SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPLIERS
“ Once the production shaft equipping is complete , it shall support the bottom of mine lateral development and the service shaft will complete its equipping phase ,” Rodel explained . “ This ensures access is always provided for the critical bottom of mine development .”
The service shaft equipping and “ rope-up ” is expected to be completed by end the of 2024 , allowing the final modifications of the production shaft and the ability for the mine to meet the 6 Mt / y capacity in the future .
While the base case for mining the K01 and K02 orebodies at Venetia Underground uses sub-level caving , Rodel said De Beers was awaiting drilling data to test the feasibility of using block caving on the K02 orebody .
He explained : “ Block cave mining is different to sub-level cave mining in the sense that you only establish one main mining horizon from where ore is extracted . This means that when the block cave is constructed , and the cave reaches maturity , the mining activities of development and drill and blast will reduce significantly .”
In terms of fleet automation for the underground project , Rodel said the operation would “ apply the highest level of automation that is technically and operationally feasible , and that offers benefits in terms of safety and health , quality , productivity and cost effectiveness ”.
He added : “ The automation of mobile equipment will focus on the core mining processes of drilling , rock reinforcement , loading and hauling .”
Automation is likely to be introduced in an incremental manner as the operation builds up to full production , starting with semi-automated machines , progressing to autonomous machines and , ultimately , to autonomous mining systems , he said .
Initially ore will be hauled to surface using a combination of underground and surface haul trucks , but , as the operation matures , the hauling systems will transition to an automated truck loop in combination with vertical shafts for steady-state production .
The former will be helped along the way by 19 units of high-tech equipment from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions .
This includes a range of intelligent equipment from LHDs , dump trucks , twin-boom drill rigs , roof bolters and cable bolters , according to Simon Andrews , Managing Director at Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions Southern Africa . Among the more advanced models are 17 t LH517i and 21 t LH621i LHDs , 51 t TH551i trucks , DD422i face drills , DS412i roof bolters and DS422i cable bolters .
Also included in the package for Venetia
“ Our automated solutions being supplied in Southern Africa continue to advance in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution , and are applied through upskilling around the region ,” Simon Andrews of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions says
Underground is the Sandvik OptiMine ® control system which enables continuous process management and optimisation , focusing on key areas such as face utilisation and visualisation of the operation in near real time . Using data generated by the i-Series machines , OptiMine helps mining operations to achieve the lowest operating costs and highest levels of productivity , according to Sandvik .
Automation appetite
Venetia Underground is not the only Southern Africa-based mine looking at adopting new automation solutions , according to Andrews . He says mines in the region are showing significant appetite for productivity-enhancing technologies , with the mining OEM providing partnerships to make those innovations work in practice .
“ Our automated solutions being supplied in Southern Africa continue to advance in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution , and are applied through upskilling around the region ,” Andrews told IM . “ I believe this approach is what differentiates us from our competition and makes us leaders in technological innovation on the sub-continent .”
In addition to a wide footprint of high-tech LHDs and drill rigs in South Africa , Sandvik ’ s newest equipment is also working in copper and diamond operations in Botswana , and platinum mines in Zimbabwe , according to Andrews .
“ Customers can leverage our automation capabilities as well as the value of data management to monitor and control machine operations in real time ,” he said , referencing the company ’ s Fleet Data Management ( FDM ) system . The FDM system is being rolled out at
certain customer operations and allows mines to analyse information coming from the machines , such as tyre pressures , run rates , hours worked and buckets loaded .
“ We are also partnering with progressive mines to implement a comprehensive automation process , starting with data management to improve equipment effectiveness ,” Andrews said . “ This evolves into semiautomated operations and develops , finally , to full automation of functions such as drilling , bolting , loading and hauling .”
Andrews noted that South Africa ’ s platinum mines , in particular , have embraced technology as a core requirement of remaining competitive and sustainable , engaging Sandvik as partners in their ‘ automation journey ’.
“ It is indeed a journey , as no mine simply buys an automation package and applies it ,” Andrews said . “ There is ongoing change management required – from infrastructure to operators – and we support our customers all the way .”
More control
Epiroc South Africa has also picked up on this trend , with the company recently launching a collaborative space in the country specially developed to “ enhance remote customer support capabilities and to further explore and optimise the company ’ s digital and automation technologies and information management solutions ”.
Its state-of-the-art Control Tower gives Epiroc access to real-time data from its customers , helping the OEM support its “ smart machines irrespective of where in the world they are operating ”, Kumeshan Naidu , Regional Automation Centre Manager at Epiroc South Africa , said .
Naidu said the company had a few clear objectives in mind when deciding to invest in the Control Tower , which is based at the Epiroc head office in Jet Park , Johannesburg .
“ We wanted to establish a platform to showcase our extensive digital and automation technologies as well as our competencies and capabilities ,” Naidu said . “ We also wanted to create a simulated training environment . Thirdly , and most importantly , the Control Tower is wellaligned with our strategy to improve our remote support services to our customers by gaining a better understanding of their requirements .
“ The more remote support we can offer , the better utility customers can get out of their
34 International Mining | JANUARY 2021