INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE
Emerging contractor Lomeza Mining has
been awarded a long- term contract to
load and haul overburden in Delmas. To
complete the contract successfully the
company needs reliable construction
equipment.
Simon Mkhonza, managing director
of Lomeza Mining Services, says he
initially approached Babcock three
years ago seeking reliable construction
equipment for Exxaro’s Leeuwpan Coal
Mine. Today Lomeza’s fleet includes 18
Babcock-supplied Volvo Construction
Equipment machines that have helped the
growing business meet and increase their
production capacity.
Most recently Lomeza has taken
delivery of three Volvo A60H articulated
dump trucks (ADTs) and one EC950E
excavator, adding to their existing fleet that
includes six A35G ADTs, three A45G ADTs,
and three EC750D crawler excavators.
Mkhonza says that as a young
organisation, Lomeza did not have
extensive access to machinery that larger
contract mining companies have and
recalls his first meetings with Babcock
as the owner of a small business with a
large equipment supply problem. After
Lomeza gives a shout
out to Babcock
Lomeza’s fleet includes 18 Babcock-supplied Volvo construction equipment machines.
initial negotiations, Mkhonza took delivery
of two Volvo EC750D excavators and six
A35G ADTs in November 2017. Lomeza’s
fleet of 18 Volvo machines makes it
possible to meet our production targets of
2 million tonnes of overburden a month,”
Mkhonza says.
The Volvo articulated dump trucks and
crawler excavators are both considered
ideal for open-cast mining operations in
southern Africa, with robust drivelines
designed specifically for the challenging
applications. The A60H ADT, in particular,
is perfectly suited for open-cast coal
mining, where short, yet extremely steep
ramps have to be negotiated to access
boxcuts made through overburden. The
EC950E excavator pairs perfectly with the
A60H and has the ability to handle high-
capacity duties in tough applications.
Buckets boost Kusile’s productivity
The addition of special coal-handling
buckets to the three Sany SYL956 front-
end loaders from Goscor Earth Moving,
acquired by Kusile Mining, has improved
productivity dramatically at the company’s
two opencast mines. Kusile Mining is part
of African Coal Trading (ACT), a 51% black-
owned junior mining company.
The addition of special coal-handling
buckets to three front-end-loaders has
improved productivity at Kusile’s coal
mines Mpumalanga.
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
Kusile Mining operates Uitspan Colliery
just outside Emalahleni, and Noodhulp
Colliery close to Eskom’s Hendrina Power
Station. Uitspan Colliery supplies its
run-of-mine material to Puleng, while
Noodhulp Colliery supplies Woestleen. The
two processing plants have a combined
throughput of about 220 000tph, with
Puleng accounting for 80 000t, and
Woestleen the remaining 140 000t.
Two of the three SANY SYL956H
loaders have been deployed at Puleng,
while the third operates at Woestleen.
Brad Freeman, sales consultant for
both brands under GEM explains that,
having previously used rented front-
end loaders, Kusile Mining recently
decided to purchase its own equipment
outright due to assistance from Goscor
Finance.
The front-end loaders had to be
supplied with special 4.6m3 coal buckets,
as opposed to the standard 3.2m3
buckets. Mine manager Dries van der
Vlies explains that the bigger bucket
loads a typical 15m3 tipper in three
loads, compared with six or more with a
standard bucket.
The relative density (RD) of coal is light
(at 1.2) compared to other materials like
sand (at 2.7). “We took into account the
lifting capacity of the wheel loader, the
weight and dimensions of the bucket, and
the specific weight of the material being
handled,” ACT Group Engineer Hendrik
Pieterse explains.
This made it possible to equip the
5t Sany SYL956H front-end loaders,
with an operating weight of 17 100 kg,
with the larger buckets, to allow for
quick and precise loading, resulting in
faster cycle times. It not only increases
productivity but reduces fuel consumption
significantly.
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