Indaba preview
South America. The South African
economy is not growing.
In your opinion, which
constraints are preventing
investments in mining projects in
South Africa and Africa?
The control room will play an increasingly important role
in the operations of future mines. In picture is the control
room at Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena Mine, one of the most
mechanised mines in Africa.
As costs continue increasing and
mining companies tighten their belts,
how can new technology contribute
to a more sustainable future?
New methods, like concentration
at source, can contribute to a saving
in treatment costs. Only treat the
ore containing the valuable mineral
and leave the waste underground. In
diamond operations, for example, it
means only processing the 2% kimberlite
containing diamonds and discarding
the 98% waste upfront. Mines can
also save on electricity cost by partly
going off the grid and aiming to be
The main reason is political instability.
Investors want a return on their
investment; hence, the reason for
investing in the first place. The risk
of losing your investment does not
make it worthwhile to invest at all.
self-sufficient in terms of solar power,
energy storage systems, and so on.
With buzzwords like
‘modernisation’ and
‘mechanisation’ being used
more and more, what role can
Multotec play in a more modern
mine of the future?
The aim for Multotec is to have
equipment that can correct itself;
for example, auto adjustment
on spiral splitters and an
auto-correction product box. This
will eliminate the use of manual
labour to do the corrections.
In cyclone development, Multotec
is also working towards detecting
roping conditions using equipment
instead of a physical inspection. A
warning system will indicate that the
piece of equipment is malfunctioning.