African Mining February 2022 | Page 37

EXCURSION •

Delivering blast material to primary crusher

and blasting equipment . This is far more cost effective and from a safety point of view , control is better when you are dealing with your own employees ,” says Ackerman .

“ Once drilling and blasting takes place , material is loaded and hauled to the primary crusher where it is crushed by a 54 / 74 Allis Chalmers Gyratory Crusher creating the intermediate stock-pile . This majestic piece of equipment extends 4 / 5 storeys down and can devour and crush rock sizes of 1-1.2m in size . The crusher is the only one of its kind in the Afrimat Group and certainly only one of two or three of its kind in Africa .”

The advantage of using this equipment is that it saves on blasting time , and it can process from 800 - 1 200 tonnes of rock per hour , cutting down on processing time . The aggregate is then processed and broken down further in a secondary and tertiary crusher . The washing process then takes place .

54 / 74 Allis Chalmers Gyratory Crusher

The quarry also owns and maintains its own yellow metal fleet and is currently investigating OEM-recommended PDS systems . The team is in the throes of testing two systems on the Caterpillar 966 loaders . Ultimately , the best outcome would be to have a system that enables equipment to automatically stop when there is an obstruction . However , this is extremely challenging in situations where equipment moves at extreme angles to the ground , for example when ascending stockpiles , as the ground is often seen by the PDS system as an obstruction and the equipment then halts the vehicle . Currently , alarm systems are the best measure to indicate a possible obstruction , allowing the operator to respond accordingly .

From a safety point of view , the quarry is particularly proud of its traffic management system with dedicated walkways and highly efficient signage and warning signs . Pedestrians are not permitted in the quarry itself . “ The Quarry has a Lost Time Injury Free ( LTIF ) rate of 0 for almost six years now , which is quite an achievement ,” says Els .

Glen Douglas has an extraordinary relationship with its environment and community . Ackerman concludes , “ It is of utmost importance to meet with the community every three months to make sure we are serving them and the environment with the utmost respect .” •

Reclaimer in action .

The quarry has a Lost Time Injury Free ( LTIF ) rate of 0 for almost six years now , which is quite an achievement .