ON SITE
The distance from the South Pit to the
main processing plant is about 1.6km,
which is the longest haul, but the team is
mining progressively towards the plant,
Processing the material
however, there is a thick sandstone band,
so our drilling increased more than three
times last month,” he says.
When Plant Equipment & Hire visited
the site, the mine had blasted through
the sandstone belt to expose 2 Seam
coal. The sandstone material is used
to build the mine’s haul roads. Blasting
takes place as and when needed, but on
average once or twice a week. Mining in
the soft clay material in all three pits has
limited the number of blasts required, but
the clay also provides a challenge.
Thompson says the clay causes what
the miners refer to as ‘carry back’ in
the haul trucks. In other words, the clay
gets stuck in the bin and needs to be
cleaned out on a regular basis. “We have
dedicated TLBs in the pits that clean the
back of the trucks on a regular basis. If
they don’t, the trucks deliver half loads,”
explains Thompson.
Khanye mines three coal seams that occur in the
Bronkhorstspruit area.
Guy Thompson, general manager
at Khanye Colliery.
Coal unearthed at Khanye is railed to the
Richards Bay Coal Terminal, and then
exported.
www.equipmentandhire.co.za
SEPTEMBER 2019
15