• EXCURSION
Bass Lake offers the community a recreational facility for camping , fishing , diving , canoeing , and 4x4 trails . Loading and hauling at C Pit .
Any excess water is pumped back into the Klip River . The mine and the lake live side by side in a symbiotic relationship , one being the positive off shoot of the other . “ The idea is that ultimately the mine ( B and C pit ) will blend back into its surroundings at the end of LOM ,” says Ackerman .
Operational challenges over the past two years This successful quarry has not been without its operational challenges over the past two years , though . Ackerman mentions three of the greatest challenges notably the intrinsic challenge of the lay of the land and its geology , the Covid-19 pandemic and of course the long-suffering load shedding inflicted by Eskom on operations in the last quarter of 2021 .
The lay of the land Ackerman explains that mining for low -2.5 % silica is no walk in the park and the geology of the quarry poses certain challenges . The mining method used at the quarry is ‘ selective mining ’. The low -2.5 % silica lies in different areas on the mine and identifying these areas and exposing the silica at the right time is essential . The quarry uses Datamine software to plan the mining . “ You must make sure that where you blast for the low silica , you keep that for your low silica market . And the rest of the area is useful for the normal aggregate market .” Low -2.5 % silica is a scarce resource and sought after , as there are not many mines in Africa that can produce it , and it is essential that none of it goes to waste .
The pandemic Ackerman explains that onset of Covid-19 hit the quarry hard in 2020 , affecting the bottom line . The biggest impact was experienced during the sudden hard lock-down in March 2020 . “ We stood for three weeks ,” says Ackerman . Long-term , the pandemic has reduced the three shift per day operation , to a single shift , as the economy shut down , hitting the construction industry hard , with the aggregate market demand shrinking instantaneously .
This forced the mine into an operational restructure in order to survive . The mine now employs just over 110 people , and due to the nature of the operation – most employees work alone in the heavy metal fleet , and the plant workers work in an open area which offers
34 • African Mining • February 2022 natural social distancing – the operation has been able to better manage the impact of Covid-19 on the work force .
The fact that Glen Douglas has an on-site clinic with a permanent nurse , also assisted the operation in managing the situation . Strict protocol , however , increased absenteeism dramatically , but this in turn was a necessity to keep all employees safe . Kinghorn highlights , “ One of the biggest challenges for us as management was managing the psychological effect Covid-19 had on the work force . It was difficult to keep the employees positive .”
He noted that there was a huge drive from Head Office to encourage the Group to vaccinate , and Andries van Heerden , CEO of Afrimat Group , led by example , being one of the first to get vaccinated in the group . Glen Douglas offered on site vaccinations to their employees , and time off was permitted for those who wanted to go elsewhere to vaccinate , with the result that buy-in to vaccinations has most definitely grown .
Load shedding “ Load shedding has adversely impacted our operations ,” says Ackerman . “ The company loses around a shift a day during level 3 and 4 load shedding , having a negative impact on production .”
The quarry has already set plans in place to counter this adverse effect . CAPEX has been approved to put up a 1.6MVA solar farm in 2022 . Installation will hopefully be undertaken by mid-year 2022 .
It doesn ’ t end there , though as there are indirect ramifications of load shedding for the mine too . The quarry ’ s logistics through its supplier Transnet is impacted tremendously . Transnet uses electric locomotives and power outages , cable theft and infrastructure damage experienced by Transnet on a continual basis affects delivery to the quarry ’ s end user ArcelorMittal Steel ’ s Vanderbijlpark and Newcastle Works . “ Product cannot reach the end user on time if Transnet is down ,” says Ackerman .
Unique equipment and traffic management systems improve safety The quarry is unique in that it does not require contractors to carry out the work . “ The quarry manages and operates its own drilling
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