Industry intelligence
Aspasa unpacks proximity
detection
MC acquires key properties
Baobab Mining & Exploration, a subsidiary
of coal mining company MC Mining, has
acquired two key properties for its Makhado
Project in the Limpopo province of South
Africa. The two properties, Lukin and Salaita,
which were being used for hunting purposes,
were bought for about R70-million from
private owners.
According to David Brown, MC Mining’s
CEO, the acquisition completes the suite
of surface rights required for the Makhado
Project permit. “With the acquisition of the
properties, the company can proceed with
the geotechnical and related studies for the
mine’s infrastructure. The initial tranche
of the purchase price will be funded from
internal cash flow,” says Brown.
MC Mining has made substantial
progress on the Makhado Project milestones,
including an off-take agreement for
approximately half of the hard-coking coal to
be produced at the mine. Negotiations for the
sale of the remaining hard-coking coal as
well as the thermal coal are at an advanced
stage while funding initiatives are also
progressing.
The mining industry’s efforts to achieve a ‘zero
harm’ approach are achievable, but this will
need a fundamental change in mindset from
mine leadership, which includes a relentless
focus on managing catastrophic and fatal
risks. This is according to Kumba Iron Ore’s
executive head of safety and sustainable
development, Philip Fourie.
“By addressing the leading indicators for
fatal accidents, they will be automatically
eliminated. We know the fatal risks facing
us, and we need to manage them properly,”
said Fourie.
A step-change in the way Kumba Iron
Ore views safety has seen a dramatic drop
in serious incidents and injuries across its
operations, with zero fatalities since 2016.
Since it began implementing a comprehensive
‘elimination of fatalities framework’ in the
second half of 2016, Kumba has remained
fatality free for almost two years, and it has
made great strides in safety, with high-potential
incidents reducing by 77% and total recordable
cases by 45% for the first half of 2018.
Fourie says the elimination of fatalities
approach recognises that fatality prevention
and accident prevention are two different
issues, which demand a complete focus on
managing fatal and catastrophic risk.
“The traditional thinking is that several LTIs
turn into a fatality — that’s simply not the
case. The circumstances that cause fatalities are
totally different to those that cause accidents.
If we had continued with the old approach
of addressing the top five causes of accidents,
we would have only prevented two of our 47
fatalities since 1972,” said Fourie.
Fourie outlined a six-point approach to
achieving a ‘zero-harm’ approach — and it
starts at the top. Firstly, leaders need to change
their mindsets around safety and understand
that whatever happens on their watch is a
reflection of their leadership. At Kumba,
safety results now form part of employee key
performance indicators (KPIs) and as such,
affect their performance-based remuneration.
This is followed closely by creating a culture
of safety and caring at the mines. This takes
time and significant leadership commitment
to establish. “To eliminate fatalities, leaders
must be in the field where the risk work is
taking place. When workers see this, they are
[6] MINING MIRROR FEBRUARY 2019
Zero harm the way forward
Philip Fourie, executive head of safety and
sustainable development.
encouraged to follow correct procedures more.
This has had a major impact on reducing our
accident rates,” said Fourie.
Thirdly, it is vital to implement a well-
designed risk and change management process
that identifies the critical controls of the
fatal risks. Using benchmark figures, a typical
opencast operation has in the vicinity of 800
controls to prevent accidents. About 80 of
these are critical controls, which can result in
a fatal accident if they fail. “If we can ensure
100% compliance, 100% of the time, then we
will eliminate fatal accidents,” said Fourie.
Fourthly, mines must become learning
organisations. They need to learn properly from
their own experiences, from the broader South
African mining industry, and from the rest of
the world.
Fifthly, is the imperative for proper planning
and scheduling of fatal risk work — or, as
Fourie says: “Unplanned work is unsafe work.”
And finally, it is vital to monitor safety
performance and address shortcomings. Every
high-potential hazard and incident has to be
treated as if it were a fatal accident, with the
same rigour and investigation processes.
“We truly believe that zero harm is
achievable; this is supported by the fact that
Kolomela Mine achieved a record 154 injury-
free days in 2017,” said Fourie. “But it’s an
ongoing process. We can’t rest until we have
100% compliance.”
Mining association Aspasa is working closely
with government and role players to ensure
its members understand and adhere to new
requirements relating to proximity detection
systems (PDS) for mobile machines in surface
mining operations.
New legislation promulgated by the
Department of Mineral Resources (DMR)
requires mines to take steps within the
next two years to physically prevent contact
between mobile machines and humans, or to
install PDS on trackless mobile machinery
(TMM) for effective collision management.
These measures need to be in place by no later
than December 2020, failing which severe
action will be brought against responsible
parties and mine owners.
According to Thys Greyvenstein of
Minerals Council South Africa, this is not
as straightforward as it may seem, as proper
risk assessments need to be done first to
know how to comply. “This is precisely why
Aspasa is holding workshops and developing
documentation that will guide our surface
mines in future,” says Greyvenstein.
Greyvenstein explains that to comply,
mines’ management teams need to
understand how to do effective risk
assessments. They need to understand PDS
control systems’ effectiveness and how to
implement traffic management plans that
remove people from harm’s way. They must
also understand that by the time TMM
or alternatives become mandatory where
risk exists, the technology will still not be
foolproof, and mine owners will still need to
look at other ways to reduce the risk.
Wescoal looks solid
JSE-listed coal miner, trader, and supplier
Wescoal Holdings reported solid results for
the six months ended 30 September 2018.
Despite challenging market conditions such as
rand volatility, a technical recession, and policy
uncertainty, Wescoal performed exceptionally
well, with revenue increasing by 28% to
R2.1-billion (HY18: R1.6-billion).
According to Wescoal CEO Waheed
Sulaiman, the company’s management team has
consistently progressed the disposal of non-core
assets and actively sought out acquisitive value-
enhancing opportunities in line with its strategy.
“The company is solidly on track to meet its
production targets and is well positioned for
steady sustainable growth,” says Sulaiman.
Wescoal is in advanced negotiations with
Ata Resources to join the consortium that
intends to acquire the entire issued share
capital of Universal Coal. The company
disposed of Leeuw Braakfontein and Intibane
Collieries as non-core assets in line with their
strategy. According to Sulaiman, about R45-
million has been spent on capital expenditure,
with the focus areas being mine development,
deferred stripping, and maintenance of plant
and equipment.
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