SOUTH AFRICAN SUPPLIERS
“ The potential market in coal is massive ,” Reynders said . “ Diesel LHDs dominate the South African market today in coal , but the miners want to eliminate the underground heat and diesel particulate matter emissions . We are also looking at applying our LiFePO 4 battery solution to the shuttle cars so they can lose the restriction of having a cable . In addition , we are considering converting two locos to lithium battery operation in a platinum mine .”
Reynders says that the South African market is becoming much more mature in its use and understanding of battery technology . While some still want to wait until others test and trial battery machines , on the whole , the majority want to start using the machines as soon as they are available , resulting in high demand .
As battery-electric machine testing ramps up in 2023 and 2024 , Reynders believes demand for new battery machines in South Africa will start to accelerate and customers that have trialled one or two machines will look to wholesale fleet replacement .
Reynders concluded on the company ’ s unique market advantage : “ First and foremost , we are small , so it is easy for us to make decisions . And that is part of the reason customers come to us . The big OEMs can ’ t change things quickly in the same way we can . If the customer wants to try a particular configuration or retrofit , we will work with them to do it where others will not .
“ All of our frames and a lot of our components are made locally , which has also shielded us from some of the supply issues affecting other OEMs . We offer a much faster turnaround time , plus our machines are more cost competitive .”
Paterson & Cooke on mine waste tech
Renowned for its expertise in designing slurry pipeline and mine backfill systems , South Africabased Paterson & Cooke continues to expand its knowhow to include a broad range of engineering services supported by mineral processing laboratory facilities in Australia , Canada , Chile , South Africa , the UK and USA . With the increased focus on governance requirements imposed by the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management ( GISTM ) to improve the storage of mine waste , Paterson & Cooke ’ s Mine Waste Technology group is in high demand . This group combines its experience in tailings dewatering , transportation , deposition , co-mingling and reprocessing flowsheet development , allowing the company to optimise solutions for individual mine sites and define life of mine tailings technology roadmap strategies to meet changing regulatory and ESG requirements .
“ Dealing with mine waste effectively requires balancing the competing requirements of
Paterson & Cooke says its testing facilities can be modified to suit client specific requirements and to test vendor equipment and instrumentation to determine their suitability in specific applications
geotechnical and geochemical stability , water conservation , social licence to operate , people at risk , emissions , risk to operation and lifecycle costs ,” the company says . “ Our process starts with understanding corporate and mine site requirements and , through this collaborative process , we develop a technology roadmap that addresses each client ’ s unique challenges .”
The solutions developed are site specific and focus on each of the processing , transportation and deposition challenges , according to the company .
Mine waste processing includes tailings thickening and filtration , classification of fine and coarse particles , flotation of potentially acidgenerating minerals , co-mingling and codisposal of tailings with waste rock and permutations of these unit operations .
Transportation of mine waste is usually through pipelines , conveyors or trucks ; however the deposition method is highly dependent on the water content of the material , the location and topography of the area , and the required geotechnical and geochemical stability requirements , the company says .
Paterson & Cooke has expanded the range of mineral processing tests provided at its various laboratories to ensure its designs are based on a thorough understanding of the material properties and their influence on the different technologies appropriate for site-specific requirements .
Its testing capabilities include the following : n Orebody : Characterising the orebody , either as run-of-mine material or from drill core , is necessary to understanding the impact on the plant performance as bulk material properties , chemistry and mineralogy change as mining progresses ;
n Bulk solids handling : Transporting bulk solids requires an understanding of the bulk flow properties that include angle of inclination , surcharge and repose , flow functions , chute angles , wall friction and solids compressibility ; n Crushing , screening , washing and classification : Paterson & Cooke ’ s process test work includes sample preparation and unit process performance using jaw crushing , rod or ball mills , dry and wet screening , scrubber and washing tests , low intensity magnetic separation and dense media separation , as well as measuring crushing and abrasion indices ; n Metal extraction : Metallurgical test work includes column and tank leach tests , batch and dynamic tests , kinetic flotation tests and bottle roll tests to maximise metal recovery ; n Tailings treatment : The company has extensive experience in dewatering tailings using thickeners and filters and provides the data needed to select the most appropriate dewatering process for the application ; n Mine backfilling : Mine backfilling requires an intimate understanding of the material properties to determine the most appropriate backfilling solution , and this includes knowledge of the material dewatering requirements , pipeline flow behaviour , and strength requirements of the optimum backfill recipe determined from , Paterson & Cooke says , a well-designed test campaign that considers the material properties and the appropriate binders to meet the mining requirements ; n Concentrate and tailings pipelines : Designing long distance pipelines requires a thorough understanding of variations in flow behaviour
JANUARY 2023 | International Mining