Inside MIning October 2014

www.miningne.ws

COMMODITY DIAMONDSDiscovering Kimberlite

Dr Anthony Hodge:Biodiversity in Mining

A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N DIN THE SPOTLIGHT

JUNIOR MININGBurkino Faso’s Gold Boom

DRILLING & BLASTINGMegalodon Rock Breaker

MINERALS PROCESSINGIncreasing Productivity

JOHNSON CRANE HIREBrains, and Brawn, Won the Day

ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 7 • No. 10 • October 2014

A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N D

iningCONTENTS

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October 2014

Brains, and brawn, won the dayThe ability to successfully develop and deliver a specialised lifting solution was demonstrated in the heavy-lift operation undertaken by Johnson Crane Hire at Sasol’s Secunda plant recently. And, it was by no means a small feat.

ON THE COVER P8

BTdduSw

OOwww.miningne.ws

COMMODITY DIAMONDSDiscovering Kimberlite

Dr Anthony Hodge:Biodiversity in Mining

A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R O U N D A N D U N D E R G R O U N DIN THE SPOTLIGHT

JUNIOR MININGBurkino Faso’s Gold Boom

DRILLING & BLASTINGMegalodon Rock Breaker

MINERALS PROCESSINGIncreasing Productivity

JOHNSON CRANE HIREBrains, and Brawn, Won the Day

ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 7 • No. 10 • October 2014

C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E G R

ENDORSED BY

EDITOR’S COMMENT

3 Exciting times

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

4 Biodiversity in mining

AFRICA ROUND-UP

6 Mining news from the continent

COVER STORY

8 Brains, and brawn, won the day

DIAMONDS

10 Airborne gravity gradiometry systems

12 To mine or not to mine

14 Diamond laboratory, a fi rst for Africa

18 Diamonds on the soles of its feet

20 Steadily towards the future

23 Building a leading diamond exploration company

MINERALS PROCESSING

26 A change for the better

29 Mopani Copper installs two BMR winders

32 A systems approach to transfer point design

34 Screening terminology

35 Old but still effective

JUNIOR MINING

37 Bukino Faso’s gold boom

DRILLING & BLASTING

40 Undersea Mining

41 Licence to drill

42 New rock drill a leap ahead

44 Fractum, a megalodon rock breaker

MINE SAFETY

45 3D laser technology

47 Training for safer mines

49 Thwarting Danger

TECHNOLOGY

51 Lighting up Hotazel

53 Abrasion resistance

54 Venitia creates an intelligent 3D model

MINING SERVICES

55 Remote mining camp management

56 A new centre of excellence

INSIDE MINING 10 | 2014 1

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Exciting timesPublisher Elizabeth Shorten

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FIRST UP WAS THE successful four-day Kimberley Diamond Symposi-um and Exhibition organised by the Geological Society of South Africa,

in conjunction with John Bristow and Mike De Wit. It was very well attended, with del-egates from as far afi eld as Canada, the USA and Russia enjoying Northern Cape hospital-ity. A well-thought-out agenda, with an array of interesting presentations and mine visits, had diamond mine owners, geologists, met-allurgists and OEMs thoroughly entertained – even with the one or two intellectually challenging papers.

I joined a group of geologists and a brave metallurgist, led by Jock Robey, who explored an old De Beers tailings dump that was being re-mined by Super Stone Mining (no relation). Like the geologists, I feverishly hunted for kimberlite hoping to fi nd a diamond. Zdislav Spetaius, a geologist from Russia, and Martina Bezzola, a geologist from Canada, were among the group of grown-up kids on the treasure hunt. Needless to say, with a yield of 14 carats per 100 tonnes, no one found a diamond, or at least did not let on that they had. Included in this edition are a few of the papers and posters presented at the symposium. We acknowledge

all the authors for the fi ne work they did, are doing, and for their contributions.

Next up was the much-anticipated Electra Mining week at NASREC. Th is year must have been a bumper year. Taking up all the halls and outdoor exhibition space, plus a couple of gigantic marquees, everyone who is some-one and has something to do with mining was there. At least this time I did not see MIBs sneaking around photographing every detail of the technology items they wished to rep-licate. In terms of technology, products and services, there was more to digest than ever before. It simply was not possible to breeze in and breeze out in a single day. After three days, I managed two halls, the marquees and the outdoor area. I chatted in some detail to 108 exhibitors and interviewed 11 people, and that was me. I was done. Even so, the one thing that struck me most was the ingenuity of humanity. Every piece of technology on dis-play, from hard hats to drilling machines, was invented, enhanced and developed to solve problems and meets specifi c needs. We discov-er this when we take the time to talk to people, ask questions and consider the solutions in the context of our own mining interests. With exhibitions like this, one does not need DSTV because we have our own live reality show. I must be a diehard.

Going forward, we have the 6th Interna-tional Platinum Conference at Sun City between 20 and 24 October, which should be interesting as this takes us to the ‘coal face’, as it were. With some Amplats mines up for sale and mine mechanisation sure to be on the agenda, the conference will no doubt illicit a huge amount of interest.

EDITOR'S COMMENT

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Besides celebrating Heritage Day on 24 September and enjoying “braaivleis, sonskyn and Chevrolet”, for those who remember what this was, the month of September, as far as mining conferences and exhibitions were concerned, was an exciting time – at least for ‘diehards’ of mining.

Martina Bezzola (left) and Zdislav Spetaius (right) feverishly hunting for kimberlite

INSIDE MINING 10 | 2014


IN THE SPOTLIGHT

BIODIVERSITY encompasses the variety and variability of life on Earth. It refers to the diff erences within and between

all living organisms at their diff erent lev-els of biological organisation – genes, in-dividuals, species and ecosystems.

Biodiversity embraces all living organ-isms and their genetic diversity, a vast and complex array of ecosystems and habitats, as well as the processes that underpin and result from this diversity, such as photosynthesis, nutrient cycling or pollination.

Different species – plant, animal, fun-gal and microbial – interact with each other in a variety of ecological process-es to form ecosystems. These processes are in turn the result of the interactions between species and with their physical and chemical environments.

Th e combination of a diversity of life forms and their interactions with each other, and with the rest of the environ-ment, has made Earth a uniquely habit-able place for humans. Biodiversity sus-tains human livelihoods and life itself. Th e interdependence between people and biodiversity is most apparent for some indigenous peoples, who may lead a sub-sistence lifestyle and be critically depend-ent on biodiversity, or whose culture and history are intimately associated with the natural environment and systems. In many Western cultures, although our dependence on biodiversity has becomes less tangible and apparent, it remains critically important.

Biodiversity in miningWe are our world. What we do with our world will shape our future. Inside Mining supports the International Council on Mining & Metals in its efforts to ensure biodiversity in mining. We urge you to do so as well. By Dr Anthony Hodge

Relevance to mining operationsMining has the potential to aff ect biodi-versity throughout the life cycle of a pro-ject, both directly and indirectly. Direct or primary impacts from mining can result from any activity that involves land clear-ance (such as access road construction, exploration drilling, overburden stripping or tailings impoundment construction) or direct discharges to water bodies (riverine tailings disposal, for instance, or tailings impoundment releases) or the air (such as dusts or smelter emissions). Direct impacts are usually readily identifi able. Indirect or secondary impacts can result from social or environmental changes induced by mining operations and are often harder to identi-fy immediately. Cumulative impacts occur where mining projects are developed in environments that are infl uenced by other projects, both mining and non-mining.

Th e potential for signifi cant impacts is greater when mining occurs in remote, en-vironmentally or socially sensitive areas. Due to the continuing demand for min-erals, the depletion of resources in readily accessible areas and changing technolo-gies and economics in the mining sector, mining is increasingly being proposed in remote and biodiversity-rich ecosystems that were previously unexplored and undeveloped for minerals. Th is has also been made possible by the implementa-tion of mining sector fi scal and regulatory reforms to encourage foreign direct in-vestment in many developing countries. Th is trend in opening up new prospective areas to mineral resources development

provides an opportunity for the mining industry to demonstrate that practices and decisions have improved. It can also represent a threat, however, and poor per-formance could limit access to some highly prospective areas.

Despite the signifi cant potential for neg-ative impacts on biodiversity from mining operations, there is a great deal that com-panies can do to minimise or prevent such impacts in areas identifi ed as being ap-propriate for mining. Th ere are also many opportunities for companies to enhance biodiversity conservation within their are-as of operations. Being proactive in the as-sessment and management of biodiversity is important not only for new operations but also for those that have been operating for many years, usually under regulatory requirements that were less focused on the protection and enhancement of bio-diversity. It is also important to recognise that not all mining takes place in remote or highly sensitive areas. Some greenfi eld or expansion projects will be developed in relatively highly populated areas, indus-trial settings or regions that have been in-tensively farmed for many decades, where biodiversity is of limited value. Th is will


IN THE SPOTLIGHT

become apparent after a modest invest-ment of eff ort to establish the biodiversi-ty context of a proposed project. In such situations, the focus should be on devel-oping a suffi cient understanding of local biodiversity and exploring opportunities for biodiversity enhancement or creative conservation with appropriate partners.

Why mining companies should consid-er biodiversitySetting aside any ethical or moral con-siderations, which are increasingly the subject of corporate policies, it is impor-tant for companies to address biodiversity for a variety of sound business reasons. Many mining companies have adopted

an increasingly sophisticated approach to managing biodiversity as part of their commitments to establishing and main-taining a social or functional ‘licence to operate’. For example, adopting responsi-ble practices with respect to biodiversity management is increasingly viewed as im-portant with respect to:• access to land, both at the initial stages

of project development and for ongoing exploration to extend the lifetime of ex-isting projects

• reputation, which links to ‘licence to op-erate’, an intangible but signifi cant bene-fi t to business, and which can profoundly infl uence the perceptions of communi-ties, NGOs and other stakeholders of existing or proposed mining operations

• access to capital, particularly where pro-ject fi nance is to be obtained from one of the investment banks that are signato-ries to the Equator Principles’ Principle 2, which applies the Biodiversity Perfor-mance Standard 3 of the International Finance Corporation to all investments in excess of $10 million (recognising that strengthened commitments to biodiver-sity assessment and management are likely to be adopted).

In addition, good biodiversity manage-ment can bring benefi ts to mining compa-nies, including:• increased investor confi dence and loyalty• shorter and less contentious permitting

cycles, as a result of better relationships with regulatory agencies

• improved community relations• strong supportive partnerships

with NGOs• improved employee motivation• reduced risks and liabilities.Th ere is no question that mining compa-nies need to improve biodiversity man-agement throughout the mine life cycle. Mines should minimise the likelihood of negative impacts on biodiversity, project delays and damage to their reputations. When setting rehabilitation objectives for biodiversity, mining companies should al-ways take into account the management requirements needed to sustain conserva-tion values in the long term, responsibili-ties for implementation and how the costs of management will be funded.

Note: Please visit http://www.icmm.com/doc-ument/13 to download the publication ‘Good Practice Guidance for Mining and Biodiversity’

Flyfi shers are generally concerned about the environment. Clubs, associations and working groups have been formed and have taken on various conservation projects countrywide. They work to protect critical habitat, to reconnect degraded waterways and to protect vast wetlands that supports a diverse array of life, not only trout. Examples include the Emfulenis sewage works and the acid mine drainage into the Tweeloopies Spruit as well as pollution of the Vaal river from the Barrage to Parys

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.


MINING NEWS from around the con nent

KENYA Africa has an untapped

crude oil resource of 130 bil-lion barrels waiting to be re-covered by more than 500 companies, according to a recent report by Pricewater-houseCoopers. Much of this resource lies in Kenya, where commercial oil production is expected to begin in 2016 and discovery after discovery has made this the hottest and fastest-paced hydrocarbon scene on the continent. Th e British explorer behind Ken-ya’s oil discovery debut in 2012, Tullow Oil, last month announced another oil fi nd that will extend the already proven South Lokichar basin ‘signifi cantly northwards’. In May, Tullow and partner Afri-ca Oil Corporation an-nounced the country’s fi rst commercial oil discovery, worth $10 billion, in the Lo-kichar basin. Th e next testing ground will be the neighbour-ing Kerio basin, which should get off the ground later this month, while there has been a fl urry of attention lately surrounding the Ogaden ba-sin where initial estimates are enough to send stocks soar-ing. Investors will now be looking at who is poised to make the next discovery.

BOTSWANALondon-based miner Gem Diamonds in September an-nounced the opening of the Ghaghoo diamond mine in Botswana, which will be the fi rst underground diamond mine in the country. Th e com-pany operates the Letšeng

mine in Lesotho, with the Ghaghoo set to be Gem’s sec-ond major producing mine. Gem sees the opening of Gh-aghoo mine as a signifi cant milestone for the company and marks the event with a ceremony to be attended by the president of Botswana, Ian Khama. Th e Ghaghoo diamond mine will be the fi rst underground diamond mine in Botswana – home of the world’s leading diamond producer. Th rough a phased development plan, Ghaghoo will be among a new genera-tion of diamond mines in Botswana, stated Gem. Gem undertook a series of exten-sive studies and assessments relating to the environment, local communities and broad-er social impacts of the Gh-aghoo mine. Th is is a strategic priority for the company in a rapidly changing environ-ment for the global mining industry, and will contribute to the modernisation of the diamond mining industry to ensure long-term sustainabil-ity, said Gem in a statement. Listed Australian miner Dis-covery Metals placed the de-velopment of its Zeta under-ground mine in Botswana on hold, it announced in Sep-tember. Th e miner said that a proposed AU$25.7 million rights issue, which was an-nounced at the start of Sep-tember this year, would not proceed, after the company’s lenders claimed a breach. Th e copper miner announced that it provided lenders with an updated development plan and fi nancial model for re-view as required by the busi-ness plan condition.

ZIMBABWEDiamond mining company Alrosa is forming a partner-ship in a Zimbabwe-Russia joint venture company that will prospect for diamonds in the Southern African coun-try, Russia’s Trade and Indus-try Minister, Denis Man-turov, said on 15 September. Russia’s major investment in Zimbabwe is a joint-venture diamond and gold mining company in eastern Zimba-bwe – DTZ-OZGEO. Th e East-ern European nation is also planning a joint platinum mining operation outside Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Diamonds are mined in the south of the country by pri-vate company River Ranch, in central Zimbabwe by Rio Tin-to and in the eastern Ma-range area, which caused con-troversy when 20 000 illegal miners were evicted by sol-diers and police in 2008, ac-cording to a Reuters report. Th e Russian fi rm also wants to help Zimbabwe with sort-ing and evaluating its dia-monds. “I would like to point out that Alrosa has come up with a proposal to the Zimba-bwean side to extend expert assistance to Zimbabwe in the fi eld of organising the system of sorting, valuation and marketing of its dia-monds,” Manturov said. Rus-sia is now the target of sanc-tions by the United States and European Union. Mwana Africa has warmly welcomed the decision by the govern-ment of Zimbabwe in its 2014 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review Statement to reduce the royalty on Zimbabwean

gold producers from 7% to 5%, eff ective 1 October 2014. Mwana has an 85% interest in, and operates, the Freda Rebecca gold mine at Bindura in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central province. Mwana CEO Kalaa Mpinga comment-ed, “We have actively engaged with Government on this issue and it is very pleasing that – in a spirit of under-standing and cooperation – it has recognised the challenges inherent in the gold mining industry at present. “Th e re-duction in the gold royalty rate will provide a welcome fi nancial boost to Freda Re-becca and Mwana,” said Mpinga.

ZAMBIA Zam-bia’s energy minister called for dialogue between Copper-belt Energy Corp and Vedanta Resources to end a power supply dispute that has para-lysed the British mining com-pany’s operations. In Septem-ber, Copperbelt Energy cut power to Vedanta’s Konkola mine for all but essential op-erations such as water pump-ing, ventilation and the oper-ation of medical facilities. Konkola, one of Africa largest copper producers, lost 482 tonnes of copper output worth $3.3 million after the power restrictions in Septem-ber. Th e restrictions to power supply at Konkola Copper Mines comes amid a dispute over an increase in tariff s by Copperbelt Energy, according to reports. Th e power supply restriction was greatly im-pairing KCM’s production

in associa on with

AFRICA ROUND-UP


AFRICA ROUND-UP

and profi tability and may have implications for job se-curity if prolonged, said the miner. Konkola, which pro-duced 160 000 tonnes of cop-per in 2013, also owns a tail-ings leach plant, a smelter at Nchanga and a refi nery at Nkana. Th e merger of ASX-listed companies Black-thorn Resources and Intrepid Mines will create a well-fund-ed copper company that will see the completion of the Kitumba copper project in Zambia. Th e merged group is expected to add signifi cant value to the project that is currently undergoing a defi ni-tive feasibility study, with construction of the new cop-per project to begin in the fi rst half of 2016. Speaking at the Paydirt 2014 Africa Down Under Conference, in Perth, Australia, last week, Black-thorn Resources CEO Mark Mitchell said the project had a $680 million capital cost and a net present value of $461 million. Mitchell also noted that the Kitumba pro-ject had an 11-year mine life and was expected to produce 56 000 t/y of copper.

LIBERIA Steel producer ArcelorMittal, in September, imported a ship-loader valued at $30 million to boost its operation in Li-beria. Weighing over 400 tonnes and billed as the larg-est piece of steel structure to ever enter and be installed in Liberia, the shiploader docked on 5 September at the ArcelorMittal Liberia Buchanan iron ore port. ArcelorMittal commissioned the equipment to sustain its operations in Liberia despite the outbreak of the killer Ebola virus that has impact-ed on the local economy. ArcelorMittal CEO Antonio Carlos Mario told media on 9 September at the port of Buchanan city in Liberia that

the ship loader would help the company’s operating plans to increase production for the shipment of iron ore from Liberia through the Buchanan port. Th e arrival of the ship loader is in prepara-tion for Phase 2 of Arce-lorMittal’s Liberia operation and is set to increase the company’s capacity to meet the demands and vision for operations in Liberia. A group of eleven mining and related companies operating in West Africa called on the international community to step up the fi ght against the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leo-ne, Guinea and Liberia. Elev-en CEOs released a joint statement in September ex-pressing concern and high-lighting the impact of the Ebola virus on aff ected coun-tries’ economies and the well-being of their people. “Our companies have made long-term commitments to these countries and their people and we intend to hon-our these commitments,” declared the CEOs of African Mining Services, ArcelorMit-tal, Aureus Mining, Dawnus Group, Golden Veroleum Li-

beria, Hummingbird Re-sources, Iamgold, London Mining, MonuRent, New-mont Mining and Rand-gold Resources.

TANZANIA Tanzania’s state mining (SMC) subsidiary Stamigold is planning to expand pro-duction at its Biharamulo gold mine to reach 40 000 oz of gold in 2015. Tanzania’s government bought the Tula-waka gold mine from African Barrick Gold in November, and renamed it Stamigold Biharamulo. Th e projected quantity at Biharamulo is four times that of the compa-ny’s expected production capacity for this year. “We have started mining a new open pit and extended the life of the mine for three more years,” SMC acting managing director Edwin Ngonyani told Reuters. Ngo-nyani said SMC is still doing some more exploration work and there is a possibility that the LoM could be further extended if suffi cient gold reserves are found. After re-

starting the mine last month, the government aims to pro-duce 10 700 oz of gold this year, a decline from the 44 338 oz and 84 101 oz of gold produced in 2012 and 2011 respectively. Th e mine is lo-cated in the gold fi eld region near Lake Victoria in Tanza-nia. Kibo Mining’s Rukwa coal project has been boosted by a study that showed the mine in Tanzania could sup-port a 300 MW mine-mouth power station. Th e early as-sessment of the technical and economic viability of the Rukwa coal mine was con-fi rmed as a suitable fuel source for the 300 MW mine-mouth coal-fi red power sta-tion, said Kibo Mining. Th e result of the preliminary eco-nomic and technical evalua-tion is part of the defi nitive mining feasibility study for the Rukwa coal project. Th e indicative life of plant for the Rukwa Power Station re-quires 28.8 Mt of coal over 20 years, which amounts to only 48% of the currently mineable resource of 60 Mt for the Rukwa coal mine.

Ghaghoo mine in Botswana


COVER STORY

THERE ARE SOME jobs that need intimate knowledge and experience to be successfully completed. As James Robinson,

heavy-lift manager for crawler cranes and projects at Johnson Crane, pointed out, the lifting job at Sasol’s Secunda plant, was just such a job for the project’s engi-neering, procurement and construction manager, Fluor. Extensive years of collab-orative experience, coupled with a solid track record, enabled Johnson Crane to safely complete the task nine days ahead of schedule.

“Extensive time was spent on evaluating the site conditions and Johnson Crane considered the customer’s needs when putting the proposed solution into place. We were fully aware of the urgency of the project and knew that we needed to

Brains, and brawn, The ability to successfully develop and deliver a specialised lifting solution was demonstrated in the heavy-lift operation undertaken by Johnson Crane Hire at Sasol’s Secunda plant recently. And, it was by no means a small feat.

provide value to the customer in terms of completing the lift as quickly as possi-ble. Th is was underlined by the necessity to allow the other contractors to start on their portions of the shutdown work,” Robinson explained.

Th e lift had to be conducted during shutdown of the plant, which obvious-ly had strict time constraints, so it was necessary to provide an effi cient lifting solution that would remove the vessels in the shortest possible time without compromising safety.

Th e scope of the project entailed the removal of three vessels for the gas-heat-ed heat exchanger reformer project on the gas reforming plant at Sasol Secun-da. All three vessels were housed with-in the plant structure, which is also fi t-ted with cabling, racking, pipework and

ancillary equipment. Two identical waste heat boilers measured 17 m in length and 2 m in diameter, with a mass of 60 tonnes each, while the third vessel had a length of 8 m and a diameter 2.5 m. Th is vessel was mounted on concrete plinths standing 3.5 m high. Previous attempts at removing these vessels during a prior shutdown had proved very costly due to valuable time be-ing wasted.

As with any shutdown, Johnson Crane was aware that once access was granted, the site would quickly become congest-ed with numerous contractors, erecting items such as scaff olding. Th is prompted the company to leverage its previous ex-perience on challenging lifts to provide an alternative lifting solution.

Robinson explains that this solution viewed the smaller vessel and its two


COVER STORY

won the dayconcrete plinths as a single unit. Johnson Crane designed, engineered and manufac-tured a steel bracing system that would allow the steam drum and its concrete plinths to be removed in one piece.

Th e bracing system was assembled around the vessel and plinths to provide the necessary stability. Once this was ac-complished, a demolition contractor was deployed to cut the plinths at their bases. At this point, the base was jacked to pro-vide suffi cient clearance for the vessel and its plinths to readily pass the existing con-crete structure on the plant fl oor.

“Th e weight was transferred onto the sliding rails using jacks and then the com-bined unit of the vessel/concrete plinths was slid out of the plant to a position where crane access was possible. Th e vessel and concrete plinths were then lifted out of the plant using a JCH 550 tonne mobile crane,” he continued.

Th e remaining two vessels were removed from the steel plinths on which they were mounted, and removed from the plant using the same sliding system. Once over-head clearance was available, these vessels were lifted using the Johnson Crane mo-bile crane. Each individual lift was com-pleted within a day.

Robinson points out that careful atten-tion to detail and planning were necessary to ensure that the sliding system could be assembled inside the constrained work area, within the available time frame. In addition to the severe time constraints, the project called for careful attention to uncompromising safety levels and adher-ence to the necessary legislation.

“In order to achieve a careful balance be-tween all these elements, the time spent in preparation was considered critical to the success of the lift. To the untrained eye, lifts of this nature appear eff ortless but people are often not aware of the intricate planning that a lift entails. It is merely the mechanics of the lift that happen on the day; the actual theory of the lift is com-pleted far in advance of the physical lift,” Robinson said.

“Although three vessels were removed during this lift, it was the lifting solution applied to the lighter of the three that al-lowed Johnson Crane to provide the great-est value to the customer in terms of time saved. We have undertaken numerous lifts for Sasol on shutdowns and our under-standing of the organisation made it eas-ier for our engineers to plan the various activities within the available windows of

opportunity. Th e fi nal result saved cost and time on a lift that was expedited in a safe and effi cient manner,” he concluded.

OPPOSITE A Johnson Crane’s 550 tonne mobile crane with a luffi ng boom was set up to remove heavy components from within the plant

ABOVE The rail set-up used to move the 17 m by 2 m waste heat boilers

BELOW The sliding rail system for the removal of the smaller vessel and its two concrete plinths


DIAMONDS

FIXED-WING, ROTARY-WING

and airship systems have been used in gravity exploration pro-grammes over the past 16 years –

with varying results. Key performance pa-rameters for eff ective surveys include high spatial resolution, low sensor noise, opera-tional effi ciency, and reasonable cost.

Th ese are typically achieved by slower speeds, lower altitude operation, stable platforms, and long endurance. Identi-fying and qualifying appropriate sensors and air vehicles will yield improved survey performance. In the mid-2000s, aerial gra-diometry surveys using a Zeppelin airship were conducted by De Beers in Southern Africa. Th ese surveys demonstrated ex-cellent performance and validated the air-ship concept. Operational limitations ex-perienced in these previous surveys have been overcome by the development of

Airborne gravity gradiometry systemsAn innovative approach to gravity gradiometry surveys for kimberlite exploration is presented. Airborne surveys provide unique advantages for coverage and access efficiency. By DJ DiFrancesco,

Lockheed Martin

new, hybrid airship systems. In addition, enhanced gravity gradient sensors have been developed to provide reduced noise and improved resolution. Th e combina-tion of these advanced sensors and plat-forms will be shown to provide a unique exploration capability.

Gravity gradiometer systems Since initial operational deployment in 1998, commercial airborne gravity gra-diometer systems have been continually improving in operational performance. Part of this is due to simply understand-ing the airborne environment and fl ying surveys with greater attention to the in-fl uences of turbulence and vertical ac-celerations. Additionally, improvements

Aircraft Style Survey speed (m s-1) Stability Minimum survey

height (m)Comparative safety

Comparative cost

C208 Fixed wing, single engine 60 Good 60 Good LowAS350 Helicopter, single engine 35 Good 35 Good HighCASA Fixed wing, twin engine 60 Good 60 Good MediumDASH-7 Fixed wing, four engine 85 Very good – Good HighBT-67 Fixed wing, four engine 55 Very good – Good HighTwin Otter Fixed wing, twin engine – Very good – Good MediumZeppelin Airship 17 Best 80 Poor High

in data processing and correlated noise reduction have yielded sizeable gains in overall performance. Table 1 provides a look at the representative system noise and operational characteristics as experi-enced in various air vehicles (Dransfi eld & Christensen, 2013). In general, it can be stated that the typical survey noise from a fi xed-wing aircraft has been reduced from about 20 eotvos in 1998 to less than 3 eot-vos today, due to operational and data pro-cessing improvements (see Table 2).

Some of the data processing advanc-es include the use of full tensor noise

FIGURE 2 (top) 3D inversion of airborne gravity gradiometry data in mineral exploration. Source: Geoscience World

TABLE 1 Comparison of fl ight characteristics, safety and cost for aircraft that have been used for gravity gradiometry surveys


DIAMONDS

Aircraft Speed knots Sampling rate (m)

Tzz residual noise roof level, Eo2 km Tzz detectability

Cessna Grand Caravan surveys 2004 120 62 2 > 0 5 Eo over 400 mCessna Grand Caravan surveys 2006 120 62 ~10 3 Eo over 300 mCessna Grand Caravan surveys 2010 120 62 7 to 8 2 Eo over 300 mBT67 Surveys 2010 105 55 < 6 2 Eo over 200 mZeppelin NT 30 to 35 15 to 18 < 2 1.7 Eo over 100 m

reduction, a process employed by Bell Geospace; regularised 3D inversion, reg-ularised focusing inversion, and potential fi eld migration – all developed by Tech-noImaging; and integrated interpretation services developed by ARKeX (DiFranc-esco, 2013). Th e benefi ts of fl ying lower and slower have also been documented by CGG’s Heli-Falcon system, which claims typical fi ltering at 90 m wavelength, re-sulting in 45 m along-line spatial resolu-tion (Christensen, 2013).

Air platformsTh e critical parameters for a successful kimberlite exploration survey using gravi-ty gradiometry include safety, high signal-to-noise ratio, low altitude, slow speed, and reasonable cost. Two unique and modern platform confi gurations are pre-sented here to address the challenges for high-resolution surveying for kimberlites.

Advanced rotorcraftA remotely piloted rotorcraft called the K-Max has been developed by Kaman Aerospace and Lockheed Martin. Th is system, using counter-rotating blades and autonomous control, has been used in replenishment and logistic missions in various world theatres of operation since 2011 (McCarthy, 2013). Th is system has a 2 700 kg payload capacity, can fl y un-manned over areas of heavy terrain, and operate either in daytime or at night. Th e benefi ts of low and slow fl ying, in addition to the safety advantages of pilotless oper-ation, make this an ideal platform for geo-physical exploration. Th e fl ight operation costs of about $1 300 per hour make this a relatively cost-eff ective survey platform on a recurring basis (see Figure 1).

Hybrid airshipsTh e hybrid airship is a well-suited air platform for geophysical exploration, in-cluding kimberlites. Some of the advan-tages of such a system include the ability to remain airborne for long periods of time, hold position without being teth-ered, and withstand strong winds. Some additional benefi ts of modern airships

include superior aerodynamic design re-sulting in high performance, the ability to be assembled on-site and launched with-in hours, carry a wide range of payloads, and in the case of the GNSS StarShadow, are solar powered and use no petrole-um-based fuels (Oholendt, 2012). Th ey can operate from existing infrastructure or service remote points of need with aus-tere infrastructure. Hybrid airships under development today include versions that can be remotely or optionally piloted. Hybrid airships, which get their name because they employ both buoyant and aerodynamic lift, are under development in numerous places. Two examples are the GNSS StarShadow and the Lockheed Mar-tin P-791. Possibly the best characteristic of the hybrid airship is that it produces a very smooth ride for the equipment pay-load and on-board operators. Th is reduced dynamic motion has direct benefi t on the gravity gradient measurement as noise increases as a function of vertical accel-eration. Figure 3 shows a comparison of the vertical acceleration spectrum from a Cessna Grand Caravan and a Zeppelin airship survey (Hatch, 2007). Th e verti-cal acceleration, measured in mg’s, is up to fi ve times less in the airship than the fi xed-wing Caravan.

ConclusionsPresent-day gravity gradiometer sys-tems have demonstrated excellent noise and resolution characteristics. Improve-ments have been realised from improved

operational control and advances in data processing. Deployment on an advanced platform such as a rotorcraft or hybrid airship will yield signifi cant benefi ts for future kimberlite exploration pro-grammes.

FIGURE 3 (above) Comparison of vertical acceleration (milli-Gs) for a Cessna Grand Caravan (lighter lines) and a Zeppelin airship (darker lines)

FIGURE 2 (below) Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

FIGURE 1 (bottom) K-Max unmanned rotor craft in typical replenishment mission

TABLE 2 Achieved noise levels for gravity gradiometer systems in various aircraft

DIAMONDS


THE RESOURCES estimates for the Rockwell gravel deposits are based on specifi c parameters un-der which the exploration, bulk

sampling and economic conditions need to adhere to set guidelines to be rated as either an inferred resource, indicated re-source or probable reserve.

Historically, the approach to alluvial re-source defi nitions has been largely focused on defi ning a ‘regional’ area, i.e. a palaeo river terrace on a specifi c elevation or spe-cifi c depositional areas within a marine deposit and rating it as an inferred or in-dicated resource. Th is approach, followed according to industry requirements, states the volumes, grades and diamond values of the resources found on the Rockwell mineral right areas. Th e depositional en-vironment, gravel quality and diamond source play a large role in determining these resource valuations and, as a re-sult, Rockwell has found the need to re-defi ne the resources estimates based on defi ned geological areas within the stated resource areas.

AimTh e aim is to redefi ne the depositional en-vironment based on the local geological features and diamond valuation. A grav-el rating scheme has been implemented on each of the mines. Th is rating scheme takes into account the fi xed and mobile trap sites, and gravel quality (coarseness, matrix, sorting, etc.), which then allows for the application of a better resource val-uation within those areas.

ApproachDue to the large variability within the terraces, the need was identifi ed to quan-titatively measure specifi c attributes within the depositional areas or gravel at a specifi c point in time. Daily geological observations, coupled with data reconcil-iation, have allowed Rockwell Diamonds

To mine or not to mineIn diamond mining, errors can be extremely costly. It’s a case of having to get it right the first time. We look at the resource definitions for the Middle Orange River, based on redefined geological areas. By G Stevens, Rockwell Diamonds

to build a database of these attributes.

In order to quantitative-ly ‘measure’ gravel quality, the gravel priority rating scheme was developed. Th is tool takes into ac-count the gravel charac-teristics as defi ned during an extensive development phase in which the prop-erties within the gravel were specifi ed and then plotted daily so as to as-certain which parameters held weight or consisten-cy and which did not.

Measurable areas that allow for better defi nition have been used; these are:• position on the

gravel bar• large boulder size• average clast size• gravel fabric• BIF/basalt % vs BIF/

zeolite %• BIF %• clast shapesIn addition to the GPR, the following depositional attributes are also taken into account to defi ne the:• grade per area• large stone plot.

Th e large stone plots are used to defi ne the area within the depositional area. Th is al-lows to identify the possible extents of the grave bars (Figure 2).

FIGURE 1 (right) Middle Orange River terraces defi ned per elevation area

FIGURE 2 (middle right) Large stone plots and a simplifi ed gravel bar position interpretation

FIGURE 3 (bottom right) Grade plot. Notice the variation and large areas used within the plot (the depositional area is not taken into account)

DIAMONDS


Position on bar

Large boulder size

Average clast size range

Gravel fabric

BIF/basalt % vs BIF/zeolite % BIF % Clast

shapesTotal out of (22)

Mo

bile

Tra

psi

te (

bas

al)

Bar head (3) > 400 mm (3) Cobble-boulder (4)

Boulder BIF/High basalt (2) High (+50%) (3)

Discs (3)

Riffl e Platform (2)

256 - 400 mm (2)

Cobble-pebble (3)

Cobble (1) BIF/High Zeolites (0)

Med (30 - 50%) (2)

Sphere/Discs (2)

Bar tail (-1) < 256 mm (1) Pebble-cobble (2)

Pebble (1) Low (<30%) (1) Sphere (1)

Pebble (1) Grit (1)Total out of (3)

Total out of (3)

Total out of (4) Total out of (4)

Total out of (2) Total out of (3) Total out of (3)

0

Mo

bile

Tra

psi

te (

up

per

) Bar head (3) > 400 mm (3) Cobble-boulder (4)

Boulder (1) BIF/High basalt (2) High (+50%) (3)

Discs (3)

Riffl e platform (2)

256 - 400 mm (2)

Cobble-pebble (3)

Cobble (1) BIF/High Zeolites (0)

Med (30 - 50%) (2)

Sphere/discs (2)

Bar tail (-1) < 256 mm (1) Pebble-cobble (2)

Pebble (1) Low (< 30%) (1)

Sphere (1)

Pebble (1) Grit (1)Total out of (3)

Total out of (3)

Total out of (4) Total out of (4)

Total out of (2) Total out of (3) Total out of (3)

00

ResultsMobile Basal Trap Site out of (22)

Upper Mobile Trapsite out of (22)

Total 0 0Percentage 0.00% 0.00%

Normalised Rating For Both Trap Sites (50%)

0.00%

Weighted Rating For Both Trap Sites (Fixed 60%)

0.00%

Rating for the Day (if only one trap site was rated)

Th e average grade per area has been used as an indica-tor to the possible grades expected in the adjacent blocks. Th is is fl awed in that it does not take into account the actual position of mining within the depositional envi-ronment (Figure 3).

FindingsTh e implementation of the rating tool has proven a chal-lenge. Correlation between the rating percentage and the actual grade recovered from varies twofold in that:• the tool has had to un-

dergo various revisions to improve accuracy and sort through the gravel attributes that are consist-ent and measurable (see the comparison variation between mining and pro-cessing areas in Figures 4 and 5)

• mining does not always al-low for a direct correlation between grade and the rating tool, as there are various areas where stockpiling of product can

occur, with a signifi cant gap between rat-ing and processing dates.Th e accuracy of the grade plot has been questioned in that large areas are used to defi ne a grade. Th is limits the interpretation of where one is situated within the depositional environment, or gravel bar.

Th e large stone plots show the clusters of large stones within random clusters and are continuously used to interpret position within the depositional environ-ment. Th e drawback of this is that it is a retrospective tool and does not always al-low for the interpretation of actual gravel bars sizes.

ConclusionTh e gravel priority rating scheme, large stone plots and grade plots are all tools that can be implemented to determine where one is situated within a deposi-tional environment, and rather than applying a physical position (related to elevation of the terrace) to supplying a position of where the likelihood of dia-mond deposition and concentration is to be expected.

Th e various tools implemented in re-defi ning the MOR gravels have assisted in starting to identify the actual gravel quality within an area. Th is defi nition is based on attributes other than explo-ration data (collar fi les), and provides scope for improved exploration meth-odology and input. It also provides the geologist with a base to work from when determining their position within the depositional environment.

More work is needed on redefi ning larg-er areas, as the current rating is rather fo-cused on immediate areas.

FIGURE 4 (top) Gravel priority rating for BHC

FIGURE 5 (above) Gravel priority rating for SHC

TABLE 1 Middle Orange River gravel priority rating scheme


MSA OFFERS A world-class analytical service to dia-mond exploration and min-ing resource evaluation pro-

grammes. Its laboratory facilities include a heavy mineral analysis (HMA) laboratory for the recovery of diamond indicator min-erals from both exploration and kimber-lite samples; and a microdiamond (MiDA) laboratory for processing and recovering diamonds from kimberlite samples using caustic fusion.

SANAS accreditationBoth the HMA and MiDA laboratories have been accredited since May 2012 by the South African National Accreditation Standard (SANAS, according to the global ISO/IEC 17025 requirements. Th e accredi-tation schedule for the MSA facility (certif-icate number T0544) covers both kimber-lite indicator mineral recoveries down to 0.3 mm from heavy mineral concentrates, as well as microdiamond recovery from kimberlite samples down to 75 micron bot-tom screen size.

A laboratory quality management system is in place and this provides assurance to our clients and their investors that MSA test results and diamond weighing calibra-tions are consistently accurate. All samples are sorted and then checked by another mineral or diamond analyst. Apart from

Africa’s first microdiamond laboratoryThe role and function of a specialist exploration, geology, mineral resource and reserve estimation service is invaluable. The MSA Group provides such a service. By H Cronwright and O Garvie

DIAMONDS

these rigorous quality control procedures, regular mineral identifi cation training workshops and competency testing are carried out to maintain profi ciency of the mineral and diamond analysts.

MiDA laboratory servicesIn association with SGS South Africa, MSA has established a world-class micro-diamond laboratory facility that processes kimberlite samples by caustic fusion for microdiamond recovery. Th e facility was designed and constructed in 2006, com-missioned in 2007 and, over the past eight years, has successfully processed a total of

25.2 tonnes of kimberlite and recovered 26 180 diamonds.

In general, it is recommended to process samples weighing at least 200 kg in or-der to recover suffi cient stones for grade modelling. Th e sample weight reduction after caustic fusion is typically greater than 99.8%. Th e small refractory miner-al residue produced by the caustic fusion

FIGURE 3 (right) Surface textures on kimberlitic spinel grains, showing increased abrasion

FIGURE 1 Cumulative diamond size frequency distribution of N = 279 microdiamonds


DIAMONDS

process, weighing approximately 5 g, is then microscopically sorted, by expe ri-enced diamond analysts, for microdia-monds down to 75 microns.

Quality control throughout the process is monitored by spiking with sized syn-thetic diamonds that are easily identifi a-ble. Spikes are perfectly cubo-octahedral synthetic diamond crystals and have a distinctive yellow colour. Th e synthetic di-amond spikes are added to the sample at the start of the caustic fusion process. Di-amond spike recovery during the fi rst year of operation of this specialist laboratory facility was established at 95% and set as the minimum standard of diamond spike recovery going forward. In subsequent years, diamond spike recoveries have im-proved and, over the past fi ve years, spike recovery effi ciencies have been maintained at 100%. Synthetic diamonds released into the diamond drilling sample are also identifi ed, stored on sample cards and reported. All macrodiamonds (+0.5 mm in size) and microdiamonds greater than

300 microns are weighed individually and placed on sample cards for measure-ment and description. All microdiamonds smaller than 300 microns are weighed in groups per sieve class. Th e diamond size distribution of 10 samples from an un-named kimberlite is tabulated in Table 1 and the cumulative size frequency distri-bution is shown in Figure 1. Th e diamonds recovered are described in terms of colour, clarity and crystal morphology, and this information can be used to fi ngerprint diamond populations sampled by the kim-berlite (Figure 2).

HMA laboratoryIn addition to the microdiamond facility, the ISO 17025 accredited HHMA labora-tory specialises in the recovery, description and interpretation of kimberlite indica-tor minerals (KIMs). Competent mineral sorters are able to identify kimberlitic (as opposed to non-kimberlitic or crustal-de-rived) garnet, spinel, ilmenite and chrome diopsides that are used as pathfi nder min-erals during kimberlite exploration.

Primary, secondary and abrasion surface textures of KIM grains provide valuable

information to determine if they originat-ed from a proximal or distal source. Fig-ure 3 shows spinel grains with increasing abrasion features on their surface, which indicates further transport from their kim-berlitic source.

Certain indicator minerals like chrome diopsides are preferentially destroyed by weathering closer to source than ilmenite or garnet grains, therefore the KIM abun-dances and types can be plotted on a map to identify target vectors. Mineral chemistry, combined with a surface texture descrip-tion of grains, can assist in understanding the provenance of mixed populations of in-dicators to prioritise follow-up targets.

Value-adding services and interpretationTh e KIMs recovered by the HMA lab can

be analysed by electron microprobe and the chemical results evaluated to determine if the conditions of their formation were suitable for diamond formation and subse-quent emplacement to the earth’s surface by the kimberlite magma. Th e diamond po-tential of the primary source of these KIMs can be modelled from garnet chemistry, using in-house developed software called Diamond Hunter.

If a suffi cient number of microdiamonds are recovered (generally more than one stone per kilogram of kimberlite processed), the size frequency distribution may predict a possible macro diamond grade and large stone frequency distribution information.

ConclusionTh e main benefi t of MiDA is that it is cost-eff ective as a fi rst-stage approach to assess a kimberlite. It can prioritise targets before more costly bulk-sampling is done, or recommend a ‘walk-away’ decision ear-ly on. MiDA results can be used later in a mining project to establish the diamond content of each kimberlite phase or domain (in terms of stones per kilogram processed) and help characterise the deposit further.

Sample IDSize fraction

(+ mm) A B C D E F G H I J All samples

2.360 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01.700 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11.180 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00.850 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 60.600 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 30.425 1 1 0 0 3 1 0 1 2 1 100.300 1 2 0 0 5 1 1 1 1 1 130.212 1 4 1 1 5 3 1 2 2 2 220.150 1 6 4 2 7 7 2 8 3 3 430.106 4 8 5 5 11 7 4 13 6 10 730.075 8 13 6 7 15 9 7 16 11 16 108

Total # 18 35 16 16 48 28 16 41 27 34 279

TABLE 1 Number of diamonds recovered from 10 kimberlite samples, screened according to size fraction (bottom screen size in mm)

1224373108

11 16 1615

FIGURE 2 Diamond description statistics for N = 541 microdiamonds recovered

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Diamonds on the soles of its feetNamdeb will use the walking jack-up platform, complete with on-board processing plant, for trials of sampling and mining methods in the surf zones of their concessions. By JM Loubser and IT Mbangula, Namdeb Diamond Corporation

DIAMONDS

DIAMONDIFEROUS linear beaches stretching approxi-mately 100 km northwards from the Orange River mouth

on the south-western coast of Namibia have been mined continuously for more than 80 years. Th e narrow coastal strip (ranging between 0.3 km and 4 km in width) hosts a series of linear beaches, ranging in elevation from 30 m above

exploring into the ultra-shallow water be-came more apparent.

Multiple transgression and regression cycles during the Quaternary period saw the sea level reach as low as -120 mbmsl as recently as 18 000 years ago, and the sig-nifi cant stands in between have been as-sociated with spectacular mineralisation. Many of these extend seaward of the cur-rent high water line (HWL), which is the real potential of the ultra-shallow area.

Historic attemptsAttempts to prove the presence of dia-monds go back to the early 1960s when mining equipment was used to access the gravels, especially during neap tides. A platform with two jet pumps attached to excavator booms operated in the ear-ly 2000s as an attempt to evaluate the ultra-shallow area. Some diamonds were recovered but it was not sustainable and a diff erent method of resource develop-ment was required. Th ese initial attempts were focused in the shallower northern areas of the license area where limited overburden is present. No work was done in the southern resource area where the overburden was in access of 15 m except for land-based mud and air core drilling. Th ese land-based methods, however, were unable to cross the physical barrier pre-sented by the HWL.

Dredging and mining ultra-shallow water areasOnshore mining activities, during which the stripping of overburden is used to build seawalls, then eroded and deposited

LEFT The probe drill platform in action

ABOVE LEFT Probe drilling platform’s operating environment and limits

mean sea level (mamsl) to 25 m be-low mean sea level (mbmsl). Up to the mid-nineties, mining activities had been predominantly depleting the dry elevated beaches. Th ese beaches have been exposed in the diff erent trenching campaigns and were identifi ed over the entire length of the mining licence (elevation, diamond content and size). As the land-based re-sources became depleted, the vision of


DIAMONDS

with the long shore drift, have caused signifi cant accretion over the years. Fine tailings of millions of tonnes of annual head feed that is pumped out to sea also contributes signifi cantly. Th e CSIR (and later WSP) has been monitoring this pro-cess annually. A major milestone in the history of accretion was the introduction of the dredging project that commenced in 1997, which deposited in excess of 63 million tonnes of overburden sands (ex-cluding oversize) on the beach between G60 and G100.

Th e accretion has given access to previously submerged beaches using

conventional onshore mining techniques and, by 2013, the deepest mining face was in the G90 area, Mining Area No 1, where depths of 28 m below MSL were reached. Th is was associated with spectacular diamond recoveries.

Resource development and riskA method of proving the existence of off shore diamondiferous gravel was re-quired. Th e trend of mining-accreted are-as became standard practice and, in 2005, the risk started becoming uncomfortable. As mining proceeded westward into the accreted areas, the discontinuation of the ore body could have resulted in a fi nan-cial disaster. A tool that would be able to sample the ultra-shallow water zone was needed urgently, to drill ahead of mining. Operating drilling and sampling tools in the vigorous swash zone of the Atlantic coast of Namibia was always a technical challenge and a signifi cant amount of R&D took place. Th e requirement was to do basic resource delineation with bed-rock elevation and the presence of marine gravel as the two key deliverables.

Probe drill platformA custom-designed probe drill platform (PDP), a walking-jacking platform, was developed between 2008 and 2010, and put to trial in the areas with limited over-burden during 2011. It is equipped with a reverse circulation drill as the only on-board tool. Th e PDP is designed to

walk from land to sea making use of an eight-legged sliding platform that is capa-ble of moving in one direction only. It can operate at water depths of 4 m, in swells of up to 4 m, and travels at 10 m/hour.

Personnel travel to the PDP via the aerial ropeway system, which had a maximum reach of 350 m but was later reduced to 250 m. Th e PDP was deployed in the G50 area approximately 4 km south of G90 within Mining Area No 1. Th e fi rst line was drilled in 2012 and the continuation of the ore body (presence of marine grav-el) was confi rmed. Subsequently, 12 lines were drilled on a line spacing, which was increased from 200 m to 400 m, whereas the spacing along the line (12.5 m) re-mained constant. During 2014, the fi rst resource delivery of the area where the PDP drilled was completed and added to the resource inventory in the inferred category of confi dence (Mbangula et al., 2014). Th is made use of diff erent explo-ration methods (PDP percussion drilling, BG36 bucket auger sampling and son-ic drilling) for the fi rst time at Namdeb and paved the way for the next phase of resource delivery to take place in the ul-tra-shallow waters ahead of the accretion.

Unlocking the futureWith the PDP now one of the prime ex-ploration tools in Namdeb’s stable, plans to actively accrete is a reality. Previous-ly stripped overburden available in the southern 40 km of Mining Area No.1 has been identifi ed as a massive resource to be used in this process, making the areas drilled by the PDP accessible for conventional mining.

Confi rming the geological model and presence of marine gravel 250 m west of the current HWL have opened the next chapter in the life of the legendary Min-ing Area No.1 deposit, the ‘Grande Dame’ of the Namdeb Mining Operations, po-tentially adding at least another 15 years of mining.

References• Hallam, CD. 1964.Th e geology of the coast-

al diamond deposits of Southern Africa. In: Houghton, SH (ed.). Th e geology of some ore deposits of Southern Africa 2. 671-728. Geological Society of South Africa.

• Mbangula, IT, Van Dyk, F and Jordaan, L. 2014. Geology and Estimation Report, BG36 sampling and PDP drilling in the Western blocks and Ultra shallow water. G30 – G60 area, MA1. Docs 108655. Namdeb internal report.

LEFT Namdeb mining licence areas

BELOW The potential economic benefi ts from the CSIR/WSP accretion models are signifi cant

DIAMONDS

Steadily towards the futureThe ever-competent Paul Sobie provides an update on developments at the Lace Diamond Mine near Kroonstad. All said, everything is on track and yields are positive.

EVEN THOUGH the mine’s de-velopment is ongoing, produc-tion recoveries for the three months ended 30 June 2014 to-

talled 6 102 carats at a recovered grade of 6.32 cpht. In addition, a 15.2 carat, clean white octahedral diamond was recovered from the tailings, the largest gem diamond the mine has recovered to date.

Underground DevelopmentCore drilling of the mine’s Bulge area pro-visionally indicates that the zone is largely lower grade (volcanoclastic) kimberlite. Th is means that the total recoverable dia-mond content is likely to be signifi cantly less than the UK4 Block. Mining of the UK4 Block has the potential to provide

signifi cant additional cash fl ow which would allow the Bulge to be bulk tested and (if warranted) fi nanced from internal-ly generated cash fl ow, whereas mining of the Bulge alone would require additional project fi nance. Further, the UK4 Block has the potential to provide high-grade ore while the 47 Level Block cave is developed and matured, and fl attens out the poten-tial lumpiness in tonnage which can occur

tAll

ABOVE Typical, potentially diamondiferous kimberlite from the Lace mine. The kimberlite contains xenoliths of the overlying Karoo basalts. Width of sample approximately 25 cm

BELOW Entrance to the new underground Lace Diamond Mine. Mining of the underground ore will start in April 2011


Photographs taken by Wolfgang Hampel

existing contingencies. Approximately 55 000 tonnes of kimberlite will be mined as part of the UK4 development, which will be processed in batches in a controlled bulk test supervised by MPH Consulting.

DIAMONDS

in the early stages of block caving. For these reasons, the UK4 Block is considered a high priority development target, and the zone where underground production drilling will now concentrate.

A revised underground development schedule and budget aims to bring for-ward the ramp up of commercial produc-tion from underground kimberlite mining by six months into the fi rst half of 2015. Th e accelerated mining development will be fi nanced from within existing project fi nance facilities.

To achieve mine produc-tion from the UK4 block, 1 149 m of waste develop-ment and 880 m of Kimber-lite development is planned over the next 12 months at a budgeted cost of R75 mil-lion (R37 000 per metre). Development not common to both the UK4 Block and the 47 Level Block cave has been rescheduled to occur after mining of the UK4 Block commences.

Overall, mine develop-ment costs to date are aver-aging R37 051/m against a budget of R35 327/m. Th e 5% over spend is largely a result of a rising operat-ing costs of the company’s underground mining fl eet. Th e cost increases are a re-sult of increased tyre wear in the fi nal uphill sections of the decline development and higher diesel, repairs and maintenance costs as waste-hauling distances in-crease. Winter months are also the peak period of the year for electricity tariff s in South Africa.

Management considers that there is scope to re-verse this cost increase and has instituted operational effi ciency projects in min-ing, maintenance and pro-curement to improve pro-ductivity and reduce costs. However, until any im-provements are achieved, a new development budget of R37 000/m has been adopt-ed for the UK4 development going forward which can be accommodated from

LEFT General view of the old opencast at the Lace mine. This hole was dug intermittently between 1896 and 1930. The hole measures some 130 m in diameter. The main kimberlite pipe itself measures approximately 1.5 hectares. The overlying rocks are Karoo basalts and andesites


DIAMONDS

Th e recovered diamonds will be valued and sold as part of the company’s established sales cycle. Th e resulting grade and carat value will allow for an upgraded SAM-REC-compliant resource statement to be issued in the fi rst quarter of 2015. Man-agement considers it more meaningful to delay the updated resource statement to incorporate the bulk test results than to issue an interim estimate based on micro-diamond analysis alone. Revenue generated from the diamond sales during development and bulk testing will be cred-ited to development costs.

Underground drilling of the UK4 block continued during the quarter, and approx-imately 600 kg of core samples were sub-mitted for microdiamond analysis. Results received to date continue to confi rm that recovered grades of up to 60 cpht can be expected from the K4 Kimberlite.

Scoping and mine design studies have been completed based on approximately 1.5 million tonnes to be mined from the block above the 365 m level which is in ad-dition to the existing geological resource. Th e studies recommend bottom-up, long hole open stoping as the mining method and estimate that the steady state pro-duction of 30 000 tonnes per month can be achieved by the second half of 2015, with the potential for this to double after development and conveyor belts for the 47 Level Block cave are installed past the 365 m level. Mining and processing costs at the initial production rate are forecast at R169/t.

Th e design and detailed drawings for the underground conveyor belt system have been completed under budget. Installa-tion of the conveyor belt is underway and is scheduled to be commissioned in H1

2015 in time for accelerated mining of the UK4 block. Th e company has experienced no labour issues and continues to hire the personnel it requires. Th e labour force at 30 June 2014 totalled 287. Safety remains a major priority for the company, with the lost time injury frequency rate for the year to date standing at zero.

Tailings retreatmentA decision was taken to reduce tailings re-treatment processing rates and divert the surface earth moving fl eet to building another 150 000 m3 surface process water dam. Th is activity needs to be completed in the dry winter months ahead of rains commencing later in the year.

As a consequence, the plant processed 96 490 tonnes of tailings in the peri-od against a budget of 205 000 tonnes. Pleasingly, diamond recoveries totalled 6 102 carats as recovered grades were 6.32 cpht against a budget of 5 cpht. Th is month the company recovered a 15.2 carat clear white octahedral diamond from the

dumps. Th is is the largest gem diamond recovered to date from the tailings and demonstrates the plant’s effi ciency in re-covering larger diamonds as well as the smaller size fractions.

Th e reduced production rate in the last quarter allowed for the de-grit circuit to be installed, which is effi ciently removing the fi ne sand fraction and allowing for ap-proximately 90% of the tailings diamonds to be recovered from 60% of the tonnes previously reporting to the dense media separation plant, thereby reducing oper-ating costs per tonne and improving the stone size average and carat value of the diamonds recovered.

Diamond sales (+1.5 mm) for six months ended 30 June 2014 totalled 14 583 carats for proceeds of $909 611, equating to an average sales price of $62 per carat. At the reduced production rate, the tailings re-treatment operation is breaking even and the plant is now operating in the optimal confi guration for processing kimberlite from development as this ramps up over the next six months.

Demand for good quality rough dia-monds remains relatively strong and pric-es are 5 to 10% over the prices achieved in December 2013. Th e company is forecast-ing the market to be steady to modestly higher for the balance of 2014, with po-tential for price strengthening in 2015 as world economies continue to recover.

LEFT View of the tailings derived from late 19th/early 20th century opencast mining. The tailings still contain appreciable amounts of diamonds and are currently being re-processed

BELOW View of the Lace Diamond Mine’s slimes dam. If any diamonds have escaped the processing of the ore, they must be very, very small. The dam has become a refuge for birds, including fl amingo


Pangolin: a leading exploration companyThe discovery of the lower mantle-derived SWS 21 intrusion in the Mmadinare area of Botswana has created much interest in the diamond industry. By LRM Daniels and O Kufandikamwe

DIAMONDS

THE MMADINARE area in north-eastern Botswana is lo-cated to the west of the Cu-Ni Selebi Phikwe mine and is sit-

uated in the southern and central zones of the Limpopo Mobile Belt (LMB), which extends northwards between the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons. Th e area has been prospected for diamonds by at least two major companies in the past three decades with no success. His-torically, the area was subjected to soil sampling. Two styles of soil samples were collected – stream sediment samples and loam samples. Th e size fraction of the soil samples were between 0.425 mm and 2 mm. Although garnet, spinel and picroilmenite were found, no signifi cant numbers of traditional kimberlite indica-tors were recovered during these histori-cal exploration programmes.

Satellite imageryWith more recent access to satellite im-agery via Google Earth, it is possible to review any given area in Botswana with great detail. One of the advantages of using Google Earth is that it is possi-ble to change the scene viewed between different time shots, presenting the opportunity to view the same area dur-ing different seasons. In an area that suffers from droughts and has a very different vegetation pattern between winter and summer, this is a very useful exploration tool.

A study was conducted over known kimberlites within the central and north-ern zones of the LMB with the object of

Mineral OLVPILM SPN SPN CPX CPX GAR GAR GAR

Si02 40.09 0.03 0.02 54.98 54.47 40.92 41.75 40.61TiO2 0.02

50.12

0.31 0.36 0.21 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.19

Al2O3

0.02

0.05 28.43 16.42 2.28 2.48 23.28 20.74 17.21

Cr2O3

0.69

0.05 29.98 41.74 0.59 1.86 0.11 3.95 8.28

Fe2O3

9.18

– 10.09 10.60 – – – – –

FeO 10.03

31.71

18.58 21.53 4.61 1.67 16.10 8.68 7.72

MnO

0.60

0.13 0.31 0.40 0.14 0.07 0.45 0.47 0.49

MgO

7.35

48.72 11.45 8.29 18.46 15.05 14.57 19.07 18.92

CaO 0.11 N.D. 0.01 15.74 21.30 5.14 5.47 6.13NiO 0.40 0.31 0.18 0.08 0.04 – – –

Na2O 0.01 – – 1.72 2.05 0.03 0.02 0.02Total 99.61

99.67

99.49 99.55 98.81 99.05 100.64 99.54 99.57

TABLE 1 Representative concentrate mineral compositions from the SWS 21 intrusion

FIGURE 1 The SWS 21 geobotanical feature observed utilising Google Earth satellite imagery


identifying any geobotanical anomalies associated with the known kimberlites. In particular, the Mwenezi (Williams and Robey, 1999) and Mambali-Ngulube kim-berlite fi elds, discovered by De Beers and Trillion Resources from Canada, respec-tively, were studied. Based on the obser-vations made over these kimberlites, a detailed Google Earth study was under-taken over the Mmadinare area and in excess of twenty targets were identifi ed for ground follow-up.

Trace elementsTh e paucity of traditional kimberlite in-dicator minerals (KIMs) recovered from the Mmadinare area, during previous exploration programmes that sampled the area extensively, indicated that tra-ditional soil sampling was not the route to follow in this area. Recent advances

in analytical techniques, which allow for the analysis of trace elements in small samples to a parts per billion level, have provided the opportunity to geochemi-cally discriminate between areas of the Jwaneng Kimberlite fi eld and analysed for 72 elements, including V, La, Nb, Nd, LREEs and HREEs, Th , U, Sr, Rb and Ba. A trace element profi le was established over these two known kimberlites (Dan-iels et al., 2012).

Th e GoogleEarth targets selected with-in the Mmadinare area were sampled for KIMs and trace element samples, taking one 40 litre soil sample in the central part of the feature. Th e -2 mm + 0.425 mm fraction was processed through a 1 tph DMS plant for traditional KIMs. No KIMs were recovered from any of the samples. Th e -0.425 mm fraction of each sample was screened to -180 microns and 50 g of this size fraction was submitted to Acti-vation Laboratories in Ancaster, Ontario, for trace element analysis utilising an en-hanced enzyme leach technique.

Anomaly SWS 21 (Figure 1) was char-acterised by the most anomalous Ni and

Sr. Th e sum of Y + La + Nd for SWS 21 re-turned the third highest value obtained from the trace element samples. V, which was considered to be a signifi cant kim-berlite trace element in the Jwaneng orientation survey, was found to be sub-dued over SWS 21 and marginally above background (Figure 2).

Based on the combination of the Goog-le Earth imagery and the trace element results, a pit was excavated in the SWS 21 feature. A highly weathered rock, light green in colour, with a hand specimen appearance of weathered kimberlite, was intersected at less than 2 m depth.

Petrographically, the rock has been de-scribed as an olivine-rich ultrabasic rock with clinopyroxene, phlogopite and ap-atite. Due to the absence of two gener-ations of olivine, the rock has not been classifi ed as a kimberlite.

Kimberlite indicator mineralsGarnet, spinel, picroilmenite, clinopyrox-ene and manganoan ilmenites have been recovered as indicator minerals from the weathered intrusive rock. Th e minerals were analysed by microprobe at CF Labo-ratries, Kelowna, British Columbia.

A total of 19 mantle-derived garnets were recovered from a 20 kg sample. Both eclogitic as well as peridotitic garnets are present. No subcalcic garnets were recov-ered from this sample. Th e composition of one knorringite-rich garnet is similar to the composition of garnets from a dia-mondiferous xenolith from Premier Dia-mond Mine (Viljoen et al., 2004).

Th e chromian spinels follow a man-tle trend of garnet-spinel peridotites as observed in lamproites in Australia (Mc-Candless and Dummett, 2003; Jacques et al., 2014). Six clinopyrexenes with 0.59 – 2.48 wt% Cr2O3 were recovered and their compositions are consistent with a deri-vation from garnet lherzolites (Stephens and Dawson, 1977). A forsteritic olivine and one picroilmenite (7.35 wt% MgO, 0.69wt% Cr2O3) were also recovered from the sample (Table 1).

Five manganoan ilmenites recovered from the discovery pit at SWS 21 have compositions consistent with ilmenites recovered as inclusions in diamonds from alluvials and from a Pandrea kim-berlite in the Juina area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Th ese manganoan ilmenites have a lower mantle paragenesis (Kamin-sky et al., 2001, 2009). Th e ilmenites

DIAMONDS

Mineral ILM ILM ILM ILM ILMTiO2 48.15 49.80 48.95 49.26 47.43Al2O3 0.10 ND 0.04 0.04 NDCr2O3 ND ND ND ND 0.03Fe2O3 7.57 6.05 7.04 6.48 9.85FeO 42.66 43.51 43.13 43.03 40.52MnO 0.63 0.77 0.86 1.06 2.10MgO 0.04 0.27 0.03 0.12 0.01CaO ND 0.01 ND ND ND

Nb2O5 0.06 0.02 ND 0.03 0.07Total 99.21 100.43 100.05 100.02 100.01

ND = Not Detected

TABLE 2 Manganoan Ilmenites from the SWS 21 Intrusion, Mmadinare, Botswana

FIGURE 2 Trace element results from 22 targets identifi ed in the Mmadinare area, Botswana, from Google Earth imagery. (A) Ni (ppb); (B) Y+La+Nd (ppb), (C) Sr (ppb) and (D) V (ppb)


are characterised by low MgO (0.01 to 0.27 wt%) and MnO 0.63 – 2.10 wt% and negligible Cr2O3 (Table 2, Figure 3).

Discussion and conclusionsTh e absence of two generations of olivine from the SWS 21 intrusion precludes the rock from being classifi ed as a kimberlite even though it is an olivine-rich ultra-basic intrusive rock with clinopyroxene, phlogopite and apatite containing tradi-tional kimberlite indicator minerals de-rived from the upper mantle.

The manganoan ilmenites recovered from the SWS 21 intrusion are simi-lar in composition to the Mn-ilmenites that occur as inclusions in diamonds from alluvials in the Juina area of Mato Grosso. The Juina Mn-ilmenites coexist in diamonds with other minerals that are consistent with a derivation from the transition zone at depths of 660 km and the lower mantle (Kaminsky et al., 2001).

One of the garnets recovered from the SWS 21 intrusion is a knorringite-rich pyrope similar in composition to a di-amondiferous lherzolite reported from the Premier Diamond Mine, South Africa (Viljoen et al., 2004 ) indicating a deri-vation from within the diamond stability fi eld. It is concluded that the SWS 21 vol-canic intrusion transected the diamond stability fi eld in the upper mantle.

Kaminsky et al. (2001) concluded that Mn-rich, MgO-poor ilmenites should be included as potential diamond in-dicator minerals and that in such areas where these ilmenites are encountered, the traditional KIMs like pyrope garnet and Cr-spinel may be in the minority or absent. Th e paucity of traditional KIMs in the Madinare area suggests that the manganoan ilmenites recovered from the SWS 21 intrusion should be considered as an alternative diamond indicator min-eral in this area of Botswana.

Th e combination of Google Earth satel-lite imagery and trace elements can lead to discovery.

References• Daniels, LRM, De

Bruin, D, Smuts, WJ. 2012. Exploration for concealed kimberlites in Botswana with trace element soil geo-chemistry. Extended Abtract, 10th Inter-national Kimberlite Conference, Bangalore, 10IKC-223.

• Jacques, L, Luguet, A, Smith, CB, Pearson, D.G., Bulanova, GP, Yaxley, GM, Kobussen, A. 2014. Nature of the mantle beneath the Ar-gyle Ak1 lamproite pipe: constraints from mantle xenoliths, diamonds and lamproite geochemistry. Rio Tinto Diamond Volume, Special Pub-lication. Society of Economic Geologists.

• Kaminsky, FV, Zakharchenko, OD, Davies, R, Griffi n, WL, Khachatryan-Blinova, GK, Shiryaev, AA. 2001. Superdeep diamonds from the Juina area, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Contribution to Mineralogy and Petrology. 140:734-753.

• Kaminsky, FV, Khachatryan, GK, An-dreazza, P, Araujo, D, Griffi n, WL. 2009. Superdeep diamonds from kimberlites in the Juina area. Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Lithos. 112S(2):833-842.

• McCandless, TE, Dummett, HT. 2003. Some aspects of chromian spinel (chro-mite) chemistry in relation to diamond exploration. Geological Association of

Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada Annual Meeting, Vancouver.

• Stephens, WE, Dawson, JB. 1977. 'Statis-tical comparison between pyroxenes from kimberlites and their associated xeno-liths'. Journal of Geology. 85:443-449.

• Viljoen, KS, Dobbe, R, Smit, B, Th omes-sot, E and Cartigny, P. 2004. Petrology and geochemistry of a diamondiferous lherzolite from Premier diamond mine, South Africa. Lithos. 77:539-552.

• Williams, CM, Robey, JVA. 1999. 'Pe-trography and mineral chemistry of the Mwenezi-01 kimberlite, Zimbabwe'. In: Gurney, JJ, Gurney, JL, Pascoe, MD and Richardson, SH (eds.). Proceedings of the VIIth International Kimberlite Conference. Red Roof Design: Cape Town, 896-903.

DIAMONDS

FIGURE 3 MnO wt% vs MgO wt% plot for manganoan ilmenites from the SWS 21 intrusion, diamond inclusions from Juina alluvials and the Pandrea kimberlite in Mato Grosso State, Brazil (Kaminsky et al., 2001, 2009)

BELOW RIGHT A map of Botswana showing Pangolin diamond corp‘s license holdings


MINERALS PROCESSING

A change for the betterThe increase in stone recovery – with the change in processing method – at the Brakfontein Hill Complex, Middle Orange River, was certainly the right thing to do, as this case study shows. By BC Ringane, Rockwell Diamonds

THE PLANT specifi cation and de-sign chosen by a mine has a sig-nifi cant impact on the distribu-tion of the diamonds recovered

by a producer. It is vital that prior to plant design, the geology of the area is well un-derstood. With specifi c focus on the alluvial diamonds along the MOR, the percentage of sand lenses within the ore and the per-centage of calcrete have shown to be among the key factors any producers should con-sider prior to plant design.

Brakfontein Hill Complex (BHC), an allu-vial diamond mine located in the Northern Cape, constructed the old barrel screen during its inception. However, the plant was not running optimally due to the high percentage of sand which ended up in the product, hindering production and recov-ery. A decision was made to optimise plant

effi ciency. Hence an integrated fl ow solu-tion (IFS) was constructed. Th e benefi t of the IFS is it reduces the percentage of the sand, increasing the throughput; hence there was an increase in the average stone size. In addition there is a reduction in the heavy mineral such as banded iron forma-tion (BIF), hence improved sizing within the pans. Furthermore, the bottom cut off was increased from 3 to 5 mm, to reduce the sand. With specifi c focus on the dia-monds within the 5 to 10 mm, there has been a 7% increase in the average stone size since the construction of the IFS.

BHC faced few processing challenges this included the problem of sand lenses rich gravel. In its inception, the mined used an old barrel screen for screening off the over-size (+75 mm). However, few challenges with the process were encountered. Th e

old barrel screen did not remove the BIF and could not reduce the amount of sand that was reporting to the plant. Th ough the plant at that time had a bottom cut off of 5 mm, the amount of the sand reporting to the plant resulted in blockages, increasing the viscosity of the pans, thus hindering re-covery. Hence, there plant throughput was signifi cantly lower.

Changes in the plant processRDI is constantly trying to fi nd ways to improve the operational margin, through reducing the dollar per ton for each oper-ation. Rider and Roodt (2003) identifi ed seven components for diamond value management, these includes the process effi ciency. Process effi ciency refers to the extent to which all liberated diamonds are recovered during the recovery process. Th e aim is to recover above 99% of the free diamonds. In an eff ort to further op-timise the plant effi ciency, BHC strategic management made a decision to take into consideration additional variables when fi nding optimal ways to increase the effi -ciency of the plant, one variable that was found to be vital was the changing geology of the area.

When RDI acquired BHC, mining was mainly focused on the upper terrace. Th e upper terrace (60 to 90 m above present river bed, A1 and B1 on Figure 1) is gener-ally coarse boulder gravel, with sedimeto-logical characteristics of a high energy en-vironment. Th e package has upward fi ning alluvial gravels with sporadic sand lenses capped by a hard calcrete, which protected the gravel erosion. Contrary the lower ele-vated terraces (less than 30 m above pres-ent river bed, C1 on Figure 1) have 30% of sand matrix with a high proportion of sand lenses high proportion of zeolite-rich sand lenses and BIF. Th e gravel particle sizes ranges mainly from cobble – pebble with occasional boulders. Lower terrace deposits are generally covered by 1 to 4 m of sand. A schematic plot of the diff erent terraces is shown in Figure 1.

Th e change in geology resulted in an in-crease in the amount of sand and clay re-porting to the plant. Th e high sand lenses resulted in a decrease in the throughput thus impacting plant effi ciency nega-tively. Th e possible causes of reduced effi ciency are:• Th e increased sand throughput aff ect-

ed the rheology of the puddle medium,

FIGURE 1 Adapted from G Dorkin (2013) internal report on the regional model


MINERALS PROCESSING

resulting in expulsion of the diamonds with the lighter fractions.

• Th e increase in the BIF resulted in the in-crease in the density of the gravel, thus re-ducing recovery.

• Th e increase in sand and clay in the gravel matrix, result in masking of the diamonds. In order to avoid diamond loss during pro-cessing, the mine has to reduce the amount of gravel processed. Reducing the amount of gravel processed in an alluvial diamond has a negative impact, this is due to the nature of an alluvial mine and diamonds recovery is strongly dependent on the amount of gravel processed.

Th e producer had to develop ways to upgrade the concentrations and improve the quality of the gravels sent to the plant. At that time the producer would use a barrel screen, which generally removed material above 75 mm. Th is was done through the installation of a 3 m x 8 m front end in-fi eld screen was con-structed to ensure that the gravel which of-ten might be sand rich lenses is processed at the required rates to ensure a positive cash fl ow. Th e IFS is a barrel-fed, Bivitec absolute non-blind screen from Dabmar Manufactur-ing, it allowed the screening out of material below 5 mm, and above 55 mm, thus reduc-ing the amount of sand and oversize material reporting to the plant (Figure 2). In addition to reducing the amount of sand and oversize material reporting to the plant, the design of the screening plant allows the removal of signifi cant amount of BIF and other iron rich clasts from the gravel prior to transportation to the processing plant. Th rough this not plant throughput is increased and effi ciency can improve.

Th e impact of the IFS is clearly observed in Figure 3. Th e graph shows the scrubber volume processed between April to June of 2010 (blue) and 2012 (red), where 2010 re-fl ects the period prior to the installation of the IFS, and the 2012 data refl ects the period after installation. Taking into consideration the fact that there are days where no mining or processing occurred due to public holidays and a maintenance day, a seven-day moving average was applied to smooth out the data. From the data, it is evident that the instal-lation of the IFS resulted in an increase in volume processed fed into the scrubber. Th e main function of the scrubber is to wash the material prior to feeding into the pans. Liber-ation is minimal in the scrubber. On average

FIGURE 2 (top) BHC process fl ow sheet

FIGURE 3 (middle) The scrubber feed volume for 2010 and 2012

FIGURE 4 (left) Size frequency distribution for BHC

Gas is induced into the low pressure area (yellow) and discharged from the high pressure area (green).

Prior to opera on, the pump casing is fi lled with sealing liquid.

When the impeller rotates, the centrifugal force forms a liquid ring that conforms to the pump’s casing. Because of the centrally mounted impeller, crescent-shape spaces are formed.

increase the volume is observed is above 10%. Th e benefi t of increasing into the scrubber implies that the higher volume of right sized material (the removal of the oversize material, sand and BIF) can be fed into the pans, thus increasing effi ciency and feed rate.

Figures 4 and 5 compare the size frequen-cy distribution and the grade-size plot for pre installation of the IFS and post instal-lation. Size distribution is a standard tool to determine if there are any changes in the carat recovery as a result of change in the resource or in the processing. Both

distributions have been truncated at 5 mm in order to make the comparison easier. Moreover, the area of focus will be the size classes below 10 mm. Th e salient feature observed is that the diamond distribution for the post IFS period is coarser than that of prior to the installation. Post installation of the screen material the average stone size increased slightly by 7%. Th e increase in the average stone size is contributed mainly to the increase in the number of stones recovered across all sieve classes as effi ciency increases. An improvement in grade was also observed.

In summaryTh e installation of the IFS has yielded an improvement in volume and carats recov-ery. Th e strategy plan has proven to be a vital step in attempting to continue to pro-duce at economic benefi cial levels for RDI. It highlights the importance of companies to continually attempt to fi nd better and economical methods to survive in the con-stantly changing markets.

MINERALS PROCESSING

increase the volume is observed is above Figures 4 and 5 compare the size frequen-

FIGURE 5 The grade plot for BHC

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Mopani Copper installs two more BMR windersFLSmidth has installed more than 90% of the world’s BMR winders and has been actively involved in their development since the fi rst installations in 1959.

FOLLOWING ON from the re-cent and successful installation of a Blair multi-rope (BMR) winder at Glencore’s Mopani

Copper Mines’ Synclinorium shaft in Zambia, FLSmidth will now supply BMR winders for the mining company’s two

new shafts – the fi rst at Nkana mine’s Mindola shaft in the Kitwe district and the second at the new Mufulira shaft at Mufulira mine, 25 km due north of Kit-we. Th is is the highest value order FLS-midth’s mine shaft systems business has received for BMR winders to date.

“With only about 50 BMR winders of this kind operating in the world, it is gratifying to be adding another four in a single application, bring-ing the number of these units in one country up to fi ve, whereas two years ago

there were none,” says Wendy Norman, FLSmidth’s sales manager for mine shaft systems in South Africa.

FLSmidth will supply identical equip-ment for both shafts, each of which will incorporate a double-drum BMR rock winder as well as a single-drum BMR man/materials winder. Th e drums are al-most identical for all four winders, each measuring 5.7 m in diameter with two 1.8 m wide rope compartments. Also set-ting this order apart is the fact that this

MINERALS PROCESSING

LEFT AND BELOW One of the BMR winders at the start of the installation process, and the fi nished product

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MINERALS PROCESSING

will only be the second customer where a Hooke’s joint application has been used in mine hoisting on the African continent, and the fi rst for Zambia. Th e Hooke’s joint is a giant universal coupling used on double-drum BMR winders to link the two drums mechanically, without the use of gears, to allow the drums to be angled towards the conveyance centres to improve rope fl eeting angles. Th is sys-tem off ers signifi cant capital cost sav-ings over electrically coupled winders. Th e cost of a BMR installation is off -set by the higher tonnages that can be hoisted using twin ropes.

FLSmidth, an industry leader in this technology unique to the Afri-can mining industry, installed the fi rst Hooke’s joint in the early 2000s at a gold mine in Westonaria. Development work had been in progress since the mid 1980s on the use of these joints in a hoisting application. At the Mindola and Mufuli-ra shafts, the Hooke’s joint will allow the wide BMR drums to be installed at an angle of 12 degrees to each other, accom-modating the drum centres without in-curring any fl eeting angle problems.

Th e company will begin delivering the equipment to Mopani Copper Mines in the last quarter of 2015, with installation likely to commence in 2016. Th e drums are being made by a South African com-pany and the drum shafts by an interna-tional supplier. Voith is manufacturing the Hooke’s joints for this application.

Once manufacture of the drum shafts is completed, and following a trial as-sembly in South Africa, the Zambian government will send mining inspectors

to examine and verify all the equipment before it leaves the country. Th ereafter, the equipment will be dismantled and transported on superlink trucks by road to Zambia. Owing to their signifi cant size, the drums will be sent in half sec-tions. All the equipment necessary for this installation will be sent to the mine site in strict sequence, since the main components are too big to be stored on-site for any length of time. Th e total

weight of the components that will trav-el to the mine by road is in the region of 3 000 tonnes, including electrical equip-ment such as transformers.

FLSmidth, the mining industry’s un-disputed leader in deep-level hoisting, is focused on building the necessary skills and experience to become a one-source solution in the mine shaft business worldwide, just as it is in the mineral processing and cement industries. Th is follows a formal integration of the com-

pany’s mine shaft systems capabil-ities in South Africa and Canada in 2012, to form a dedicated business unit within FLSmidth.

The mine shaft systems offering comprises two distinct product lines serving a common and unique sector of the mining industry – mine hoist-

ing and mine shaft equipment technol-ogy – and draws on a spectrum of in-house engineering skills to offer custom-ers a holistic solution. FLSmidth’s global procurement strategy allows the mine shaft systems team to source its equip-ment from all parts of the world, ena-bling it to secure the most competitive prices, while still delivering the quality products with which the company has come to be associated.

FLSmidth double-drum BMR winder showing splash screens and brakes

A one-source solution in the mine shaft business worldwide


A systems approach to transfer point design

A systems approach to bulk solids handling design is essential to

ensure operational characteristics are

matched throughout a mineral processing

plant. So says Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems.

THE MOST recurrent problems on transfer chutes are spillage, blocked chutes, high levels of wear on the receiving belt due

to major diff erences between the material velocity and the belt velocity, rapid chute wear, degradation of the material being transferred, excessive generation of dust and noise, and misplacement of the re-ceiving conveyor belt due to unbalanced loading from the transfer chute.

Baller explains that conveyors, feeders, crushers, hoppers and screens are typical-ly selected based on specifi c operational requirements, with little emphasis placed

on the design of the chutes transferring materials between elements. “However, chutes are essential elements in a bulk solids handling plant, and are also sub-ject to operational characteristics and physical constraints.”

Th e optimisation of chute performance is a process of defi ning the geometry of the chute to reliably convey material from one point to another. Th e complexity of chute performance means that chute de-sign should be carried out at the plant de-sign stage, and not added as a conveyance to transfer material from one point to an-other at a later stage.

“Th e expertise of chute manufacturers is useful during the design stages of a pro-ject to eliminate potential fl ow and main-tenance problems at a later stage,” he adds.

“It is an interesting fact that transfer points can contribute to some of the high-est maintenance costs on a mine, and yet many engineers often do not view trans-fer systems as a critical element of the minerals processing system. Weba Chute Systems believes that transfer points, by the very nature of their application, should be accorded the same level of im-portance as any other machinery in the minerals processing cycle. If one consid-ers the costs of replacing a conveyor belt, and the downtime associated with main-tenance and belt replacement, it would be foolhardy to ignore the implications of ne-glecting this critical factor,” Baller asserts.

Weba Chute Systems’ extensive expe-rience and technical expertise, coupled with its broad applications knowledge, has positioned it as the leader in its fi eld.

MINERALS PROCESSING

ABOVE A systems approach to bulk solids handling design is essential to ensure operational characteristics are matched throughout the plant

LEFT The optimisation of chute performance is a process of defi ning the geometry of the chute to reliably convey material from one point to another


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+27

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Tel: +27 (0) 11 827-9372Fax: +27 (0) 11 827-6132

• Optimum material flow• Up to 80% decrease in material degredation• Reduced dust and noise levels• Virtually maintenance free• Greatly reduced spillage• Significant reduction in belt damage

ABSOLUTEMATERIAL FLOW

CONTROL

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MINERALS PROCESSING

Th e design of systems is undertaken using sophisticated 3D computer software and data received from customers is always verifi ed. In many instances, the highly skilled personnel at Weba Chute Systems

are in a position to make cost-saving rec-ommendations to the customer.

Baller points out that quality manufac-ture also forms an important part of the process and performance guarantees, set

in accordance with operational and appli-cation parameters, are provided with all Weba Chute Systems. Each Weba Chute System is custom designed for the transfer point served and is confi gured to control the direction, fl ow and velocity of the cal-culated volume and type of material pro-cessed in a particular application.

“If you considers that the conveyor belt can account for up to 60% of the capital cost of a bulk materials handling plant, the cost implications of constant replace-ment of a conveyor belt due to wear, can become signifi cantly higher than the orig-inal capital investment. By applying an innovative concept such as a Weba Chute System transfer point, you can substan-tially reduce maintenance expenditure in the minerals processing environment,” Baller concludes.

Weba Chute Systems believes that transfer points, by the very nature of their application, should be accorded the same level of importance as any other machinery in the minerals processing cycle


Screening terminology

LIKE ANY mechanical and phys-ical process, there are scientifi c, industrial and layman terminol-ogies that apply – equally, too,

to screening. To assist, Dabmar Manu-facturing has put together the follow-ing basic list of terms associated with mechanical screening:• Amplitude: Th is is a measurement of

the screen cloth as it vertically peaks to its tallest height and troughs to its lowest point. Measured in multiples of the accel-eration constant g (g-force).

• Acceleration: Applied Acceleration to the screen mesh in order to overcome the Van der Waal forces.

• Blinding: When material plugs into the open slots of the screen cloth and inhibits overfl owing material from falling through.

• Brushing: Th is procedure is performed by an operator who uses a brush over the screen cloth to dislodge material from a blinded opening.

• Contamination: Th is is unwanted material in a given grade. Th is occurs when there is oversize or fi ne-size material relative to the cut or grade. Contamination includes:- Oversize contamination occurs when

there is a hole in the screen such that the hole is larger than the mesh size of the screen. Other instances where over-size occurs is material overfl ow falling into the grade from overhead, or there is the wrong mesh size screen in place.

- Fines contamination is when large

Please contact [email protected] or c +27 (0)82 449 5919 www.dabmar.co.zaww zaww.dabmar.co.ww dabmar co

Absolute Non-Blinding

Screening Solutions DABMAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY (PTY) LTD

Dabmar HP ad.indd 1 2014/10/01 09:45:01 AM

MINERALS PROCESSING

sections of the screen cloth are blind-ed over, and material fl owing over the screen does not fall through. Th e fi nes are then retained in the grade.

- Foreign body contamination is un-wanted material that diff ers from the virgin material going over and through the screen. It can be anything ranging from tree twigs, grass and metal slag to other mineral types and composi-tion. Th is contamination occurs when there is a hole in the scalping screen or a foreign material’s mineralogy or chemical composition diff ers from the virgin material.

• Deck: A deck is frame or apparatus that holds the screen cloth in place. It also contains the screening drive. It can con-tain multiple sections as the material travels from the feed end to the discharge end. Multiple decks are screen decks placed in a confi guration where there are a series of decks attached vertically and lean at the same angle as the preceding and exceeding decks. Multiple decks are often referred to as single deck, double deck, triple deck, etc.

• Frequency: Measured in hertz or rev-olutions per minute. Frequency is the number of times the screen cloth sinusoi-dally peaks and troughs within a second. As for a gyratory screening motion, it is the number of revolutions the screen or screen deck takes in a time interval.

• Gradation (grading, also called cut or cutting): Given a feed material in an ini-tial state, the material can be defi ned to a

have a particle size distribution. Grading is removing the maximum size material and minimum size material by way of mesh selection.

• Screen media (screen cloth): It is the material defi ned by mesh size, which can be made of any type of material such as steel, stainless steel, rubber compounds, polyurethane, brass, etc.

• Shaker: A generic term that refers to the whole assembly of any type of mechani-cal screening machine.

• Stratifi cation: Th is phenomenon oc-curs as vibrations are passed through a bed of material. Th is causes coarse (larg-er) material to rise and fi ner (smaller) material to descend within the bed. Th e material in contact with screen cloth either falls through a slot, or blinds the slot, or contacts the cloth material and is thrown from the cloth to fall to the next lower level.

• Mesh: Th is refers to the number of open slots per linear inch. Mesh is arranged in multiple confi gurations. It can be a square pattern, long-slotted rectangular pattern, circular pattern, or diamond pattern.

• Scalp, scalping: Th is is the very fi rst cut of the incoming material with the sum of all its grades. Scalping refers to remov-ing the largest particles. Th is includes enormously large particles relative to the other particles’ sizes. Scalping also cleans the incoming material from for-eign body contamination such as twigs, trash, glass, or other unwanted over-size material.


MINERALS PROCESSING

Old but still effectiveWater processing in SA’s mining industry is to receive a benefi cial boost with continuous ION fi ltration (CIF). This technology has been around for 50 years but is still impressive.

PLANNED FOR A phased roll-out during 2014, CIF is a sig-nifi cant coup for Multotec. Th e team is excited about the pros-

pects for the treatment of mine wastewa-ter and AMD. By applying the CIF tech-nology to the mining industry, we will be able to contribute to the drive to preserve our valuable water resources,” says CJ Liebenberg, environmental process engi-neer at Multotec.

CIF is based on ion exchange (IX), a technology that has been on the market for over 50 years; it also resembles con-tinuous sand fi ltration with the salient diff erences being that CIF uses charged

IX resin beads instead of sand as its fi l-tration medium, and it ‘fi lters’ dissolved solids out of the solution, in addition to suspended solids. Th is feature of CIF dis-tinguishes it from its competitors in the conventional IX market as it allows for the elimination of a pretreatment stage to remove solids.

Each CIF module comprises a series of columns, each designed for a specifi c function – ionic fi ltration, resin washing (pre-elution wash), resin regeneration and resin rinsing (post-elution wash). Resin moves as a packed bed in the col-umns, continuously being transferred from the bottom of each stage to the

next. Counter-current operation ensures optimum mass transfer and continual high contaminant removal.

Liebenberg explains that the CIF tech-nology complements the other products and services in Multotec’s portfolio. “Mul-totec’s core business is the supply of prod-ucts and services to the mining and min-eral benefi ciation industries, including solid/liquid separation equipment such as

A Clean TeQ operated CIF plant treating 0.6 MLD of borehole water containing approximately 8 000 mg/ℓ TDS, 100 mg/ℓcalcium, 400 mg/ℓ magnesium and 1 000 mg/ℓ bicarbonate


Are you looking for cost-effective size-reduction and classification of ores, industrial minerals and concentrates? Contact Loesche SA to find out the advantages of the Loesche Grinding System for your beneficiation process.

MILLING & CLASSIFICATION IS OUR BUSINESS

Tel: +27 (0)11 482 2933 | Fax: +27 (0)11 482 2940 | Email: [email protected] | Web: www.loesche.com

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illFROM INVENTING BETTER SOLUTIONS

EVERY DAYE V E N 1 0 0 Y E A R S O F B E I N G A N I N N O V AT O R A N D M A R K E T L E A D E R D O E S N O T K E E P U S

centrifuges and fi lter presses. Our aim is to assist in the alleviation of water short-age issues and to encourage sustainable

development in South Africa. Mining is of-ten regarded as being a non-sustainable en-terprise from an en-vironmental perspec-tive and we would therefore like to be-come part of the solu-tion, rather than the perceived problem.”

He continues that treatment of mine water and AMD, with containerised sys-tems, is considered to be niche markets for CIF.

Th e CIF process is similar, in some re-spects, to the Gyp-CIX process that was considered by the In-ternational Network for Acid Prevention for the treatment of AMD. CIF diff ers in a

few respects. Th ese include that lower fl ow rate requirements in CIF allow for a much smaller clarifi er than would be required in Gyp-CIX. Th is attribute is the result of regeneration columns being continu-ously agitated, eliminating the need for a high fl ow rate to keep resin and formed gypsum in suspension. Flow rate, in turn, impacts on the power requirements of the process with CIF requiring less power due to its lower fl ow rate requirements. Th ese

factors result in lower operating and capi-tal requirements than Gyp-CIX.

Liebenberg points out that CIF tech-nology has had signifi cant success in the treatment of coal seam gas (CSG) associ-ated water in Australia. Th ere are indica-tions that such activities might take place in Southern Africa in the near future, and this will therefore be a signifi cant market for CIF.

Although the cost of a CIF system is ap-plication specifi c, it tends to be superior to other technologies on the market, espe-cially reverse osmosis, both with respect to capex and opex. In fact, depending on the CIF product selected – CIF single stage, DeSALx or HiROx – it can be up to 50% more cost-eff ective than convention-al technologies. Th is is primarily due to its simplicity, use of low-cost regeneration chemicals and low power requirements. Zero to minimal pretreatment is general-ly required, especially because the system can operate in the presence of up to 40% solids by weight.

Additional to the benefi ts of CIF men-tioned previously are that water recover-ies exceeding 95% are achievable. Th e fact that it is fully automated enables the sys-tem to operate independently and to be controlled remotely. Due to its simplicity it is easily operated and maintained, elim-inating the need for highly skilled labour. Access to remote locations is allowed for as the containerised systems are mobile. Finally, potentially valuable by-products like gypsum can be produced in a saleable form using CIF.

MINERALS PROCESSING

A mobile DeSALx plant, with a capacity of 0.5 MLD, was used on CSG to produce agricultural-grade product water for livestock and crops. The feed and product water total dissolved solids were 4 500 mg/ℓ and 1 650 mg/ℓ, respectively, with over 90% water recovery. The process consumed less than 0.5 kW/m3


JUNIOR MINING

Predictive discoveryGold fever permeates Burkino Faso. It’s everywhere, and once-primitive greenfi eld methods of mining are fast turning into properly structured and equipped mining operations.

THE BONSIEGA Permit Group covers nine exploration permits totalling 1045 km2 in area, with approximately 100 km of strike

length in the same greenstone belt that hosts the Samira Hill Gold Mine in Niger. A tenth permit, Bassieri, which covers an additional 74 km2, is close to being grant-ed. Most of the permits contain artisanal workings and/or signifi cant gold geo-chemical anomalies.

Th e Bonsiega permits were acquired ei-ther by direct application in PDI’s name or through separate agreements with third parties. Th e company holds 100% own-ership of the core permits which carry almost all of the known, drilled gold min-eralisation. It is also earning either 95% or 100% of three peripheral permits.

In earlier exploration, PDI discovered a series of gold geochemical anomalies, some of which were tested with large reverse cir-culation (RC) drilling programs. A series of prospects were discovered containing ore grade and width gold intercepts. Th ese included Bongou, Dave, Fouli, Laterite Hill, Tamboana and Prospect 71, all of which are 100% owned by PDI. In 2012/13, PDI focused most of its attention on the high-er-grade prospects, especially Bongou. Sev-eral other areas were also tested during the fi eld season with RC drilling, bedrock sam-pling and/or ground geophysics, in order to enlarge the prospect pipeline.

Bongou ProspectTh e Bongou Prospect is located within the Laterite Hill Gold Field in Eastern

Burkina Faso (Figure 1). It covers arti-sanal workings in the form of an irregu-lar open pit approximately 150 m long and 50 m wide. Gold mineralisation is contained within an intensely silicifi ed, quartz-veined and pyritic microgranite intrusion (Figure 2).

Earlier exploration by PDI included rock chip sampling, trenching and one RC drill

hole in 2011/12, which intersected 54 m at 2.1 g/t Au from 36 m, including 20 m at 4.8 g/t Au. A large programme of explo-ration aimed at following up this result commenced on the Bongou Prospect in November 2012, and consisted of RC drill-ing, ground geophysical surveys, bedrock drilling using a power auger, soil sampling, trenching and geological mapping.

FIGURE 1 (top right) Geology of the Laterite Hill Gold Field showing prospect locations

FIGURE 2 (right) Silicifi ed, quartz-veined, gold-mineralised microgranite in contact with foliated gabbro or mafi c volcanics in Bongou opencast mine. Mr Seye Kote, PDI’s Chief Geologist in Burkina Faso, in the foreground


JUNIOR MINING

Bongou RC drillingRC drilling in 2011/12 produced a series of excellent gold intercepts, including:• BNGRC010: 48 m at 4.3 g/t Au from 34 m• BNGRC014: 26 m at 6.9 g/t Au

from 111 m

• BNGRC004: 10 m at 7.4 g/t Au from 47 m• BNGRC003: 102 m at 1.1 g/t Au from 4 m• BNGRC002: 70 m at 1.2 g/t Au from 62 m

(stopped in mineralisation)Nearly all of the gold mineralisation con-sists of altered microgranite, with higher

grades located close to its northern contact with gabbro (Figures 3a and 3b). At a 3 g/t Au cut-off , there are now four high-grade intercepts, all located in this near-contact position, and apparently correlating with each other:• BNGRC010: 16 m at 9.7 g/t Au• BNGRC014: 16 m at 8.9 g/t Au• BNGRC004: 7 m at 10.1 g/t Au• BNGRC001: 6 m at 11.8 g/t AuLower-grade gold mineralisation with an average grade of approximately 1 g/t Au is located adjacent to, and to the south of, the high-grade zone. Th e total true width of the gold mineralised zone is up to 50 m.

Bongou regional explorationPDI’s programme of geological mapping, ground geophysics and power auger geo-chemical sampling generated a new target, approximately 400 m north-west of the Bongou artisanal workings, with a peak value of 4.8 g/t Au. Th e anomaly covers a larger area than the Bongou mineralised zone and remains untested by drilling (Figure 5).

Testing of two other targets along the major Bongou Fault Zone (Figure 6) is

Bongou RC drilling BNGRC004 10 t 7 4 /t A f 47

FIGURE 3a and b (above) Bongou cross sections – (a) Left – through RC drill hole BNGRC010, (b) Right – through RC drill holes BNGRC002 and BNGRC014. No vertical exaggeration. See Figure 4 for drill hole locations

FIGURE 4 (left) Plan view of Bongou Prospect drilling

FIGURE 5 (bottom left) Power auger gold geochemistry contour plan. Note size of Bongou gold mineralised zone for comparison with size of the discovered gold anomalies. Power auger samples were collected at the interface between the overlying cover and the weathered bedrock and analysed for gold by AAS at SGS in Ouagadougou


JUNIOR MINING

largely incomplete because of the presence of thick, wet alluvium. Rotary air-blast testing of these targets will be required in the next fi eld season.

Metallurgical test work – BongouA programme of preliminary metallurgical test work was carried out with the aim of

providing an indication of potential gold recovery by standard CIL treatment. One sample, weighing 20 kg, obtained from seven RC drill holes was submitted for metallurgical test work. Th e test work was carried out at SGS’s Perth laboratories un-der the supervision of Coff ey Mining. A mineralogical study was also carried out by

Roger Townend and Associates. All of the sampled intervals in the Bongou compos-ite sample were of primary (not oxidised) mineralisation. A 500 g screen fi re assay of the composite sample at SGS in Perth gave a head grade of 2.92 g/t Au and a multi-el-ement ICP analysis indicated low levels of potentially deleterious elements (e.g. arse-nic and antimony).

Th e sample was ground to 75 microns and subjected to a standard cyanide leach test over 72 hours. Gold recovery was 94% at the end of the test with 90% recovered in the fi rst four hours (Figure 7). Cyanide and lime consumption were 2.0 kg/t and 0.3 kg/t respectively. Cyanide consumption was not optimised and is expected to de-crease considerably in future testing when oxygen levels are increased to the levels ex-pected in a commercial CIP plant.

FIGURE 6 (left) Regional geological map of the area near Bongou showing location of two target zones (red dashed line ellipses), 4 km and 10 km north-east of the Bongou artisanal workings


DRILLING & BLASTING

Sandvick’s new undersea drum and bulk cutter

Undersea mining

CANADA-BASED Nautilus Min-erals has been granted the fi rst mining lease for polymetallic seafl oor massive sulfi de de-

posits in the territorial waters of Papua New Guinea, where it intends to produce copper, gold and silver. Th e company has completed its fi rst seafl oor production tool (SPT), a high-productivity machine responsible for the bulk of the production. Th e machine’s cutting drum was designed and built by Sandvik and its design is similar to those used on large continuous miner machines.

Th e BC is the fi rst, and heaviest, of the three SPTs to be assembled, weighing 310 tonnes when fully assembled. It is de-signed to be a high productivity machine responsible for the bulk of production.

Nautilus’ CEO, Mike Johnston says “Th is is a major milestone for the company, hav-ing the fi rst of the three SPTs assembled. Th is achievement brings the company all the closer to making seafl oor mining a reality.”

Subsea vehicle designer and manufac-turer, Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, is the compa-ny responsible for building the SPTs for Nautilus. SMD are experts in the “marin-ization” of mechanical, hydraulic, electric

and electronic equipment for use in a subsea environment (water and pressure immersion). SMD uses this skill set as the basis of much of its existing product line in remotely operated vehicles and subsea trenchers. Nautilus is proud to be able to utilize their vast experience in the design, manufacture and testing of our SPTs. Th e BC is the heaviest of the three SPTs, weighing 310 tonnes when fully as-sembled. It is designed to be the high pro-ductivity machine responsible for the bulk of production.

Some world class companies have been involved in the design of the SPTs:• Th e cutting drum of the BC was designed

and built by Sandvik (Austria), a world leader in hard-rock mechanized mining and rock cutting equipment. Th e designs are based on similar designs used on large continuous miner machines used in underground mining and construction

• Th e track sets for all three SPTs have been designed and built by Caterpillar, based on an existing Caterpillar excavator track design. Modifi cation to the track set for subsea operation and required cutting duty was completed by SMD in consulta-tion with Caterpillar and Sandvik

• Th e dredge pumps for all three SPTs have been supplied by Damen, one

of the world’s leading dredge equip-ment suppliers and are based on ex-isting catalogue designs used in the dredging industry

• Th e hydraulic equipment for all three SPTs is based on existing off -the-shelf Bosch Rexroth hydraulic equipment, with adaptations by SMD

• Th e fl exible hoses for all three SPTs have been designed and supplied by ContiTech AG (Germany) and are very similar to the rubber hoses used in the dredging industry

Companies and institutions involved in the simulations and test work of the BC include CSIRO, Cellula Robotics, Deltares, Istanbul Technical University, ContiTech Oil and Marine Corp as well as Paterson and Cooke Consulting.

“We are proud to have such world-class companies and institutions involved in the design and testing of these tools. Th e next step is to carry out commissioning and acceptance testing of the BC in par-allel with assembling the other two pro-duction tools, the auxiliary cutter and the collecting machine,” Johnston says.

How they will workTh e excavation and collection has been split into three individual tasks which will each be carried out by a diff erent ve-hicle. Th e auxiliary cutter is designed as the pioneering machine which prepares the rugged sea bed for the more powerful bulk cutter. Th ese two machines gather the excavated material; the third vehicle, the collecting machine will collect the cut material by drawing it in as seawater slurry with internal pumps and pushing it thought a fl exible pipe to the subsea pump and on to the production ship via a riser system.

Sandvik has designed and built the cutting drum for their bulk cutter (BC), which is the fi rst seafl oor production tool and an important step closer to making seafl oor mining a reality.


DRILLING & BLASTING

FROM ITS ORIGINAL concep-tion, rather than chasing the fast buck, Blue Chip Mining spent 18 months training staff ,

sourcing equipment, carrying out quality control testing and generally polishing its services and products. Trading only began when the company was absolutely sure it would deliver the best possible service to its customers.

Now, thanks to that initial investment, the company is now one of the most reputable and fl ourishing drilling and mining companies in Africa, with big company contracts such as Anglo Amer-ican. Managing director Martyn van Zyl says, “Effi ciency is a major part of our focus, ensuring that we save clients costs and become really competitive in the tendering process.”

Explosive impactBlue Chip Mining has its own blasting licence, as registered with the South Af-rican Police Service. Th is allows the com-pany to handle explosives, perform blast-ing and complete processing to the fi nal product before it goes to the smelt pits for refi nement. Its entire fl eet has also been

Blasting is very dangerous. A skilled master blaster is deliberate, methodical and patient. Being adept at drilling for blasting, Blue Chip Mining has honed these skills to a fi ne art.

equipped with mobile mining equipment, while also changing its workshop to a me-chanical operation, allowing employees to use equipment they are familiar with in every location.

Safety is at the forefront of the compa-ny’s priorities and all equipment meets the country’s robust standards, resulting in exemplary working conditions and a re-cord of safety that is second to none.

“We do a comparative analysis of parts and products, testing vigorously before we promote them to clients, or include them in our operations,” adds Van Zyl.

With further effi ciency targets on the horizon, the company will stop at noth-ing to ensure cutting-edge practices and is currently testing the lifespan of drill bits, to determine the most abrasive met-als. Th e outcome shows exactly what is required for better penetration and how many metres can be mined every minute. Van Zyl explained how the reputation of the company came above everything else. “We don’t want to engage in practices that can cause damage to the company, so ethics are a high currency in our organisa-tion,” he says. “It is essential that we also subscribe to the policies of our biggest

clients because they are constantly under the microscope.”

Commitment to the futureTh e current economic downturn, while proving a big challenge, is overcome with careful planning, regular consultations among staff and using profi ts to improve maintenance. Th is meticulous approach, which has always proved so benefi cial, even before the recession, meant that the company and its 300-strong workforce avoided any long-term problems.

Th e practice of forging good profession-al relationships, formed in a competitive industry, will ensure optimum trading for the company over the next 20 to 50 years. In recent years – particularly since the turn of the new millennium – there has also been a noticeable increase in the demand for South African expertise in civil engineering and mining.

With seven years of faultless opera-tions, industry integrity ingrained in its philosophy, and a position at the summit of its fi eld, the company has every reason to keep chipping away.

Precision drilling for greater effect

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Licence to drill


DRILLING & BLASTING

New rock drill is a leap ahead

With technology, innovation is mandatory. This is especially true in mining, because it translates into productivity increases and greater operating effi ciencies, which in turn translates into increased profi ts.

THE NEW hydraulic underground hand-held rock drill-system (HRD100) from Atlas Copco is one of the most powerful under-

ground hand-held rock drills on the mar-ket today. Th e system consists of the rock drill (RD100), the power pack (PP100) and a selection of water pusher legs. All hoses and cables are included.

In a nutshell, the crucial benefi t of the HRD100 is its outstanding drill rate and considerable energy effi ciency compared to conventional pneumatic or electrical rock drills. Measured noise is approxi-mately 50% lower than that of a pneu-matic drill. Th e polyurethane cover shields noise and makes the unit shockproof. Th e unit can handle a drop of two metres.

It features a fi ve-step water adjustment to help the operator use the right amount of water for each step, when the drilling stops, the fl ow stops automatically.

LEFT User-centric design is at the core of the HRD-system

“We really made an eff ort to provide high drill rates at low operational cost. It is equally important to create a system that saves the operators energy by being light and reliable,” says Oleg Korobotchkine, the product line manager.

Th e stackable PP100 power pack basi-cally manages itself. It monitors all vital functions and can compensate for pres-sure changes automatically. Smart func-tions monitor oil fl ow and oil temperature. Water-cooling and automatic overheat protection means safety and reliability are at its core. Th e system also monitors oil volume and compensates for pressure diff erences. Th is allows you to work with the PP100 at a 45° angle, without power loss. Simple tools make it easy to top up hydraulic oil in the mine. Working un-derground is hard work, but thanks to one-handed operation and carrying han-dles, the HRD-system is making it easier.

Drill features• Energy effi ciency: Input electrical power

to drilling power in drill steel, including rotation -37%

• Drill rate: In rock where equivalent drill rate for present pneumatic rock drills are 500 mm/min at 5 bar - > 800 mm/min. In deep mining, in hard rock, us-ing a drill bit diameter of 34 mm, the HRD100 is four times more productive than pneumatic drills and four and a half times that of electric drills

• Drill depth: With a maximum hole diam-eter of 42 mm, drill bit > 2 400 mm

• Hydraulic hoses: Between power pack and rock drill – 10 to 30 m single way. Colour coded for correct connections

• Electrical cable: Between mains supply and power pack, 20 to 100 m

• Ambient temperature: +5°C to +40°C• Rock conditions: Possible to drill in

all rock conditions, from soft rock ~ 100 MPa (typical in South African plat-inum mines) to hard rock ~ 250 MPa (typical in South African gold mines)

• Drill direction: Able to drill in all direc-tions, horizontal as well as vertical

• Torque: 10 to 25 Nm. Th e HRD100 is fi tted with a torque limiter for operator safety

• Rotation: Adjustable 150 to 200 rpm. Built-in exchangeable valve to optimise drill rate at diff erent rock conditions

• Vibration level: 11 m/s2 (three-axes ISO 5349-2)

• Sound power: 111 dB(A). Th e10 dB(A) reduction in noise compared to a pneu-matic drill is perceived as a 50% reduc-tion to the human ear. Whereas sound pressure is equal to 100 dB(A)


DRILLING & BLASTING

• Water consumption: < 12 ℓ/min• Weight: 23 kg w/o tail hoses, 25.8 kg

with 1.2 m tail hoses• Soft start: Includes soft start (for

easy collaring)• Water shut on/off : automatic, no drill-

ing or no water fl ushing. Ability to ad-just water fl ushing amount (fi ve posi-tions) at drilling. Ability to have full wa-ter fl ushing when not drilling by manu-ally opening of fl ushing port. To be used if drill is jammed in the rock

• Operation and handling: one-hand op-eration controls (power and pusher leg) for operator safety, with front and top handles to be able to hold the rock drill fi rmly and for easier handling

• Pusher leg: Powered by water with sin-gle point stainless steel connection to rock drill. Water pressure controlled by the power pack using a built-in pressure regulator

Power pack features• Physical size: A compact 380 x 695 x

353 mm.• Weight: 45 kg • Power supply: Th ree-phase, 525 V

± 10%, 50 Hz 370 to 470 V with re-duced performance -25%. With emer-gency stop and power on demand there is a reduction in motor rpm while in

idle mode. It has an automatic stand-by mode timer. For protection against electrical shock three basic functions are used:- standard over-current protection- protective bonding of relevant exposed

conductive parts where the continuity of the earth conductor is monitored

- protection by automatic disconnection of the supply if an insulation fault is detected between live parts and earth

• Output hydraulic power: ~ 7.5 kW• Output oil fl ow: ~ 38 ℓ/min• Output hydraulic pressure: ~ 120 bar• Max water inlet pressure: 15 bar• Cooling: Automatic cooling control to

ensure max oil temperature of 55°C

• Electric cable: Cable includes pilot wire and ground supervision. Earthed cop-per screen (shielded)

• Electronic monitoring and signal for service: Oil volume in tank. Oil and mo-tor temperature, power reduction and fi nally shut off if too high. Voltage level of the power supply

• Handling: Robust frame design with shock absorbers to protect functional parts

Th eHRD100 system is designed to let you work; fast, and at a low cost per metre

drilled. It enables you to focus on the rock, and it will keep you pro-

ductive, no matter the rock type. As Oleg Korobotch-kine puts it, “With this

system, you’re ready to rock ‘n’ roll. You do the rock, we

do the roll.”

ACTION 1:Percussive impact

Percussive drilling breaks the rock by hammering impacts transferred from the rock drill to the drill bit at the bo om of the hole.

ACTION 2:Feed force

The purpose of the feed force is to keep the drill bit in close contact against the rock. The engineering challenge is to combine high feed force with good rota on.

FOUR ACTIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL DRILLING

ACTION 3:Rota on

Rota on moves the drill bit to a new posi on to make the next blow as eff ec ve as possible. When the drilling starts you need even and smooth rota on.

ACTION 4:Flushing

Drill systems with a high output need good fl ushing technology to be able to remove drill cu ngs. Par cle size, shape and material aff ect the fl ushing methods.

ABOVE The four actions for succesful drilling

RIGHT The HRD system consists of the rock drill RD100, the power pack PP100 and a selection of water pusher legs


DRILLING & BLASTING

Fractum, a megalodon

rock breakerOpencast mining and quarrying often produces sizeable problems as a result of activities. Dealing with these problems – massive boulders, in particular – needs a special solution. We take a look at the latest rock breaker.

THE WEAR AND tear of tradi-tional mining and quarrying equipment tends to be high. Th is is particularly true when

chisel-operated hammers are being used. Th e chisel, which penetrates hard rock materials, causes excessive vibrations, which are transferred back to the excava-tor. Th is makes the excavator vulnerable to damage and shortens its lifetime.

Due to the traditional chisel-based sys-tem’s technique of penetrating the mate-rial, the wear on the chisel is considerable as well. Th is is especially the case when rock contains a high amount of abrasive substance. Further, the chisel-based sys-tems produce a high amount of fl y rock that not only results in material damage, but is also a serious safety risk.

Now there is another, better solution. Fractum’s impact breakers work with gravity, a principle that minimises the excavator’s vibration to an absolute min-imum. Th is dramatically extends the ser-vice life of breakers, which do not pene-trate the material, and saves money on maintenance and repairs. Eliminating the penetration of material provides a long

service life of the hammer tip as well. Due to the design of the Fractum breaker, the amount of fl y rock is minimised, which enhances safety.

While mining and quarrying companies are usually confi ned to closely spaced blasting patterns to break rock into piec-es small enough to fi t into crushers, large boulders are often left behind. Fractum has developed breakers that make it pos-sible to deal with oversized rocks straight away. Due to the design and use of tech-nology, machines equipped with Fractum breakers won’t hold up the works. Th eir solutions have the capability to quickly and effi ciently break massive boulders, of over 150 tonnes. Where quarries usually pile up and store large boulders, to break them at a later stage using secondary blasting or traditional chisel-based equip-ment, companies using Fractum breakers no longer need secondary processes to deal with large boulders. Th is saves time and money, and increases productivity and safety on-site.

A Fractum impact breaker combined with a quick coupler enables a single op-erator to handle any stockpile of large

boulders straight away. As a result of this technology, just one operator can easily switch from the breaking function to the grapple. Th is improves cost-eff ectiveness and productivity.

Th ese rock breakers have the reputation of being eff ective, effi cient and precise. Th eir high-capacity solutions have an impact power ranging from 80 000 J to 300 000 J. Th is allows for the fragmen-tation of the hardest rock material in just a few strokes. Th e design also works in such a way that the operator can work with precision to avoid fl y rock. Th is helps mine and quarry managers to signifi cant-ly increase breaking capacity on-site while operating alongside other machines.

Avoiding the danger of fl y rock makes the Fractum breaker much safer to use than the chisel-operated system or the drop ball. Th is increases safety in the work environment for the workers and decreases material damage to windows and equipment in general.

Th e Fractum impact breaker is defi nitely an all-round useful machine.

No rock too big for this huge rock breaker


MINE SAFETY

3D laser technology improves safety

THE COMPANY’S mining op-erations consist of managed mines, joint-venture mines and associate mines across

South Africa and in Zimbabwe. Th ese mines extract ore from the Merensky and UG2 reefs, the Platreef and the Main Sulphide Zone.

Th e ore is processed by Amplats man-aged, joint-venture and associate con-centrators, and further processed by the company’s smelters and refi neries.

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) is the world’s leading primary producer of platinum group metals and accounts for approximately 40% of the world’s newly mined platinum.

FIGURE 1 The typical open design

BELOW Mogolokwena Platinum Mine Picture by Jackie Gauntlett


MINE SAFETY

Safety is a primary concern for the company, especially in open-cast mining. With this type of mining, good, as in optimal, pit de-sign is crucial. Benches are normally excavated between 2 to 15 m in height, in stacks of three or four, between which a crest is placed for the haul road. Th e more benches in a stack, the greater the road gra-dient. Benches have a steeper face angle, approximately 35 degrees, while the stack and overall slope angle is approximately 45 degrees. Th is is to prevent slope failures.

From an analysis of the overall slope geometry, as a rule, as steep a slope as possible should be mined in order to reduce the overall stripping ratio. Th is rule, however, is limited by the haul road’s max-imum gradient, which is typically between eight and ten degrees.

Th is requires more frequent and wider crests, and the need to have fl atter slope angles in places to provide slope stability. Slope failure can be disastrous, even catastroph-ic, particularly in ultra-deep opencast mines a kilometre or more deep. In designing the slope, slope angle, slope height and the horizontal-to-vertical in situ stress ratio are some of the factors taken into account, as are the char-acteristics of the earth being mined and groundwater.

“Traditionally, we have used conventional survey meth-ods to monitor slope stability of open-pit slopes. Th is limited the size and number of locations we could survey and the frequency of survey,” says Frans Benadé, sec-tion surveyor. “Th e combination of highly accurate laser scanning units and software specifi cally engineered for this application enables us to cover a larger area at more frequent intervals.”

Amplats is currently operating two Riegl LPM-2K laser scanners. Th ese units are specifi cally designed for the au-tomatic and manual long-range profi ling of surfaces, op-erating at distances up to 2 500 m, with an accuracy of 50 mm. Th e systems perform continuous, 24/7, remote scanning at locations determined by Amplats’ Geotech-nical Rock Engineering team collecting hundreds of point measurements daily. Th e point cloud data collected by the laser scanners is automatically analysed using com-plimentary software supplied by 3D Laser Mapping. By comparing readings against base measurements, the soft-ware can detect surface movement or slope deformations.

“3D Laser Mapping has delivered a safe, accurate yet easy to use solution,” continues Benadé. “Th is has sig-nifi cantly reduced the risk of injury to personnel, prop-erty and equipment, and enabled higher production with increased uptime. It has also reduced the number of re-sources required for ongoing safety monitoring.”

The Riegl LPM-2K laser scanner

NEW FACES, NEW SKILLSColin Thomson has joined 3D Laser Mapping as technical director for mining and monitoring, from September 2014. He will take responsibility for the technical strategy for the mining and monitoring activities of the

UK-based supplier of laser scanning hardware and software.

Colin has signifi cant experience working in the geomatics and monitoring sector in Southern Africa. He spent 15 years surveying in various disciplines after qualifi cation as an engineering surveyor and 15 years as a product manager for mining and monitoring systems. For the past seven years, he has operated Proudafrique, a company specialising in slope stability monitoring systems for mining. This business will be transferred to 3D Laser Mapping.

Muele Radzilani, Proudafrique’s geotechnical support engineer, joins 3D Laser Mapping alongside Colin. She graduated in 2010 with a degree in engineering geology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.


Training for safer mines

SO SAYS Nico Pienaar, director of the Aggregate and Sand Pro-ducers Association of Southern Africa (ASPASA), encouraging

quarry owners to fi nd ways of training staff in a manner that makes them want to be part of broader initiatives to reduce health- and safety-related incidents both at company level, as well as on an indus-try wide level.

While standard-type training in the form of lectures and video are

Eff ective training that engages all levels of employees on a mine and quarry, and positively infl uences their attitude towards mine health and safety, is important to reduce accidents and maintain healthier workforces.

MINE SAFETY

commonplace on our industry, more ef-fort should be made to identify ways of actually engaging workforces across dif-ferent cultures and inspiring them to im-plement what they are learning into their own routines and workplaces.

Poor learning retention“It is important to note that only about 10% of what is learned on a normal train-ing course is retained (and applied) by people once they return to their work-place. In the context of health and safety, this is an unacceptably low percentage, as

every single aspect of this type of train-ing should be applied in order to make a diff erence in the workplace.

“Th is clearly indicates that the type of training off ered to workers should therefore not be standard and needs to appeal to people on an individual basis in order to provide them with a deeper understanding of topics and how it re-lates to themselves and their colleagues in the workplace.

“Health and safety training therefore needs to be developed to encourage in-dividual participation, provide practical examples and appeal to individuals’ sense of responsibility in order to ensure better retention of learned material.

“Th ey should be able to visualise what they are being taught and be given practi-cal ways of applying it to their own work-space to make it eff ective. Th ey should also feel empowered to apply whatever they Heavy-duty jaw crusher


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have learned to their own situations and should be given examples of how they can do so, e.g. the importance of maintaining a neat environment and then be given re-al-life examples of how to organise their workspace and provide safe convenient, storage for their tools etc,” says Pienaar.

Paint a pictureHe adds that scenarios need to be provid-ed that relate directly to the workers so that they can apply their own life experi-ences and identify behaviours that they have applied in the past. Once back at the workplace, they should be required to practice what they have learned in a pos-itive and supportive way, which will help

with the retention of learned material. Post-training follow-ups are therefore an essential part of any training programme and should be checked by those responsi-ble for the initial training, as well as en-couraged by line managers and driven by senior management as a custodian of the safety and health of workers. “Everyone should take part and even senior manag-ers should be seen to actively participate and be part of the company’s drive to im-prove health and safety.”

Managers can assist by:• helping employees understand the broad-

er concepts of health and safety training• recognising employees’ eff orts and

praising their successes

• behaving as role models• identifying success stories and present-

ing them as role models.In this way, workers are constantly

encouraged to use what they have been taught and are more likely to foster and embrace a culture of health and safety. ASPASA and its members are leaders in the implementation of health and safety

initiatives within the sand and aggregate mining industry. Th e association provides members with guidelines and undertakes regular audits of members’ sites in order to ensure compliance with legal and stat-utory requirements.

In addition, the association seeks to actively support training initiatives in order to reduce health- and safety-re-lated instances on mines to acceptable levels. “We encourage active training pro-grammes on our sites and provide regular information and best practices whenev-er they become available, so that we can work towards the industry’s goal of zero fatalities and zero harm by 2020,” con-cludes Pienaar.

MINE SAFETY

“Post-training follow-ups are therefore an essential part of any training programme and should be checked by those responsible.” Nico Pienaar, director, ASPASA


MINE SAFETY

Thwarting danger

NEITHER EXCITING nor romantic, gratings, stair treads, pressed floors and safety handrails are, none-

theless, critical items in the array of pro-active measures to prevent injury and even death on a mine. Without argu-ment, these elements are very necessary precautions and, yet, as with many peo-ple, these safety measures are regarded as irritatingly necessary, especially from a cost perspective.

However, the good news is that, in addition to steel products, there are ex-tremely effective, corrosion-resistant alternatives that will make even the ac-countant happy.

“At Electra Mining, we had an amazing display of our products on show,” says Dodds Pringle, MD of Vital Engineering, South Africa’s well-known local manu-facturer of gratings, stair treads, pressed floors and safety handrails.

“We now manufacture and supply re-inforced glass fibre gratings, which are low-maintenance moulded fibreglass gratings that are particularly suitable for harsh, corrosive environments and where theft of steel is a concern.

Like all things in mining, science is involved. When applied, this improves effi ciencies, reduces costs and increases profi ts. All operations are made possible through people – people who need to be safe in a dangerous environment.

For Pringle, Electra Mining was an in-valuable opportunity for existing and new clients to experience first-hand the material benefits of the company’s product range.

“To see, as well to experience the touch and feel of our products, is a powerful introduction to what we do. In many cas-es, potential customers were not aware of the range of innovative products available, which go far above and beyond the stereotyped ideas that many have of gratings, stair treads, pressed floors and safety handrails. Our products offer many benefits, including lower mainte-nance cycle times, quicker installation, real cost savings and higher perfor-mance options, among other compelling features,” says Pringle.

“As leaders in our industry, our client base has come to expect constant devel-opments and innovative solutions from our company and happily, this year, we exceeded those expectations. We had an array of new products and materials

In addition to steel products, there are extremely effective, corrosion-resistant alternatives that will make even the accountant happy

RIGHT Walkway gratings

BELOW The reinforced fi breglass version of a grating


that, without conces-sion, do not compromise safety or quality. In ad-dition, these products are designed to be cost eff ective, which gives you the best of all these parameters, all in one combined off ering.

“Electra Mining Africa, the largest exhibition of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, off ered us a wealth of opportunities to interact with our cli-ents. It was a vitally im-portant opportunity to meet and greet people, as well as to consolidate existing rela-tionships and develop new ones,” Pringle notes. “Th e value of such an opportunity is hugely signifi cant.”

Th e demand for quality, hardwearing and versatile materials that deliver op-timum safety, particularly in the min-ing sector, is the driver behind Vital

Engineering’s range of products. Th ese products are manufactured using a va-riety of materials, including galvanised steel, stainless steel, aluminium and re-inforced fi breglass, depending on cost and corrosion factors.

“We ran a number of live demonstrations at regu-lar intervals during Electra Mining to practically illus-trate how significant sav-ings can be made through informed decisions. In sup-port of these demonstra-tions, we showcased our up-dated technical information as well as video presenta-tions on numerous aspects of our product offerings.

“In pursuance of fl exibil-ity and meeting customer needs, we have been able to deliver creative solutions using materials and fi nishes

that suit those needs. At the same time, we have delivered increased performance and cost savings, which they have now experienced fi rst-hand,” says Pringle.

The bottom line is that an injury or a life lost is, to a business, a loss of pro-ductivity, and it’s something we can all avoid.

MINE SAFETY

Handrails are crucial to safety


TECHNOLOGY

Lighting up Hotazel

THERE ARE occasions when cash fl ow management demands that sub-projects be complet-ed in as short a time frame as

possible. Project dependencies, by vir-tue of their sequencing and sign-off , de-termine the timeous implementation of production operations.

Building operational infrastructure for a manganese mining project located out-side Hotazel is such an example. North-ern Cape mining contractor, Rock Le-fatshe Mining Services, fi nding itself in this situation, resolved its time pressure problems by investing in fl eet of mobile lighting systems to light up the night. As a result, productivity and throughput ac-celerated dramatically.

Rock Lefatshe’s role in the overall pro-ject, while not as glamorous as other tasks, is no less important – it is, in fact, fundamental. Using a mobile jaw crush-er, the company crushes waste rock to provide sub-base material for the con-struction of the mine’s haul roads and rail network.

Th e purchase of the six nine-metre-high VT1-9 TowerLight mobile lighting sys-tems has proved to be an excellent deci-sion. Th e lights have transformed pro-duction, turning it into an effi cient, yet safe all-round, 24/7 operation that has not only impressed mine management but has spurred Rock Lefatshe’s own growth ambitions.

Nicolan Govender, sales manager at Pilot Crushtec, who supplied the light-ing system, says: “Th ese lighting systems have been an absolute boon to Rock Le-fatshe’s productivity, adding considerable benefi t to their operations. It’s opened up another dimension – the night.”

Rock Lefatshe’s chief executive offi cer, Tamoledi Selane, commented, “Th anks to these lighting systems we have evolved into a successful, productive crushing business that meets its project deadlines. We are encouraged by the excellent after-sales and fi eld-support service we receive

It’s a play on words but, in this instance, it works both ways – lights make many hands work and many hands make light work.

from Pilot Crushtec. Of equal importance is the reliability of our equipment. Now we want to take the company to anoth-er level. We are seriously considering the purchase of a new semi-mobile modular plant to process manganese ore.”

Govender says that Rock Lefatshe’s ex-perience with TowerLights is just one ex-ample of how a peripheral product such as a lighting system can positively infl u-ence and increase the productivity of ex-pensive capital equipment, thereby mak-ing it more cost-eff ective. It enables them to sweat their assets and maximise produc-tivity. Very important-ly, this enhances your reputation, which is exactly what you need to underpin busi-ness sustainability.

He believes that there are many mines in areas like the Northern Cape with open pits that can substantially increase output using mobile lighting systems.

“Th ese lights are ex-ceptionally powerful. Each tower is mounted by four 1 000 W metal halide fl oodlights that can be operated at a height of up to nine metres. Each light can light up an area of up to 6 400 m2. To put it another way, to turn night into day on an area the size of a soc-cer pitch only requires the operation of four of our units.

TowerLights also serves as insurance against Eskom’s pow-er maintenance or

load-shedding outages and are used ex-tensively by miners operating in areas far removed from a mains power supply.

A mining house in Namibia recently purchased a set of lights to illuminate an exploration site in a desolate, uninhabit-ed area. In addition, the system’s inboard diesel generator is often put to work dur-ing daylight hours to provide site offi ces with the power to run air-conditioning, computers and refrigerators.

Turning night into day


TECHNOLOGY

150 tonne dump truck

WITH A 144 TONNE pay-load, the new Komatsu HD1500 fi lls a niche in the market between the manu-

facturer’s own 100 tonne Komatsu HD785 mechanical dump truck, and the region’s most popular 181 tonne Komatsu 730E-AC electric-drive trucks.

Boasting an advanced engine and drive system, the Komatsu HD1500 has sim-ilar productivity characteristics to its electric-drive cousins, with the same go-anywhere ruggedness of other leg-endary mechanical-drive equipment used throughout the company’s extensive heavy-equipment range.

Ready for Africa“In many ways, the Komatsu HD1500 is aimed at contractors and mines that need the fl exibility of a mechanical-drive vehi-cle with a larger payload. It allows them to move the trucks to diff erent high-pro-duction mines around the continent wherever required, without the need for electric-drive service infrastructure asso-ciated with our bigger truck models,” says Louis Kidson, Komatsu South Africa key

Komatsu South Africa is launching its heaviest mechanical-drive dump truck yet to meet the growing requirements for fl exible rugged fl eets in the challenging mine contracting business, as well as burgeoning requirements in the mining industry.

accounts manager. With commonly avail-able service requirements, the trucks will provide heavier, more productive options for the plethora of new mines being estab-lished throughout Africa, many of which are in remote locations. Closer to home, the mechanical-drive trucks are preferred by mining contractors as well as mines that are already equipped to service small-er mechanical trucks, but are looking to increase volumes exponentially with larg-er trucks.

“Our 100 tonne Komatsu HD785 has been around for many years and is a fi rm industry favourite. In recent years, a num-ber of our coal mining clients have begun to push up volumes and, as a result, have enquired about bigger dump trucks. Af-ter thorough investigation, we decided to bring in the Komatsu HD1500 as the most versatile and advanced option for this type of customer and have already stocked and tooled up to enable our service technicians to be able to maintain them wherever they are in the region.

Fleet upgrades“Simultaneously, our mining contractor clients can use the machines to bid for large-scale production activities where

long-term contracts are not in place. Th ere has been a requirement for re-liable 150 tonne mechani-cal trucks to use on a host of new projects and now we will be in a position to supply them.

“Th e Komatsu HD1500 dump trucks have been in operation in other areas of the world for a number of years. Many have also been used in particularly harsh remote areas and have es-tablished enviable track records. Although they

are rugged, they are also smart and are engineered to be effi cient and reliable,” highlights Louis.

“Other smart feature like Komtrax Plus allows full monitoring of the machine on-site and provides technical person-nel with statistical data on the operation of the machine, service requirements and information about the productivity of the machine. Th e trucks also benefi t from the same type of proven frame as their predecessors.”

Noteworthy features and specifi cations include:• high-performance 1 119 kW

(1 500 HP) engine• electric 7-speed transmission with skip-

shift, traction control and automatic speed control

• Komatsu Engineered Standards’ su-per-strong frame design

• Komtrax Plus management system• immediate diagnosis of engine, chassis

and drive system components• traction control• MacPherson independent front-suspen-

sion system• 12.2 m turning radius• payload meter• retarder for constant downhill speed.

High expectationsAccording to Louis, there is a lot of inter-est in the new dump trucks and Komatsu is expecting the Komatsu HD1500 to be-come one of its mainstay models within the Southern African mining market. Add-ing credence to these expectations is the fact that the fi rst two launch units have already been sold and recently entered service on a coal mine near Johannesburg.

“Th e Komatsu HD1500 is a workhorse that is perfectly suited and adapted to per-form in our conditions. It is easy to work on and can carry massive loads all day, every day and that is precisely what most mines are looking for,” concludes Louis.

The new Komatsu HD1500

53INSIDE MINING 10 | 2014

Abrasion resistance

HARDNESS IS quite often used in the fi eld of wear resistance as the criteria for judging al-loys, castings, hardfacings and

overlays. Th e premise is that the harder the material, the greater the wear resistance. While this is technically correct, applying this principal across the board can lead to some catastrophic results. For example, a tool steel and chromium carbide iron with the same 600 Brinell (BHN) hardness will diff er in an abrasion application by as much as fi ve times. Why is this?

Let’s take a look at the hardness test to fi nd some answers. An indentor, made of hardened steel or diamond, is penetrated into the material under a given load and acceleration. After withdrawal of the inden-tor, the diameter or the depth of the impres-sion is measured and reported as a relative number such as Brinnel or Rockwell B, or Rockwell C, etc. Th e size of this impression is quite a bit larger than any of the individ-ual grains or hard particles. Th is hardness test is essentially measuring the average hardness of many particles. It’s possible to think of this test as a macro hardness test. A micro hardness test, on the other hand, measures the individual hardness of each grain or particle. How does this apply to the tool steel and chromium carbide iron? Well,

Hardness does not necessarily mean a higher degree of abrasion resistance. This should be remembered otherwise it could end with catastrophic results. By Robert F Miller

TECHNOLOGY

the tool steel is made up of approximately equal grains with all the same micro hard-ness and consequently returns the same level of macro hardness (600 BHN).

Chromium carbide iron, however, con-sists of very hard particles (1 200 BHN) of chromium carbide embedded in a very soft matrix (200 BHN). Th e individual micro hardness values of the hard carbide and the soft matrix combine to yield a macro hardness of 600 BHN. Th us, it has been demonstrated that, two materials can have the same hardness value and be completely diff erent in structure.

Now let’s look at abrasion resistance. Let’s assume that the material that is doing the abrading has a Brinell hardness value of 750 BHN. Since it is harder than the tool steel (600 BHN), it will wear the tool steel down in short order. Conversely, since the chromium carbides in chrome carbide iron are very much harder (1 200 BHN) than the abrading particles, the wear resistance of chromium carbide iron is much greater.

From the foregoing, it becomes apparent that choosing materials to resist wear based on hardness alone and, in particular, macro hardness values, can be very risky. It is es-sential to understand the materials’ micro-structure to establish abrasive wear char-acteristics. Predicting abrasive wear within

a family of materials with like microstruc-tures is much safer. In this latter case, an increase in hardness almost certainly leads to increased wear resistance.

ROCKWELL (RC) BRINELL (BHN)

20 22625 25330 28635 32740 37145 42150 47555 54660 61365 739

TABLE 1 Rockwell and Brinell cross index

MATERIAL BHNMild steel 120304 stainless steel 250Hardened tool steel

650/700

Hard chromium plate

1 000

Chromium carbide 1 200*Tungsten carbide 1 400*Titanium carbide 2 400*Diamond 8 000*Sand 1 000** Vickers hardness

TABLE 2 Hardness values for common materials


TECHNOLOGY

WorleyParsons adds value through our full scope of services from pit to port including studies, mine planning, impact assessments, permitting and approvals, project management, construction management and global procurement.

www.worleyparsons.com

Environment

& Approvals

Non-Process

Infrastructure

Mine

Planning

Mining & Mine

Development

Materials

Handling

Resource

Evaluation

Mineral

Processing

Tailings & Waste

Management

Smelting

& Refining

Transport

to Market

Realising possibilities...

...from mine to market.

37,50043 166 peoplecountries offices

Intelligent 3D modelI

N PRODUCING a detailed engineering design for the permanent surface and underground infrastructure at De Beers’ R20 billion Venetia underground diamond mine project, WorleyParsons harnessed a methodolo-

gy to create an intelligent 3D model of the vertical shaft that incorporates the historic and technical information of every component. It is believed that this is the fi rst time this methodology is being used on a vertical shaft project from the design stage and this capability is expected to become a signifi cant market diff erentiator for the global WorleyPar-sons’ organisation, one of the world’s largest engineering, procurement, and construction management businesses.

“In using 3D modelling to design the vertical shaft from scratch, the client has been able to review our designs and have any changes incorporated and represented in the mod-el well before fabrication even commences. Th is has eff ec-tively shortened and removed risk from the design process,” says Ryan Illingworth, WorleyParsons’ project manager on the Venetia project.

“Design traditionally begins with 2D modelling and the 3D environment is only then modelled when fabrication of the components begins. However, since the many separate 2D drawings are not linked to each other, there’s always a risk when it’s assembled/constructed that, there will be in-compatibilities. On the Venetia project, as the design pro-cess has advanced, we’ve progressively created a 3D model that presents our customer with a visual representation of the infrastructure.

“Once the mine moves into production, management will be equipped with an intelligent 3D model of the shaft that can be used for maintenance planning and control. Because the model has a database at its core, it will also be able to integrate with other De Beers database systems.”

Th e draughting team at WorleyParsons deployed spent the greater part of a year prior to commencement of the design phase developing a method to network several Au-todesk software packages in a complex array to allow for the creation of the intelligent 3D model.

An intelligent 3D model of the vertical shaft at De Beers’ R20 billion Venetia underground diamond mine project


MINING SERVICES

Remote mining camp management

ONCE THE euphoria of a major diamond fi nd has worn off , the practical realities of turn-ing the discovery into a viable

and functioning commercial mining op-eration begin. Recently, an Australian re-search team identifi ed kimberlite deposits around the south-western slopes of Mount Meredith, in the massive Prince Charles Mountains in East Antarctica.

It is likely that the kimberlites are a re-sult of Antarctica being once part of a supercontinent that eventually broke up into some of the most diamond-rich areas of the world. Gregory Yaxley, a geologist at the Australian National University in Canberra, said that, while kimberlite usu-ally holds valuable diamonds within them, much less than one carat of diamond per tonne of kimberlite could be expected from these Antarctic deposits. Besides the obvi-ous diffi culties miners would face in Ant-arctica, mining on the continent is largely illegal. Even so, we will use this for illustra-tive purposes.

So, what would be involved in setting up a remote mining camp in this isolated part of the world where temperatures drop to a level most of us cannot even imagine? Ant-arctica is a remote, hostile environment surrounded by ice, snow and spectacular beauty. You can expect long periods of ei-ther 24 hours daylight or darkness, and

The people who move in where there is simply nothing but virgin bush, and erect, run and manage a remote mining camp are a breed apart. These groundbreakers provide an invaluable service.

it is the coldest and windiest of the conti-nents – although not always as cold as you might expect. It is also one of the driest continents, despite being covered in ice sheets up to 4 km thick: there is low snow-fall and most of the continent is technically a desert. You survive the cold temperatures by being well trained in advance of the ac-tivities, careful how you dress, by working in a team where each watches the other for signs of hypothermia, and by having all the required equipment at hand. Taking risks is not what you are trained to do.

Given this, detailed project planning and execution will be crucial to the success of setting up this remote mining camp. Of course, your supply chain logistics will have to be exceptional and must include:• specialised accommodation,

centrally heated• catering and food services• laundry• cleaning services• waste management• health services• emergency services• warehousing and asset management• vehicle fl eet management• helicopter services• transportation• fuel supply and distribution.All of this, among a plethora of other detail, is required to sustain life, and productivity.

Th e mining equipment and mining oper-ations are an entirely diff erent kettle of fi sh. It would be like mining in the frozen wastes of Canada or Russia. Nonetheless, attention to teamwork and social interac-tion will be important. Living and working in this type of environment does not suit everyone, even if they think they can cut it. Profi ling people, especially the lead team, will be necessary, and a strong leader will need to be appointed.

MINING CAMP SERVICE PROVIDERSServest provides outsourcing solutions within the mining sector: everything from security, camp management (at the inception of a mine) to sanitation and catering. ACMS Shelela provides village management services for mining, whether it’s a mobile exploration camp, a temporary construction camp or a 15-year steady-state mine village, your crew deserves more than a cold shower and a budget bed. Fedics Site Services is one of the leading sub-Saharan African suppliers of turnkey operational support for remote construction camp management and site catering.

Aerial view of the east coast of Antarctica where diamond-bearing kimberlite has been discovered


MINING SERVICES

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Bauma Conexpo Africa 2015 20

Bluechip Mining 2

Dabmar Manufacturing 34

Emerald Risk Transfer 16

FLSmidth 30

Hansen Transmissions SA 39

Johnson Crane Hire OFC

Komatsu OBC

Loesche 36

Mining Indaba IFC

M&J Engineering 33

Model Maker 46

Multotec Group 21

Pilot Crushtec IBC

Process Vaccum 28

Rio-Carb 53

Vital Engineering 50

WorleyParsons 54

A new centre of excellenceA

T THE OPENING of their new South African head offi ce at Melrose Arch in Johannes-burg, WorleyParsons CEO Dig-

by Glover said, “Th ree years ago, we set out with a vision to establish a sub-Saharan African project delivery organisation and, by 2013, we had established ourselves in projects in Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa. Being intent on partnering with our customers, and our customer’s customers, to transform the continent, we are delivering projects across all sectors.

“Our infrastructure capability has two arms, namely our public infrastructure and our resource infrastructure arms. To-gether, these deal with early works such as social and environmental needs, roads, rail, water treatment works, camp estab-lishment, etc., which are necessary to de-velop new resource projects.

“Th e resource infrastructure arm is a signifi cant part of our future business, because this is what makes a project via-ble. By combining the technical excellence housed in Johannesburg with our knowl-edge of the fi ner elements of African ex-ecution, we believe we will diff erentiate ourselves in the market.

“We off er a team of professionals experi-enced in delivering projects on the ground.

Our front-end advisory team interfaces with our consulting team, drawing expe-rienced technical resources from the local and global organisation to enable the de-velopment of practical and cost-eff ective concepts, which can be taken through to successful project delivery.” Based on its knowledge of executing projects in Africa,

WorleyParsons has its sights set on lever-aging this capability to ensure a greater market share within the African resource energy industry.

TOP WorleyParsons CEO Digby Glover

ABOVE WorleyParsons’ new head offi ce in Melrose Arch

Documents

Inside MIning October 2014