Plant Equipment and Hire March 2018 | Page 11

NEW EQUIPMENT NEWS Gauteng-based Comar has designed a more compact and mobile plant for easier and more economical transportation, as well as quicker set-up time. Operations manager De Wet Dreyer says many mobile plants still require some components to be transported on low-bed trucks and erected using on-site cranes, contrary to customer need for greater mobility and ease of movement. “We now have a fully mobile design, which consists of two units,” says Dreyer. “The first chassis carries the feed bins and the other the drum, bag house, and other components.” The plant can be set up within hours, either to discard directly into a truck for smaller projects, or to be parked and configured to feed into the standard Comar skip rail and 100-tonne hot storage facility for larger-scale projects. and the significant demand for South African mechanised mining solutions. The MT100 ULP drill rig and breaker has a maximum height of 420mm and a battery life of seven hours. The machine can be equipped with any two attachments, such as a sweeper, scraper, and dozer with an 850kg dozing capacity, allowing the re-mining of inaccessible areas that still contain some reserves in the form of fines. Powered by a trailing cable, the MT1000 features a rock-breaker for non-explosive mining and a patented multi-drill attachment, which allows four holes to be drilled quickly and accurately at the correct angles. Using the technology, two panels are being drilled in a single shift — a performance that CMTI Group plans to further improve. The MT100’s four steerable tracks are individually driven and can swing around a centre point for the platforms to negate vertical obstacles as high as 400mm. CMTI Group began working on the equipment in response This versatile machine can be equipped with any two attachments, such as a sweeper, scraper, and dozer with an 850kg dozing capacity. South Africa-based CMTI Group’s patented, locally developed mechanised underground mining equipment is now ready for commercial contracting. The cutting-edge technology includes ultra-low profile (ULP) mining and integrated brake-testing equipment, as well as rail-bound transport solutions, such as a unique hybrid diesel-electric locomotive. The equipment is the culmination of a 12-year-long development programme run in conjunction with some of the world’s largest platinum-group metal (PGM) and gold mining houses, as well as more than three years of testing in arduous South African underground environments. The technology, which comprises over 70% local content, is being manufactured at CMTI Group’s factory in Tshwane, Gauteng, which commenced operations at the start of 2017. As part of the ramp-up, the group embarked on a fundraising round that will close during the first quarter of 2018, to satisfy growth SA’s CMTI Group introduces ULP mining equipment The MT1000 features a rock-breaker for non-explosive mining and a patented multi-drill attachment that allows four holes to be drilled quickly and accurately at the correct angles. to an increasing demand for locally developed solutions that promote safer gold- and PGM-mining operations, while extending the life of these mines. South Africa’s harsh conditions mean that technology imported from the US and Europe is not always able to meet the requirements of local mines, with working environments characterised by abrasive rock and steep gradients. As these mines become deeper, workers also have to contend with rising temperatures of virgin rock, as well as other factors that pose additional threats to health and safety levels. MARCH 2018 9