Mining in focus
Time to clean out
the back-ends
South African
underground
equipment
manufacturers
are making their
mark in a rapidly
changing mining
environment,
writes Leon Louw
and journalist,
David Poggiolini.
[24] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2018
A
s South African gold and
platinum mines become
deeper and riskier to mine,
manufacturers of underground mining
equipment are in a race to provide the
best and most appropriate solutions,
as quickly as possible. As more and
more mines talk about mechanisation
and a blast-free environment, there
seemingly is no end to innovative
technologies. The most heartening fact
is that local manufacturers seem to
be at the forefront of this technology
drive. Homegrown companies like
Master Drilling, Rham Equipment,
Aard Mining Equipment, and CMTI
have taken the local underground
equipment scene by storm.
Master Drilling recently launched
its mobile tunnel borer (MTB),
a solution, CEO Danie Pretorius
tells Mining Mirror, that will allow
continuous mining without blasting.
Similarly, Rham, Aard, and CMTI
continue innovating and successfully
testing their groundbreaking new
underground technology at various
sites across South Africa.
Hauling at Two Rivers
African Rainbow Minerals’ Two Rivers
Platinum (TRP) acquired Rham’s HD20
load haul dumpers (LHD) for a trial run in
2010, after the original fleet of LHDs did
not perform as expected. The Rham LHDs
are diesel-driven hydrostatic machines, and
TRP is converting its entire fleet to Rham
equipment. According to Kevin Reynders,
managing director at Rham, the machine
has performed admirably in this hard-rock
application, despite adverse mining
conditions, a rolling ore body, undulating
footwall, and variations on the dip angle.
“Compared to an opencast mine,
where dump trucks will reach
45 000–60 000 hours, the underground
Rham machine continuously loads ore
for 15 000 hours before it needs to be
refurbished. Underground conditions
are tough and abrasive, and there is
constant contact with the hanging wall
and with the front-end rear-end belly
section on the footwall. In addition,
there is always stress on the articulation
underground, which is not what you
experience with surface equipment,”
says Robert Alcaraz, owner of Rham.