INDUSTRY EQUIPMENT: MINING
PERCEPTIONS
HAMPER SURFACE
MINER GROWTH
Wirtgen’s surface miner could be a potential gamechanger, but the South African mining
industry has been slow to accept new technology, writes Leon Louw.
A number of coal mining, bauxite and iron ore operations in Africa have acquired
the surface miner.
T
he best industry technology
typically had its origin in a totally
different application. The diamond
sector, for example, today uses colour
sorting technology that was initially used
in sorting grain in the agricultural sector.
So too, many ideas originally developed
for mobile equipment in the construction
industry evolved into being used in the
mining industry and vice versa.
20
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
German-headquartered equipment
manufacturer Wirtgen’s impressive
surface miner was developed based on
their mobile road construction and milling
equipment technology. These surface
miners have become a great subject
of debate amongst open cast mining
operators in Africa. When watching the
machine in action, it is hard to believe
that the take-up, especially in a country
like South Africa, has been so slow. But
then, it is a new concept for an industry
known to be rather sluggish to adapt to
new technology and change. Furthermore,
South Africans are geared towards deep,
underground operations and bulk surface
mining is not such a big part of the culture
in the country. However, the expanding
coal, iron ore and manganese sectors offer
ample opportunity for equipment like the
www.equipmentandhire.co.za