Industry intelligence
COLLIERY DEAL CREATES JOBS Sitatunga Resources purchased Wescoal’ s coal assets near Newcastle, KwaZulu- Natal, for R103-million.
The assets include an approved mining right and overlaying surface rights. Sitatunga signed an agreement to buy the Leeuw Braakfontein Colliery from JSE-listed mining company Wescoal.
Braakfontein Colliery is an advanced-stage exploration property situated on the Klip River Coalfield, located about 10km from the town of Newcastle. The area has a potential for coal extraction through opencast mining at the initial phase as well as underground mining at a later stage.
Arne Hansen, the managing director of Sitatunga, said he and his team are excited about the prospects of converting the potential at Braakfontein into an owned and managed mining operation.“ As a start, it’ s a good investment for us. We are therefore looking forward to start operations as soon as everything has been cleared by regulators.”
The offer by Sitatunga, an exploration and project development mining company, to buy the assets came at the right time for Wescoal, which was looking at disposing of its non-core assets to fund future growth. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
Menar closer to RBCT
Menar Holdings has entered into an agreement to buy a majority stake in Kangra Coal for USD28m. Kangra owns assets in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
The successful purchase of Kangra will give Menar a strategic stake in Richards Bay Coal Terminal( RBCT), the world’ s largest coal terminal. This will work in Menar’ s favour, as exports have gradually increased over the years. Kangra owns a 2.3 % stake in RBCT and has a right to export a total of 1.6 million tonnes of coal annually.
The purchase of a 70 % stake from Madridlisted energy giant Gas Natural Fenosa( GNF), is subject to regulatory approval and the finalisation of discussions about pre-emptive
Lifesaving mine technologies
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research( CSIR) showcased some of the latest technologies to support the country’ s mining sector.
The event took place at the Mandela Mining Precinct in Johannesburg. Among the technologies displayed was a robot platform equipped with safety inspection sensors to enter mines during safety periods. Known as‘ Monster’, the robot aims to assess and identify risks for underground mines.
Ground penetrating radar( GPR), which is being researched as one of the South African Mining Extraction, Research, Development and Innovation( SAMERDI) Advanced Orebody Knowledge technologies, was also displayed. This technology contributes to the Zero Harm objective, by enabling miners to visualise potentially hazardous geological structures in the hanging wall that could lead to falls-of-ground.
The CSIR also developed a pedestrian detection system. The system uses a range sensor to determine the distance to each identified person and tracks each person to determine if and when a collision is likely to occur.
Addressing the media, CSIR mining experts Dr Dave Roberts, Dr Shaniel Davrajh, and Dr Michael van Schoor said the organisation
The RockPulse was developed by the CSIR to improve safety in mines.
rights held by the 30 % owner, Izimbiwa Coal Investments.
If approved, the acquisition will add to Menar Holdings’ growing portfolio and diversified geographical location of assets. The mining investment company already owns Zululand Anthracite Coal( ZAC), which it acquired from Rio Tinto.
Managing director at Menar, Vuslat Bayoglu, said the willingness of the Spanish giant to sell the assets had perfect timing, as his growth strategy through acquisition and investing in existing operations was taking shape.“ We have the right set of skills and a proven track record to operate coal mines in challenging environments,” he said.
is working hard to come up with cutting-edge technologies to improve safety in the mines.
While commenting on the role that the CSIR is playing in supporting the South African mining industry, CSIR principal researcher, Dr Roberts, said the organisation was identified as a primary research provider to the Mine Health and Safety Council( MHSC) Centre of Excellence.
Principal engineer, Dr Davrajh, highlighted the importance of using robotic technologies in the mines. He said using these technologies could assist in reaching some of the areas that are not accessible during an incident. Principal geophysicist, Dr Van Schoor, talked about the use of GPR technology for rock mass stability investigations. He said there was a need for reliable rock mass stability determination.
Dineo Phoshoko
[ 4 ] MINING MIRROR OCTOBER 2018