for the stone.

Seeing them? Of course – they are truly one of the most beautiful things on earth. But my true appreciation for the diamond goes much deeper. Diamond formation is a truly spectacular thing – the right temperature (extreme heat), the right pressure (extreme pressure) and the right timing are all critical factors that need to be perfectly aligned in order to create a diamond. I only learnt in the past month that if a diamond, once formed, does not reach a ‘mineable’ level in time, it will likely resorb back into the earth. Fascinating! How many great diamonds have been missed as a result?

Th e combination of these factors is defi nitely the reason for the stone’s rarity. And with every passing year, supply is becoming more constrained as demand escalates. I wonder if there will be any real diamonds left for our grandchildren’s children? Experts are already predicting that demand will noticeably exceed supply from 2015.

Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. Why is this issue in particular so amazing? It’s thanks to good luck and good timing. Petra Diamonds revealed the discovery of a particularly magnifi cent blue diamond. Lucara Diamonds has not only recovered a large 239 carat stone, but is uncovering numerous rare sky blue diamonds. Gem Diamonds is in the middle of investigating international technologies to ensure its sacred, large diamonds don’t run the risk of getting crushed. See what I mean? Could our diamond feature have been timed any better?

Diamonds aside, our fi rst water-branded issue is sure to be a hit! It is, without a doubt, the biggest section in the magazine and the reason for this is obvious: water is a hot mining top-ic. Th e need to preserve, clean and respect it is more important now than ever before. Everyone is looking to make a positive impact on the environment – and I mean everyone!

I was fortunate enough to visit the fi rst new acid mine drain-age treatment plant, situated in Germiston – right under our noses. Its location and the reality of its existence hit me hard. Th e Wits Basin AMD situation is really bad, probably worse than we think – delays are non-negotiable. Being on-site, talk-ing to TCTA and the contractors involved, I have tried to cover all angles of this project, so be sure to read how the project has evolved, its progress and the long-term future planning as well. You will fi nd it on page 38.

Th e rest of the feature is fi lled with challenges, emerging is-sues and a variety of solutions to the water crisis. Th e water wheel is turning and progressive developments are happening. I love it!

Editor's comment

The Wits Basin AMD situation is really bad, probably worse than we think

On-site at the TCTA Germiston AMD project – I’m sure I’m one of the fi rst journalists to see

the project in action

Cover story

Ins ide Mining 05 /20134

It is becoming abundantly clear that the conventional approach to water and wastewater infrastructure does not meet the specifi c and onerous demands of the

mining sector. In order to meet water treat-ment challenges, the same ingenuity that has been applied to mining extraction and processing techniques needs to be applied to mine water management and treatment.

Recognising this, NuWater was built from the ground up specifi cally to address the unique water and wastewater treatment and reuse requirements of the mining, and oil and gas sectors. “Since the company was established in 2010, we have gone about building an expert engineering team and

technology portfolio that allows us to of-fer some of the most innovative water and wastewater treatment solutions and ser-vices available to these sectors,” says CEO John Holmes.

“In particular, we have focused on agility and fl exibility, both in terms of our technolo-gy and plant designs, as well as our commer-cial off erings. We also recognised early that having the best available product is only part of what our clients demand. As a result we have instilled an obsessive customer-service culture throughout the organisation, under-pinned by honesty and respect.”

In a short space of time, NuWater has proven the eff ectiveness and effi ciency of its

large-scale, completely ‘modular & mobile’ water treatment and desalination plants, and demonstrated the benefi ts of rapid plant deployment and, where necessary, redeploy-ment. Th e responsiveness and fl exibility that its plants off er is starting to reset expecta-tions in the mining sector. “We have also had the opportunity to demonstrate and prove our commercial fl exibility on a range of pro-jects, with commercial models ranging from full service build, own and operate (BOO) through to plant rental and more conven-tional equipment sales,” Holmes continues.

In all cases, NuWater retains complete re-sponsibility for design, manufacture and installation, as well as a very high level of

Challenge us to clean your NUWATER

Water is a hot topic in the mining sector as social responsibility expectations and more stringent environmental regulations enforcement rise. Whether the challenge is too little or too much water; the requirements for flexible, effective and efficient treatment and desalination solutions suited to the specific demands of the sector continue to grow.

Cover story


ongoing involvement in the operations and maintenance of these plants, including 24-hour remote plant monitoring from its op-erations centre in Cape Town.

From a technology perspective, NuWater – and its predecessor company, GrahamTek – has long been recognised internationally as having some of the most advanced reverse osmosis (RO) technology available. RO is the default choice for large-scale desalina-tion applications, be it seawater, brackish water or wastewater desalination. NuWater’s patented large-diameter 16-inch RO tech-nology, originally invented in South Africa, was pioneered in 2007 at the Singapore Pub-lic Utilities Board’s 55 000 m³/d secondary wastewater reclamation plant, the Bedok NEWater factory.

Th e high quality of the water produced from the Bedok plant results in most of it being directed for use in electronic wafer factories, with the balance being recycled for indirect potable reuse. Th e factory produces about 5% of Singapore’s water requirement

and is also home to the country’s NEWater visitor’s centre, which explains to visitors the technology used to reclaim clean water from wastewater. In 2007, NuWater also commis-sioned the world’s fi rst 16-inch RO seawater desalination plant for YTL PowerSeraya's power station on Jurong Island, Singapore. Global Water Intelligence voted this plant ‘Desalination Plant of the Year, 2008’.

Aside from the superior performance and effi ciency of NuWater’s 16-inch RO technolo-gy, another key feature is that the technology is signifi cantly more compact than conven-tional 8-inch RO technology. Th is is critical to achieving true plant modularity and mo-bility, which in turn allows for rapid deploy-ment and, where necessary, redeployment of large-scale capacity for mine wastewater treatment and reclamation applications.

“Having proven that our 16-inch RO tech-nology and proprietary plant design al-lows for a completely ‘modular & mobile’ large-scale RO solution, we then success-fully set about designing the most compact

mine water

high-capacity ultrafi ltration (UF) pretreat-ment modules. We have also extended our high capacity UF and RO ‘modular & mo-bile’ product portfolio further to cover brine treatment and expect to deploy the fi rst commercial modules in the next few months. Our product development team is also work-ing on an RO pretreatment module based on ceramic membranes for release in the next few months,” Holmes reveals.

Th is ceramic membrane technology is more cost-eff ective than equivalent polymeric membrane solutions and has the added benefi t of being resistant to acidic water or any other chemical damage. “We expect this treatment module to be particularly useful for mining applications.”

“Superior technology is all well and good, but at NuWater we appreciate that real knowledge and capability is only built through experience, often gained through sweat and tears. Nowhere is this more true than in the mining sector where operating conditions are challenging and mistakes and

Cover story


delays costly. We have built a wealth of expe-rience through successful projects delivered to date and have earned the trust of demand-ing customers such as Anglo American and Gold Fields,” Holmes outlines.

In late 2010, NuWater was awarded a BOO project for the provision of a water treat-ment and desalination solution of up to 20 000 m³/d for Anglo American Th ermal

Coal’s New Vaal colliery, near Vereeniging. NuWater proposed its completely ‘modular & mobile’ plant, which enabled it to have the fi rst treatment capacity commissioned within weeks of contract signing. Treatment capacity was then ramped up over the next three months through the addition of fur-ther modules.

Th e modularity of the plant allows capac-ity to be added or removed with minimal, if any, impact on day-to-day treated water production. Th e high-quality product wa-ter produced by the NuWater plant at New Vaal is pumped to the neighbouring Eskom

dela s costl We ha e b ilt a ealth of e pe Coal’s Ne Vaal collier near Vereeniging

Using proprietary technologies, NuWater provides a range of products, services and financing solutions to treat or reclaim almost any quality and quantity of water. Our modular and, where relevant, mobile treatment plants allow for rapid deployment or redeployment, making them suited to decentralised water treatment applications (including specialist applications such as mining and oil & gas). Wherever possible, NuWater also aims to extract value from the waste streams created. Challenge us to clean your water.

WATER REGENERATION & DESALINATION

Seawater Surface Water Groundwater

People Mining Industry Oil & Gas

WastewaterReclamation

Inorganic Salts

Clean WaterWastewater

Recycle

Brine / Waste StreamEffluent From Other Sources

OPTIONAL WASTE TREATMENTPRIMARY WATER TREATMENT

Disposal

Sell

Organic / Biomass

Fuel

By-Products

Lethabo power station for use as cooling water, further enhancing the environmental credentials of the project. Th e initial two-year contract period is now being extended by a further three years.

In mid-2012 Gold Fields selected NuWater, together with Murray & Roberts, to provide two rapidly deployable modular plants, one treating 2 700 m³/d and the other 7 200 m³/d, for its Tarkwa operations in Ghana. Once again, the modularity and mobility of the Nu-Water plant was a key factor in the selection process along with the sense of urgency and client commitment displayed by the NuWater team. Gold Fields also benefi ted from NuWa-ter’s ability to deliver diff erent parts of the plants at short notice from its operations in South Africa, Singapore and the UK.

“Furthermore, our ability to off er com-mercial fl exibility through a combination of equipment rental, equipment sale, and oper-ations and maintenance services has allowed Gold Fields to achieve a fast and cost-eff ective solution to its water treatment requirement.”

Interest from new clients in NuWater’s ‘modular & mobile’ solutions continues to grow as the benefi ts of both technical and commercial fl exibility become more obvious. Extension of the company’s product off er-ing to cover brine treatment and acid mine drainage applications is also putting it in the best possible position to provide complete mine wastewater treatment, reclamation and reuse solutions and services to address the most challenging requirements.

Graphic representation of NuWater’s water reclamation and reuse procedure

In mid-2012, Gold Fields selected NuWater to provide two of its rapidly deployable

modular plants for its Tarkwa operations in Ghana

In each issue, Inside Mining offers advertisers the opportunity to promote their company’s products and services to the appropriate audience by booking the prime position of the front cover which includes a two-page feature article. The magazine offers advertisers an ideal platform to ensure the maximum exposure of their brand. Please call +27(0)11 465 5452 to secure your booking.

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Hot seat


Golder’s environmental consulta-tion, engineering design and con-struction expertise, coupled with its vast global mining engineer-

ing-focused business, facilitates a specialised focus on all tailings facility aspects – from

design and facility development through to construction, operational management, clo-sure and rehabilitation.

Th anks to the onset of more stringent mining environmental legislation and the implementation of global best practices, this

business area is seeing considerable growth, not only in South Africa, but throughout the African continent.

“We are not a general civil engineering com-pany; we concentrate and specialise in key market sector areas, which for the mining

TACKLING TAILINGS

Managing mine waste in AfricaThe world is demanding greater awareness and environment preservation action from large-scale industries. For the mining sector, this means paying attention to one of its largest environmental exposures and liabilities: mine waste. Golder Associates examines the greatest challenges, emerging trends and best practice applications for mine waste – tailings in particular. Laura Cornish reports.

Hot seat


sector include water supply, wastewater, mining infrastructure, geotechnical engi-neering and project management for large-scale projects,” highlights Golder’s head of engineering services, Charles Naidoo.

Th e company’s Ground Engineering Divi-sion incorporates tailings and mine waste management. Principal and strategic advisor to engineering, Francois Marais, outlines Golder's three ground engineering sub dis-ciplines: tailings delivery schemes such as pumps and pipeline systems surveillance, which involves tailings facility monitoring – the ongoing monitoring of tailings facilities in terms of structural integrity, Golder's per-formance against design intent and environ-mental exposure, and tailings facility designs.

Tailings – an increasingly significant role“Th e viability of a new mine is infl uenced by the feasibility and cost-eff ectiveness of

the tailings stream management, which ul-timately boils down to implementing the correct and appropriate technology for the application in question,” Marais acknowledg-es. “Our ultimate aim is to demonstrate that we can add value to unlocking the unmined prosperities and resources in Africa by ensur-ing mine waste and tailings management is

conducted in a responsible and environmen-tal sustainable manner,” Naidoo adds.

Mining companies are looking to consult-ing experts who understand and off er the full suite of tailings technologies and methodolo-gies, and are clearly showing a preference for companies capable of off ering the full ‘cra-dle to grave’ service, from characterisation of the tailings for new facilities, including feasible designs, through to tailings closure planning. Companies with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of all tail-ings aspects are benefi ting in today’s new, environment-conscious world.

“Golder tailings experts don’t only have a thorough knowledge of all current tailings technologies and practices, but further ac-knowledge that technology ranges are di-rectly linked to how tailings/slimes/slurries are ‘densifi ed’ through physical and chemical treatment, for example dewatered or thick-ened, before being pumped and disposed onto a tailings facility. Knowledge of all dep-osition methodologies, including cycloning and paste depositioning, dewatered and solid mine waste disposal is an asset,” Marais says.

And, while the construction and manage-ment of tailings facilities have always pre-sented environmental challenges, there are several major challenges and concerns the industry is currently facing and addressing, which Marais outlines.

Meeting international best practices“Ensuring that the design process for a new tailings facility meets international best practice is one of the industry’s greatest chal-lenges. Investment companies in mining de-velopments nowadays expect only the most viable, sustainable and environmental defen-sible standards. Because we recognise that

the development and operation of a tailings facility has the potential to have the largest environmental impact, we are sensitive in our design approach and apply only the most viable design technologies e.g. engineer-ing barrier systems that would pose min-imum risk to the receiving environment,” Marais notes.

Golder’s tactical method is to apply a quan-tifi ed modelling approach, which simulates the tailings source, the seepage pathway and receptors within the zone of infl uence of the tailings facility. “Th is enables us to quantify the impact of the tailings facility in terms of acceptable risk levels.”

Understanding in-country standards From an African perspective, the interpre-tation and comprehension of specifi c in-country standards is another great chal-lenge. Fortunately, thanks to specialised in-put from its vast array of international col-leagues, such challenges are easily overcome, “especially if we are involved in the full de-sign process for a typical tailings facility, which includes feasibility studies, detailed designs and overseeing implementation of the facility in terms of quality control, con-tract administration, site supervision and project management”.

Golder also has teams in place that conduct quarterly and annual inspections and audits on existing tailings operations. Marais says that this surveillance service must be in compliance with in-country legislation and international best practices.

“Regardless of country or client, we want them to know that together we can fi nd solutions to operate in a sustaina-ble, environment-respecting manner,” Naidoo reiterates.

Reducing closure liabilitiesMarias identifi es that “using defunct opencast operations for tailings disposal has become an attractive option for via-ble tailings disposal and at the same time reducing closure liabilities. Th e challenge, however, is to do so in an environmentally

A case study: New South Deep New Doornpoort tailings storage facility

• Golder was leading design and implementation consultant.

• Golder completed this 20-month R387 million project on time and within budget, meeting all the client deadlines.

• Excellent safety record with working over 1.6 million man hours lost-time injury free.

• Over 4 million cubic metres of earthworks, 35 km of steel HDPE pipelines, four motorised control centres, three pump stations and 14 ha of HDPE lining for 1 million cubic metres of return water dam.

• Golder manages 10 sub-consultants and two main contractors.

• Project manager: André Richardt – head of integrated project management at Golder.

Finsch tailings storage facility

“The fundamental discipline for tailings engineers is geotechnical engineering; however, we believe the success of this nurturing process is through project exposure – experience is key.” Francois Marais

in Gauteng. Companies are driven by im-proved processing and beneficiation tech-nologies, an attractive gold price and the anticipated shortage of uranium in the nearby future. “The long-term environ-mental benefit of large-scale tailings rec-lamation projects is footprint clean-ups of current tailings facilities.” The technology challenges are to reclaim, reprocess and

transport large tailings tonnages and to develop new mega tailings storage facilities to ensure that these projects are viable”.

The coal industry also has much to gain from the correct handling and manage-ment of its slurry and coal discards. “When slurry and coal discards are handled prop-erly within well-planned and designed facilities, opportunities could open up to reclaim these waste sources as future prod-ucts. This has substantial environmental

Hot Seat


acceptable manner.” Golder personnel are often involved during closure and post-clo-sure design activities where tailings engi-neering, specialised technology and scien-tifi c knowledge is required.

New engineering generations“Growing and nurturing young and upcom-ing engineers into these specialised areas requires dedication. Th e fundamental disci-pline and feed source for tailings engineers is geotechnical engineering; however, we believe the success of the nurturing process of young engineers is through project expo-sure – experience is key,” says Marais.

Emerging trendsMarias acknowledges that some of Golder’s clients are forming joint venture consorti-ums for large-scale reclamation projects, particularly in the gold- and uranium-focused sectors. “The focus has also shifted from the East Rand to the far West Rand

Golder’s presence in Africa

Golder’s presence in Africa is already well established in certain regions, but is likely to continue growing as mining development expands and environmental legislation escalates, resulting in a greater need for environmental engineering consultants.

According to Naidoo, the company’s exposure in West Africa is vast, particularly for its tailings, geotechnical engineering and mining infrastructure services. “We are also active in Mozambique’s Tete and Maputo areas as well as in Botswana – again, providing various tailings and mine waste activity services. Outside of these two coal regions, we also have a strong project presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Zambia.”

“Our ultimate aim is to prove that we can add value to unlocking unmined prosperities and resources in Africa by ensuring they will pose little or no threat to the environment.” Charles Naidoo

and financial benefits, as lower grade coal waste material is now being considered for coal-fired power station applications. Power plant technology is being upgrad-ed specifically to take on lower grade coal materials.” Marais says up to 30% of run of mine is currently classified as coal mine waste materials.

In Africa, particularly the emergence of

new coal mines in Mozambique, coal waste rock volumes are extremely high due to high overburden stripping ratios, to ex-pose thicker coal seams. This is leading to the establishment of large-scale waste rock dumps, which can be equally as hazardous to the environment as tailings facilities if not designed, built and managed properly. “Water and seepage management is essen-tial to minimise potential environmental impacts from coal waste rock dumps.”

ABOVE South Deep tailings storage facility

BOTTOM LEFT Ensuring that the design process for a new tailings facility meets international best practice is one of the

industry’s greatest challenges

BOTTOM RIGHT Mining companies are looking to consulting experts who understand and offer the full suite of

tailings technologies and methodologies

Hot topic


Multinationals want to work with single multi-skilled, large-scale engineering enti-ties with worldwide exposure

and capabilities,” says Nigel Townsend, for-mer chairman of TWP and new Customer Sector Group executive for the WorleyPar-sons minerals, metals and chemical custom-er sector group.

Th e merger between the global engineering group and the local mining engineering ex-pert is not only delivering to this exact need, but represents the start of a new era as mul-tiple engineering houses are following suit.

Francis McNiff , regional MD for Wor-leyParsons sub-Saharan Africa, reveals that the company had been looking to ex-pand its minerals, metals and chemicals division outside of Australia for a number of years. It is also no secret that TWP had been pursuing its global growth strategy aggressively and while it had some success, it required the backing of a major global entity such as WorleyParsons to fulfi l its aspirations completely.

“Our mining strengths lie predominantly in bulk commodities such as iron ore and base metals, predominantly in Australia. Our acquisition needed to fulfi l two areas: geographical footprint expansion (particu-larly in Africa and South America) and a

more diverse service off ering. TWP’s forte lies in underground mining development and precious metals processing. We believe these two areas hold a lot of promise for growth and opportunity for the entire Wor-leyParsons Group,” McNiff outlines.

And because both companies bring such diff erent strengths to the table, their capa-bilities complement each other perfectly. “Together we will execute large, complex projects without limitation by leveraging and exploiting our best strengths and skills under one umbrella.”

WorleyParsons TWPThe newly branded WorleyParson’s TWP company will represent the WorleyParsons Group’s global mining hub/centre for un-derground mining and precious metals processing going forward; all new projects will be executed from South Africa.

The former CEO of TWP Holdings, Digby Glover, has been appointed COO of Wor-leyParsons RSA, which includes WorleyPar-sons TWP.

As a large-scale global entity with more than 40 000 employees spread across 41 countries, WorleyParsons has first-class, advanced systems and processes that will further enhance its new mining hub’s ser-vice suite. And because it is strong in both

the infrastructure and environment fields, the addition of a strong mining arm allows it to offer the full pit-to-port service, us-ing South Africa’s competitive cost base. South Africa still remains the business gateway to Africa, especially from a pric-ing perspective. Mining currently repre-sents about 10% of WorleyParsons’ busi-ness. Its only current major mining project in South Africa is the full EPCM contract for Sasol Mining’s Shondoni brownfields expansion. “We are, however, also involved in a number of small projects and studies,” McNiff mentions.

The longer-term future“The acquisition will ensure our global strategy is on the right path - achieving balance in the minerals, metals and chem-ical fields. We believe the minerals and metals fields will be a fundamental pillar of our business,” McNiff points out. “We will bring robust systems and tools that

WorleyParsons and TWP take the ENGINEERING EVOLUTION

WorleyParson’s acquisition of TWP Holdings marks the beginning of a new engineering era. Together they form one of the world’s African continent’s largest engineering houses, setting the new standard for the entire engineering fraternity, writes Laura Cornish.

Nigel Townsend, Francis McNiff and Digby Glover

From beginning to end, any project needs critical attention

to detail. Our sound governance, monitoring, control

and organisation will ensure your project is successfully

executed.

Call us, or visit www.twp.co.za

TWP South Africa

T 0861 TWP TWP (SA) / +27 11 218 3000

E [email protected]

Everything Absolutely Under Control.

can deliver from small to the large. Our ability to move people around the world, bring the necessary proven capability to where it is needed, share skills from multiple locations, manage costs and workload is what gives us our competitive edge.”

WorleyParsons’ acquisition of TWP has delivered it with a healthy mining projects portfolio. The company has numerous shaft sinking projects under way; its most recent EPCM contract is for the underground expansion development of De Beers Con-solidated Mining’s Venetia kimberlite.

“We are busy with a variety of feasibility studies and our cur-rent project portfolio is solid,” Townsend notes. “Underground mining is growing increasingly attractive around the world, which ensures steady, longer-term access to minerals and is con-sidered more environment-friendly.”

first step D id you k

now

?

d y ou

The

same water

that existed on the

earth millions of years

ago is still present today,

but now has to stretch

to meet the needs

of seven billion

people.

Water Watch

ABOVE TWP's experience in underground development is globally recognised

BELOW TWP specialises in precious metals processing

Diamonds & gems


F rom 2012 until now, it has been an exceptional and transforma-tional period for Lucara Dia-monds (Lucara). It will soon cel-

ebrate its first year of production, which began with the commissioning of its Bot-swana-based, 100% owned Karowe min-ing project (AK6 kimberlite and process plant). The real celebration, however, is the recovery of some exceptionally rare and large-carat diamonds.

On 10 March, Lucara recovered a 239.2 carat diamond from Karowe. In addition to the recovery of this exceptional gem, two more large stones weighing 124 carats and 71.1 carats have also been discovered. The diamonds were recovered from the central kimberlite domain, which has only recently be-come ore feed to the plant as the pit expands towards the south.

The diamonds are current-ly being studied prior to being sold later in the year. “The recovery of these large stones is hugely significant to both Lucara and Bot-swana. To the best of my knowledge, the 239 carat stone is one of the largest diamonds ever to have been recovered from the high-ly prolific Orapa kimberlite field in over 40 years of production. The recovery of a diamond of this size and the strong oper-ational performance in our first few quar-ters of operation demonstrate the quality of the asset as well as the competence of the operations team,” says Lucara’s presi-dent and CEO, William Lamb.

The recovery of such a magnificent sto-ry has already made company history,

KAROWE

A truly rare and spectacular find Every diamond miner hopes to find a unique or rare diamond in their asset. Fortunately, for diamond junior Lucara Diamonds, a member of the Lundin Group of Companies, its flagship mine Karowe keeps revealing such gems, writes Laura Cornish.

especially considering there were no large-scale stone predictions from any of the ex-ploration samples. “It is the rare occasions such as this that remind me why I find dia-mond mining so exciting.”

Some would consider the 239 carat Karowe diamond a ‘cherry on the cake’. The mine, however, started revealing its true unique potential late last year. In Oc-tober and November 2012, Lucara recov-ered two rare sky blue diamonds, weighing 9.46 carats and 4.77 carats, respectively.

The larg-

er stone was sold in November, bringing in US$4.5 million (R40.36 million) – indicat-ing just how much the market loves them, Lamb points out. “The recovery of the 4.77 carat blue diamond, which was sold in March for US$1.6 million, brings the total number of blue diamonds recovered in the past few months to four.” The im-pact of these rarities on Lucara’s cash flow is significant.

While the Karowe process plant, compris-ing dense media separation and X-ray, is

still in its infancy, the retrieval of such val-uable stones has already seen Lucara relook and re-evaluate its plant design. “Our plant was only ever designed to recover typical run-of-mine material. We have, however, al-ready started a programme to evaluate what changes need to be made to the plant and how to change the process stream slightly to accommodate the possibility of recovery of bigger diamonds,” Lamb discusses.

Lucara is in the process of transferring a Russian Bourevestnic high capacity X-ray machine from its Lesotho-based

Mothae project (currently on care and main-

tenance), which Lamb believes will help evalu-ate how best to alter Karowe’s circuitry process.

The Karowe plant has been

designed to pro-cess 2.5 Mtpa of

kimberlite, produc-ing 400 000 carats a year.

The pipe actually consists of three separate kimberlites:

a central, northern and a southern lobe. The centre lobe will be mined over the next four or five years and is showing high-grade, large white stone proportions. North lobe grades are slightly higher with the quality of the diamonds being lower by comparison, while exploratory predictions for the south lobe (70% of total kimber-lite) reveals slightly “smaller” diamonds.

Lamb’s expectations for Karowe remain high in the long term. Not only is the pipe open at depth below 758 m, but the propor-tion of Type IIA diamonds recovered dur-ing exploration came from the south lobe, including a population of pink and purple

Diamonds & gems

diamonds and smaller blue stones. “Th is in-creases the probability for recovering larg-er, coloured stones from this area as well,” he says.

“Karowe has delivered beyond expecta-tions in every regards and has established itself as one of Botswana’s premier diamond producers in just eight months,” Lamb ex-claims. During 2012, the project produced a total of 303 000 carats from 1.4 Mt of ore, exceeding guidance by 12%. Proceeds from the sale of nearly 216 000 carats totalled US$55 million, resulting in an average sales price of US$253/carat – also exceeding year-end expectations. During the fi rst quarter of 2013, the company sold 144 712 carats of Karowe diamonds for gross proceeds of US$32.5 million. Th e 2013 sales included six parcels totalling 18 233 carats, which were withheld from the December 2012 sale due to low volumes of competitive bidding.

Lucara anticipates holding eight sales (two per quarter) in 2013. Th e sales are anticipat-ed to average 50 000 carats of diamond each and there will be client viewings conducted in both Gaborone and Antwerp.

“Because this is Lucara’s fi rst greenfi eld mine project, we are risk-averse. We have a highly skilled staff complement of 87 peo-ple who are making the main decisions and

have all been involved in the development of other diamond projects. Senior manage-m ent portfolio’s alone includes eight diff er-ent diamond projects.” Contractors provide bulk of labour and include plant operator Minopex and WBHO local subsdiary Kal-con, which is responsible for mining.

MothaeLamb likens the company’s second asset, the Lesotho-based Mothae, to the famous Letšeng pipe, also in Lesotho. Mothae Diamonds, which is owned 75% indirectly by Lucara through Mothae Dia-monds Holdings and 25% by the Lesotho government, holds a 100% interest in the

Mothae project. It comprises a number of kimberlite blows and contains large Type IIA stones. A trial mining programme was completed in September 2012 with fi nal processing of hard, unweathered kimber-lite from the central resource domain of the south lobe. Th is brings the total tonnage sampled from the Mothae kimberlite for economic evaluation purposes to 603 819 dry tonnes, yielding an average sample grade of 3.88 cpht.

Diamond sold from Mothae have demon-strated the potential for the kimberlite to deliver high value goods. In the fi rst two held, the average diamond price exceed-ed US$870/ carat, with the highest value


LEFT One of the rare sky blue diamonds recovered from Karowe

ABOVE 239 carat recovered from Karowe

BELOW Karowe DMS plant

D i d yo u

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More fresh

water is stored

under the ground in

aquifers than on the

earth’s surface.

Water Watch

Diamonds & gems

R E L Y O N O U R A B I L I T Y

SUSTAINABLE, RESPONSIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND

MINING AT KAROWEWilson Bayly Holmes - Ovcon Limited 53 Andries street, Wynberg, Sandton P.O. Box 531 Bergvlei 2012. South Africa Tel: +27 11 321 7200 Fax: +27 11 887 4364 (e) [email protected] (w) www.wbho.co.za

diamond sold being a 28.9 carat stone that sold for more than US$57 000/carat.

Th e company is currently reviewing a num-ber of development options for Mothae

following the completion of its trial mining programme. “Th e project’s biggest hurdle is power. We need a 60 km power line to deliver between 10 and 12 MW of power to site. We are not in the position to provide the enor-

mous capital outlay for such infrastructure requirements. Th e new minister of mines, however, is lobbying heavily with the minis-ter of energy for countrywide infrastructure,

which is clearly a step in the right direction and we are confi dent of the outcome. We are, however, investigating alternative solutions to fi nd a viable way to take this project for-ward,” Lamb outlines.

Further growth“Karowe is providing us with a revenue stream enabling us to look at other opportu-nities to expand our portfolio. I am particu-larly keen on partnering with other juniors at the advanced exploration level.”

While most diamond experts have indicat-ed that the chance of discovering a new and viable kimberlite pipe is almost non-existent, Lamb has his own theory. “Full-scale kimber-lite exploration last occurred in the Orapa district at least 40 years ago and while many discoveries then were considered unviable, I believe some of those areas should be revis-ited. Economics have changed, indicating the possibility for projects that were once con-sidered unfeasible to be feasible today. Th e AK6 kimberlite is a good example of this.”

The 239 carat stone is one of the largest diamonds ever to have been recovered from the Orapa kimberlite field in over 40 years of production

LEFT Karowe opencast mine

INSET 239 carat recovered from Karowe

Diamonds & gems


There is an upside to fi nancially de-pressed global economic conditions. It forces us to evaluate alternative methods with which to deliver simi-

lar targets and aspirations, with signifi cantly smaller cash budgets,” Gem Diamonds’ CEO, Cliff ord Elphick, points out.

Elphick is specifi cally referring to its 70%-owned Letšeng diamond mine, situat-ed at the highest point of Lesotho’s Maloti mountains. In January 2012, the company commenced with project Kholo – an expan-sion intended to almost double the mine’s run-of-mine (ROM) output from 5.6 Mtpa to 10 Mtpa with the addition of a third process plant, increasing carat production from just

over 100 000 to around 200 000 ctpa.While economic conditions have seen the

mine’s expansion plans change route sig-nifi cantly, the objective remains the same. “Regardless of the world’s fi nancial mar-kets, we are driven to strengthen our po-sition as a global leader in the supply of high-quality diamonds. Th is has forced us to review our expansion plans and fi nd alter-native ways to achieve similar results with the smallest amount of cash necessary,” Elphick continues.

So project Kholo remains in progress, only now it consists of a variety of smaller-scale processes and procedures – at both mine and plant – that will increase ore throughput,

GEM DIAMONDS

A big expansion on a minimal

A weak, financially constrained economy continues to see mines retain their cash conservative status. The situation, however, has seen Gem Diamonds rise to the occasion, writes Laura Cornish.

Diamonds & gems


budget

improve diamond liberation, reduce diamond damage and increase the amount of produc-tion available for cutting and polishing. Th e optimised Kholo project will not achieve all of the goals of the original Kholo project but will approach this on a ‘piece meal’ basis.

“While the decision to abandon the con-struction of an entirely new, state-of-the-art third plant and recovery is sound, we believe we can still reach 7.5 Mtpa.

The new project KholoStep one: Improving security measuresIt is a simple fact that theft is one of the ma-jor diamond mine challenges. To reduce this risk further for Letšeng, Gem Diamonds has

completed an enhanced and upgraded secu-rity system with measures to ensure that no carats leave the property unaccounted for.

“We have now combined upfront screen-ing of our personnel to determine their risk profi le, based on behavioural traits with fur-ther regular polygraph testing in the recov-ery plant. We have also changed our security service provider and incorporated biometric fi nger printing into our access control. All of the security cameras have also been up-graded into high resolution state-of-the-art cameras,” Elphick reveals. All high risk areas will be controlled with much improved access control generally.

Step two: Addressing diamond damageLetšeng is globally recognised for its large, high-quality diamonds and has a high occur-rence of Type II diamonds, which are brittle and prone to damage, particularly with the current on-site crushers.

Following studies in Japan, Gem Diamonds has acquired four new Kawasaki Cybas i1200 crushers, which have been specifi cally confi g-ured to the mine’s ore characteristics. Th ey are already on route to site and will be com-missioned by the end of the second quarter of 2013.

“We are expecting better diamond libera-tion, with recirculating loads being dramati-cally reduced and far less damage to our dia-monds, which ought to immediately lead to increased revenues,” Elphick points out.

Step three: Incorporating new technologiesElphick is expecting to achieve positive re-sults following the incorporation of new dia-mond recovery technologies into its process.

“We are currently undergoing feasibility studies using X-ray transmissive technology (XRT). Because our Type II diamonds have low fl uorescence properties, they are some-times missed using our current technology.Th e incorporation of XRT in combination will ensure we recover as close to 100% of our Type II diamonds as possible.”

Letšeng conducted tests on this and other technologies for about six months and recov-ered a number of diamonds from its tailings, which achieved US$12 million (R111.07 mil-lion) in revenue. XRT will enable the mine to recover large, high-value diamonds early on in the recovery process, which reduces the chance for damage.

Another technology avenue Gem Dia-monds is pursuing is near infrared waste sorting, which has the potential to reduce internal and external waste dilution by as much as 25% in some facies. “By removing basalt waste material, more space is obvi-ously made available for diamond bearing ore in the recovery plant,” Elphick explains. Th e mine is currently testing the technology on-site, which it will complete at the end of the year.

Th e Letšeng mine consists of the Main and Satellite pipe. While Elphick admits that the grade from its Main pipe (which comprises 75% of total annual production) has dropped slightly to between 1.6 and 1.7 cpht, the combination of its long lifespan and ability to deliver large, top colour, exceptional white diamonds will ensure it retains its ‘top star’ status, especially as prices increase and glob-al diamond resources deplete.

GhaghooTh e development of its second kimberlite project, the underground mine at Ghaghoo, located in Botswana, continues to make steady progress. “We are slightly behind schedule due to two fatalities on-site late

LEFT Letšeng main pipe

ABOVE Large diamonds recovered at Letšeng

Diamonds & gems

last year. We immediately suspended tun-nelling activities while the accident investi-

gation was being completed and have now incorporated

additional safety meas-ures, which have slowed down the decline tunnel development rate.”

Th e process plant, how-ever, is 90% complete and

the camp is fi nished. Water storage dams, slimes facilities and support services are also in place. “We anticipate reaching the ore body at the end of the fi rst half of 2014, with fi rst carats delivered towards the mid-dle of 2014.” Ghaghoo’s average grade is ex-pected to be about 26 cpht. Just over 400 m of the access decline through the Kalahari sand has been developed – of 550 m in to-tal. A unique cement ring lining has been

incorporated into the decline to compen-sate for the soft Kalahari sand in the area.

Once operational, Gem Diamonds will im-plement a phased approach to evaluate the full potential of the mine. Phase 1 sees Gem Diamonds fully understand the ore body characteristics in terms of real grade, real di-amond price and market demand. Phase 2 is based on the results of Phase 1 and will look at an expansion (either doubling capacity or slightly more). Th e current plant has been designed to treat approximately 700 000 tpa. “It’s a nice big ore body, which has been well sampled and drilled.”

Beyond Letšeng and GhaghooFollowing the sale of its Ellendale mine in Australia, Letšeng and Ghaghoo remain the only two African assets in the Gem Dia-monds portfolio.

“Our immediate strategy is to produce suf-fi cient cash fl ows to begin dividend payouts to our shareholders. We have a preference for organic growth and that is our focus for the immediate future.

Autogenous mill arrival at Ghaghoo

Di d

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?The total

amount of water

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about 326 million

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W

ater Watch

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Diamonds & gems


JSE/AIM-listed diamond junior Dia-mondCorp has travelled a long road since acquiring the non-producing Free State-based Lace project in

2005. Although once an operational mine (from 1908 to 1939, producing 750 000 carats at 16 cpht), a well-thought-out mine design, development and production schedule programme has been re-estab-lished to ensure that the road to produc-tion is smooth and maximum carats are obtained for minimal cash. Even its final barrier – raising sufficient funds to imple-ment the underground development plan – has been broken through and the journey to production begun.

The company’s CEO, Paul Loudon, has spent years indicating the projects attrac-tion and has spoken of its lucrative gem-like quality stones, including rare pink and lilac stones.

The Lace diamond mining project is possibly one of the last remaining lucrative kimberlites in South Africa. In addition to its attractive carat content, production start-up is due in 2015 – the first year that diamond demand is expected to exceed supply, writes Laura Cornish.

THE LOVELY LACE

DiamondCorp’s leading lady

Diamonds & gems


The road to project start-upConsidering the impact of the global eco-nomic crisis, and its ongoing eff ects on the market’s ability to raise cash, Diamond-Corp has made remarkable progress. Not only has it raised suffi cient capital for its development requirements, but has al-ready completed the construction of its 200 tph dense media separation (DMS) plant, which is currently being tweaked to shift from tailings retreatment to under-ground material processing. Following the conclusion of its fi nal fi nance deal in Janu-ary this year, the company kick-started its

underground development.On 7 January 2013, DiamondCorp

signed binding legal agreements with Laurel-ton Diamonds, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiff any & Co for a term loan of US$6 million (R53.59 million) in exchange for an off -take agreement for diamond production from Lace. Combined with the Industrial Devel-opment Corporation’s R220 million fi nance facility, Lace is now fully funded through to fi rst diamond delivery.

And the company is not holding back; activity on-site is under way and devel-opment targets an absolute priority. Developments include:• Th e construction of a new 66 000 m³ box-

cut, providing the surface entrance for twin conveyor belt, and men and materials de-clines, and the completion of a vent raise from 16 Level to provide suffi cient interim ventilation for continuous blasting decline development until LOM vent shafts are raise bored.

• Installation of a tipping arrangement on 24 Level to allow loading of waste generated from the twin decline development down to the 47 Level. Until 2.6 km of conveyors are installed, development waste will be hauled out of the mine by low profi le dump trucks (these are already on-site).

• Essential upgrades to the dense media separation plant to alleviate front-end bottlenecks in the re-crush circuit at full-scale production. Completion of these up-grades will also allow tailings retreatment to recommence. Th e kimberlite is harder than originally anticipated, which is good for tunnelling; doesn’t hold water and has very high rock strength. Th e downside, however, is that it requires more energy in the comminution circuit to break down the kimberlite material.

• Completion of detailed design drawings for the underground conveyor belts.

• Defi nition drilling of a bulge from within the kimberlite bulk sampling area on the 260 m level.

Lace outlinedUnlike most new diamond start-up projects, Lace already has an extensive operating history. Around 4 Mt was mined from near surface to about 350 m underground at 16 cpht until the mine was closed in the Great Depression then sold to De Beers, which allowed the mine to fl ood in the 1940s as part of its long-term control of diamond supplies.

Th e recovery of gem-quality diamonds has, however, been demonstrated by tail-ings retreatment and from processing an underground bulk sample. Th e company has employed a strong, experienced diamond de-velopment and mining crew, which has put together a ‘robust’ development plan.

DiamondCorp’s 74%-owned 1.2 Mtpa run-of-mine (ROM) Lace mine is scheduled to produce up to 550 000 carats each year for 25 years, starting in 2015. Th e Main pipe alone contains 33.1 Mt of kimberlite indicated and inferred to a depth 855 m containing approx-imately 13.4 million carats in both resource categories at an average grade of 40.1 cpht. Th is equates to an ‘in-ground value’ in excess of US$2 billion at US$160/carat.

Th e construction programme is to devel-op a relatively low-cost continuous trough block cave ‘production’ level at a depth of 470 m (47 Level), which should take between seven and 10 years to mine. Following this, the development of new block cave at 650 m (65 Level) and 870 m (87 Level) will follow, which will take the mine to the end of its life (based on its current resource).

“Because the grade improves as we go deep-er, one of the challenges to our mining model is fi nding the best way to smooth out the saw tooth shape of our production curve as we

transition between each of the three

p l a n n e d

ABOVE The original opencast Lace pipe, now completely dewatered

LEFT Lace is known for its rare pink and lilac stones

BELOW DMS plant

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About 43%

of South Africa’s

rainfall is on 13% of

the land and only 9%

of that reaches our

rivers.

Water Watch

Diamonds & gems

block caves. To provide production fl exibili-ty, our conveyor capacity from underground will be 400 tph – double the front end of the plant – and we will look to use low grade stockpiles to try and smooth out the curve.”

It is the project’s long-term prospects, how-ever, which Loudon speaks of most enthusi-astically. “Our margins will increase over the mine’s lifespan as our grades increase

signifi cantly at the deeper levels, to between 50 and 60 cpht. Th e project is furthermore open at depth, meaning we have yet to dis-cover the viability and diamond content and quality below 855 m,” Loudon indicates.

Furthermore, because of the unusually hard nature of the kimberlite, Lace is less likely to suff er traditional kimberlite min-ing challenges. “Because our kimberlite is very slow to absorb water compared with other mines, the potential for mud rushes, which is a perennial operational challenge in underground diamond mining, should be reduced. Th e high rock strength will also be a major advantage in setting up a trackless block cave, a mining method which itself should further mitigate the mud rush risk,” Loudon reveals.

At presentTh e DMS plant is on the brink of start-up and will recommence with tailings pro-cessing in the interim in preparation for underground material. Th e plant was pre-viously processing the tailings, which was stopped when diamond prices plummeted in 2008. Lace still has over 3 Mt of retreatable

tailings remaining. A new power line has been installed to Lace neighbour Voorspoed, which has also been connected to Lace – the only other user. Th ere are currently 100 Lace employees on-site, which will ramp up to about 300 in due course.

“We have already purchased most of the machinery required to run the mine, includ-ing trucks, drilling equipment and loaders. We have a fully equipped machine workshop repairs and spare parts facility with qualifi ed staff who can take the machines through full rebuilds. We are extremely proud of this component of our operation, which makes us almost fully sustainable on our own.”

Good timingIndustry experts are predicting that dia-mond demand may start to exceed supply in 2013; however, the world will likely only start feeling the eff ects in 2015. For a new and incoming kimberlite mine player, an alignment between production start-up and a supply defi cit could not be better timed. “Th e industry is already at peak diamond production, meaning the long-term metrics for Lace are extremely strong.”

ABOVE Underground development is rapidly processing at Lace

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Diamonds & gems


A26.6 carat blue carat diamond of this nature was last recovered from Cullinan in 2009. Th e rough blue diamond yielded a 7.03 pol-

ished stone, which sold for US$9.49 million

TRUE BLUE

Another gem from CullinanOn 17 April, Petra Diamonds announced the recovery of a 25.5 carat blue diamond from its Cullinan mine – the most famous source of blues in the world.

(R87.16 million) – or US$1.35 million/carat – at a Sotherby’s auction. At the time, this was the highest price per carat for any gemstone sold at auction and the highest price for a fan-cy vivid blue diamond sold at auction.

VENETIA

The ancestral heart of De BeersThe De Beers Group of Companies will invest approximately R20 billion in a new underground mine beneath the currently operating opencast Venetia mine in Limpopo.

When completed, the new underground mine will ex-tend the life of Venetia be-yond 2040 and replace the

open-pit as South Africa’s largest diamond

Pit bottom at Venetia

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STRATEGICPARTNERS

This brings the total proceeds from the sale of this asset to R48 mil-lion, including the sale of the earth moving equipment in Octo-

ber 2012. The proceeds will be reinvested in bringing the Niewejaarskraal mine into production and progressing with its strategy to grow its operating footprint in the middle Orange River region of South Africa.

mine. This announce-ment follows the receipt of the final outstanding regulatory clearances.

The development and build phase of the under-ground mine is expected to create 1 000 jobs over the next nine years while opencast mining operations continue. Underground operations will begin production in 2021. The life of mine plan contains an estimated 96 million car-ats in approximately 130 Mt mined.

The project is expected to employ more than 3 000 semi-skilled and skilled work-ers, drawn primarily from the region and trained for the project. Those trained will mostly acquire technical skills that will en-hance the country’s technical skill resource base. The bulk of all equipment and servic-es will be sourced in South Africa.

Philippe Mellier, CEO of the De Beers Group, comments: “It is fitting that De

Beers is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. From our founding in Kim-berley in 1888 to today’s

announcement at Venetia, South Africa has always been the ancestral heart of De

Beers. It is gratifying that this project will enable De Beers to remain one of the leading diamond companies in South Afri-ca until at least our 150th anniversary.”

Phillip Barton, CEO of De Beers Consol-idated Mines, adds: “The Venetia project team has been assessing the safest and most economic options to extend the min-ing operation and unlock the extensive ore reserves beneath the open pit. Venetia will play a major role in the future of De Beers and we have therefore been preparing for years to meet tight deadlines and high standards so that Venetia Underground is ready to begin producing South African di-amonds by 2021.”

ROCKWELL DIAMONDS

Kissing Klipdam goodbyeRockwell Diamonds has reached an agreement to sell its Klipdam mine and associated properties to a private alluvial diamond miner for R23 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rock-well will retain ownership of certain items of plant and machinery that will be rede-ployed, chiefly to Niewejaarskraal.

James Campbell, CEO of Rockwell, elab-orates on the rationale for the transaction: “Klipdam mine has a remaining life of two years, based on current resources. We ac-cepted the offer for this mine, as opposed to investing further resources to extend

D id you kno

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The

United States

uses about 346

000 million gallons (1.3

trillion litres) of freshwater

every day, 80% of which is

used for irrigation and

thermoelectric

power.

Water Watch

Diamonds & gems

its projected mine life through additional exploration, because our analyses project-ed higher long-term returns from Rock-well’s middle Orange River properties, which have better grades and diamond values than Klipdam and yield high-value, gem-quality diamonds.”

At the same time, a proposal to take the Niewejaarskraal mine out of care and main-tenance has been approved, with a total capital budget of R20.1 million that is com-prised chiefl y of labour and earthworks. Th e project entails bringing the dense media

separation (DMS) plant at Niewejaarskraal back into operation. Th e DMS pro-duction will be supple-mented through the addi-tion of four 16-foot rotary pans from the Tirisano mine in addition to using equip-ment from Klipdam that was not part of the sale. Trial mining op-erations are expected to come on stream af-ter a six-month implementation phase with a six-month ramp up to a monthly process-ing capacity of 115 000 m3.

The production team from Klipdam has the requisite expertise and experience to efficiently run a pan and DMS plant and will be relocated to Niewejaarskraal, as will the contract miner CML Operations. As part of the design phase, Rockwell eval-uated the potential for a second phase of commissioning to increase the capacity of Niewejaarskraal to 200 000 m3; this option will be revisited once the initial phase has been bedded down.

“The Niewejaarskraal development is another important milestone towards

delivering on our stated ob-jective of growing month-

ly production volumes to 500 000 m3 from our existing invento-ry of properties in the

Middle Orange River region. With three pro-

ductive mines, namely Sax-endrift; the Saxendrift Hill com-

plex, which is in the production ramp-up phase; followed by Niewejaarskraal, we expect to reach three quarters of this tar-get,” Campbell states.

“The Niewejaarskraal deposit average grade is 0.74 carats/100 m3 and has the po-tential to produce higher recovery grades than Saxendrift, with the added benefit of slightly better projected average car-at values. Our plans for Niewejaarskraal also make use of the existing production plant and equipment without placing un-due pressure on our capital resources. We believe our track record in the middle Or-ange River region positions us to start de-livering positive net returns by the end of fiscal 2014.”

D id y ou kno

w?

97%

of the earth’s

water is in the oceans.

Only 3% of the earth’s water

can be used as drinking water.

75% of the world’s freshwater

is frozen in the polar ice caps.

Over 6 billion people

share the remaining

water.

Water WatchKlipdam DMS plant

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Diamonds & gems


CRYSTAL-LIKE ANDALUSITE

A mineral changes a communityContrary to widespread misconceptions that mining is an industry that does not benefi t the communities situated around mining operations, Imerys South Africa is proving otherwise, writes Reggie Sikhakhane.

F rance-based industrial miner-als company Imerys, through its South African mining subsidiary, Imerys Mining and affiliate Rhi-

no Minerals, officially opened its Annesley andalusite mine in Burgersfort, Limpopo,

LEFT Annesley process plant

Diamonds & gems

on 27 March 2013 and simultaneously handed over new houses to 246 families who were relocated from Segorong to Prak-tiseer and Pidima, also in Burgersfort.

“The opening of the mine and the

completion of the houses has been a long and arduous 12-year journey, but finally both the community of Segorong and Im-erys South Africa have a good reason to cel-ebrate,” says Imerys’ CEO and chairperson, Gilles Michel.

Having gone through all the necessary steps and requirements set out by the De-partment of Mineral Resources – including social responsibility aspects as well as nec-essary legal requirements to operate – the company is on course to deliver 60 000 tpa of andalusite.

What is andalusite?Andalusite, which is crystal-like in ap-pearance, is a mineral with high alumina

content; its refrac-tory characteristics allow it to withstand high temperatures. The mineral is mined and processed, then sold to refractory makers as a speciality mineral, particularly those in the steel in-dustry. Quartz, graphite and other special-ity minerals can also be extracted from an-dalusite and are used in various industrial applications of a technical nature, such as lithium ion batteries. In 2001, Imerys Mining took a decision to expand its mining operations at An-nesley mine in the Segorong area through its affiliate Rhino Minerals. The mine currently employs 120 people and has a

ABOVE Chamber of Mines CEO Bheki Cele was among invited delegates at the event

RIGHT Housing for the community included running water and electricity, built

by Group Five

LEFT The process plant is situated near the opencast mine

BELOW The Annesley mine employs about 120 people

D i d yo u

k no

w?

85%

of all

diseases in African

children under

fi ve are caused by

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Water Watch

Diamonds & gems

Group Five congratulates the Imerys Group and Rhino Minerals on the opening of their Annesley Mine.

Group Five Housing Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, WoodmeadTel: +27 11 253 8700 | Fax: +27 11 656 1210E-mail: [email protected]

A Group Five celebration

Group Five has a proud track record of delivery for our Mining Sector clients from off-mine village relocations to on-mine surface buildings and specifi c Mining Charter Accommodation and Mine Community Development solutions. Group Five is positioned to deliver on the Mining Sector’s unique requirements wherever their exploration may take them in Africa.

life-of-mine expectancy of 20 years. Be-cause the planned expansion was going to have a direct impact on the land occupied by the Segorong community, it became necessary for Rhino Minerals to consult the affected community to consider re-settlement, compensatio n and redevelop-ment of the community.

The resettlement, compensation and re-development has seen Rhino Minerals in-vest over R150 million for the relocation packages that were used for the building of the houses, compensation for grazing and livestock, and a cash settlement allowance for the relocating families.

Rhino Minerals has also formalised a Community Trust that is being used by the communities as a vehicle for community benefits, including acquisition of mining shares in the mining company.

“It is part of our culture to contribute meaningfully to surrounding communities where we operate through a variety of de-velopmental projects. We take all our ob-ligations seriously, including environmen-tal and social issues, and are committed to running our operations safely and proper-ly,” says Michel.

The project to build the houses was un-dertaken by construction giant Group Five. “Group Five Construction, repre-sented by Group Five Housing, is proud to be associated with the relocation of vil-lages and the construction of 239 houses varying in size from 51 m² to 180 m² at Praktiseer and Pidima in the Burgersfort area for the Imerys Group’s Rhino Miner-als. We were also responsible for all ser-vices including water, sewer and the road infrastructure network; new electrical

“Imerys Mining is on course to deliver 60 000 tpa of andalusite.” Gilles Michel

infrastructure for both villages as well as the installation of high mast lights. The successful completion of this quality project without a single lost time injury, ahead of programme and within budget, demonstrates once again that Group Five understands the needs of its mining cli-ents and is positioned to deliver on their requirements,” says Group Five Housing’s contracts director, Peter Whalley.

ABOVE Imerys chief executive offi cer Gilles Michel addressed guests at the

offi cial opening of the mine and handing over of houses

Diamonds & gems

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The fi rst-stage contract was signed in July 2012 and was completed within time and budget. Th e second-stage contract was signed in August 2012,

and on completion will see the new module having suffi cient capacity to process 400 tph through the ore-receiving bin and apron feed-er. Th e 200 tph scrubber section, with a degrit module, will match the existing 200 tph scrubber and screening section. Th e scope also includes the in-plant conveyors, as well as modifi cations to the existing conveyors

and bins, to enable handling of the ore to and from both scrubber sections.

Th e fi rst stage focused on the engineering study, detail design and procurement of long lead time equipment. Th e second stage in-volves procurement of the balance of equip-ment, fabrication, pre-erection and commis-sioning of the new module. Fabrication of equipment and structures has already started, with pre-erections currently in progress. Th e module was completed and exported to Zim-babwe at the end of March 2013. Th e modular

ZIMBABWE SHINE

Another diamond moduleTenova Bateman Technologies Modular Plants has successfully completed the fi rst stage of a contract to integrate and supply a second front end module for a diamond plant in Zimbabwe. The aim of the project is to increase the ore processing capacity from the existing 200 tph to 400 tph.

plants are self-contained or integrated into conventional plants. Th ey are used for pros-pecting, exploration, research and testing, mining and mineral processing on land or sea. Th e process design is robust and makes use of the best available components from reputable suppliers that support their products world-wide. Modular plants are easy to erect on-site since they are trial erected and pre-commis-sioned at the factory, where they are marked, stripped and packed into containers prior to dispatching to site.

Diamonds & gems


M inopex has been involved op-erationally in every diamond plant in the diamond-rich Lesotho. So much so that

companies Minopex Lesotho and Minopex Botswana were established to best support all activities to the diamond plants we work on in these two countries,” says Ra-fael Abela, Minopex business development director. “The result of our drive to deliver and the commitment from our operation-al staff has seen our diamond operations staff headcount grow significantly over the

years. We currently employ over 300 peo-ple for our diamond operations alone.”

Radesh Sukhdeo, Minopex diamond op-erations director, admits that no project or operation is without its challenges. “In spite

of this, Minopex has flourished and con-tinues to deliver to clients’ expectations.”

Gem Diamonds“Letšeng’s location and associated climat-ic conditions pose the biggest operational challenge on-site, with temperatures vary-ing constantly during the day, from -14 to 300C. Snow is a possibility all year round due to the altitude, which brings along

issues like pipes freezing and more brittle structural materials. The lack of country infrastructure is another major challenge influencing the procurement of process consumables and spares logistics.”

Nonetheless, Minopex has recovered sev-eral large diamonds since the Letšeng plant was first commissioned in 2003. Such di-amonds include the Lesotho Promise, Letšeng Legacy, Star of Lesotho and the Leseli La Letšeng.

Lucara DiamondsLooking at the Karowe project, it is the source of some of Minopex’s most recent

MINOPEX

Diamond process professionals

Process plant operator Minopex has achieved resounding success in the diamond sector. It successfully operated Gem Diamonds Letšeng plant in Lesotho for 10 years, while also expanding into Botswana where the Lucara Diamonds Karowe project has delivered rare and large carats over the past six months, writes Laura Cornish.

Minopex values include:

• Accountability – If it has to be done, I will do it

• Integrity – I will do it beyond reproach• Focus – The client’s success is my business

• Safety – paramount for all operations, never compromised.

Minopex has recovered several large diamonds since the Letšeng plant was first commissioned in 2003

Diamonds & gems

successes. “It has been just over a year since the Karowe plant fi rst became fully opera-tional and already Minopex has surpassed the Karowe expectations in terms of con-tractual key performance indicators,” says Sukhdeo. Lucara has celebrated the recovery of a number of rare sky blue diamonds over the past six months and, more recently, a 239 carat stone.

Abela acknowledges that setting up a new company, Minopex Botswana, and operating in a new country (with its own legislation) was challenging. Further: “A new approach in Southern Africa in diamond recovery was adopted at the Karowe plant – using a SAG mill to liberate the diamonds from the host rock. Th is was the fi rst milling exposure to Minopex in diamond processing. Given our experience in milling in general, however, we are able to operate and maintain this

mill comfortably.” Th e Minopex Operation-al Readiness Programme was also imple-mented to assist with plant ramp-up and to smooth the commencement of operations. Th is programme requires Minopex to imple-ment standard operating procedures across the spectrum of the operation and is adapt-ed from country to country.

“Th at said, I can comfortably say that we have overcome our initial teething problems

and are now positioned to further expand our diamond business in the country,” Abela adds.

Abela explains that like Lucara Diamonds, more diamond miners are looking for tech-nologies and operational procedures to improve their overall recoveries. Particular attention is being paid to diamond breakage and new technologies are being investigat-ed, including SAG milling, X-ray sorting on

LEFT One of the greatest operational challenges at Letšeng is the constant

change in temperature and cold winter conditions

RIGHT Minopex operates the Karowe DMS plant, which recently recovered a

239 carat diamond

Diamonds & gems

run-of-mine material as well as fully modu-lar plants.

“Even though Minopex has been process-ing diamonds for over 10 years and con-tinues to gain fi rst-hand experience in all aspects of processing diamonds, we work

closely with our clients and keep abreast of industry changes. Process optimisa-tion projects are an ongoing element of our business.”

Growing the diamond business furtherLike all other mining-related businesses, Minopex is feeling the eff ects of a strug-gling industry. Th e mining sector is current-ly facing numerous challenges such as skills shortages, labour relationships, commodity

demands, volatile commodity prices and depressive fi nancial conditions. As a result, the rate of new projects implementation is decreasing.

Abela notes that while the company is pur-suing a number of new diamond studies, it is also looking to diversify to secure growth targets in the Southern African region.

“Our vision is to ‘process the world’. We want to be an operator of choice, which we achieved by creating long-term mutu-ally benefi cial partnerships as opposed to being just a service provider. Th e strong bonds formed between Minopex, Lucara Di-amonds and Gem Diamonds is the perfect example of this and has set the foundation for a strong long-term collaboration going forward, which we aim to replicate with all our clients, current and new.”

A new approach in Southern Africa in diamond recovery was adopted at the Karowe plant – using a SAG mill to liberate the diamonds from the host rock

Partial view of the Karowe DMS plant

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Water watch

Pg 38 The short-term intervention – Central Basin’s AMD treatment plant takes shape

It’s a race against time. The combined efforts of the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), main construction contractor Group Five and all subcontractors must ensure the new treatment plant at the Central Basin’s South West Vertical Shaft is operational before acid mine drainage decants to surface.

Pg 44 Technical paper: Nanoscale materials deliver pollution remediation

A carbon nanotube (CNT) integrated polymer composite membrane with a polyvinyl alcohol barrier layer has been prepared to separate oil from water for treatment of oil-containing wastewater.

Pg 48 Salty solutions for process water recycling

The technologies implemented to help mines meet increasingly stringent water conservation regulations may have alleviated pollution in surrounding areas, but they have led to a different contamination challenge that needs managing.

Pg 50 Tailings retreatment the AMD way

A core part of the Mintails business is the management of AMD water that is used to reprocess tailings and recover land historically impacted by mining.

CONTENTS

Pg 52 Anglo ladies lead the water way

Anglo American’s commitment to sustainable water development is being demonstrated through the key role that two female employees are playing in a groundbreaking water management programme.

Pg 54 MC Process takes dissolved air fl otation a step further

MC Process’s constant attention to technological innovation and evolution has seen its new business unit, Scientifi c Water, make leaps and bounds into the wastewater sector.

Pg 58 Top treatment for mine camp wastewater

Treating mine camp wastewater may not be a core mining function, but it remains a core mining priority, especially in remote locations.

Pg 62 Gas detection – a water awakening

Toxic and fl ammable gases pose a number of hazardous threats to water and wastewater industries. A combination of fi xed and portable gas detectors should always be readily available on-site for a swift and effective response to a spill or leakage.

Pg 68 A new dewatering depot in Steelpoort

Thanks to the rapidly growing demand for its products and services from the numerous mining operations in the area, Xylem Water Solutions South Africa will soon open a brand new rental depot in Steelpoort, Limpopo.

Water watch


The acid mine drainage (AMD) dilem-ma, not a new concept to the South African public, reached emergency status when gold mining-acidic wa-

ter started decanting from a defunct shaft in the Western Basin in 2002, polluting nearby spruits and groundwater. Today, the emer-gency is reaching critical status as govern-ment fi ghts to prevent a repeat at the Central and Eastern Basins.

Every day the water level shared between the three Witwatersrand gold basins – Eastern, Central, Western – is rising at a rate of about 300 mm/d, according to the De-partment of Water Aff airs’ (DWA) Inception Report published in March 2012. Pumping

THE SHORT-TERM INTERVENTION

Central Basin’s AMD treatment plant takes shapeIt’s a race against time. The combined eff orts of the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), main construction contractor Group Five and all subcontractors must ensure the new treatment plant at the Central Basin’s South West Vertical Shaft is operational before acid mine drainage decants to surface writes Laura Cornish.

stopped in the Western Basin in 1996, the Central Basin in 2008 and the Eastern Basin in 2011.

Fortunately, the crisis on the Western Ba-sin has been curbed thanks to the upgrade of the existing Rand Uranium plant, which has been expanded from 12 Mℓ/d to 36 Mℓ/d. Th is has stopped and neutralised the uncon-trolled decant of water fl ows.

Th e severity of the situation has seen gov-ernment take an active stance. In 2010, the government formed an inter-ministerial committee to evaluate technologies and methodologies to best solve the problem – for the immediate and the long-term future. TCTA, a special purpose vehicle established

by the DWA, was appointed to implement the short-term intervention on its behalf.

The immediate priority: the Central BasinTh e Central Basin extends from Durban Roodepoort Deep (DRD) in the west to the East Rand Proprietary Mines (ERPM) in the east. Th e mine lease areas in this basin ex-tend over about 251 km2.

Considering the amount of water necessary to treat the volume of AMD from the Central Basin is more than double that of the West-ern Basin, prevention (of AMD reaching the surface) is non-negotiable. Experts are pre-dicting that water levels will reach the envi-ronment critical level around September/


October this year – only 186 m below the top of the shaft.

“If water rises above this level it could start having an impact on groundwater. Th e word ‘could’ is used as no one can accurately predict the hydrogeological reaction as the water level in the mine void rises,” explains TCTA business analyst Richard Holden.

Construction of a high-density sludge treatment plant and pump system at the Central Basin’s ERPM South Vertical Shaft near Germiston commenced in February this year and marks another major milestone in government’s fi ght to prevent AMD entering the Vaal river, which would ultimately cause a shortage of water to consumers in Gaut-eng and the surrounding provinces. “With-out this project, the major impact will be on water security for anyone who draws water directly or indirectly from the Vaal River sys-tem,” Holden notes.

During the due diligence, various shafts were evaluated and given the cost to con-struct a new shaft, an existing defunct shaft was chosen. Th e plant will be situated at the existing South Vertical Shaft, which inter-sects the mining void of the Central Basin. Th e eastern side of the Central Basin also represents the lowest pumping head.

For TCTA, allocation of suffi cient funds to enable the construction contract to be award-ed, coupled with obtaining environmental authorisation where legislation has never made provision for this type of project, have been signifi cant challenges, Holden explains. Regardless, the urgency of the project has necessitated TCTA bring its strengths to the table: funding and implementing large-scale water projects. “Th anks to much negotiation

and compromise with ERPM, Central Rand Gold, the Department of Environmental Aff airs, the DWA and all the interested and aff ected parties who participated in the scop-ing report, the success of this project will be-come a reality.”

Group Five Civil Engineering was appoint-ed the full R319 million treatment plant con-struction contract, including civils, earth-works, building, and mechanical and electri-cal installation. It will be three times larger than the next biggest similar treatment plant in South Africa (at eMalahleni), with highly complex concrete structures, piping and elec-trical systems.

Holden says the plant is designed to treat 57 Mℓ/d. “At this stage the fi nal ‘treated’ ef-fl uent will still have a high sulphate content (approximately 200 mg/ℓ). Th is is no dif-ferent to what was discharged by the mines up until to 2008 when pumping and treat-ment at this site ceased. Th e stream bed is already heavily polluted from old tailings and urban stormwater run-off . Although this is not ideal, it is still a lot better than doing nothing until a long-term solution has been completed.”

The biggest impact caused as a result of the project is the increase to the salinity of the water in the Middle Vaal system, which necessitates the release of fresh water from the Vaal Dam to dilute it. “This will result in a deficit in the Upper Vaal system in 2015. What this means is that if there is a drought, water restrictions will need to be imposed.”

Wayne Poulsen, senior site agent for Group Five, explains the basic treatment process: “An extraction pump station, in-cluding two huge dewatering pumps, will pump acid water from the existing ERPM shaft. Th e water will be pumped to two re-actors, which combined have an 80 x 80 m concrete footprint and are 5 m deep. Lime

dosed water is pumped into the reactor from the lime dosing plant, which includes lime storage si-los, dosing equipment and eight concrete tanks, each of which is 16 m in diameter and 4 m high. Two thickeners, each 47 m in diameter, will settle out the solids. Th e treated water will be discharged via pipelines to the near-by Elsburg Spruit and the sludge discharged via pipe-line to an existing ERPM tailings facility.” Group Five is further responsible for the construction and de-livery of all ancillary tanks and buildings as well as a full-scale laboratory.

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality will supply the necessary clean water to site and power will be pro-vided via a high-power 4 km overhead line.

“Our construction time frame is less than a year, meaning not a day can be wasted. Trial commissioning will start in November 2013 , with trial operations running until 18 April 2014,” Howard Wakefi eld, senior contracts director for Group Five Civil Engineering points out. “We will hand the plant over to TCTA at complete readiness after which it must run per-manently, 24/7. Our most critical challenge throughout the project remains time; we have to meet our tight dead-lines. But we are confi dent of success; we started well and are making excellent progress.”

Wakefi eld believes that even though there were nu-merous tender bids put for-ward for the project, “our combination of pricing, technical ability and compli-ance with TCTA’s stipulated requirements for enterprise development and BEE (including men-torship, procure-ment, employment,

s pumpedr from thent, which torage si-quipment ete tanks,s 16 m in 4 m high. , each 47 ml settle out

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BELOW The ERPM shaft is barricaded and closed

RIGHT The Ritz pump will be lowered into the shaft later this year

Water watch

Water watch

When I say I’ll deliver... I deliver!Peter YamanGeneral Manager - Projects/Heavy Lift Division

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enterprise development and skills training) ranked us highest”.

Current project statusGroup Five's earthworks subcontractor Die-sel Power is on-site. Earthwork construction on-site is well under way, says Chris Prinsloo, general manager of Diesel Power’s Civils & Bulk Earthworks Division. Primarily a min-ing contractor, Diesel Power is focused on growing the civils arm of its business.

Th e company is responsible for all project bulk earth-works, from exca-vation through to platform construc-tion and backfi lling. Prinsloo admits that their chal-lenge, like Group Five, is time. “It is a tight programme and we need to hand over the plat-

forms so the next leg of the project can start. We have also been experiencing a lot of rain. Regardless, our commitment to the project is unwavering, and we will meet our deadlines.”

Th e company has eight staff members, 20 operators and 16 labourers dedicated to the job. “Th e reactor platform is already complet-ed, the thickeners area is 70% complete, the dosing area is 60% complete and building platforms are 80% complete,” says Prinsloo. “We have also just started on building the in-ternal roads and the retaining walls.”

Plant on-site includes:

• 4 excavators• 1 dozer• 1 grader• 2 rollers• 2 water trucks• 22 tip trucks• 1 TLB• 1 front end loader.“Th is is such an exciting project to be in-volved with; to be part of a project saving the environment and preserving water resources for future generations is a great motivator,” Prinsloo states.

Pumping – a key critical project elementTh e scale and complexities of all the pro-ject elements are enormous, including the dewatering pumps. Th e mine shaft is over 1 500 m deep and the pumps, which are 15 m high (four storeys) and weigh 25 t, must be lowered 200 m down the shaft without being dropped.

Ritz Pumps South Africa, with its German joint venture partner Andritz Ritz, has been contracted to supply two heavy-duty min-ing dewatering pumps to the project. “Th ey originally belonged to Central Rand Gold,

ABOVE Earthworks on-site is well under way

D i d yo u

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The

fi rst

municipal water

fi ltration works

opened in Paisley,

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Water Watch

25 YEARS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY

TCTA is a state-owned liability management entity responsible for bulk raw water infrastructure development

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is proud to contribute towards a system which aims to deliver a sustainable water supply across Southern Africa.

planning, design and construction, place TCTA in the ideal position to facilitate development of bulk raw water infrastructure.

From an initial single project, TCTA now manages a portfolio of nine. These are the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1; the Berg Water Project (Western Cape); the Vaal River Eastern Subsystem Augmentation Project (Mpumalanga); the Mooi-Mgeni Transfer Scheme Phase 2 (KZN Midlands); the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project Phase 2 (Limpopo); the Mokolo-Crocodile (West) Water Augmentation Project (Limpopo); the Komati Water Scheme Augmentation Project (Mpumalanga) and, more recently, the Acid Mine Drainage Project (Gauteng) and the Metsi Bophelo Borehole Project (across six provinces).

TCTA is also expected to play a key role in the funding of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2, the implementation of which was announced in a joint statement issued in August 2011 by the Governments of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa.

The provision of water serves as a catalyst for sustainable economic development. The manner in which TCTA implements and manages its projects is governed by principles of transformation and sustainable development. We consider ourselves an instrument of social purpose, formed within society to accomplish social objectives. Consequetly, we are obliged to create new patterns, processes and strategies to tackle complex socio-ecological issues.

TCTA has committed itself to the progressive ideals and principles of sustainable development and their integration into various aspects of our business processes, giving us an opportunity to create value for all stakeholders, including social, economic and environmental facets.

All the above services are in support of government’s si ATCT .lla rof efil retteb a ekam ot adnega tnempoleved

committed to assisting government to achieve its socio-economic objectives.

For more information on TCTA visit: www.tcta.co.za or call +2712 6831200


which graciously donated them to TCTA for the project. Th e pumps are currently based at the Andritz facility in Germany and are due to undergo their second factory acceptance test. Following this, they will be shipped to South Africa where we will oversee their in-stallation,” says Chris Munnick, MD of Ritz Pumps SA.

“Th e beauty of our system is that our pump is assembled above ground and then ‘free hung’ – suspended from surface – which

means underground access to get to the pump station, as is generally the case in South Afri-ca, is not needed,” says Munnick. “Th e pump is simply suspended in the shaft opening with

our ‘ZSM’ system, which can withstand in excess of 1 600 t due to an axial non-positive and detachable pipe connec-tion. Our technology enables us to free hang pumps up to 1 250 m with piping from 80 to 600 nominal bore and achieve heads of 1 500 m. We can also insert a pump in large borehole from the surface straight down into the water source, suspend and hang the pump into the water and pump out directly without having to go through the shaft with a complex piping system as is required for the traditional under-ground high-pressure pump station setup.

“Th e use of single-suction submersible motor pumps

for pumping huge quantities or from great depths is associated with extreme loads on the unit,” Munnick continues. Th e higher the pump performance, the stronger the axial thrust exerted on the pump, the motor and its thrust bearing. Th e consequences of this are overloading and untimely shutdown. “Th e solution is to double up, meaning greater du-rability. Th is is what our design is all about, a double-suction pump that provides full compensation for axial thrust. In short, the

heavy-duty pump is designed for longer life – between 25 and 30 years.”

While the plant has been designed using historical information, fi nal qualities will only

be known when pumping commences and the water level stabilises at and around the envi-ronment critical level, Holden points out.

“Projects such as this are extremely com-plicated and do not naturally fall into the category of national water resource, water board or municipal responsibility. Th ey are a prime example of integrated water re-source management and will shape projects to come as South Africa reaches the limit of its allocable water resources. Th ey need time to come together to ensure that they are en-vironmentally and fi nancially sustainable,” Holden reiterates.

The next priority: The Eastern BasinTh e severity of the situation in the Eastern Basin is now critical and negotiations are already under way to secure access to land and infrastructure in the Grootvlei mining area. Th e property (excluding Shaft 4) is in liquidation along with its holding company, Pamodzi Gold.

Long-term strategy (source: the DWA website)Addressing AMD in the East, Central and West Rand underground mining basins is taking place through a phased approach and consideration regarding the implementation of a long-term sustainable solution is critical.

A feasibility study is currently under way to determine a sustainable long-term solution. A consortium of consultants, led by Aurecon South Africa, was awarded the tender in De-cember 2011 and the study commenced on 30 January 2012. Th e consortium is respon-sible for conducting this study under the strategic guidance of a study management committee, whose purpose is to ensure that the study meets its objectives.

Holden says that the long-term solution, specifi cally with regards to the Germiston AMD treatment plant, must ensure that the salts do not enter the Vaal River system. One option is desalination – up to potable water standards.

Th ere are fi ve main focus areas that the study is addressing. Th ese are: economics, techni-cal, fi nancial, legal and communication.

Economic focusTh e economic analysis will provide a detailed cost benefi t analysis (CBA) looking at diff er-ent scenarios relating to the handling of the AMD problem. Th e CBA must cover the diff er-ent options such as the do-nothing scenario as well as an investment scenario. Furthermore, the CBA will examine the benefi ts and costs of allocating of responsibility for the scenari-os to both the public and private sectors. Th e

Critical facts

Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin

Volume of AMD that needs to be treated

27 Mℓ/d 57 Mℓ/d 82 Mℓ/d

Environmental critical level (ECL)

1 550 m AMSL(165 m BCL)

1 467 m AMSL(186 m BCL)

1 280 m AMSL(290 m BCL)

Current level 0.88 m BCL 256 m BCL 423 m BCL

Breach of ECL if pumping does not commence

Breached already. Objective is to draw the water down to ECL

Sep/Oct 2013 Nov 2014

Location of treatment plant

Rand Uranium, Mogale City

South West Vertical Shaft, Germiston

Grootvlei No 3 Shaft, Springs

AMSL = above mean sea level BCL = below collar level

Experts are predicting that water levels will reach the environment critical level around September/October this year – only 186 m below the top of the shaft

Key role players

Responsible government department Department of Water AffairsImplementing agent TCTADesign AecomMain contractor Group Five Civil EngineeringPiping Murray & Dickson ConstructionEarthworks Diesel PowerMechanical S.A.M.EElectrical Standard ElectricalCivil foundations M3 ConstructionBuilding and associated civil works Enza Construction

Water watch

economic analysis must provide a quantifi ed set of cost and benefi ts which, wherever possi-ble, can be fed into the fi nancial model.

Technical focusTh e technical work is being based on the available reports and is examining techno-logical options that can be used to deal with the problem. One of the questions to be an-swered is whether a centralised facility or dispersed treatment facilities focusing on the diff erent areas should be deployed.

Th e technical work also provides input into the fi nancial model by considering the choice of technology, the availability, previous use and sustainability of technologies, as well as the life cycle cost implications. A preliminary design that takes all of the above into ac-count will be prepared to guide government on possible solutions and on deciding on the optimal solution.

Financial focusIt is anticipated that any solution to the prob-lem will require massive investment. Th e fi -nancial analysis must inform the quantum of the investment. A fi nancial model that takes

into account the full life cycle costing of all the investments required will be developed.

Th e fi nancial model must incorporate scenarios of public and private sector in-vestment as well as examining the potential revenue sources, if any, that can be derived from the investment. Where possible, the actual costs and benefi ts as identifi ed in the CBA will be included in the fi nancial model. Th e study team will consider strategies for identi-fi cation, quantifi cation and mitigation of risks that must aff ect the project and incorporate these in the fi nancial model.

Legal focusTh e legal issues associated with the AMD are complex and multifaceted. As part of this study, the legislative issues associated with AMD will be studied and will contribute to the options selection as part of the CBA.

Th e identifi cation of legal risk, quanti-fi cation of such risks as well as mitigation of such risks are an important part of the study. Th e risks that are identifi ed will be

translated into a legally sound position to inform any agree-

ments to be negotiated. Le-gal inputs to any negotiation that may arise from discus-sions between all the parties

will also be provided.

Communication focusKey stakeholders are engaged through-

out the study and measures are in place to eff ectively communicate study progress. It is expected that the feasibility study will be followed by a formal Environmental Impact Assessment.

Study progressPhase 1 (the study initiation phase) is com-pleted, while Phase 2 (the pre-feasibility phase) is in the process of being concluded. Phase 3 (the feasibility phase) is the fi nal phase of this study and has commenced. Th e complexity of the study necessitated an extension of the study contract. Th e feasi-bility study is due for completion on 31 July and will, thus, have been conducted over an 18-month period.

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Water Watch

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Water watch


The CNTs were synthesised using chemical vapour deposition, and a phase inversion method was employed for the blending of the

CNTs in the polymer composite solution for casting of the membrane. Relative to the baseline polymer, an increase of 119% in tensile strength, 77% in Young’s mod-ulus and 258% in toughness is seen for a concentration of 7.5% CNTs in the polymer composite. Th e permeate through the mem-brane shows oil concentrations below the acceptable 10 mg/ℓ limit, with an excellent throughput and oil rejection of over 95%.

High volumes of wastewater in the form of oil-water emulsion are produced in various industries such as oil fi elds, petrochemical, metallurgical, pharmaceutical and others. Oil concentrations in wastewater gener-ated in the above industries range from 50 to 1 000 mg/ℓ; however, the acceptable discharge limit is only 10 to 15 mg/ℓ. Mem-brane fi ltration has been established as a widely used method for water purifi cation, and various fi ltration techniques are diff er-entiated by the minimum size of the sus-pended particles they can separate, namely microfi ltration (0.1 to 10 mm), ultrafi ltra-tion (0.01 to 0.10 mm), nanofi ltration (or-der of nanometres) and reverse osmosis, which can remove monoionic salts in solu-tion. Microfi ltration, ultrafi ltration, nanofi l-tration and reverse osmosis have been suc-cessfully used in the separation of oil from water. Th ese techniques are useful because of the high-quality water produced, simpler

module design, low amount of chemicals used and low energy consumption com-pared to other treatment techniques. Al-though the aforementioned techniques are attractive, they are not without problems.

Th e two major problems with membrane fi ltration are fouling and concentration polarisation. Fouling is the accumulation of substances on the surface and/or inside the membrane pores, thereby decreas-ing the performance of the membrane. Membrane fouling may occur due to the following reasons: (i) biological fouling, which is the growth of bi-

ological species on the membrane surface (ii) colloidal fouling, which leads to a loss of

permeate flux through the membrane (iii) organic fouling due to the deposition

of organic substances(iv) scaling, defined as the formation of

mineral deposits precipitating from the feed stream to the membrane surface.

A total control of fouling is ideal to reduce the need for cleaning and enhance the per-meate yield. When a mixture is in contact with the membrane, the components in the mixture permeate at different rates. Concentration polarisation is when the components that permeate slowly, or not at all, accumulate and create a layer near the membrane surface.

Suitable modifi cation of the membrane is probably the most sustainable approach to obtain fouling-resistant membranes. Th is would require the insertion of hydrophilic groups into a polymeric structure so that

the overall material becomes more hydro-philic and thus less prone to (organic) foul-ing. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), which is a water-soluble biodegradable polymer avail-able with diff erent degrees of hydrolysis, is an ideal candidate for this purpose due to its hydrophilicity and fi lm forming charac-teristics. Commonly, membrane selectivity can be increased through the modifi cation of the chemical structure of the polymer by cross-linking and grafting. Here we discuss the fabrication and testing of a carbon na-notube (CNT)-infused polymer composite membrane with PVA as a barrier layer, and demonstrate the eff ectiveness of the mem-brane in rejecting oil from wastewater. CNTs exhibit many desirable mechanical, thermal and other properties for a variety of appli-cations. Several studies have shown success-ful transferring of thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of CNTs to polymer composites. PVA has been used as barrier

NANOSCALE MATERIALS

Pollution remediationA carbon nanotube (CNT) integrated polymer composite membrane with a polyvinyl alcohol barrier layer has been prepared to separate oil from water for treatment of oil-containing wastewater.

Technical paper

Authors

Selby Maphutha: School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand; DST/NRF Centre of Excel-lence in Strong Materials, Johannesburg

Kapil Moothi: School of Chemical and Metal-lurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand; DST/NRF Centre of Excel-lence in Strong Materials, Johannesburg

M Meyyappan: Center for Nanotechnology at the NASA Ames Research Center; Division of IT-Convergence Engineering at POSTECH, Pohang, South Korea

Sunny E. Iyuke: School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand; DST/NRF Centre of Excel-lence in Strong Materials, Johannesburg


layer composite membrane to remove NaCl (22.8% rejection) and MgSO4 (83.8% rejec-tion) from solution. Here, we seek to show that CNTs infused with a polymer compos-ite membrane (using PVA as a barrier layer) are able to increase the mechanical strength of the membrane while still remaining high-ly eff ective for oil-water separation.

ResultsTh e CNTs used in this study were synthe-sised at 850°C using a previously described bulk production process and ranged be-tween 500 and 1 000 nm in length. Th e concentric arrangement of the graphene sheets parallel to the tube axis, which is typical for a multi-walled tube structure, is confi rmed in transmission electron mi-croscopy (TEM) images presented in our previous publications.

Th e diameter distribution of the as- produced CNTs is uniform with diameters less than 100 nm observed. A close analysis of TEM images reveals representative mul-tiwalled CNTs with inner diameters of 6.2

to 7.9 nm and outer diameters of 26.2 to 32.1 nm. As the CNTs were not purifi ed or subjected to acid treatment before utilisa-tion, there was no introduction of any func-tional groups on the surface of the CNTs. Figure 1 shows scanning electron microsco-py (SEM) images of the bottom (Polysulfone, PSF) layer of the membrane. Th is layer is highly porous with the visible pores being less than 10 microns. Th is particular layer contains no CNTs for comparison purposes. Figure 2 shows the bottom (PSF) layer of the membrane with 5% and 10% CNTs in the polymer solution. Th e structure of this layer appears to change with the addition of CNTs. Th e pores in the membrane for the 10% CNT case appear to be more numerous and more

fi nely dispersed than at lower concentra-tions. BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) analy-sis gives the average adsorption pore width as 18.9 nm at 0% CNT, 27.6 nm at 5% CNT and 31.8 nm at 10%. Figure 3 shows the PVA layer on top of the bottom (PSF) porous lay-er indicating no clearly visible pores on the SEM images.

Figure 4 shows the results from the tensile tests conducted on the fabricated

membranes. The Young’s modulus and toughness increase with CNT concen-tration first and then decrease after a threshold concentration (7.5% CNT:PSF) is reached. This drop in mechanical prop-erties is due to the ready re-agglomeration of CNTs creating bundles at higher con-centrations. Studies have shown that CNT bundles display diminished mechanical properties compared to a single CNT26.

Fig 1 SEM image of a polysulfone (PSF) membrane (a) low and (b) high magnifi ca-tion without CNTs. BET analysis gives the average adsorption pore size as 18.9 nm

Fig 2 PSF membranes with 5% CNT (w/w) loading (a) low and (b) high magnifi cation,

PSF membranes with 10% CNT (w/w) load-ing (c) low and (d) high magnifi cation. BET analysis gives the average adsorption pore

size of 27.6 nm for 5% CNT loading and 31.8 nm for 10% CNT loading

Fig 3 SEM image of the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin layer on base (PSF) membrane (a) low and (b) high magnifi cation. No vis-

ible pores are seen due to the top layer of PVA being present

Technical paper


As such, it is important to obtain even distribution of unclustered CNTs across the matrix. The mechanical properties obtained in this study and displayed in Figure 4 and the corresponding error bars are comparable to results obtained from diverse processing techniques with varia-bles such as degree of dispersion of CNTs, CNT concentrations in the polymer, var-ious polymer matrices, etc., as all these parameters affect the mechanical prop-erties. At 7.5% CNT concentration, there is a 119% increase in the ultimate tensile strength, 77% increase in the Young’s modulus and 258% increase in membrane toughness, all relative to 0% CNT concen-tration in the membrane. These values are quite favourable as there was no modifi-cation or purification of the CNTs used in the polymer solution. As-grown CNTs contain amorphous carbon and graphit-ic particles and it is possible to further improve the mechanical properties by using purified CNTs and other surface modification techniques.

DiscussionTh e rejection of oil by the membrane can be calculated using Equation 1:

where R is the rejection, and Cf and Cp are the feed and permeate concentrations, re-spectively. Th e fl ux through the membrane is determined using Equation 2:

where F is the fl ux, A is the eff ective mem-brane area and V is the volume of permeate through the membrane during time t. Th e rejection values of the membrane calculat-ed using Equation 1 are given in Table 1 and Figure 5 shows the permeate concentration values. Th ere is an increase of the oil con-centration in the permeate and a decrease in the membrane rejection with an increase in pressure. As the transmembrane pressure in-creases, it rises above the capillary pressure of the membrane, which prevents the oil from en-tering the pores, leading to it being forced through the pores. Th ere is also a decrease in the membrane rejection with an increase in the CNT concentration in the membrane. Th is is expected as the structure of the PSF layer is altered by the membrane pores growing larger, with the

Fig 4 Plots of (a) Young’s modulus (MPa), (b) Toughness (J/cm3), (c) Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) and (d) Yield Stress

(MPa) as a function of CNT loading in PSF. At a concentration of 7.5% CNTs in the polymer composite, there is a 119% increase in the ultimate tensile strength,

77% increase in the Young’s modulus, 258% increase in toughness and 79%

increase in the yield strength. These increases are relative to 0% CNT loading

addition of CNTs. Th e structure of the bottom layer in a thin fi lm com-posite membrane has been shown to have an eff ect on the fl ux and the separation effi cien-cy of the membrane. Permeate concentra-tions below 10 mg/ℓ are achieved at 4 and 5 bar pressures by all the membranes, as seen in Figure 5.

Figure 6 shows the fl ux calculated using Equation 2 for diff er-ent percentages of CNT loadings and pressures. Th e fl ux through the membrane increas-es with an increase in pressure and CNT con-centration. Th e fl ux achieved in this study

is comparable to or higher than previously reported values. Similar to the impact on membrane separation effi ciency, the CNTs alter the pore structure of the PSF layer al-lowing for greater fl ux across the membrane. Th e SEM images (Figures 1 and 2) indicate an increase in pore diameter with an increase in the CNT concentration. Th e permeate fl ux can also be attributed to the PVA layer, which is hydrophilic. It has been found that hydrophilic membranes are more resistant to fouling and generally have a higher permeate fl ux. Cross-linking the PVA layer with dicar-boxylic acid (maleic acid) has been shown to improve stability of the membrane. Th e intramolecular cross-linked molecules are smaller in size than the initial polymer mol-ecules, with their size being dependent on the degree of cross linking. Th e results from Chunjin et al show that a PVA membrane has high values of oil retention and permea-tion fl ux, and the fl ux recovery ratio is more than 95%, which demonstrates that the PVA

Technical paper

Table 1 Rejection of oil by the CNT-polymer thin film membrane. Feed oil concentration is 287 mg/ℓ

Pressure (bar) CNT loading (%) Rejection (%)

444555666

051005100510

99.6598.6197.3998.4397.5696.6995.1290.5987.11


membrane has excellent anti-fouling char-acteristics to oil. Th e incorporation of CNTs into the membrane used in this study show that it is still feasible to have such high fl ux recovery ratio while also increasing mem-brane mechanical strength. Finally, though the oil/water mixtures tested here are artifi -cial and oil-containing wastewater is known to have trace amount of surfactants, the re-sults of this study are still meaningful and practical. Chakraborty et al suggest that additives in oily wastewater from plant op-erations will have an eff ect on the membrane performance. However, the oil particle size has a larger eff ect on the membrane perfor-mance relative to that by the additives in the oily wastewater. See table 1.

In summary, a CNT-polymer composite membrane with a polyvinyl alcohol barrier layer has been fabricated and tested for the separation of oil from water. At a concen-tration of 7.5% CNTs in the polymer com-posite, a 119% increase in the ultimate ten-sile strength, 77% increase in the Young’s modulus and 258% increase in the tough-ness were seen indicating the suitability of the membrane in practical applications. Increasing the transmembrane pressure decreases the membrane separation but in-creases the fl ux. In the same way, increasing the CNT concentration in the membrane decreases rejection but increases membrane fl ux. Depending on the application of the membrane, a balance between the metrics such as rejection and fl ux can be obtained by varying CNT concentration in the mem-brane and pressure.

MethodsA vertically orientated continuous chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactor was used to produce CNTs at 850°C as outlined in our previous studies using ferrocene, which acts as both the catalyst and carbon source. About 4 g of ferrocene was placed inside the vapour-iser and the vapour was carried to the reactor by argon carrier gas. Th e solid carbon prod-uct of CNTs was collected from the cyclone

Fig 5 The permeate concentration for different % CNT loading. There is an

increase in permeate concentration with an increase in pressure and% CNT loading.

After 5 bar, the permeate concentration exceeds the lower limit of the allowable

discharge concentration, which is 10 mg/ℓ

and characterised using a transmission elec-tron microscope (TEM) (JOEL 100S).

A phase inversion method 17 was used to prepare the membranes in this study. A 10% (w/v) polysulfone (PSF) solution was pre-pared in dimethylformamide (DMF) under constant stirring. Th e solution was cast on a glass plate with the aid of a casting blade. Th e cast solution was left in ambient conditions for 10 seconds and thereafter fully immersed in distilled water for a period of 24 hours. A 1% (w/v) PVA solution was poured over the PSF membrane (which acts as the support) and kept in contact for three minutes after which the excess solution was drained off . A 1% maleic acid (MA), which acts as the cross-linker solution, was poured on the PVA layer and kept in contact for 3 minutes (to allow enough time for cross-linking) af-ter which it was drained off . Th e membrane was then heated in an oven at 125°C for 15 minutes. Th e structure of the membranes was characterised using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) (FEI FIB/SEMNova 600 Nanolab). BET analysis was conducted us-ing the Tristar 3000 V6.05 A to obtain pore size information.

Th e CNTs were blended with the polymer solution in varying concentrations (from 0 to 10% w/v) before the solution was cast and immersed in water. Th e CNTs were dispersed with the aid of ultrasonic agitation in the membrane solution before casting. Th e me-chanical tests on the membranes were car-ried out on the Hysitron Nanotensile 5000 Tester using thin rectangular (5 mm x 30 mm x 0.05 mm) samples of the membrane. Th e Young’s modulus, toughness, ultimate ten-sile strength and yield stress were obtained from the mechanical tests. For demonstra-tion of oil-water separation, a reservoir was fi lled with distilled water (18 ℓ) and synthet-ic oil (50 mℓ). Th e reservoir was continuous-ly stirred and heated to 35°C to facilitate mixing. Th e mixture was pumped through the membrane and fl ow readings were taken using a rotameter. Th e concentration of oil in water (after ultrasonication and continued stirring) was found to be ~287 mg/ℓ.

Th is paper has been edited for publication and citations have been removed. For references or information about the paper, please contact the editor at [email protected].

Fig 6 The fl ux through the membrane at different pressures and % CNT loading. The increase in fl ux is due to the increase in %

CNT loading, which alters the membrane structure as can be seen in Figures

1 and 2

Technical paper


M ining operations’ water usage and processes have evolved considerably over the past two decades. While

it was common practice to use and con-sume clean water for all activities on-site with little thought given for downstream water pollution discharge impacts, such methodologies today are prohibited.

“The 1990s saw new trends emerge aimed at reusing different qualities of water in various elements within a closed mining circuit, recycling water and reduc-ing wastewater discharge. Capturing and reusing water within the plant process has evolved to become common practice today – placing less stress on the environ-ment and reducing municipal clean water consumption. Despite this, the necessity

for water balance modelling and managing the distribution of water within a mine has and continues to play a more important role within an operations life cycle now than ever before,” SRK partner and princi-pal hydrologist Peter Shepherd points out.

An evolving challenge“The downside to process water recycling is the significant rise in salt levels if the water is not diluted with clean water at regular intervals,” Shepherd explains.

While salt is not considered a toxic sub-stance, it can cause major environmental and process dilemmas. Water recycled over a 20-year period raises salt levels substan-tially; in some instances, SRK has measured the total dissolved salt (TDS) levels in pro-cess water dams of greater than 8 000 mg/ℓ. “To put it in perspective, the maximum al-lowable drinking water (Class II –SANS 241 2006) is 2400 mg/ℓ,” Shepherd notes.

PROCESS WATER RECYCLING

Salty solutions sink inThe technologies implemented to help mines meet increasingly stringent water conservation regulations may have alleviated pollution in surrounding areas, but they have led to a different contamination challenge that needs managing, writes Laura Cornish.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) in South Africa’s mature coalfields.

Shepherd acknowledges that while South Africa’s gold AMD crisis is being addressed and solutions implemented, other sources of AMD should be evaluated and prevention measures planned for.

South Africa’s primary Emalahleni coal fields will ramp down over the next 20 to 50 years as the new Waterberg coalfield region develops, leaving a host of defunct underground and opencast mines, as well as waste facilities. “The coal mining industry needs to come together and understand the entire coal basin as a unit to ensure that the environment is preserved when mining ends, and underground water levels are maintained at a stable level,” Shepherd mentions. Rehabilitation of these old mining areas needs to be done in such a way that surface water does not unnecessarily impact the groundwater. Monitoring stream fl ows as input to

hydrological baseline studies

Water watch

Fortunately, because water has become such an essential operational component, mines are embracing this challenge and ac-

knowledging the need to adapt their pro-cesses accordingly, Shepherd declares. And many are turning to Shepherd, his team and SRK to find solutions to what could soon become a significant mining problem.

Water balance development is a core strength and strategic business focus for consulting engineers and scientists SRK. The company employs a range of tools to monitor and control salt levels in mine water, from a simple spreadsheet-based method that mines can employ without specialist skills to purpose-designed com-puter models that are more complex.


“Water with high concentrations of salts is unpleasant tasting and the long-term use may pose a health threat to consumers.”

Salt balances developed for the Rusten-burg area have seen the TDS increase from about 1 000 to about 4 000 mg/ℓ – a result largely caused by the mines’ eff orts to reuse as much water as possible. Certain mines in the area have already started budgeting for steel infrastructure replacement as a result of the corrosion water with elevated TDS can cause.

Steadily increasing salt levels means that eventually the water will need to be treated. “Th e impact of discharging high TDS level water into the environment is signifi cantly more severe than less salty water but the environment is only one factor that mining houses need to consider. Th e impact of re-cycled water with a high TDS concentration can drastically aff ect mining process circuits as well.

Plants are designed for a certain minimum water quality and will not operate optimal-ly if salt levels rise beyond a certain point. High salt levels will also corrode most metal components in a circuit, raising operational and replacement costs.

The solutionShepherd says that treating water with a high TDS concentration is an option, but

should be the last resort as the extra cap-ital and running costs of treating heavy salt water will only add further to a mine’s overall costs – unnecessarily.

“There are alternative, cost-effective, ra-tional methods to combat this issue. Split-

ting types of water use based on process re-quirements and utilising the right qualities for the right processes will enable mines to treat less water – and only the most highly polluted,” Shepherd outlines.

This will further enable mines to stop using their stormwater dams for process water storage, which pose further envi-ronmental hazards should they overflow. Considering higher rainfall is predicted to substantially increase the amount of contaminated water a mine spills into the environment, the list of reasons to revise water reuse strategies is endless.

“The downside to process water recycling is the significant rise in salt levels if the water is not diluted with clean water at regular intervals.” Peter Shepherd, partner and principal

hydrologist, SRK Consulting

Graphic – Stormwater control on mines

Water watch


ASX-listed tailings retreatment company Mintails believes it is better to refocus attention onto the technical aspects of solution

implementation in partnership with govern-ment to solve AMD challenges.

A consensus is emerging that a solution is possible, under government leadership, phased to mitigate the risks specifi c to each basin. Th is consensus suggests that the im-mediate intervention should be to neutralise the AMD by means of a high-density sludge (HDS) process, with a possible long-term solution being desalination to augment stra-tegic water supplies in Gauteng.

Mintails is fully supportive of this emerg-ing trend and has committed itself to the UN call to make 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation, specifi cally for the pro-tection of groundwater resources, through enhanced governance structures created in partnership between the public and private sectors. To this end, Mintails has developed a patented treatment process that has been off ered to the state for consideration as one of the options for the immediate interven-tion in the Western Basin. Th is process is fully compatible with any future decision to desalinate.

Mintails is a mining closure company that reprocesses tailings dams as part of a com-prehensive MRA remediation process aimed at ultimately returning legacy mining im-pacted land to higher social and economic use. A core part of that process is the man-agement of acidic water.

TAILINGS RETREATMENT

The AMD way

AMD water is abstracted from the void and then treated by the on-site facilities to a level where it can be used for process wa-ter. Th is is used to hydraulically mine the tailings dams located in the upper reaches of the Wonderfontein Spruit, an ecosystem highly impacted by more than a century of deep-level mining of both gold and urani-um. Th e recovered tailings are then pro-cessed at the metallurgical plant to extract residual gold before the slurry is returned to a fi nal dump as waste. But this slurry can also be used to neutralise AMD in signifi -cant volumes.

Test work conducted by the company has shown that in the Western Basin, around 40 Mℓ/d can be neutralised to a quality ac-ceptable to the regulatory authority for use as grey water, or as feedstock into future de-salination plants. Many benefi ts arise from this process, making it a valuable contribu-tion to the overall AMD management strat-egy being developed by the government.

Th e immediate benefi t is that it can be rapidly implemented in the Western Basin without disrupting any long-term planning regarding the future potential of a desali-nation plant augmenting supply into the economic heartland of Gauteng.

Another benefi t is that the HDS process, with its costly sludge handling and man-agement requirements, is done away with. R&D, confi rmed by independent laboratory evaluation, indicates that the sludge gen-erated from the neutralisation of AMD by exposure to barren tailings is seeded onto

the individual tailings particle in a power-ful bond that is more chemically stable than HDS on its own. Furthermore, the hydro-philic nature of the precipitate so generat-ed changes the hydrological parameters of the tailings in a way that reduces the rate of transmission of acidic rainwater through the tailings pile. Th is is a benefi t as it reduc-es future acid generation capacity triggered by acid rain. Th is implies that the consoli-dated barren tailings need to be rehabilitat-ed to reduce the ingress of acid rain.

Th e main benefi t accrues to the tax-paying public, because the overall cost of such a process is considerably lower than the conventional HDS technology in mainstream use.

Mintails is proud to be a responsible min-ing closure company operating in the chal-lenging environment created by a legacy of mining that has given rise to the problem we face today. Th rough this process, Mint-ails and other mining companies can con-solidate the many scattered tailings dams in a safe way to release rehabilitated land back into the regional economy. Th rough the process of responsible closure, Mint-ails believes that the many challenges of the heavily impacted legacy mining areas in which it operates can be rehabilitated for better social and economic use.

The acid mine drainage (AMD)

issue dominating South Africa

is underpinned by a narrative of

blame-seeking. This has stifled the

technical debate about solution

implementation to the detriment of

the regional economy.

A core part of the Mintails business is the management of AMD water that is used

to reprocess tailings and recover land historically impacted by mining

Water watch


Water watch

Dr Johanita Kotze is currently heading up the implementation of Anglo American Technical Solutions’ Integrated Water

Management Service (IWMS) for the com-pany’s global operations. Janet Smith is conducting research into more eff ective re-use of water.

Th e IWMS is focused on assisting Anglo American’s operations and projects to eff ec-tively, effi ciently and sustainably implement the company’s water strategy. It proposes a step-by-step approach of sifting through the extensive data and issues fl agged in both external and internal mine-water re-views and audits, identifying the priority issues and implementing best practice solu-tions to those.

Th e initial phase of the IWMS – identify-ing key priorities at two sites – is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

Smith is a senior chemist at Technical Solutions’ Research Unit, where she re-searches more eff ective reuse of water, spe-cialising in water management and solid/liquid separation, primarily in the area of thickener optimisation.

Smith is co-author of a technical paper titled Design and development of a nov-el thickener feedwell using computational fl uid dynamics.

Th e benefi t of this research relating to the thickener feedwell technology shows that eff ective thickener performance allows achievement of maximum underfl ow solids and overfl ow clarity for a given purpose. Better quality thickener overfl ow water can be reused for plant processes, making water available for rapid recovery and reuse with minimal losses and energy requirements.

As part of the company’s ongoing water programmes, Smith is now also involved in an AMIRA Project (AMIRA 1087), which is focused on integrated tailings management.

AMIRA is a global, independent asso-ciation of minerals companies that de-velops, brokers and facilitates collabora-tive research projects. As a participating

FEMALE FORCE

Anglo ladies lead the water way Anglo American’s commitment to sustainable water development is currently being demonstrated through the key role that two female employees are playing in a groundbreaking water management programme that is reaffirming the company’s vision to be a leader in mine water management.

Boipuso Semenya takes a pH reading at a groundwater abstraction borehole near

RBMR (Rustenburg Base Metals Refi ners) in Rustenburg (January 2012)

Photographer: Geoff Brown

Water watch

company, Anglo American is one of the funders, contributors and benefi ciaries of AMIRA projects.

Kotze is principal hydrogeologist in the Technical Solutions’ Consulting Unit, and heads up the implementation of an integrat-ed water service for Anglo American’s global operations. She is the driving force behind IWMS and is one of only a few hydrogeologists

worldwide who pos-ses the particular

qualifi cations and experience she has. Th e Technical Solutions team is part of the

company’s multidisciplinary mining and technology function, which is focused on water management.

Research into more effective reuse of water is only one of the many initiatives currently under way at Anglo American in support of the company’s water strat-egy and vision. The company is cognisant of both the environmental and profit val-ue of increased efficiency in water use in its operations.

Richard Garner, the water manager for Anglo Ameri-can, believes that Smith and Kotze’s work has proved critical to the real diff erence that the company is achiev-ing in terms of wa-ter sustainability.

“With the current water stresses being experienced around the globe, eff ective water management and research is of paramount importance. Anglo American is therefore delighted in the re-sults being achieved by the IWMS team, and in particular the role being played by Smith and Kotze in furthering our water strategy.

“Th rough their innovative research and implemented techniques, they are ulti-mately helping to ensure that our company can plan and implement totally integrated water initiatives that will maximise wa-ter recovery and ensure sustainability to meet current and future water needs,” con-cludes Garner.

Vinesh Dilsook monitoring the infl ow of treated water at the Klipgat return water

dam - Rustenburg

Dr Johanita Kotze Janet Smith


Water watch

Despite the major successes achieved through its conven-tional minerals processing equipment ranges, MC Process

CEO Mark Craddock’s current focus for growth lies in the water sector – for all types of wastewater, including sewage and effl u-ent treatment using dissolved air fl otation (DAF) and reverse osmosis technologies. In line with its vision to become a substantial player in the water sector, the company has launched a water-focused division called Scientifi c Water, which as its name suggests, evaluates and provides cost-eff ective, alter-native technological/scientifi c approaches to wastewater treatment.

Not only has the company successfully re-introduced the concept of DAF to the min-ing sector, but will soon complete research and development that showcases how the addition of electrocoagulation can reduce the running costs required to treat waste-water (such as acid mine drainage), particu-larly in the coal sector.

DAF is an eff ective process for effl uent and wastewater clarifi cation. It works by producing a stream of micro bubbles that

attach to solids, which fl oat to the surface and are removed by a scraper system. DAF units are especially eff ective when incorpo-rated into a wastewater treatment system.

Following on from the success of the DAF process, Craddock has been investi-gating methods to enhance the treatment of coal-associated acid mine water further,

with a particular focus on reducing opera-tional costs.

Coal washing plants use lime to neutralise acidic waste or process water as a starting point for recirculation and reuse. A DAF unit is then able to eff ectively separate the solids from the water. In collaboration with major coal role players such as Anglo Amer-ican Th ermal Coal, Craddock is currently investigating the potential of incorporat-ing an electrocoagulation (which raises the

water’s pH) step into the process. “By intro-ducing this step prior to DAF, I believe the amount of lime required for neutralisation decreases signifi cantly,” Craddock explains.

“Lime is a necessary but signifi cant opera-tional cost in this process, which in mining terms is a frustration as it does not contrib-ute directly to production profi ts. Our test

work thus so far is indicating that this pro-cess is an eff ective wastewater treatment method that ably works with much lower volumes of lime,” he continues. In conjunc-tion with DAF, overall costs are kept to a minimum. It is already common knowledge that this technology on its own is signifi -cantly cheaper than traditional methods.

Speaking of the industry’s acid mine drainage problem in general, Craddock says that thanks to technologies such as DAF, the situation is not a crisis, but a “solution problem”.

Introducing a new DAF concept to the market is not the ‘end of the road’ for Cra-ddock. “We are further investigating pos-sible commercial opportunities available for the fl oated metals recovered from the DAF process.”

Th e foundations and success MC Process celebrates today, only fi ve years since it was fi rst registered, is built on R&D. “It remains a key constituent of our business.” In line with this business strategy, the company continues to invest heavily in its extensive

DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION

MC Process goes a step furtherMinerals processing equipment will always be MC Process’s core business. Its constant attention to technological innovation and evolution, however, has seen its new business unit, Scientific Water, make leaps and bounds into the wastewater sector, writes Laura Cornish.

LEFT Dissolved air fl otation is an effective process for effl uent and

wastewater clarifi cation

RIGHT A dissolved air fl otation unit

In line with its vision to become a substantial player in the water sector, the company has launched a water-focused division called Scientific Water

Water watch

laboratory pilot-scale testing equipment and facilities.

Th rough Scientifi c Water, MC Pro-cess recently installed and commis-sioned two new DAF units at Anglo American Th ermal Coal’s New Vaal colliery in Vanderbijlpark, where the units are ensuring that the treated water being discharged is not impacting on the environment.

Last year, the company also secured the contract to supply an entire sewerage treatment plant, to-gether with a reverse osmosis system and acid mine drainage treatment packaged plant (with DAF) for Ikwezi Mining’s new Ntendeka coal operation near Newcastle. Equipment procurement and installation has commenced following the company’s re-cent water licence grant,” Craddock reveals.

Additional minerals processing equipment rangesOutside of water, Craddock speaks enthu-siastically of some new technologies and equipment ranges the company has intro-duced over the last year.

ate atc

uipment

-

t, to-tem andackaged

ng’s newwcastle.

t ll ti

MC Process is off ering a complete package gold elution plant, which uses an extraction technique aimed at recovering gold that has been liberated into a cyanide solution as part of the gold cyanidation process. Gold in solution is loaded onto activated carbon, which is then sent through a series of steps in the elution process. Gold is then electrowon from elu-ate and smelted to yield gold bullion.

“We have also established an exclusive part-nership with Elgin Equipment Group, from the US, a worldwide leader in the design,

manufacture and service of coal processing and industrial equip-

ment; we represent Centrifugal Services CSI - rotary breakers, tabor screens and

Centrifugal Mechanical Industries’ CMI cen-trifuges, which we now have the African dis-tribution rights to,” Craddock adds.

Th e company’s broad array of products and services includes new and rebuilt cen-trifuges through its company’s Centrifugal & Mechanical Industries and CSI Technolo-gies companies.

Over the last 50 years, 3S MEDIA has evolved into a modern-day print and digital media company that offers businesses and professionals in various spheres the leading edge to grow and develop their vocations, disciplines and/or companies.

MEDIAwww.3smedia.co.za tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 fax: +27(0) 11 234 7275 [email protected] No 4, 5th Avenue, Rivonia, 2191 PO Box 92026, Norwood, 2117

3SMEDIA publishes: IMIESA IMESA Yearbook Inside Mining Infrastructure Intelligence Meetings SA miningne.ws Occupational Risk Online ReSource SA Conference Directory Transport World Africa Water&Sanitation Africa

LET YOUR BRAND STAND OUT WITH 3S MEDIA

Telephone: +27 (0) 11 432-2195Email: [email protected]: www.mcprocess.co.za

Process Equipmentthat Work

MINERAL PROCESSINGAgitators Attrition ScrubberAntimony PlantsClay Breaking Systems CMI - CentrifugesCounter Current Decantation (CCD)CSI - Rotary BreakersElectrowining (EW)Flotation Cells Flocculant PlantsGold Elution High Energy ConditionersHigh Density ThickenersHigh Rate ThickenersIon ExchangeIron Precipitation PlantsLamella ThickenersLeaching - Accelerated, VAT & PressureLime PlantsPaste ThickenersPilot Plants & Laboratory Scale EquipmentPacked Bed ClarifiersReagent Make-up & Dosing PlantsSolvent Extraction (SX)ThickenersQVA - Cyclone QVA - Log WashersQVA - Multi Spigot HydrosizersQVA - Teetered Bed Separator (TBS)

WATER TREATMENTChemical TreatmentClarifiersDissolved Air Flotation (DAF)ElectrocoagulationElectrodialysisFroth Removal & Auto Dilution (FRAD)Ion ExchangeMicrofiltrationMixersMulti Media FiltersNanofiltrationReverse Osmosis (RO)Ultrafiltration

ENGINEERING SERVICESDraughtingEquipment UpgradingLaboratory TestworkProcess Optimization

Applications include:River water, Drinking water treatment plants, Sewage treatment plants and Industrial effl uents, including food, car, dairy, petrochemical and paper mill industries, as well as power plants

Available parameters:- Online nitrate- Online-UV COD- Online dual nitrate/UV COD- Online ammonium- Online sulphide- Online chlorophyll-a, fl uorescein,

rhodamine and oil in water- Online UV COD in-situ probe- Online phosphate- Online hexavalent Cr- Multi-parameter e.g pH, conductivity,

redox, DO, TSS, temperature- Metals like Ni, Zn, Fe, Cu, etc.

The innovative design allows for easy handling and fi eld deployment by a single user.

In its standard confi guration, the WIZ probe detects trace levels of the main four nutrients compounds:• ammonia (N-NH)• orthophosphate (P-PO3)• nitrate + nitrite N-(NO)• nitrite (N-NO234+NO2).

WIZ probe automatically manages the well-known spectrophotometric wet chemistries and an advanced fl uorimetric method for ammonia measurement.

Contact: Guido MolMobile: +27 083 629 2625 • Fax: 086 672 2805

Tel Offi ce: +27 (0)11 882 5051 • E-mail: [email protected]

www.quadrex-technologies.co.za

Portable fi eld-kit and benchtop Metalyser systems for precise analysis (to ppb levels) of heavy elements in water and soils.

Depending on the models, the following elements are measurable: Al, As, B, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn

ONLINE WATER MONITORING ANALYSIS EQUIPMENT

PORTABLE AND LABORATORY HEAVY ELEMENT ANALYSIS EQUIPMENT

PORTABLE WATER ANALYSER

Since its establishment in 2006, Quadrex Technologies has been supplying quality control and monitoring equipment aimed at evaluating waste products from the manufactur-ing process – in particular wastewater. “Th e equipment we

supply delivers necessary data to the relevant industry personnel, ensuring that they know the quality of the water they have used and will eventually be returning to the environment, enabling them to take the necessary clean up steps if required,” explains the managing member of Quadrex Technologies SA, Guido Mol.

“In the mining industry, where a lot of water is used during the extraction process of minerals, our products fi nd their way into QC laboratories, on-line water quality control monitoring processes as well as fi nal wastewater analysis (prior to discharging it). Our equipment is accurate and can detect very low concentrations of heavy minerals and other pollutants and nutrients; it is also sensi-tive, portable and on-line,” he continues.

Numerous studies have indicated the need to know the general conditions of industrial effl uent, including the content and con-centration of heavy elements or any other pollutant in wastewater, prior to discharging it into streams, rivers, dams, lake, etc. If un-checked, this can have disastrous results for any living form in or close to the polluted water source.

Th e rising acid water table in the Gauteng region, for example, is raising concerns regarding water pollution of boreholes, rivers, dams, lakes and other surface water. “Th e equipment we provide has sensitivities that will easily meet or beat the current environ-mental legislation requirements in any industry.”

Various measurements can be performed with the respective type of equipment in an on-line monitoring, in-fi eld or on-site lab-oratory environment. “Our equipment caters to all heavy metals, including aluminium, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, gold, ion, mercury, manganese, nickel, lead, tin and zinc, as well as general water conditions including temperature, pH, tur-bidity, conductivity, resistivity salinity, etc.,” says Mol.

“While many Quadrex-similar systems are available, we believe that we provide equipment that caters to and is particularly suited to the mining industry, which has to deal with heavy element pol-lution and other forms of contamination. Th e increasing numbers in worldwide installations and usage of our equipment is a sign that customers are realising their moral and ethical obligations to protect water resources.”

MONITORING

The beginning and end of water preservationAfrica suffers from water shortages and will continue to do so in the future. As a result, it is essential that the water used and returned to the environment by the mining industry is of a superior quality.


Water watch

W astewater treatment spe-cialist Veolia Water Solu-tions & Technologies South Africa, through its subsidi-

ary VWS Envig Botswana, is ensuring that mining companies focus only on their core business, leaving the ‘dirty work’ to it.

Two of Botswana’s largest copper min-ing companies recently contracted VWS Envig Botswana to supply containerised wastewater treatment plants to improve the quality of discharge water coming from mine camps.

“A copper mining project in north- western Botswana has already received its new 90 m3/d trickling filter treatment plant, which we delivered in December,” says Wayne Taljaard, general manager at Veolia’s Engineered Systems & Services. “The entire solution was designed to be upgraded to 180 m3/d and we have manu-factured the second containerised plant at our factory in Isando and delivered it.”

Together, the plants will treat domestic

MINE CAMP WASTEWATER

Top treatmentTreating mine camp wastewater may not be a core mining function, but it remains a core mining priority, especially in remote locations.

sewage generated by nearly 900 people to within legislated discharge stand-ards before being released into surface water streams.

A second copper mining company, a long-standing Veolia customer, has com-missioned a 75 m3/d trickling filter waste-water treatment plant to upgrade sewage generated by roughly 350 residents at its mine camp in north-eastern Botswana.

“This trickling filter plant, along with all ancillary equipment, was completely con-tainerised and delivered in March 2013. The customer opted to construct a sepa-rate septic tank, which means both mod-ular and civil construction principles were used to build this plant – what we call a hy-brid installation,” Taljaard explains.

Typically, Veolia will include the septic tank within a standard 12 m container, which allows the entire plant to be trans-ported via road to remote lo-cations. Containers are corrosion protect-ed and com-p l e t e l y

watertight, and with minimal moving parts that need maintenance, they are ideally suited for operation in remote Af-rican settlements. “Once installed, they are remote monitored and only need an operator to do a daily inspection, mak-ing them incredibly cost effective to run,” Taljaard continues.

Water industry growth in BotswanaVWS Envig Botswana is growing signif-icantly in the semi-arid country’s water market and was recently awarded a con-tract to design, supply and commission a 6 000 m3/d potable water plant in Maun, northern Botswana. The plant, located near the banks of the Thamalakane Riv-er, is scheduled to be commissioned in September 2013 and will be operated and maintained by Veolia for a subsequent six-month period.

Previous Veolia installations in the coun-try include a large-scale reverse os-

mosis plant for a diamond mine near Francistown, as well as a

large-scale demineralisation plant at a high-capacity power plant.

Veolia’s modular water treatment plants address small-scale water problems in shorter time frames, which has resulted in increased popularity among mine camps throughout sub-Saharan Africa

D i d yo u k n

ow

?

The average

rainfall in South

Africa is 500 mm,

well below the

world average of

860 mm.

Water Watch

Water watch

The Kibali project is Randgold Re-sources’ latest venture (together with AngloGold Ashanti) and re-mains on track to start producing

at the end of 2013 and reach full produc-tion the year after. With a 10 Moz mineral reserve (and 18 Moz resource), the project represents one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Africa. It is set to deliver an average of 600 000 ozpa for the first 11 years with an average grade of 4.2 g/t. The project has a 17-year lifespan, al-though ongoing exploration is expected to see this extend substantially.

Situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kibali’s 6 Mtpa run-of-mine throughput is enormous.

KIBALI

A waterproof water warranty SBS Water Systems is supplying two of its newly launched ‘Proudly South African’ SBS Tanks to one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in Africa – Kibali – proving that this company and its reservoir products are taking their place in some of the continent’s largest mining applications.

The Kibabli site is well into construction

SBS Water Systems was contracted to supply two SBS Tanks to the project: a 588 000 ℓ tank to store mine service water and a 98 000 ℓ tank for potable water stor-age. They are currently on-route (by ship) to site and are expected to arrive shortly. It will take only four qualified installation workers and site managers 12 days to erect the tanks on-site.

“We make a point of sourcing local raw materials from suppliers in the Durban area, resulting in prompt delivery,” says SBS’s MD, Delayne Gray. “We are further able to make rapid improvements and re-spond quickly to any crises that may occur either during installation or after.”

SBS Tanks are made out of premium quality zincalume panels with internal liners ranging from 12 kℓ to a staggering 3.3 Mℓ, measuring 21 m in diameter and 9 m high. “We are also gearing our opera-tions for ISO 9001 accreditation, which we expect to achieve by the end of this year,” Gray adds.

Designed by leading structural engi-neers and manufactured using proven

technology and h i g h - q u a l i t y materials, SBS Tanks have a range of standard and special fittings available to meet many industrial and en-gineering requirements. The wall panels and roof sheets are made of hot-dipped steel, coated with a molten alloy, making them highly resistant to corrosion. The tanks carry a 10-year non-leak warranty and ongoing manufacturer support, but have an estimated life span of more than 60 years under normal climate and opera-tional conditions.

While SBS is heavily invested and fo-cused on acquiring more equipment orders from Africa, the company is aware of the challenges such project work brings. “In the case of Kibali, the area is a malaria zone, meaning all our installers have to be prepared and vaccinated accordingly.”

Packaging of the parts for the Kibali tanks for shipping

Water watch

D i d yo u

k no

w?

The

fi rst

municipal water

fi ltration works

opened in Paisley,

Scotland, in

1832.

Water Watch


Water watch

Various gases, some highly common and others extremely rare, are present throughout the process-ing and treatment stages in both

water and wastewater applications. Due to the fact that each gas is inherently diff erent, it is of the utmost importance that fi xed and portable gas detectors are strategically locat-ed or worn in key areas that are exposed to these gases. Th is is not only for monitoring purposes, but to save lives.

Th ese gases are plentiful and include, but are not limited to, methane, oxygen, hydro-gen sulphide, chlorine, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ammo-nia and ozone. In wastewater applications, these gases originate from many sources, such as sewers, pumping stations, aeration tanks, sludge digester tanks, deodorising plants and treatment plants. In potable wa-ter applications, the gases originate from

locations such as gas storage areas, gas dos-ing plants and ozone generators.

In addition to being precisely accurate with readings, both portable and fi xed gas detec-tors should also be highly robust and durable in order to withstand exposure to the harsh operating conditions that occur in a water plant, including high impact, corrosion and, of course, water damage. Bearing these factors in mind, quality should take preference over price.

MSA solutions For personal protection purpos-es, the MSA Altair 5X Multigas Detector detects fl ammable gases, oxygen and toxic gas-es and is a tough and functional option for the water and wastewater industry.

MSA is a global leader in the development, manufacture and supply of sophisticated products that protect peo-ple’s health and safety.

A rugged polycarbonate housing provides unsurpassed durability, including the abili-ty to survive a 10-foot drop. Inside, a fi eld proven integral pump provides consistent gas fl ow without the problems of external-ly attached components. Ergonomic design, glove friendly buttons and a high-contrast display make the Altair 5X easy to use in all applications.

Th e real strength of the multigas detector, however, comes from new sensor technolo-gy. MSA XCell sensors have a typical life of more than double the industry average and are engineered using MSA’s proprietary ap-plication-specifi c integrated circuit design.

By miniaturising the sensors’ controlling electronics and placing them inside the sen-sor itself, MSA XCell sensors are able to off er superior stability, accuracy and repeatabili-ty. Th e sensors are a breakthrough in chem-ical and mechanical sensor design, enabling faster response and span calibration times.

For fi xed gas detection solutions, the MSA Trigard Monitoring System is designed to monitor chlorine, sul-phur dioxide and other toxic gases,

combustible gases, as well as oxygen defi ciency or enrich-ment. Th ese new monitors of-fer an aff ordable monitoring solution for a variety of needs and were designed specifi cally

for water and wastewater facili-ties, which are typically large

producers of these gases. An advanced feature of this de-

tector includes MSA’s patented sensor dis-connect under power feature, which allows for sensor change-out without declassifying a hazardous area. Additional advantages of the MSA Trigard monitoring system include interchangeable smart sensors and a state-of-the-art LED display.

Finding the balance between cost savings and optimal safety is one of the biggest chal-lenges facing all industries in the current global economic climate. It goes without saying that worker safety should never be compromised for cost savings.

Investing in higher quality equipment that is initially more expensive during the purchasing phase not only ensures a higher degree of employee safety, it actually saves on overall long-term costs, due to greater reliability, performance and far superior product warranties.

GAS DETECTION

A water awakeningToxic and flammable gases pose hazardous threats to mine water. A combination of fixed and portable gas detectors should always be readily available on-site for an effective response to a spill or leakage, says Robbie Taitz, marketing manager for gas detection products at MSA’s African division.

Mining wastewater (photograph credit to Bloomberg)

MSA Trigard

MSA Africa's Altair 5X for water and wastewater applications

Unlimited resourcefulness applied…in a world of limited resources.

Nalco has, for over 80 years, understood how energy, water

and air management challenges affect your business. Our

technologies and services are designed to help you use less,

recycle more and reduce your environmental footprint. While

simultaneously reducing operational costs.

From mining to petrochemicals to manufacturing, ranging

from heavy industry to food processing, we bring world-class

solutions for:

Water treatment, recycling and reuse

Dust control

Mineral recovery

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© 2013 Ecolab USA Inc. All rights reserved

Backed by over 40,000 global employees, including 1,300

research professionals, Nalco Africa combines a unique

understanding of energy, water and air systems with the

world’s most advanced technologies. In a world of limited

resources, we’re applying unlimited resourcefulness to help

make the world cleaner, safer and healthier for everybody.

Nalco Africa OperationsBuilding 14, Ground Floor, Greenstone Hill Office ParkEmerald Boulevard, Greenstone Hill, South Africa Tel: +27 10 590 9120 Fax: +27 10 590 [email protected] www.nalco.com/sa


Water watch

Without proper drainage on a tailings dam, water pressure would increase along the toe of the dam wall, causing wa-

ter to seep through the toe as well as the wall itself. Th is increase in water pressure would also result in a decrease in the shear strength of the material deposited and ultimately af-fect the stability of the dam.

Fraser Alexander, the tailings consultant and facility manager at Samancor Chrome, specifi ed a completely synthetic fi lter drain system as opposed to the traditional sand and stone design for economic and ease of imple-mentation reasons. Th e synthetic fi lter drain was conceived jointly by Fraser Alexander, and geotextiles and geosynthetic solutions provider Kaytech, using Zipcore, Bidim A6, Megafl o and Kaytape products from Kaytech.

Th e combination of Kaytech’s materials and the vast experience of Fraser’s Tailings Divi-sion’s in this fi eld, has made this project a suc-cess. Th e area around the dam wall perimeter was fi rst cleared, shaped and then compacted in preparation. A central longitudinal groove was then formed, into which the Megafl o pipe

DRIVING DRAINAGE

Samancor’s high-tech tailingsThe Millsell operation, part of Samancor’s Western chrome mines, at Marikana, near Rustenburg, acknowledges the necessity for proper drainage at its tailings facility and has taken the necessary steps to minimise its impact on the surrounding environment.

was inserted on top of the Zipcore sheeting.Two-meter wide ZipCore Pro N – a high-

strength, robust, preformed drainage system consisting of a horizontally aligned, single cuspated, high-density polyethylene sheet – was laid down on the prepared area.

Th e Zipcore acts as an impermeable barri-er, directing the entrapped water fl ow to the spinal 150 mm deep Megafl o panel drain comprising a high-strength slotted HDPE core completely wrapped in a bidim geotex-tile fi lter, providing optimum fi ltering perfor-mance in most soils. Megafl o has a formed invert at the bottom of the panel prevent-ing loss of water into base soils, and has an open waterway with little restriction from support legs allowing for high fl ow rates. Th e HDPE core provides high chemical resistance, which is especially important for leachate collection and heap leaching applications. It is cost-eff ective, easy to install and off ers a subsoil drainage solution in a wide variety of applications.

Th e Megafl o and Zipcore were then covered with a layer of Kaytape S270, a heavy woven geofabric that spans over the Zipcore cusps,

retaining an open fl ow path above the Zipcore. Th e Kaytape is followed by a layer of Bidim A6, which was tucked underneath the sides of the ZipCore. Bidim A6 is a non- woven, continuous fi lament needle-punched geo-textile that has a high drainage capacity in both transmissivity and permittivity planes. Compatibility testing of the tailings and B i-dim were conducted in Kaytech’s laboratory to select the most appropriate grade to ensure durability of the fabrics’ fi ltering capacity.

For the total project, completed last year, Kaytech supplied 640 m of Megafl o and 3 000 m2 each of ZipCore, Kaytape and Bidim A6. Once the drain was installed, coarse tailings were cycloned to cover the newly installed drain, which extended be-yond the drain and ultimately formed the perimeter wall.

Evidence of water fl owing from the new system into the collector drains and no sign of water seepage on the dam wall are proof of the effi cacy of the design and delivery of such a key project.

D i d y o u k n

ow

?

Global

sales of

bottled water

account for over

US$60 billion to

US$80 billion

each year.

Water Watch

octa

rine

3754

Engineering Growth through Infrastructure

Johannesburg 011 922 3300

East London 043 727 1057

Cape Town 021 531 8110

Durban 031 717 2300

www.kaytech.co.za

bidim R

Water watch

Groundwater Monitoring

Dewatering

Acid Mine Drainage

Longterm deploymentTelemetryHandheld

measurementsData logging and

Management

Contact us for more information:

Telephone: (012) 755 8016

Fax: 086 658 5749

E-mail: [email protected]

or

Visit our website: www.smenviro.co.zaFollow us on Twitter:

@sm_enviro

Sustainable specialised monitoring through product

functionality and support

A lot of mines have monitoring programmes in place, as is re-quired by law. “I believe, how-ever, that long-term in-situ

monitoring plans are more effi cient as they off er more accurate data. Detailed trends can be drawn up from this data and the possibility of missing an ‘event’ is almost eliminated. I’m not saying real-time mon-itoring should replace existing monitoring

programmes, but should rather comple-ment it,” explains Crüger.

SM Enviro off ers a large range of on-site process instrumentation to monitor and con-trol all industrial water streams and sources. “Customers are, however, as equally attracted to our service policy as they are to our equip-ment. We provide free on-site maintenance for a period of three months on any equip-ment purchased, with a guaranteed response

REAL-TIME MONITORING

The smart solutionMines may understand the need to monitor water discharge and groundwater systems, but should implement long-term in-situ monitoring plans in conjunction with routine scheduled checks to deliver the best results for the mine and the environm ent, says SM Enviro’s MD, Vic Crüger.

time of less than 24 hours anywhere in South Africa or Namibia. We off er 72 hours on-site support response time throughout Southern Africa, which is dependant only on visa pro-cessing times and fl ight availability. We have completed supply and installation projects as far afi eld as Libya.”

Crüger says the company is seeing an in-creasing interest in remote monitoring (web-based systems) and data capturing. Th ese may have initial capital costs, but ultimately the cost of ownership is relatively low. With rising labour and fuel costs, the option is be-coming popular.

Monitoring acid mine drainage “Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a tricky applica-tion – we do not always know what to expect. Standard equipment often fails due to the harsh conditions, very low pH and extreme depths. A lot of additional unknowns make it diffi cult to specify a solution,” Crüger reveals.

SM Enviro’s titanium Level Troll can handle aggressive applications and has a battery life of up to 10 years, depending on the logging interval. Th e RuggedCable utilises titani-um twist lock connectors and is available in

customised lengths up to 1 219 m. Equip-ment designed for groundwater monitoring is often used for AMD applications, which sometimes works. However, the equipment is not suited to the application in many instanc-es and large data gaps result or equipment simply fails and monitoring stops.

“We are currently monitoring four shafts for the Department of Water Aff airs (DWA) using a telemetry device that takes hourly level and temperature readings and sends this information to our database once a day. Our technicians are notifi ed by text message in case of equipment failure, alarms or many other preconfi gured conditions. Th e teleme-try device is also fi tted with a motion detec-tor to notify the user if tampered with. All equipment has been installed in an enclosure designed specifi cally to deter vandals.”

SM Enviro also has a multi-parameter instrument from Germany that monitors depth, temperature, pressure, dissolved oxy-gen, ORP, pH and electrical conductivity. Th e instrument can be deployed up to a depth of 3 500 m using a 12 V winch with a data cable running to the surface to allow researchers to view the information in real time. Th is

enables them to perform water quality pro-fi les in the shaft.

Samples can also be taken at specifi c depths for parameter analysis in the lab that cannot be measured in real time. “We were awarded this contract by the Council for Geoscience. Realising the need for an off -the-shelf solu-tion, we approached our partner, Sea & Sun Technology in Germany, to develop an instrument specifi cally for this application. Th e solution is an instrument designed for oceanographic applications that can handle the pressures at ocean depths. It has simply been adapted to suit AMD requirements.

Outside of AMD applications, SM Envi-ron has also been involved in tailings dams monitoring for overfl ow and water quali-ty. “We are currently monitoring effl uent discharge in real time, with data updating hourly at 31 sites in Gauteng and another fi ve in the Free State. We are fur-ther under way with a dewa-tering programme for an opencast mine, where we will be measuring and transmitting data from 38 boreholes.”

Water watch

D i d y o u kn

ow

?

More people

have a mobile

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W

ater Watch

assists clients with establishing and executing

vision and strategies, supporting leadership capabilities and enhancing

technical skills to deliver optimal and sustainable results.

As Owner’s Representative and Project Managers we also provide our

clients with cost effective, comprehensive and innovative solutions.

Our key leaders and staff, on average, have 20-plus years mining

industry experience, gained by working in many of the leading mining and

consulting organizations.

capabilities include:

• Operational improvements and cost control

• Optimal Mining Infrastructure Design

• Mining Risk Management Advice

• Mining Technology and Process Advice

• Project Management

• Owner’s Representative Solutions.

For further information contact Mr Gerrit Brits on

011-369 0600 or [email protected]

The site for the new depot has already been identifi ed and construction is due to start in the next few weeks. Th e new depot will be fully operational by the second quar-ter of 2013. Th is is the company’s fourth rental depot in

South Africa. “We are noticing an increased demand for dewatering servic-

es to be supplied as a complete package, including the pump and water treatment systems, engineering expertise and project management. Xylem Water Solutions on-site dewatering ser-vice provides customers with turnkey solutions from a single source. Th is limits customers’ administration and management eff orts and provides peace of mind as they are contracting dewa-tering experts to take care of the job,” says Harry Steyn, general manager of Xylem Water Solutions South Africa’s rental division. “Xylem Water Solutions South Africa’s dedicated dewatering rent-al services are designed to cater specifi cally to the needs of local customers. Each rental fl eet is organised to align with our local cus-tomers specifi c service requirements. Xylem’s goal is to off er fl exi-ble dewatering rental services and to respond to customers’ needs as rapidly as possible. In addition to our extensive range of Flygt submersible pumps, our rental fl eet now also includes the Godwin diesel surface pump, which is ideal for mining applications, bypass-ing sewer systems, drainage and large water transfer projects. Th e Godwin portfolio includes a full range of ‘silent’ models that are specifi cally designed for densely populated areas,” Steyn continues.

Th e beauty of Xylem’s service means that customers don’t have to invest in auxiliary equipment purchases that are needed for just as long as the project requires.

A new dewatering depot

STEELPOORT SAVVY

Thanks to the growing demand for its products and services from the numerous mining operations in the area, Xylem Water Solutions South Africa will soon open a brand new rental depot in Steelpoort, Limpopo.

Providing full service mining solutions and innovation around the world for 50 years.

Redpath South Africa Pty Limited18 Industry RoadIsando Ext 2Kempton Park1600Republic of South AfricaTel: +27 11 570 4300 | Fax: +27 11 974 2075Consider it done.

Technical Services

EXPERIENCEAFRICA | ASIA | |

|

Ghagoo project, Botswana

redpathmining.com

Underground mining


Appointed as new MD in De-cember last year, Douglas has wasted no time implementing strategies aimed at achieving

significant growth for Redpath Mining South Africa.

Changing the perception“First and foremost we need to change the industry’s perception of what we do. In Africa, we are an infrastructure

REDPATH MINING SA

Shaft sinkers, not contract Ockert Douglas, newly appointed MD of Redpath Group’s local subsidiary, has stepped into the management position with the intention of achieving two primary targets: sustainable growth and changing the industry’s perception of “who we are and what we do”, he tells Laura Cornish.

developer and a shaft sinker. Under-ground contract mining is a speciality in North America and Australia for Redpath and holds interest for us here in the fu-ture,” he states. Its Canada-based parent company, the Redpath Group, has over 50 years of shaft sinking experience and over 100 years through its wholly owned European company. Douglas is looking to leverage that experience locally and across Africa, and has already positioned

the company to take on its first deep level shaft sinking project.

“We are the youngest son of one of the biggest engineering, mine development and shaft sinking companies in the world, leaving little doubt that our shaft sinking growth potential is open-ended,” former MD, Jimmy Erasmus notes. Redpath’s Ca-nadian company has sunk 74 shafts around the world to date and is currently busy with another seven.

Underground mining


miners

Redpath’s European company has sunk over 500 shafts totalling 210 000 m includ-ing 190 freeze shafts totalling 37 000 m and is currently sinking two freeze shafts in Russia.

Erasmus will continue to play an active role in the company as chairman and will facilitate communication between Redpath Mining SA and Canada. “Erasmus has sol-id and well-established relationships with the industry and remains pivotal to the projects we anticipate securing in 2016 and 2017.”

The company has already brought in some “dynamic” young staff who will constitute a fraction of its senior management team. “We now have the right balance of young

and experienced personnel; we have the capital and the equipment and are ready to take this business forward. I must point out, however, that we are a medium-sized contractor and have no intention of being or competing with the biggest shaft sink-ing and development contractors for the foreseeable future, but one of the best in terms of safety, quality and delivery.”

Growing its African footprintThe second aspect of Redpath Mining SA’s growth strategy is building critical mass – which means accumulating project work in Africa. “This has always been our mandate, but you need to create a solid base first and then build up from there, which is what we have been working towards. We want to achieve comfortable growth levels – at a rate where we can still manage and control. Under no circumstances will we allow our safety achievements to be shadowed by our growth,” Erasmus points out.

The company has tendered on six shaft sinking projects this year, three of which are not in South Africa. “We are hoping to secure an underground horizontal develop-ment contract with an Australian company in Tanzania,” Douglas notes.

Changing its approach and methodology“While ensuring quality delivery and pro-ject execution is above standard is common practice for us, we are working on changing our thinking and approach to adopting the methodologies and technological practices of our Canadian parent – particularly in terms of handheld machines and mechan-ical drilling.”

Redpath’s approach to projects combines global competencies and skills with inno-vative techniques, regulatory knowledge, regional expertise and cultural sensitivity.

According to Redpath Canada: “This allows us to provide timely front-end engineering and design models, as well as selection and sourcing of hoisting facilities, to fast-track any shaft project. This seamless project planning phase has continually proven to yield high-quality products that exceed our clients’ expectations.”

In order to achieve this locally, Redpath Mining SA is intent on training. Douglas says he will establish a training centre on head office property (in addition to on-site training), which will develop and elevate employee’s skills. The company employs 800 people.

“We have also purchased a winder capable of sinking a 2 000 m deep shaft. We will use the winder to demonstrate our shaft sinking capabilities and commitments to potential clients going forwards – when it is not in use of course,” he explains.

Innovative problem solversThe company was recently contracted to rehabilitate a 2 000 m deep, 7 m diameter ventilation shaft in the Free State. “The collapse had started gradually and become progressively worse over time,” Douglas explains. “We will now rehabilitate the col-lapsed portion, from 120 to 240 m.”

The project will showcase the company’s innovative approach to solving challeng-es. A vetter bag will be installed at 240 m, which will expand and block the shaft. Aer-ated and coloured cement will be pumped

Douglas’s experience

Douglas has been in the shaft and decline development mining sector for 20 years. Prior to Redpath, he was the business development director at Aveng Mining (Grinaker-LTA) and before he worked at Gold Fields Cementation and Shaft Sinkers.

“We need to change the industry’s perception of what we do. In Africa, we are an infrastructure developer and a shaft sinker.” Ockert Douglas

Decline interior at Ghaghoo

D id you kno

w?

1.4 million

children die every

year from diarrhoea

caused by unclean water

and poor sanitation – that’s

4 000 deaths a day or one

child every 20 seconds

(UNICEF).

Water Watch

Underground mining

Redpath Mining South Africa is eager to take on its fi rst shaft sinking project

into the collapsed shaft area, which will function like a plug. The remainder of the shaft (to surface) will then be filled with cement following which the shaft can be

resunk. “We will know we have reached the plug because of its different colour. Be-cause it is aerated, it is softer, which will enable us to blast it out.”

Douglas estimates the project to take about nine months – meaning it should be completed towards the beginning of next year.

Redpath South Africa is also busy with a major decline sinking project in Botswana for Gem Diamonds. Due to the unstable, sand-like quality in the area, the compa-ny developed an innovative development solution to counteract the problem. “We developed a structural ring shield that pro-vides support and enables us to line the decline (in rings using precast cement seg-ments) as we progress.”

To date, the company has installed over 540 rings and over 1 100 will have been in-stalled once it reaches the basal rock layer.

The company is also a permanent con-tractor on-site at Northam Platinum where it is working on an underground decline development at the Zondereinde deep level platinum mine. It is also rehabil-itating three shafts for Gold Field’s South Deep operation.

It’s our passion for mining and dedication to our customers that inspires us to deliver excellent customer service. At Mining and Rock Excavation Technique we’re driven to optimise our customers productivity.

www.atlascopco.co.za

We’re passionate about mining

Underground mining


Manufacture is under way at DCD Rolling Stock’s facility in Boksburg.

Th e fi rst units have already been delivered, with the fi nal wagons to be delivered as scheduled in June.

DCD Rolling Stock has a longstanding relationship with Anglo American Plati-num’s Rustenburg Mines, spanning about 20 years, that has seen the company supply a number of hopper wagons to the mine. Daryl Leggitt, technical manager at DCD Rolling Stock, says the company has also worked alongside the mine’s engineers over the past decade to adjust the design of cer-tain hoppers to suit changing mechanical and safety requirements, and to refurbish existing hopper wagons.

Th e design of the units in the latest order features a unique safety mechanism on the bottom discharge doors that prevents the doors opening accidentally in transit and creating spillage, which presents a major safety risk. “We call this a ‘central shaft over top dead centre locking device’ and it has been designed specifi cally for Rusten-burg Platinum Mines,” says Leggitt.

“Th e device comprises three off set levers connected to the doors with three links per door. Th e levers have two end stops to ensure that they rotate over the centre position, ensuring that the doors cannot open accidentally. As an additional safety feature, a pneumatically operated inter-lock is included, featuring a cam and hook that lock into place once the doors are fully closed.”

Th e discharge hopper wagons, with a gross mass of 85 t, have payload volumes of 26 m3 with 5 m3 volume reducers. Th e hoppers’ body and underframe comprise an all-welded construction utilising S355JR steel, delivering an increase in strength

of about 18% compared to the previous hopper wagons supplied. Th e body ends, centre gable and volume reducer are an-gled to avoid any hang-up of ore during unloading operations.

Th e wagons will be fi tted with high- impact and wear-resistant body liners manufac-tured from Tivar GR12 material, 20 mm thick on the body ends and volume reducer, and 12 mm thick on the lower half of the centre gable. Th e braking system combines vacuum and air brakes, with each system capable of operating independently.

Th e wagons will also be equipped with two self-steer HS Mk VII bogies manufactured from new components to comply with the latest Transnet specifi cations.

International systems houseDCD Rolling Stock, part of the DCD conglom-erate (previously DCD-Dorbyl), operates as an international systems house with an in-house

capability that allows it to off er a total rolling stock package, from design and manufacture to refurbishing and modernising bogies and supporting the aftersales market for bogies, including supply of renewal parts.

Th e company has its own accredit-ed quality, environmental and health & safety systems in place – SABS ISO 9001:2008, Moody International BS EN ISO 14001:2004 and Moody Internation-al BSI OHSAS 18001 – which ensure that manufacturing processes are carried out under controlled conditions to mitigate their impact on the environment and to in-ternational quality standards.

DCD Rolling Stock has been in business for more than 100 years and has designed 4 000 underground locomotives.

RUSTENBURG PLATINUM MINES

20 side-discharge hopper wagons en routeAnglo American Platinum’s Rustenburg Platinum Mines has placed an order with DCD Rolling Stock for 20 new side-discharge hopper wagons that will be used to transport platinum ore from the mine’s various shafts to the processing plant.

DCD Rolling Stock is manufacturing 20 side-discharge hopper wagons for

Rustenburg Platinum Mines

Underground mining


A ccording to Dr Moreshnee Gov-ender, programme manager in occupational health and safe-ty at Wits University’s Centre

for Sustainability in Mining and Industry (CSMI), women face some particular dan-gers when working underground, many of which are not openly discussed with a view to a sustainable solution.

Among the more chilling of these was the rape and murder of a woman minework-er last year while working underground. Less dramatic but equally important is-sues relate to the suitability of technol-ogy, including protective equipment and underground facilities; gender attitudes, including work organisation; and design, which impacts on the health and safety of these workers.

In a move that promised greater gender equality, women were allowed to enter the traditionally all-male world of underground work in South African mines in the 1990s. But it is time the industry and authorities reflect and take stock of the consequences of this decision.

“Th ere is a need for an open forum to re-fl ect on our collective experience in the last decade since women have been working un-derground, and it should include not just

management, the unions and government, but also women mineworkers themselves along with academics and researchers,” says Govender. “Th is sort of forum will help us to ask the right questions and plan the best way

forward towards sustainable solutions with-in our context.”

Since the law changed and the Mining Charter committed to employ more women, their share of employment in this sector has grown from less than 3% to over 10% overall. Under pressure from high unemployment, many have opted for those underground jobs previously performed only by men.

“Th is is a complex process,” Govender con-tinues. “It’s not as simple as just saying that the law now allows women to work under-ground and policy promotes this opportuni-ty, so implementation will follow accordingly. We have a responsibility to do more. We need to go beyond policy, refl ect on both the di-rect and indirect consequences for women in this unique workplace, and use this evidence to inform current and future practice.” She

A hard-hitting realityWOMEN UNDERGROUND

Have we adequately addressed the issue of safety of women miners in the underground mine work environment?

Underground mining

likens the process to a sort of ‘social experiment’ – the results of which now need some careful evaluation.

“Women have been working underground for 10 years or so; we should have some statistics relating to occupational injuries and diseases, for example, and some record of what the issues for concern are.

“We know that underground mining is a dangerous environ-ment, not just from the accidents but from the diseases that work-ers might sustain. We still need to be asking the question: Have we adequately addressed the issue of safety of women miners in the underground mine work environment? We also need to refl ect on the interventions we’ve made to date and what impacts they have had. Sadly, I’m fi nding that not much is said about it in the public domain.”

Govender’s background as a medical doctor is only part of the skill set that she off ers this fi eld. Her focus on taking the issue beyond policy toward practical and sustainable solutions stems from identifying design problems in a hospital environment, from which she entered the multidisciplinary world of ergonomics in industry.

After completing a Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health in Practice at the Swedish Institute for Working Life, she became inspired by the prospect of fi nding solutions through a fuller ap-preciation of technology and design re-engineering. She followed this up with a master’s degree in ergonomics, also in Sweden.

Looking ahead at issues increasingly likely to be tackled by the underground mining sector, she highlights mechanisation as ripe for discussion. “Mechanised mining is a big issue currently. You would think that this could lead to the involvement of more women in mining, as it suggests less manually demanding work. It would be a good area for an open forum to engage upon.

“We have an excellent opportunity to be at the forefront of not only the research and development of appropriate technologies for women that support them in their pioneering new roles in the challenging underground setting, but also in publicising our

experience as a country in truly ad-dressing equity in the workplace,” she states. “Th is would not only ben-efi t women, but men as well and will be a valuable experience to be shared with the rest of the continent and even other parts of the world.”

Th e starting point where women are given a voice among the other industry stakeholders in a forum where experiences can be articulated and constructive directions can be forged to be relevant at the coal face is yet to be reached. Dr Govender is working to make this a reality.

LEFT Since the law changed and the Mining Charter committed to employ more women, their share of employment in this sector has grown from less than 3% to over 10% overall

RIGHT Have we adequately addressed the issue of safety of women miners in the underground mine work environment?

Photographer: Philip Mostert

Dr Moreshnee Govender, pro-gramme manager in Occupational Health and Safety at Wits Univer-sity’s Centre for Sustainability in

Mining and Industry

Underwater mining


D ebmarine Namibia, which is 50% owned by De Beers and 50% by the government of Na-mibia, unveiled its newest min-

ing vessel, the MV [motor vessel] Mafuta, which was purchased for N$650 million [Namibian dollars] (R650 million). The MV Mafuta will be the largest mining vessel in the Debmarine Namibia five vessel fleet and is expected to produce approximately 350 000 carats annually, equivalent to 30% of Debmarine Namibia’s total production.

The new vessel was unveiled at a glitter-ing ceremony in Windhoek, Namibia, on 8 April 2013.

“The partnership between the govern-ment of Namibia and De Beers is a fantas-tic model of what is achievable when pri-vate and public sector collaborate to create meaningful economic empowerment for the people of the country,” the president of Namibia, Hifikepunye Pohamba, said at the event.

Namibia has the richest known

marine diamond deposits in the world, estimated at more than 80 million car-ats – approximately 90% of the country’s total diamond resources. Debmarine Na-mibia recovers approximately one mil-lion carats every year from the sea floor, accounting for more than half the total diamond production of Namibia Diamond Corporation (Namdeb).

DEBMARINE NAMIBIA

Marine miner trawls for more caratsDebmarine Namibia, which has successfully mined diamonds below the ocean floor off the south-western coast of Namibia, signalled its commitment to its business by revealing its latest annual production-increasing investment, writes Reggie Sikhakhane.

Debmarine's new MV Mafuta. It is expected to recover 350 000 carats per annum

Underwater mining

The company’s off-shore mining oper-ations reach depths of up to 140 m, and it has applied leading off-shore mining technology that has seen marine mining surpass land-based mining in yearly pro-duction in Namibia. The company employs about 780 people.

“It is through the continued hard work of our workforce, their diligence and com-mitment that Namdeb is today the largest producer of diamonds in Namibia,” said Namdeb’s CEO, Otto Shikongo.

He added that in 2012, Namdeb’s turn-over reached around N$4 billion, and the company accounted for around N$1.3 bil-lion to the Namibian treasury in taxes in-cluding royalties, as well as N$538 million in dividends to its shareholding company.

“We believe we are unrivalled in our con-tribution to the Namibian Treasury in that respect,” he remarks.

Namibia’s minister of Mines and Energy, Isak Katali, also spoke at the ceremony and congratulated Namdeb for attaining 10 years of operations in Namibia.

“It is pleasing that Debmarine Namib-ia continues to lead the world in marine

mining technolo-gy and I hope that Debmarine Namib-ia can grow further to enhance its posi-tion as a true glob-al leader.”

About the MV MafutaThe MV Mafuta was purchased from De Beers Consolidat-ed Mines for N$650 million in November 2012. Previously known as the Peace in Africa, , it was ‘christened’ the MV Mafu-ta – which means seas or great waters in the Oshiwambo language of Namibia – following its acquisition.. The vessel is the largest in the Debmarine Namibia fleet of five vessels.

The other vessels are the MV Debmar Atlantic, the MV Debmar Pacific, the MV Gariep and the MV Grand Banks.

The MV Mafuta is about 170 m in length, has a depth of 15 m, breadth of 24 m and weighs approximately 16 000 t. The vessel employs crawler-mounted technology.

MV Mafuta is registered with the port of Lüderitz in Namibia and employs ap-proximately 57 crew members.

OutlookThe company re-vealed that in

2013, Debmarine Namibia will look to in-crease operational efficiencies through the advancement of exploration sampling and the implementation of new resource mod-els and technological improvements to mining tools and technical systems.

Debmarine Namibia will continue to fo-cus on maturing its 2050 vision through ongoing exploration, sampling, beach ac-cretion and development of technologies to mine the mid-water. It pointed out that as land and marine extension pro-jects gather momentum, the company is confident it will secure capital for future development and return long-term share-holder value.


Advertorial

M any mining companies have fruitlessly attempt-ed to standardise their way into optimisation, cycling

through countless vendors and products to find a single standardised tool or provid-er that will get the job done everywhere, every time. But standardisation could never mean always doing things the same everywhere, simply because such a defini-tion fails to capture the real value of either standardisation or deviation.

Nowhere has the dream of standardisa-tion been more active than in the world of mining technical software solutions. Finding standardised ways of storing, ex-changing and interpreting mining data has been suggested and rejected by many com-panies, over and over again.

The value of deviationMines and software providers have spent millions on developing optimised, purpose-fit algorithms, data structures and even hardware technologies that re-sult in context-ideal solutions for a given mining type or mine. These optimised products are often simply the best tool for the job in the places they are used and re-placing them might lead to decreasing per-formance instead of optimised outcomes. Specifically in the world of mining tech-nical software such as mine planning and scheduling tools, non-standardised solu-tions are mostly the result of specified re-quirements and not of deviant purchasing.

The value of standardisationIf you are reading this, then the chances are you have read a host of academic pa-pers shouting from the rooftops the value of standardising – giving reasons such as simplified technology landscapes, vendor

SOFTWARE STANDARDISATION

The key to sustainable growth in mining? No! Yes! Well… it depends on what you mean by standardisation (and who you ask). If what you mean is throwing out what you have and implementing one-size-fi ts-all solutions across the board, standardisation might very well be the key to failure.

management, integrated reporting and much more.

I for one don’t challenge any of these, ex-cept to say that there are ways and means to achieve the desired outcome. At MineRP, we have invested heavily in the develop-ment of standards-based enterprise inte-gration solutions. It might surprise you

then that this article seems to suggest that standardisation is not the answer. Well, what we’re suggesting is that the solution does not lie with implementing the same software everywhere, but rather with the implementation of a spatially aware, open standards-based translation and stand-ardisation framework. This is exactly what MineRP developed with its MineRP

Enterprise Integration framework for spa-tially related mining technical informa-tion. MineRP will allow your discipline spe-cialists to continue using the software that works for them, yet with the ability to free-ly share, report and interoperate on data created in the various traditional silos.

Spatially relate, interoperate and optimiseMineRP is much more than a traditional data warehouse that transforms data into a nice picture though. With specialised data con-vertors and connectors, mines implementing the MineRP framework are able to seam-lessly share data at the operational as well as executive levels, fi nally delivering on the promise of mining technical integration and standardisation without the need to replace source systems across the organisation.

For more information about the MineRP En-terprise Integration solutions, please visit www.minerpsolutions.com or contact Empie Strydom [email protected]

Crew effi ciency with MineRP SpatialDash

We have invested heavily in the development of standards-based enterprise integration solutions

Mining Services

Yet that is exactly what Andrew Coates, sales director at Bidvest Laundry Group, proposes. Th e right laundry implementation can

boost BEE scorecards, enlist local community commitment and drive upliftment – all while being a boon to enterprise development, he says.

“Bidvest Montana provides laundry equip-ment, spares and maintenance, and deliv-ers what we refer to as on-premise laundry (OPL) solutions,” he says.

Coates describes OPL as a one-stop-shop off ering, whereby the company can supply the required laundry equipment, design and implement a laundry for a client, and provide the skills to operate and maintain it. In fact, he adds, mining fi rms such as Gold Fields, AngloGold Ashanti and Harmony already use such solutions.

“What we are now proposing is to provide a solution of this nature to the mines, but instead of merely managing it ourselves for the contracted period, we want to partner with entrepreneurs in the local communities by building businesses that are owned by entrepreneurs in the community. We would

BIDVEST LAUNDRY

Enterprise development clean-up

AMEC Minproc 2

Atlas Copco 72

Atlas Copco CTS 24

Babcock OBC

Bell Equipment SA 27

Bidvest Group 28

BLC Plant Company 75

Buildmax/Diesel Power 43

C.S.T. 29 IFC

Fleming Gulf 25

Golder Associates Africa 8-10

Group Five Housing 32

Husqvarna 7

Hydrodifusion Fittings 77

Imerys South Africa 31

Johnson Crane Hire 40

Kalcon/WBHO Construction 16

Kaytech 65

MC Process 56

MineRP 79

Minopex 20

Mintails 51

Nalco Africa 63

NuWater 4-6

Osborn Engineering 17

Osh Expo Africa 29

Pumps Valves & Pipes Watertec Africa 53

Quadrex 57

Redpath Mining South Africa 69

Sandvik Mining 11

SBS Water Systems 60

SEW Eurodrive IBC

SMEC Vela VKE 67

SM Enviro 66

Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority 41

Tega Industries 21

Tenova Bateman Technologies 33

ThyssenKrupp 35

TWP 13

Veolia Water Solutions 59

Voith Grindex 61

Xylem Water Solutions South Africa 68

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

thereby assist the mine in promoting enter-prise development, while also uplifting the community itself,” says Coates.

“Moreover, by stimulating job creation and skills development in the region, we will be able to ensure that both Bidvest Laundry and the mine in question are able to leave a lasting legacy in the area.”

Bidvest Laundry has been in-volved in a public-private partner-ship with the government of Le-sotho and Netcare in the devel-opment of a 450-bed hospital, says Coates. Bidvest has put in place some R2 million worth of equipment and is currently training local people to operate and maintain it. “Our plan now is to extrapolate this concept into the mining sector.

“We already have standard Mon-tana contracts with a number of the major players in the sector, but these off er very little in terms of community improvement. Af-ter all, what the standard contract eff ectively boils down to is a situa-tion where these mines are spending a lot

of money on their laun-dry contracts with little to show for it at the end. Th is is why our new solu-tion is ideal.”

Coates explains that Bidvest understands

that teaching members of the local community to operate the machinery in a laundry is rea-sonably simple. Ensuring that they are able to maintain it as a successful business op-

eration for years to come is, however, the true measure of

success. For this reason, business training and management is an inte-gral and vital part of the skills devel-opment process.

“Th is truly is a win-win situation for everyone; the local community are provided with jobs, skills and business acumen while the mines are able to develop the local communi-ties, improve both their BEE and en-terprise development initiatives and

ultimately save costs,” he concludes.


There can be little doubt that the mining industry is facing numerous challenges at present – Mining Charter compliance, directives around BEE and enterprise development, for a start. It seems strange to suggest that something as simple as a laundry service could assist mines in meeting their legislative challenges.

D i d yo u

k no

w?

By

the time a

person feels thirsty,

his or her body

has lost over 1% of

its total water

amount.

Water Watch

VOLVO_EXCAVATOR 380_480

18 March 2013 10:40:13 AM



Documents

Inside Mining May 2013