Mine excursion
In the pit
Khanye Colliery is an open cast strip mining operation and
consists of three pits: North A, North B and South Pit. Guy
Thompson, general manager at Khanye, explains that North A
and North B pits will eventually merge to become one pit. “There
is an area devoid of coal between the two pits, but they will still
join up within the next year,” he says.
The mine operates two processing plants, but the smaller
plant that was erected to handle the initial Run of Mine (ROM)
will eventually make way for the much bigger and complex
plant. Construction on the second plant is complete and is in
the process of ramping up to full production. The smaller plant
processes about 100 tonnes of coal per hour, or 50 000 tonnes
of coal per month, while the bigger plant’s full capacity is 400
tonnes per hour (7 000 tonnes of coal per day).
The first excavation at Khanye took place in December 2017
when the trenching got underway. The first box cut, in North A
pit, was started in January 2018. Contractor Koza Mining takes
care of mining operations in North A pit and North B pit, while
Canyon Mining Services (CMS), another arm of Canyon Coal,
does all the mining in the South Pit.
Koza Mining uses six Liugong 650 excavators, and they
operate a mixed fleet of Bell and Volvo B40 and A40 Articulated
Dump Truck (ADTs). In addition, six Chinese manufactured
LCMG M85 Rigid Dump Trucks (RDTs) traverse the two pits.
In the South Pit CMS uses two 750 Volvo excavators and
a brand-new fleet of seven A40 Volvo ADTs. A 950 Volvo
excavator and three A60 Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs) were
delivered to CMS during the last week of April.
Thompson explains that CMS has historically purchased Bell
ADTs, Hitachi excavators and Komatsu dozers. “However, we
recently decided to standardise our fleet at Khanye with Volvo
equipment,” says Thompson.
Guy Thompson, general manager at Khanye Colliery.
www.miningmirror.co.za
JUNE 2019 MINING MIRROR [15]
JUNE 2019 MINING MIRROR [15]