Industry intelligence
GRANT SECURED FOR NICKEL PLANT Metals and energy company Thakadu Battery Materials has secured a R50-million black industrialist grant from the South African Department of Trade and Industry ( dti ) for the construction of its pure nickel sulphate plant in the North West Province of South Africa .
The Thakadu plant will produce 25 000 tonnes ( t ) of high-purity battery-grade nickel sulphate from the crude nickel sulphate stream of platinum group metals producer Lonmin . However , installed capacity is about 31 000t , so there is considerable potential to increase capacity utilisation and enhance project net present value ( NPV ). Two other saleable streams will be produced by the plant , namely cobalt hydroxide and a relatively pure sodium sulphate . Commercial production is set to get underway in 2019 .
Wescoal steams ahead
DRA EXPANDS FOOTPRINT Global engineering , project delivery , and asset management group DRA has acquired Minnovo , an Australian company based in Perth . Minnovo will expand DRA ’ s growing Australian footprint and add further depth to DRA ’ s metallurgical , engineering , procurement , project management , construction , and commissioning capabilities in Australia , as well as enhance on-the-ground resources to clients in the Asia-Pacific region .
Waheed Sulaiman , CEO of Wescoal .
Junior coal mining company Wescoal recently issued a strategic update on the integration of Keaton Energy assets . Wescoal acquired certain Keaton assets last year .
According to Waheed Sulaiman , CEO at Wescoal , the enlarged business now has coal resources of more than 300 million tonnes , four operating mines , three processing plants , and significant interests in coal supply chain infrastructure .
Sulaiman says that the integration programme is at an advanced stage and progressing according to plan . “ Identified personnel redeployments and overhead reductions are complete , while mining operations at Vanggatfontein , formerly Keaton ’ s flagship mine , are progressing well ,” adds Sulaiman .
Wescoal
IoT essential to gain edge
Businesses in the mining industry are backing the Internet of things ( IoT ) to help them retain their market share . As competition in the sector intensifies , the quality of seams decreases and profit margins are put under pressure .
According to the latest research from Inmarsat , the IoT will play a critical role in helping mining businesses to increase the level of automation and improve production efficiency , enabling them to compete with rivals operating in lowercost markets .
Market research specialist Vanson Bourne interviewed respondents from 100 large mining companies across the globe for Inmarsat ’ s The Future of IoT in Enterprise report , and found that 70 % of mining businesses agreed that the IoT would give them a significant edge against their competitors .
Mining operators further identified how the IoT would help them to bolster this competitive edge , with 41 % reporting that they would use the IoT to increase the automation of business processes , and 44 % saying that it would help them to identify cost saving and efficiency opportunities .
According to Joe Carr , director of Mining at Inmarsat , mining companies across the world are under constant pressure to produce the same product at a lower price than their rivals . He adds that it is becoming harder to find high-quality deposits in lower sovereign risk countries .
This pressure , says Carr , is amplified in developed economies , such as Canada and Australia , where labour costs are much higher than in emerging markets , leaving operators in these territories at a significant competitive disadvantage . “ These businesses must drive down operating costs and improve productivity to remain competitive , and the most effective way to do this is the adoption of IoT and automation ,” he says .
“ Using automation to reduce labour requirements can make a significant difference to an operator ’ s bottom line . For example , an Australian open-pit mine might employ 100 truck drivers each earning more than AUD200 000 per annum , which is then replicated on staff working on the trains , and the maintenance personnel . IoT will be critical in enabling mine operators to reduce the amount of manual extraction and transportation of raw materials , as it will allow for the introduction of more autonomous infrastructure , such as fleets of unmanned trucks and trains . Autonomous technology can also enable an around-the-clock , 365 days-a-year operation , removing the need for shift change and improving safety by removing the person from the environment , further increasing productivity ,” Carr concludes .
[ 4 ] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2018