Inside Mining May 2014

www.miningne.ws

HOT

AFRIC AN UPDATES ON THE

ining GROUND AND UNDERGROUND

SSEAT

Golder Associates’

Riana Munnik on guidelines for water-use licensing P10

COAL OF AFRICA CEO David Brown on Makhado, Vele

‘WET’ COAL Eskom’s supply-chain headaches

BARLOWORLD POWER

WATERBERG South Africa’s next big coal rush

SSPECIAL

W WATER FEATURE P30 ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 7 • No. 5 • May 2014

CONTENTS

A F R I C A N U P D AT E S O N T H E

ining

May 2014

GROUND AND UNDERGROUND

www.miningne.ws

HOT

AFRIC AN UPDATES ON THE

ining GROUND AND UNDERGROUND

S SEAT

Golder Associates’

Riana Munnik on guidelines for water-use licensing P10

COAL OF AFRICA CEO David Brown on Makhado, Vele

‘WET’ COAL Eskom’s supply-chain headaches

BARLOWORLD POWER

WATERBERG South Africa’s next big coal rush

SSPECIAL

ON THE COVER O

P6

I 2013, Northam In P Platinum commissioned B Barloworld Power to ssupply and commission ttwo Cat C175 generators aat Booysendal iin Mpumalanga.

ENDORSED BY

WATER W FEATURE P30 ISSN 1999-8872 • R50.00 (incl. VAT) • Vol. 7 • No. 5 • May 2014

14 EDITOR’S COMMENT

3

New report on SA coal

FROM THE COAL PIT

5

Zimbabwe’s energy future

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

8

SA coal industry under threat

HOT SEAT

20

10

Riana Munnik from Golder Associates

AFRICA ROUND UP

13

Mining news from the continent

COAL

22

14

Taking CoAL to new heights

18

Waterberg appoint a EPCM contractor

20

Kaydon, Cooper at the coalface

22

Black Thursday

24

Insatiable demand for coal

TECHNOLOGY

26

Barloworld Equipment

27

Babcock

56

Anglo launches Fungcoal

COMMINUTION

29

Atlas Copco

OSH EXPO AFRICA 2014

24

54

A breath of fresh air

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014

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MED IA

EDITOR'S COMMENT

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A

NEW REPORT by the Council for Geosciences (CFG) on South Africa’s coal reserves and resources is due for imminent release, according to Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF) technical director, Professor Rosemary Falcon. The report is expected to provide answers to several burning questions in the coal sector, raised at the FFF’s KZN Energy Indaba in Dundee.

These include the extent of the untapped Waterberg coalfield, as well as the exact quantity of coal left over in the traditional Mpumalanga coal belt, centred on eMalahleni and Middelburg. Most of Eskom’s power stations are located in this area, which is also responsible for the bulk of South Africa’s domestic and export coal.

The report is likely to intensify the debate on the strategic importance of the Waterberg coalfield, which has been hailed as the saviour of the country’s coal sector. Exxaro’s greenfield Thabametsi mine in the Waterberg is expected to supply 17 million tonnes a year to Eskom, in addition to a further 2.8 million tonnes to other markets. Meanwhile the 4 800 W Coal 3 power station, Eskom’s successor to Medupi and Kusile, is widely touted to be located in the Waterberg.

However, the CFG report is likely to contain surprises on the exact extent of the country’s coal reserves. Business Day obtained a copy of the research, which is believed to reveal that the Waterberg now accounts for 48.3 billion tonnes (72%) of the country’s total estimated coal reserves and resources of 66.6 billion tonnes, as of November 2011. This compares to 15.5 billion tonnes (28%) of a total estimate of 55.3 billion tonnes, estimated by JH Bredell in 1987, when the last assessment was carried out.

Over the same period, the quantity of coal contained in the Mpumalanga coal belt declined from 51% to only 19% of the total. The latest CFG estimates are likely to be quite controversial in that they reveal that “those three fields still contain an estimated 12.4 billion tonnes of coal, considerably more than the 7.5 billion tonnes that the report estimates has been mined out since 1987,” according to Business Day.

This raises the issue of the Waterberg’s strategic importance, as it is clear that there is a lot more coal in closer proximity to Eskom’s power stations than thought previously. In addition, the undeveloped Waterberg has serious infrastructure constraints at present, while it is estimated it will cost R200/tonne to rail coal from the Waterberg to Mpumalanga, once the requisite infrastructure is in place.

Another feather in Mpumalanga’s cap is that the three Mpumalanga coalfields comprise smaller blocks, ideal for junior miners, which is Eskom’s favoured business model for meeting its BBBEE obligations.

In this issue we also take a closer look at the ‘wet coal’ debate, which began when Eskom’s supply-chain problems at Kendal power station, and its associated Khutala colliery, resulted in the country’s first load shedding since 2008. Grant Wishart from Emerald Green Trading, who has extensive experience in the coal sector, addressed the topic at the FFF’s 8th KZN Coal and Energy Indaba.

Apart from the materials-handling issue of handling fine, wet coal, Wishart said the spotlight rather had to fall on Eskom’s coal procurement policy, as the utility was deviating from its business model of utilising captive collieries for a homogenous coal supply. “Captive collieries mean that Eskom knows where its coal is coming from and what its fundamental characteristics are. When you start to bring in coal from all and sundry, it predicts complications and potential problems,” said Wishart.

There are quite a few power stations without captive collieries, such as Majuba, Camden, Grootvlei and Komati,which can be serviced much more successfully by BBBEE companies, if they have a proper blending programme in place, argued Wishart.

In a fascinating interview, Coal of Africa CEO David Brown tells Inside Mining how he has migrated from the platinum to the coal sector, and the turnaround strategy he has initiated at the company, which is now starting to bear fruit.

Editor Gerhard Hope

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014

3

FROM THE COAL PIT

By Rosemary Falcon

Director, Technical Affairs, FFF

Zimbabwe’s

energy future

The Fossil Fuel Foundation (FFF) hosted the 2nd Zimbabwe Energy Conference at the Wanderers Club, Johannesburg on Friday 11 April.

T

HE CONFERENCE highlighted the significant resources of Zimbabwe’s coalbed methane (CBM), Mozambique’s newly discovered gas fields and the growing need for reliable electricity. As the demand for Africa’s mineral commodities increases, so the need for reliable and cost-effective electricity escalates.

Commerce and communities soon follow – all with a growing need for electricity.

Hwange is the major coalfired power station in Zimbabwe, providing the bulk of the country’s electricity. However, while the national electricity requirement is about 2 200 MW, the country is only able to generate 1 200 MW. Is this an opportunity for energy-sector investors to take advantage of the country’s huge coal deposits, and venture into thermal energy production?

border, reports Gift Chimanikire, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Mines Minister.

Well-known Bulawayo legislator Eddie Cross explains: “A gas field was discovered just off Beira, about 10 km from Beira port on the other side of the river. This gas field has four trillion cubic feet of gas, which is bigger than the fields in the south supplying Gauteng. I am reliably informed

that using this gas, which is only 183 km from Mutare, we can construct a 2 000 MW power station at Mutare within three years.”

Guaranteed power Cross adds: “We cannot expect any substantial investment in Zimbabwe until we are able to guarantee those investors power. This is critically important to us as a nation.”

CBM has become an important source of energy in the US, Canada, China and Australia. Zimbabwe has measured CBM resources that exceed the total measured resources in the rest of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It is estimated that the Hwange/ Lupane basins have over 800 million cubic metres of CBM per square kilometre.

This is equivalent to about 765 billion cubic metres of sulphur-free CBM. Zimbabwe is believed to hold the largest known reserve of CBM in sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, China is flexing its coal-fuelled muscles in the wings. It expects to create 4 200 jobs when its coal mine and 300 MW power station in Gwayi, Matabeleland North, is commissioned in 2016.

Another 300 MW plant is set to be completed in mid-2017.

Zimbabwe is believed to hold the largest known reserve of coalbed methane in sub-Saharan Africa

Extensive coalfields Will the extensive coalfields in the Zambezi and SaveLimpopo valleys remain undeveloped thanks to offshore natural gas reserves, asks John Holloway, a Zimbabwean coalfields consultant. Natural gas and coal deposits have been discovered on both sides of the Zimbabwe-Mozambique

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014

5

COVER STORY

Standby power solution for Booysendal In 2013, Northam Platinum commissioned Barloworld Power to supply and commission two Cat C175 generators at Booysendal in Mpumalanga.

I

NCORPORATING Cat C175-16 diesel engines, the 2 500 kVA units are being used for standby power. A small 45 kVA Olympian unit was also supplied as part of the order. Barloworld Power is the dealer for Cat power systems in Southern Africa.

The power project, completed by Barloworld Power and audited by Caterpillar in May 2013, is being maintained

by Barloworld Power in a customer service agreement.

Booysendal is located on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Igneous Complex, near Mashishing (Lydenburg). The property covers an extensive Upper Group 2 and Merensky Reef mineral resource (103 million ounces of 3PGE+Au). The mine started operations last year and is planned to produce some 2 250 million tonnes of ore a year at steady state by mid-2015.

Booysendal expects to generate around 160 000 ounces of metals in concentrate, together with associated precious and base metal by-products.

6

INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

Other mines in Southern Africa for which Barloworld Power has supplied electric power (EP) solutions include Caledonia Mining’s Blanket gold mine and New Dawn’s Turk gold mine in Zimbabwe, Gem Diamonds’ Letseng mine and Storm Mountain Diamonds’ Kao mine

in Lesotho, as well as South African coal mines Tshikondeni in Musina (Exxaro) and Mooiplaats in Ermelo (Coal of Africa).

Power generation solutions Barloworld’s power generation solutions range from retail off-the-shelf generators

COVER STORY

The Southern African mining industry often needs stable power supply beyond what is available from the national grid Mozambique, Malawi and the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo ensures consistent service availability on the ground. Quick availability of professional support is particularly essential to remote mine sites.

Customer service agreements

to large rental and power plant construction, as well as co-generation projects.

Barloworld Power is able to supply and commission Cat diesel gensets ranging from 13 kVA to 4 000 kVA capacity, Cat gas generator sets from 50 kW to 4 300 kW, and Cat heavy fuel oil (HFO) gensets in the 2 765 kVA to 13 970 kVA range.

In-house engineering expertise is put to work on the selection and design of systems that provide customers with the lowest total cost of electricity, reduce risk and power downtime, extend genset life

LEFT One of the 2 500 kVA units, incorporating Cat C175-16 diesel engines, supplied to Booysendal ABOVE Barloworld Power installed five 1 000 kVA Cat containerised gensets to supply standby power to Letseng BELOW Storm Mountain Diamonds’ Kao mine in Lesotho

and minimise operating cost. Customised solutions are fabricated in Barloworld Power’s Customised Solutions Centre (CSC) in Boksburg, and delivered to site as assembled units ready for installation and commissioning.

Combined heat and power (CHP) technology can be incorporated to offer even higher energy efficiency. The wasted heat generated by the engine can be utilised further for other heating or cooling requirements by incorporating heat exchangers or chillers into the overall solution.

Structuring individual power needs When it comes to structuring individual electric power needs, Barloworld Power provides the options of short- and longterm rental, very large rental solutions, outright purchase, new turnkey installation, upgrading and expansion of prime and standby EP solutions, as well as battery, uninterrupted power supply (UPS) and flywheel UPS. Financing is available at competitive interest rates. Barloworld also represents allied equipment such as Allight mobile lighting towers specific to mine and large construction sites, as well as Sykes dewatering pumps.

Aftersales support is an integral part of EP solutions provided by Barloworld Power. In addition to project management and design, fabrication, installation and commissioning, the CSC structures comprehensive aftersales support options.

An extensive footprint across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia,

Customer service agreements can range from simple maintenance contracts for single units to integrated solutions for complex installations and large fleets, and are fully customised to customer requirements. A scheduled oil sampling programme, operated in conjunction with Caterpillar, is designed to identify failures before they happen, prevent catastrophic failures, encourage planned interventions, extend component life and save costs.

Fast and efficient parts delivery is facilitated by comprehensive parts stores at all Barloworld Power facilities and excellent logistic capability, supported by Caterpillar’s Johannesburg parts centre.

Barloworld Global Power In response to significant opportunities, Barloworld Global Power was formed in 2010 to leverage the strengths and synergies of all its Cat dealership territories, namely Southern Africa, Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and a large portion of Russia.

This enables the group to respond to growing demand, particularly in the developing territories in Africa and Russia, for innovative power solutions in all economic sectors. Focus is placed on providing specialist skills to serve the large minerals exploration and mining industry in both Southern Africa and Russia, which frequently needs stable electric power supply beyond what is available from the national grid. In-house technical training capabilities ensure that Barloworld Global Power maintains a robust skills base.

13 - 4 000 kVA

capacity of Cat diesel gensets

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014

7

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

SA coal industry The 2012 labour unrest, wildcat strikes and poorly orchestrated wage negotiations put South Africa on the map as having a volatile mining-sector labour force while exposing structural problems between unions and government. By George Marais, risk analyst, Coface

S

OUTH AFRICAN LABOUR costs are viewed as being high, largely based on poor productivity and less automation in relation to other leading mining countries.

One reason for South Africa in the past being perceived as an attractive destination was its low cost of labour.

Organised labour has consequently become more demanding in their remuneration expectations. The country now faces the situation of semi-skilled mining workers earning a higher base income than the majority of university-educated graduates.

The increasing involvement of the state in the mining industry is a global trend.

SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths • South Africa has abundant coal reserves • South Africa’s infrastructure to generate electricity from coal is well established • Burning coal is the most costeffective and energy efficient way of generating electricity Weaknesses • High levels of carbon emissions • Ongoing strikes Opportunities • South Africa has the only commercial coal to liquids industry in operation today • Innovative technologies Threats • Government regulation • Transnet freight rail capacity • Competition from neighbouring countries

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INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

South Africa has seen its fair share of state involvement with calls for nationalisation and further taxation of the industry.

Even the more expensive and miningfriendly South American countries have increased their level of state intervention through the introduction of export controls, licences, permits, increased taxes and royalties. Yet South America is forecast to have some of the highest projected mining investment over the next 20 years as a region. It therefore seems that mining investment is not deterred by state intervention, but by prolonged uncertainty.

This is even further exacerbated by the fact that the mining industry has been selected as the most prominent vehicle to deliver South African governments’ socio-economic agenda, resulting in significantly higher socio-economic expectations of miners and communities. Combine this with the challenge of sourcing funding for large-capital projects, and very quickly the hurdle for new investment becomes impracticable.

Despite funding being considered to be the greatest challenge to capital project expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa has the lowest average percentage project cost overrun estimated.

But it seems that South Africa is perceived internationally as a country that is “unstable”, from a regulatory and labour perspective and that the threat of nationalisation cannot be ignored. The combination of these factors will only increase the already high cost of mining in South Africa.

With reference to the coal industry, South Africa is a significant participant in the global coal markets. However, it is not the biggest. China, the USA and India are much larger producers and consumers of coal, while Australia, Indonesia, Russia and Colombia are larger exporters than South Africa.

Yet, South Africa’s coal industry is noteworthy in a number of respects. It is a relatively low-cost producer along with Indonesia and Colombia, has the world’s largest coal export terminal and is positioned conveniently between Atlantic and Pacific coal markets. This gives SA the potential of being a swing producer, able to export competitively to either Europe or the East.

Because South Africa has substantial coal reserves, this potential exists for expanding its coal exports. It could generate much-needed export earnings and reduce its negative trade balance and current account deficit. However, an increase in coal exports could face serious barriers and obstacles such as inadequate rail capacity to the coast. This is because there is a lack of planning and investment coordination between privately owned mines, state-owned rail infrastructure and port capacity.

Weaknesses Environmentalists in South Africa and abroad have criticised the decision of the World Bank’s approval for a US$3.75 billion (R39.84 billion) loan to build the world’s fourth-largest coal-fired power plant in South Africa.

The plant will increase the demand for coal mining and production. Protesters

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

under threat TOP TEN COAL PRODUCERS (2012)

TOP COAL EXPORTERS (2012)

China US India Indonesia Australia Russia South Africa Germany Poland Kazakhstan

US Australia Indonesia Russia South Africa Colombia Kazakhstan

3 549 Mt 935 Mt 595 Mt 443 Mt 421 Mt 359 Mt 259 Mt 197 Mt 144 Mt 126 Mt

Steam 34 Mt 144 Mt 390 Mt 110 Mt 72 Mt 72 Mt 33 Mt

Coking 63 Mt 140 Mt 14 Mt 1 Mt

Exports Total 97 Mt 284 Mt 390 Mt 124 Mt 72 Mt 75 Mt 34 Mt

Source: World Coal Association

Source: World Coal Association

are urging the bank to stop supporting the development of coal plants and other large emitters of greenhouse gas and polluting operations from coal mining.

Eskom is the biggest producer of carbon emissions in South Africa, at 228 million tonnes last year.

Opportunities Sasol operates the only commercial coalto-liquids fuel production facility in the world. Sasol’s Secunda plant produces around 160 000 barrels of petroleum per day as well as a range of petro-chemical products. The future of coal-to-liquids (CTL) in South Africa and in the Southern Africa region is positive, given the area’s considerable coal reserves, which are estimated at between 28 billion tonnes and 33 billion tonnes.

THE COFACE GROUP The Coface Group is a global leader in credit insurance, offering companies around the globe solutions to protect them against the risk of financial default of their clients, both on the domestic market and for export. In 2012, the group posted a consolidated turnover of €1.6 billion, (R23.57 billion) with 4 400 staff in 66 countries. In South Africa, Coface provides credit protection to clients. Coface South Africa is rated AA+ by Global Ratings.

Threats The African National Congress (ANC) concluded at its national conference in December 2012 that state intervention in selected mineral industries was required in order to accelerate the industrialisation of the country.

Expect, then, the possibility of tax levies on coal exports which would secure coal for Eskom as it seeks to power downstream businesses. State intervention may even extend to partial nationalisation of some assets, although the ANC seems to have excluded wholesale nationalisation.

At present, South Africa produces fractionally less than 95% of its electricity from coal-fired power stations. That is the world’s highest proportion, and it is a proportion that is unlikely to fall significantly any time soon, not at least until the first new nuclear power stations come on stream.

The country has little or no hydroelectricity potential; Eskom cannot delay the construction of new power stations if further ‘load shedding’ is to be reduced. Thermal power stations can be built more quickly than nuclear ones; solar and wind power are expensive and only viable in areas remote from the national power grid; and SA cannot risk relying overly on imports of power from countries to the north that have hydro potential. As a country, South Africa will remain essentially self-sufficient for its electricity, which means that coal can look forward to strongly growing domestic demand.

South Africa ranks fifth as a hard-coal exporter, behind the US, Australia, Indonesia and Russia. It is well known that South Africa exports its best coals and burns the poorer quality in power stations specifically designed to handle the lower calorific value and higher ash contents. But export demand for lower-quality coal seems set to increase as India builds new and efficient thermal power stations along its western coastline.

This increase in demand for lower grades of coal is coming at a time when an additional 24 million tonnes of combined annual capacity is being added to the Richards Bay and Matola coal terminals.

This means Eskom may no longer be the only buyer of South African poorerquality coal. In the past, coal producers wanting to sell to Eskom have been tied into long-term contracts that, at best, offer steady but unexciting profits. That supposedly accounts for some 80% of Eskom’s consumption – the remaining 20% is bought on the spot market and at spot-market prices.

But as Indian import demand grows and as import prices for lower-grade coals start responding to the higher prices of oil and export coal, Eskom could well be faced with paying market-determined export prices for its spot-coal purchases which could further affect their electricity pricing to consumers.

Another challenge is the (B-BBEE) Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining Industry, signed in 2002, and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (2003), which have established targets for increasing HDSA representation in management to 40% within five years and transferring ownership of 26% of mining assets to HDSAs within ten years.

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014

9

HOT SEAT

Guideline for water-use licensing S Golder Associates has developed a guideline for water-use licence application for a key mining client that it hopes will become an invaluable resource for the industry, Riana Munnik tells Gerhard Hope.

OUTH AFRICA’S legislation in terms of water use is the most progressive on the continent, says Munnik, who is the divisional leader of the Integrated Water & Waste Management Planning Division at Golder. “We have fine legislation, but while we are more advanced than other countries, it is the efficient implementation that is the big challenge.”

It is for this reason that Golder worked with one of its key mining clients to address the inevitable grey areas in applying for a water-use licence by developing a risk-based guideline to facilitate the process. “The risk-based approach is

something that is supported by the Department of Water Affairs (DWA),” confirms Munnik. Indeed, Golder was appointed by the DWA to revise and update Regulation 704, known as GN 704, made in terms of Section 26 of the National Water Act, which relates specifically to the protection of the water resource in mining and related activities.

Munnik explains that the National Water Act, 1998 (Act No 36 of 1998) mandates the DWA to protect, use, develop, conserve, manage and control the country’s water resources in an integrated manner. Therefore water users such as mines are required to submit water-use licence applications to the DWA for the authorisation of water uses associated with planned and/or existing mining operations.

Water uses that require authorisation Examples of water uses that require such authorisation are the abstraction of water, whether from a borehole or river, or even transferring contaminated water from underground workings into a treatment plant. “What is important from a mining perspective is that pollution and stormwater control dams and mine-residue disposal facilities, such as tailings dams, all require authorisation in terms of the Act,” explains Munnik.

However, the problem is that while the Act was developed as long ago as 1998, the DWA only ever brought out a single guideline in 2007. “There is no clear interpretation of what constitutes a water use,” notes Munnik.

“Recently we saw the DWA regarding dust suppression on mine roads as a water use, whereas previously it was not.

This leads to a situation where a client may have to consult a lawyer to argue that this is not a water use. That is the dilemma: should mining clients contest the DWA’s interpretation, or simply abide by its rulings?

Acid mine drainage

10 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

HOT SEAT

two years realistically and up to six years “Getting the in other cases. “We application refer to this process right from as the art of water licence application”. the get-go is “This really places of particular a restriction on new importance.” developments in the mining industry, as Riana Munnik, Golder any new water use cannot commence without the necessary authorisations (that is, a water-use licence) issued by the DWA. Therefore it is very important to provide the correct technical supporting information to the DWA in the Industry practice format of an integrated water and waste “In many instances, mining clients just management plan (IWWMP) to supconcur and fill out the forms and apply. port the water-use licence application,” That leads to a certain practice within says Munnik. the industry that is not aligned with the original intent of the law,” argues Munnik. “The interpretation of the Act has Dedicated team of experts grown organically, but it has never been Golder has a dedicated team of experts a framework, or been proactively thought specialising in the compilation of IWWthrough; that is why it is so difficult for MPs, with Munnik herself having been in mining clients, in particular.” Munnik the sector for 20 years. The IWWMP prosays the solution to this dilemma lies in vides a short-, medium- and long-term the water-use licence application. “This is water and waste management framea critical component in defining upfront work for a mine, specifically in terms of which water uses are under considerastorm water, groundwater, process water tion,” says Munnik. and waste.

Getting the application right from the “The action plan of an IWWMP is an get-go is particularly important, as the excellent management tool to guide an DWA does not have a regulated timeindustry such as mining for the impleframe for the issuing of water-use licencmentation of a range of measures to imes. In practice, the DWA assessment proprove its environmental performance and cess can take 11 months (if it is quick), to save costs by implementing pollution prevention instead of treating water or waste at a high cost,” says Munnik.

WISA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE Again a major stumbling block is that Golder Associates will be exhibiting the DWA does not have a document that and presenting at the WISA Biennial provides clear guidance related to the Conference from 25-29 May at exact legal definition of water uses. “This Mbombela in Mpumalanga. has resulted in the DWA regulating onGolder will facilitate workshops on: site activities, such product stockpiles, • mine water by means of the water-use authorisation • integrated water resources process.

It is therefore possible that the management and regulatory water uses associated with a particular performance measurement mining operation can change based upon system (RPMS) the latest interpretation of the Act by • biomimicry DWA offi cials.

• waste discharge charge systems.

A presentation will also be given on the environmental mineralogy of Ghanaian gold belts and the implications for mine water management.

For more information contact Lucinda Scholtz on +27 (0)11 313 1151, or email lscholtz@golder.co.za.

Consistent approach “In many instances, the DWA officials responsible for managing catchments and associated mines and industries are inexperienced, and do not have the legal insight into the original intent of the NWA,” argues Munnik. “On a national level, there is also not always a consistent

approach between the various regional offices of the DWA related to water-use authorisation and the definition of water use.”

Thus it is entirely possible for a mining client to apply for water-use authorisation for activities not legally defined as water uses in the Act. “This has resulted in unnecessary delays and a huge backlog in the water-use licensing process,” points out Munnik. This led to Golder working closely with one of its key mining clients “to take a proactive approach and document legally defensible definitions of water use to prevent the client from applying for authorisation of activities not deemed to be water uses.”

The resultant guideline developed by Golder incorporates “a risk-based approach to deal with water uses that are either not legally defensible or clear-cut.”

This risk-assessment process was developed further to determine the risks associated with mining activities that may be considered a water use by the DWA, but for which there is no legal backing.

Risk assessment Munnik says that Golder’s key mining client will utilise the water-use identification guideline and accompanying procedure and the outcome of the activity or project-specific risk assessment to inform management decisions related to the water uses associated with an activity or operation for which the client will apply for authorisation in the future.

“Another solution to the dilemma of the delay in the issuing of water use licences by the DWA is the continual follow-up with the DWA during the assessment phase. The DWA periodically requests additional information from applicants. Due to the potential change in departmental requirements, it does seem that the goalposts keep on moving, which is why it is critical to maintain contact with the DWA during the process,” says Munnik.

This is why it is important for mining clients, in particular, to approach a seasoned consultancy like Golder, which has not only established a close working relationship with the DWA, but also has an intimate understanding of its requirements, in addition to submitting applications of a sufficiently high quality, with the required technical supporting information.” Golder Associates will also be exhibiting at the upcoming WISA Biennial Conference (see sidebar).

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 11

AFRICAN ROUND UP

MINING NEWS

from around the con nent

in associa on with GUINEA Five women and two girls were killed on Tuesday, 15 April in a landslide at a gold mine in northeastern Guinea, reported Yahoo News.

The accident occurred in Kintinian, a settlement by Siguiri, a city on the Niger River near the border with Mali.

“The collapse of the mine, which also wounded at least eight people, including two seriously, occurred at dawn in a gold mine frequented by illegal miners,” a police spokesperson said. About 20 miners were killed in a landslide at a gold mine in Siguiri in November last year, while another eight were killed in the eastern town of Mandiana in March this year. Guinea is one of Africa’s most resourcerich countries, with extensive iron ore, gold, bauxite and diamond reserves. However, it remains one of the world’s poorest in terms of development, ranking 178th out of 187 countries in the 2013 UN Human Development Index.

GUINEA The Ebola virus that has killed over 120 people in West Africa, mainly in Guinea, this year is a new strain, evidence that the disease did not spread there from outbreaks elsewhere in Africa, reports CBC News. “The source of the virus is still not known, but it was not imported from nearby countries,” said Dr Stephan Gunther of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany. He led an international team of researchers who studied the genetics of the virus

and reported results online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Health officials reported earlier that the Guinea Ebola was a Zaire (the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) strain, different from the kind that has caused cases in other parts of Africa. The latest research analysed blood samples from 20 patients in the current outbreak and found the strain was unique. Mining companies in Guinea locked down their operations and recalled expatriates in the wake of the Ebola virus, Reuters reported. Expatriates were transferred temporarily to their home countries, according to a spokesperson for Brazilian iron-ore miner Vale, which has a project in Guinea.

NAMIBIA Goldman Sachs has upgraded B2Gold (TSE:BTG) to a ‘buy’, seeing an upside for the company due to “imminent production growth” from its Otjikoto project in Namibia.

The Vancouver-based gold miner is up 38% year-to-date.

It saw its share price rise 1% on the Toronto big board to just under US$3 (R31.70) on Tuesday, bringing year-to-date gains to 38%. Goldman’s price target of US$4.20 suggests lots more buying still to come.

According to B2Gold’s January 2013 feasibility study Otjikoto could support an open pit gold mine with a 12-year mine life, with average annual production during the first five years of 141 000 oz of gold per annum, with an average operating cost of US$524 per ounce.

ANGOLA De Beers is to be granted a new concession for diamond exploration in Angola, according to Geology and Mines Minister Francisco Queiroz. The company last explored for diamonds in Angola between 2005 and 2012.

It is based in London and the majority is owned by Anglo American. “The company is making a new bid, and another investment will be approved,” Queiroz told Reuters.

Russia’s Alrosa, De Beers’ main competitor, operates the Catoca mine in Angola, the world’s fourth largest, in a joint venture with Endiama.

Queiroz said a new deal between Endiama and Alrosa, announced in February, to explore in eastern Angola could produce huge results, with the Russian firm to spend US$15.5 million on rights and over US$150 million if deposits are located.

ZAMBIA Zambia’s copper and cobalt producers will not be able to afford the 29% increase in the electricity tariff approved by the state regulator, which will affect mining output. Chamber of Mines of Zambia chief executive Maureen Dlamini said in a statement that the increase did not take into consideration the delicate nature of the mining business, currently dealing with weak copper prices, down almost 10% this year. The body represents major producers, such as Vedanta Resources, China Nonferrous Metals, First Quantum Minerals and Glencore Xstra-

ta, which have invested billions of dollars in expansion projects in the country in recent years. Zambia’s mines use about 68% of the country’s electricity, while less than a quarter of the population has access, according to Bloomberg.

MOZAMBIQUE Brazilian giant Vale announced at the beginning of April that it had suspended coal shipments from its mines in Mozambique after a Vale train carrying coal from the Moatize mining complex came under gunfire. The attack, which injured a train conductor, was blamed on disaffected members of Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance), the Western backed rebel movement that battled the government during the Southern African nation’s 16-year civil war. In June 2013, Renamo also threatened the Sena railway line, the sole link to the Beira port for a handful of coal mines operated by AngloAustralian giant Rio Tinto and Vale, located in central Tete, a province in Renamo’s heartland. Shortly after that, Mozambique troops attacked the base of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama in central Mozambique, sending him into hiding. Renamo stated that the attack signalled the end of the Rome General Peace Accords, the 1992 deal that ended the civil war that began not long after independence in 1975, during the height of Africa’s Cold War proxy fights, killing an estimated one million people.

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COAL

Taking CoAL to new heights Newly appointed Coal of Africa (CoAL) CEO David Brown talks to Gerhard Hope about the challenge of moving from the platinum to the coal sector, and his turnaround strategy for the company.

B

ROWN HAS an abiding passion for the mining industry. Having retired from Impala Platinum (Implats) in June 2012, he was looking for his next challenge. “I was evaluating what to do in the next stage of my career,” he tells Inside Mining. “I feel really passionate about mining, and wanted to stay in touch with the industry. During the period leading up to my retirement, I had been having discussions as to what the next phase of my life should look like.”

Brown says he had assumed a number of non-executive director roles, from Vodacom to E Edcon and Accenture, but mining was still his first choice.

“Then I was presented with this opportunity,” he says simply. opportu

Brown was appointed CEO and executive director of CoAL with effect from 1 February 2014. “Quite clearly, CoAL was a company not without its issues and problems, but I saw it as a unique challenge,” he says frankly. “From my point of view it meant I could stay in the mining industry. I had met many colleagues and acquaintances during my time there, and I certainly enjoyed the camaraderie, so I really wanted to remain a part of it.”

Quite clearly it is also an industry faced with its own unique challenges. “The mining industry has been in a very difficult space for the last three to five years.” From the vantage point of his tenure at Implats and now CoAL, Brown reflects: “We find ourselves at a fairly interesting place. I really think it started to go in a different di“Quite clearly rection when we had Makhado is the the first Eskom crisis in

game changer for Coal of Africa.”

David Brown, CEO, Coal of Africa

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2008. We had barely recovered from that when we were confronted with the financial crisis and the halving of commodity prices overnight, which had a major impact, and then over the last two to three years we have had prolonged labour unrest and declining productivity.

Pivotal role “Essentially we are at a turning point now in terms of whether we either go on a high road or not. I think the mining industry can still play a pivotal role in providing large-scale employment, but it needs stability, particularly to encourage investment. Mining is a long-cycle investment.

Regrettably I would say that the last five years have been punctuated by uncertainty and policy incoherency in terms of Vele is a brownfield expansion project with a US$40 million budget

COAL

direction, and that certainly has impacted significantly on investment in mining and in this country. Again I think it is hugely disappointing because quite clearly what we need is more investment, so we can create more jobs, in order for the industry to have a positive impact on all stakeholders and communities.”

Brown adds that the current challenges facing the platinum sector in particular have ramifications for the entire industry.

“Quite clearly the current labour dispute between the major platinum producers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is obviously of concern to the industry in general. I think without a doubt there is a need for us to have a new contract between labour and the companies themselves to ensure their sustainability going forward. Linked to that sustainability is the need to deliver greater value to employees. At the same time, employees have to realise that there has to be a transfer of greater value back to the companies themselves in the form of increased productivity. That challenge is probably still the biggest at the moment.

I will not say it is unique to the platinum industry. I think it is fairly common in the mining industry in South Africa at this point in time.”

Brown is excited about the opportunities presented by his new position at CoAL. “For me, the real opportunity is around the fact that the company has access to a fantastic suite of assets.” These assets vary from hard coking coal to thermal coal. The latter is “well oversupplied at this time, with prices being quite weak, so it is not exactly an exciting outlook for the next couple of years. Certainly the metallurgical coal, being a rarer source, is more

exciting. I like this rarity, in addition to the fact that CoAL has access to a significant proportion of the hard coking coal resources in the country. From that point of view there is a good upside opportunity for us to work towards realising that value for all shareholders.”

six-month period. We then got experts in to test the semi-soft coking coal fraction in particular. All that was concluded

by August 2013, with a positive view that we could produce a good-quality semi-soft coking coal product from that colliery,” says Brown.

Twofold challenge

Potential users

Brown sees the challenges as being twofold: “One was taking a company that was in a rather poor state and trying to get it over the many different hurdles and legacy issues.” This process has been ongoing for the last 12 to 15 months, and is expected to be finalised within the next 6 months.

“That will be a triumph in itself in terms what we have achieved in a short period.

I think we have done most of the right things at this point in time.”

The next challenge is linked to the opportunities, which is “starting the value creation side of the equation.” This focuses on two projects, namely Vele and Makhado. “These are two exciting projects going forward, and two very different projects,” says Brown. Vele is a brownfield expansion, much quicker than a greenfield project, and can therefore be brought to account and into a cash-holding position “a lot quicker than we could with Makahado.” The plant modification costs at Vele, including ramp-up and capital costs, are estimated at about US$40 million.

“We had to confirm the quality of the coal at Vele. We did comprehensive testing and additional drilling for about a

“We then had to embark on a process of testing that coal with potential users, one of which was ArcelorMittal South Africa.

We kept the colliery open for an additional month while we produced a test sample.”

This was concluded in December 2013, with Brown confirming that the steel company is “happy with the quality.” The process going forward involves looking at entering into commercial offtake agreements with potential users of the three different coal products derived from Vele. “We believe there is a reasonably-sized market in close proximity to the colliery where we can deliver coal to those users at a better price than they are currently obtaining.”

Brown confirms that CoAL has approached Eskom for a possible offtake agreement for the unsized thermal coal from Vele. Even considering the fact that we are negotiating with third parties in a weak market, these discussions have progressed to the point where “we have made various presentations to a number of commercial banks to look at the debt-funding part of the project. We will finalise the funding process as soon as possible,” says Brown.

US$40 million

estimated cost of the Vele project

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 15

COAL

Realising possibilities...

ABOVE Makhado will provide CoAL with a significant resource and production base BELOW A decision was taken in August 2013 to close the Mooiplaats operation

However, “Makhado is the game changer for CoAL,” says Brown. “It would certainly provide the company with a significant resource and production base. In fact, when we combine the production base of both Makahado and Vele, we are targeting to be just under a seven-million-tonne/year producer, comprising about 2.3 million tonnes of hard coking coal and then probably another 300 000 tonnes of semi-soft coking coal.”

Regulatory approval process

...from mine to market.

Resource Evaluation

Mineral Processing

Mine Planning

Tailings & Waste Management

Mining & Mine Development

Smelting & Refining

Materials Handling

Environment & Approvals

Transport to Market

Non-Process Infrastructure

Makhado has currently embarked on a regulatory approval process. “We are working on our empowerment transaction plan. We have had good discussions with the communities and signed a memorandum of agreement for a 20% stake in the project. We believe we are very close to getting the empowerment side of the equation squared away. That would then allow us to approach the government at provincial and national level in terms of empowerment credentials to look at an application for a new-order mining right. Once a new-order mining right is granted, we would then obviously apply for an integrated water-use licence.” Brown says: “We would look at completing the process this year. That would then put us in a position of looking for a strategic partner, who would certainly have a potential interest in entering into an offtake agreement for the hard coking coal product as well.”

WorleyParsons adds value through our full scope of services from pit to port including studies, mine planning, impact assessments, permitting and approvals, project management, construction management and global procurement.

43

countries

165

offices

38,700

people

www.worleyparsons.com

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COAL

Both Vele and Makhado form part of a comprehensive turnaround strategy that Brown has helped to formulate over the past 15 months. “Our first aim was to provide some stability in the short-term by enticing a strategic investor.” This proved successful, with Beijing Haohua Energy injecting US$100 million into CoAL for a 23.6% stake. “That was really a life-saving injection at that point in time,” says Brown.

The next step was to assess the company’s cost base. “We had to go through

DAVID BROWN Brown was appointed non-executive chairman of CoAL on 6 August 2012, and subsequently became acting CEO on 1 June 2013. He became CEO and executive director with effect from 1 February 2014. Brown was employed for 14 years at Implats, where he was CFO from January 1999 to August 2006, and then CEO from September 2006 to June 2012. He is also a nonexecutive director at Vodacom (from January 2012 to date) and Edcon Holdings (January 2013 to date), as well as being a board member at Accenture South Africa. Brown is a chartered accountant, having completed his articles at Ernst & Young, graduating from the University of Cape Town with a BCom (CTA).

quite a painful but necessary process of reducing head count by about 30% to 40%.”

Brown says this also involved slashing “superfluous overheads”, which is expected to result in a 50% to 60% reduction in these particular costs. “The overheads are now appropriate to a company of our size and where we are in terms of our evolution.”

The company then had to take a closer look at its thermal coal or non-core assets.

“Both Vele and Mooiplats were making

significant losses every month, and quite clearly it was an unsustainable position.

Therefore we took the decision in August 2013 to close Mooiplaats and place it on a care-and-maintenance basis. Ahead of Vele being prepped for its plant modification process, we effectively wound down production on that colliery as well, which was completed around October 2013.”

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COAL

Waterberg appoints EPCM contractor The Waterberg Coal Joint Venture Partners (WCJVP) has completed a feasibility study into the development of an opencast mining operation to produce 10 million tonnes of coal a year for Eskom for an initial period of 30 years.

T

HE STUDY HAS been carried out on the resources that reside within two tenements, namely Smitspan 306LQ and Massenberg 305LQ. These are two of four tenements held under a mining right that the Department of Mineral Rights granted to Sekoko Coal.

The JORC-compliant resource statement represents a substantial increase in the coal resource of the Waterberg coal project properties. It effectively doubles the measured resource to 2.07 billion tonnes, with total resources of 3.883 billion tonnes being covered under the tenements under the mining right.

The geotechnical investigation by Coffey Mining included the geotechnical aspects of both the mining and infrastructure for the study. The production volume requirements of the WCJVP mine dictate that a massive mining method be applied.

Due to the nature of the coal reserve, underground methods cannot supply the required tonnages economically. A totalextraction mining method is necessary in order to maximise the recovery of the resource to meet the 10 Mtpa, 30-year life-of-mine project requirement.

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Terrace mining is the preferred mining method, as it can supply the required tonnages and is already being applied successfully at the neighbouring Exxaro’s Grootegeluk operation. The method is most applicable, as the 24 benches of the pit will not allow immediate waste dumping directly over the pit (as is the case with a dragline and strip mining), and hence necessitate the use of trucks to haul and dump the waste material on a designated area outside the pit footprint.

The mining operations will take place within Smitspan and Massenberg farms.

A 36.5 m servitude – including a railway line and water-supply pipeline – runs along the eastern borders of the Smitspan, Massenberg and Hooikraal farms.

A statutory 9 m servitude (boundary pillar) is allowed for around the pit where no surface structure exists.

The rock-mass analysis and design proposed is valid for an open excavation and is valid to maximum depth corresponding to the depth of the deepest geotechnical borehole logged. The maximum planned depth of the bottom coal seams along the northern boundary of Smitspan is at 240 m below surface. Rock-mass characterisation was conducted per geotechnical unit, and the slope design evaluated per defined geotechnical sector. This study is considered to be adequate for a Level 3 study as defined in Guidelines for Open Pit Slope Design (2009).

The project will employ a truck-andshovel fleet for waste and coal mining.

Two types of fleet will be employed. A smaller-sized fleet will be used for mining benches with thicknesses less than 3 m and for top soil removal (for example, CAT 740B ADTs matched with CAT

390DL backhoes), and a larger-sized fleet (for example, Cat 797F trucks matched to Cat 6090FS shovels, and CAT 789D trucks with CAT 994FS loaders), will be used for mining benches with

WATERBERG FACTS AND FIGURES South Africa has an estimated 32 billion tonnes of coal reserves.

About 70% of these resources are found in the Waterberg, Witbank, Highveld and Ermelo coalfields, with the remainder in the Sasolburg, Free State, Springbok Flats and other smaller fields.

Exxaro has entered into a 40-year agreement with Eskom to supply 14.6 Mtpa to Medupi, from an expansion on the Grootgeluk mine in the Waterberg coalfield.

Presently, the Grootgeluk mine and adjoining coal beneficiation plant make Exxaro the sole coal producer in the Waterberg.

The proposed greenfield Mafutha Project is to obtain coal from the Limpopo’s Waterberg region from Exxaro and Sasol’s own mining initiatives in the Waterberg. Project Mafutha may come on stream in 2016 requiring 10 Mtpa of thermal coal by 2019. Production from the diminishing reserves of the original Twistdraai shafts and Brandspruit mine will be replaced respectively by the new Twistdraai Thubelisha shaft in the northeast and the Impumulelo mine in the southwestern portion of the Secunda complex respectively. The Shondoni project is intended to replace Middelbult by 2015.

COAL

thicknesses of greater than 3 m and bulk coal removal.

In the study, SRK used estimates supplied for Caterpillar equipment from Barloworld Equipment for similar projects. The equipment estimates are based on conditions as stipulated in the OEM handbook and experience from both SRK and the Barloworld team.

As per Eskom’s request, the top coal zone is to be kept separate from the bottom coal zone. The coal-quality data

indicates that a full wash is required for the top zone while a partial wash (deshaling) will suffice for the bottom zone. A conventional coal-density separation beneficiation plant is to be built capable of beneficiating up to 23.5 million tonnes of raw run-of-mine coal. Based on the latest mine-schedule requirements, four coal-preparation modules are required at peak production, each rated at 825 t/h.

The plant will consist of: • four x 825 t/h coal-preparation

modules, including high-gravity separation utilising dense-medium cyclones • spirals for fine coal beneficiation (0.63 mm x 0.15 mm) • ultra-fine coal (0.15 mm) is dewatered in a tailings thickener • small and fine coal products will be dewatered with vibrating basket centrifuges • tailings to thickener • filter plant to dewater thickener underflow • water clarification and reticulation system.

The plant capacity is designed to achieve: • raw-coal feed rate of 22 million air-dry tonnes/annum) • plant utilisation (on coal) of 6 600 hours a year (550 h/month).

The study was completed pursuant to the memorandum of understanding with Eskom for a proposed coal supply agreement (CSA), and is confidential. The WCJVP is presently updating the study, which will be released as a full bankable feasibility study upon completion.

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COAL

Kaydon, Cooper at the coalface Kaydon slewing-ring bearings and Cooper split-to-the-shaft, roller bearings are renowned for minimising downtime and maximising productivity in the mining industry.

K

AYDON BEARINGS and Cooper Bearings, both divisions of Kaydon Corporation, are leading global manufacturers of bearings that increase profitability in surface and underground mining operations around the world. The two product ranges are represented in South Africa by Bearings International.

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In punishing operating environments like mining, heavy equipment must not only take a beating, but come back for more.

With diameters of up to 240” (6.1 m), Kaydon slewing ring bearings are ideal for shovels, excavators, stacker reclaimers and other large mining machinery.

Phumi Motsamai, Kaydon product manager at Bearings International, explains that Kaydon in the US focuses mainly on the defence and aerospace industries, followed by heavy earthmoving equipment such as that used in mining. With the former two industries not

being that prevalent in South Africa, Kaydon sees its main opportunities in the mining industry.

Slewing ring bearings “Kaydon in the US is a leading manufacturer of slewing rings for the defence and aerospace industries, where the quality standards are very high. These same LEFT Kaydon slewing ring bearings are ideal for mining shovels BELOW Major equipment like stacker reclaimers incur significant wear-and-tear

COAL

ABOVE FAG brass cage spherical roller bearings for coal-mining equipment

standards are evinced by the manufacturers of earthmoving equipment, which is why Kaydon is sufficiently confident to be able to offer double the normal warranty period,” says Motsamai. In addition, Kaydon remanufactures and provides new replacements for any OEM bearing, with faster delivery, a two-year warranty, and as-new or improved performance. Mine operators have found they can save up to US$250 000 (R2.6 million) compared to an OEM replacement bearing.

The company’s bearing remanufacturing programme returns worn bearings to service in like-new condition. Its inventory of replacement swing bearings includes new replacement bearings for popular hydraulic shovel and excavator makes and models.

Coal-mining industry “When you look at the coal-mining industry, Bearing International’s focus will be a combination of FAG and Kaydon products in order to target the stacker reclaimer business,” says Coenie van Deventer, FAG product manager at Bearings International.

Ian Robertson, director: bearings and allied products, comments that stacker reclaimers, in particular, are a lucrative and growing market segment that Bearings International is definitely looking to make inroads in. “Stacker reclaimers are not only prevalent in large coal-mining operations, but are also deployed in the power-generation sector, where they can be found working in coal yards for Eskom, for example,” points out Robertson.

With the last new stacker reclaimer sold

on the Witbank coalfields in the 1970s, preventative maintenance is essential in order to keep this critical equipment up and running. Maintenance is particularly important from an Eskom point of view, with the utility not being able to afford any downtime or bottlenecks at its coal yards and collieries.

Replacement vs new When the time comes to repair or replace a worn swing bearing, the challenge is to convince mine operators to opt for Kaydon products instead of OEM-specified bearings. “With the reduction in skills in South Africa, people are more comfortable to opt for what they know when it comes to replacement as they are often not confident enough to research and compare new products and technology,” says Motsamai.

Robertson concurs: “That is the big challenge for South African mining and industry in general. They do not have the capex to replace machinery, while the maintenance schedules are being extended simply because the budgets are not there to meet them. Therefore it tends to be crisis management: if it breaks, only replace what is needed. Ideally it should be planned maintenance, according to a schedule of a plant nearing the end of its life, at which point it either needs a complete overhaul, or replacement. However, the general approach tends to be ‘as and when’, unfortunately. I think that is across the mining industry though, and not just particular to coal mining.”

Neither is this limited to the South African mining industry. A survey by Coal Age magazine found that 56% of US respondents had decreased their capital budget and, for the second straight year, equipment upgrades took priority over

new equipment. With existing equipment needing to work harder than ever, Kaydon provides an ideal way to lower costs while improving performance.

Significant cost savings For example, two US mines saved more than US$200 000 each by ordering new Kaydon replacement bearings for their Hitachi EX5500s. An Australian mine replaced an O&K RH200 bearing with a Kaydon remanufactured core, saving more than US$250 000, while an Appalachian basin mine bought a new Kaydon replacement swing bearing for its Cat 5230, saving more than US$100 000.

In the coal sector specifically, Kaydon remanufactured a Hitachi EX3500 swing bearing to as-new condition for a top US coal producer. This added 29 000+ hours to the bearing’s operational life, with a concomitant saving of US$200 000. And neither is this a once-off: Kaydon remanufactures some 1 500 slewing ring bearings a year, in a dedicated, ISO 9001:2008 facility in the US. Cooper split roller bearings are not only used in the design of new mining machinery, but are a perfect drop-in solution where solid bearing replacement would be too time, and labour, intensive. Cooper compact split bearings provide long life and ease of maintenance, withstanding the most demanding conditions.

Bearings are available in a wide size range (1.3/16” to 60”) and a variety of series (from light duty to extra-heavy duty) for a range of mining applications, including materials handling, hauling and winding, stockpile and surgepile management, as well as screening, sizing and washing.

Cooper seals provide excellent flexibility in difficult mining environments, with full integrity and minimal foreign material ingress.

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BLACK Thursday

On 6 March, ‘Black Thursday’, Eskom instituted load shedding for the first time since 2008. Mining consultant Grant Wishart argues that Eskom is deviating from its supply model of using captive collieries.

T

HE DAY HAS since been dubbed ‘Black Thursday’, as the electricity utility struggled to prevent a total system collapse. This was due to the loss of four units, or over 3 000 MW, at Kendal in Mpumalanga, the largest power station in Eskom’s 40 000 MW-plus fleet. The units were switched off after wet, fine coal clogged the logistics system linking Kendal to BHP Billiton’s Khutala colliery, effectively cutting the units off from their fuel source. Kendal burns about 50 000 t of coal daily, of which 40 000 t is supplied fresh from the mine.

Addressing a briefing hosted by the South Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday, former Eskom CEO Brian Dames said he wanted to see five-daysworth of coarse dry stocks replenished across the fleet. Dames also requested a comprehensive report on the coal-supply breakdown from both the Kendal power station and BHP Billiton Khutala colliery management teams. This followed a visit to Kendal and Khutala on 10 March by Dames and Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba. Dames met with the Chamber of Mines on 10 March to request whether

39 000

Total number of employees at Eskom

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it could help Eskom source affordable coarse coal.

Wishart is leery of the wet coal theory.

“Why is it that the rain has been so bad of late, yet power stations have been going for 40 to 50 years? What makes the current situation so unique? Wet coal blocks the system; it is more a materials-handling issue than a problem with the coal itself.

Wet coal does have an impact, but not in terms of power-station design and operating fundamentals.

Mining fundamentals “Smaller collieries start shallow, which reduces the cost of opening a box cut. Mining fundamentals state that you open your pit at the reef’s deepest point. You should not have any problem in the pit, unless it is catastrophic. If you have a colliery with proper stacker reclaimer and stockpile facilities, and produce a proper-sized coal fraction, you cannot by any stretch of the imagination have any problem with wet coal.”

Wishart says the fundamentals of power generation are well known and simple enough to adhere to. “When you set up a power station, you set it up with a certain

Kendal typically requires that coarse coal comprises 60% to 70% of what it burns

heat value that needs to be fed in. You have got to get the volatile matter correct, so that the material can start burning. Sizing is very important. There are certain parameters. The abrasive index is the quantity of discard material, which is stone. If it is too high, it wears out the mechanical parts of the power station and hence the need for regular maintenance. These are the fundamentals we need to keep in mind.”

As for using captive collieries as a coal source, Wishart comments that it is a sound business model. “What you do is geologically prove a coal reserve suitable for power generation purposes, whatever the criteria need to be, and put it out to tender. The mining house that wins the tender then gets to run the mine, which is captive to the power station.” The attendant mine could have a 40-year lifespan.

Captive collieries “Captive collieries are very important, and that is generally how things were run in the past. Captive collieries mean that Eskom

R91.5 billion

Eskom’s turnover in 2011

COAL

knows where its coal is coming from and what its fundamental characteristics are. When you start to bring in coal from all and sundry, it predicts complications and potential problems,” says Wishart.

The equation is more complex when multi-product mines are added into the equation. These mines beneficiate the coal that is produced, taking off an export fraction and then supplying Eskom with the middlings fraction. Wishart says this poses no problem, as long as the coal that is supplied is homogenous. “It is better to put a homogenous, substantially single-origin coal into a power station, which can then be tweaked for maximum efficiency.

Regular maintenance A regular, organised maintenance programme must be adhered to in order to ensure the availability of the full base load. “If you fall behind or do not maintain this season, you just delay the inevitable, whereby you will have increased maintenance and unplanned shutdowns. When Eskom adopted a profit incentive, the temptation was to push maintenance out in order to inflate short-term profits.”

The Mining Charter promotes BEE activity in the coal sector, which is good for the country’s advancement.

However, the problem arises when Eskom deviates from a single-source supply in order to satisfy its BEE obligations. “There are quite a few power stations without captive collieries, such as Majuba, Camden, Grootvlei and Komati, that can be serviced much more successfully by BEE companies, if they have a proper blending programme in place,” argues Wishart.

COLLISION WARNING SYSTEMS INTRINSICALLY SAFE SOLUTIONS INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING, TELEMETRY, MONITORING AND CONTROL SOLUTIONS ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORING INSTRUMENTS ASSET MANAGEMENT AND SOLUTIONS

Bone of contention Another bone of contention is preferential consumers such as South Africa’s aluminium smelters, which were established at a time of plentiful cheap power, when they entered into long-term pricing contracts that currently have to be subsidised by other users. “The price per kWh for an aluminium smelter is way below the production cost for Eskom. They absorb two power stations out of the 12 or 13. Therefore 15% or 20% of total power production is being subsidised by the rest of us. In addition, the aluminium smelters are exempt from load shedding.”

Despite these myriad problems, Wishart contends that “Eskom-bashing” is counterproductive. “You can say all you want to from the sidelines, but if all you are going to do is criticise, you actually have not done anything. Let the experts start talking and putting some constructive proposals out there.”

INSTALLED CAPACITY Coal-fired (10 + 3 demothballed) Nuclear Hydroelectric and pumped storage Gas turbines Total

41 632 MWe 1 931 MWe 2 000 MWe 2 409 MWe 47 972 MWe

FUTURE PROJECTS Coal-fired Pumped storage Wind farm Total

9 600 MWe 2 832 MWe 1 100 MWe 13 532 MWe

I N S I DE M I N I N G 0 5 | 2 0 1 4 23

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COAL

Insatiable

demand for coal Coal is linked inextricably to energy, and the world’s growing demand for energy bodes well for the global coal-mining industry, says Andy McDonald, principal engineer at SRK Consulting.

T

HE GLOBAL TREND is for a dramatic increase in energy consumption from 1990 to 2040.

China is using 70% of coal production for power generation (burning 3.8 billion tonnes of coal a year) and the US 20%, while the global average is 30%.

This means that China is a major driver in future energy demand. At present it has 1 145 GW of installed capacity as of 2012, while it plans to achieve 2 000 GW of installed capacity by 2025. “It is just massive,” says McDonald.

However, China is also the world’s largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, pumping out 9 640 million tonnes in a single year. This has prompted China to retire 71 GW of old coal-fired power plants since 2006, while it is leading the world in terms

30%

Of Africa’s power demand is from the mining sector

of the latest technological developments, from super-critical and ultra-critical coal plants to integrated coal gasification combined cycle plants.

“The State Council of China has issued a plan to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2020, and boost renewable energy to 15% of capacity. Interestingly, in terms of nuclear power, it has 20 reactors in operation, 28 under construction, and a planned threefold increase in nuclear capacity to 150 GW by 2030. Despite this, coal is still a significant component of China’s energy consumption going forward,” says McDonald.

Relentless growth This energy consumption is fuelled by relentless growth, with China’s latest FiveYear Plan (2011 to 2015) looking to construct 36 million affordable housing units.

“China is also talking about constructing ten Class 1 cities, which is the size of Gauteng, in five years. It is targeting 7% per

capita GDP growth year-on-year. These are just amazing figures,” says McDonald.

India has also exploded from a small installed base in 1950 to 233.9 GW of installed capacity at present, the fourth largest in the world. Non-renewable energy sources such as coal and gas now account for 88% of installed capacity. “Coal-fired alone is 59%, and interestingly, 300 million citizens have no access to electricity. In 2011 to 2012, India had a base-load deficit of 10%,” says McDonald.

The International Energy Agency expects India to add an additional 600 GW to 1 200 GW of capacity by 2020. India is now into its twelfth five-year plan (2012 to 2017), during which it is targeting an additional 88 GW of power generation, which includes hydro (12 GW), nuclear (5 GW) and renewables (30 GW). McDonald notes that the eleventh five-year plan achieved 52 GW out of a projected 78 GW, so the latest targets are eminently achievable.

4 GW solar farm in India India is also looking to establish a solar farm that that will produce 4 GW. “To put that into perspective, it is 7 500 ha. The problem here is it is very close to a salt area, which is part of a Ramsar-protected wetland, so environmentally it could run into a problem. In general, there is more and more interest in renewables, particularly solar and wind energy,” notes McDonald.

The World Resources Institute identified 1 200 coal plants has identi in planning across 59 countries 24 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

COAL

5.5% average growth rate in Africa Looking at Africa in particular, McDonald says the continent needs an extra 7 000 MW a year just to keep pace with projected growth. However, 60% of Africa’s population does not have access to electricity, while Africa’s share of the global renewable energy sector is only 1%. “The average growth rate for the continent as a whole is only 5.5%, so South Africa is really falling behind at 2.5%, according to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan,” says McDonald.

Africa accounts for 13% of the world’s population, but only 5% of global energy consumption. As expected, South Africa accounts for 42% of power generation in Africa, with coal-fired taking the lion’s share of total power generation

>1%

Africa’s share of global renewable energy investment in 2011

at 77%. Still, South Africa itself is only 80% electrified, meaning a lot of opportunities remain.

While the country plans to increase its renewable energy footprint from 10 MW to about 6 000 MW by 2020, this has to be seen in the context of Eskom’s five-year US$40 billion budget, of which 55% is for new generation capacity. The aim is to add a total of 9.6 GW of new capacity by 2030. However, McDonald notes that there is a “scary” distribution backlog of US$4.3 billion.

Global outlook for coal In terms of the global outlook for coal, the World Resources Institute has identified 1 200 coal plants in planning across 59 countries (with 455 in India and 363 in China alone). The total capacity of these new plants will amount to 1 400 GW, which is equivalent to another China. Germany, the UK and France will remain in the top ten coal importers. Developing countries such as Guatemala, Cambodia, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan are all planning new coal-fired power plants, but this means they have to contend with increasing carbon dioxide emissions and the potential impact on global climate change.

“On the technology side, there are lots of developments fostered by China in particular, which are picked up other countries, from 600°C ultra-supercritical boilers to 700°C advanced ultra-supercritical and circulating fluidised bed (CFB) combustion.” McDonald says that while the latter technology has been in existence for a while, it has potential to improve the efficiency of coalfired power generation, and to reduce its environmental impact.

9%

Growth in genset rental on the continent

I N S I D E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2 0 1 4 25

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“Interestingly, after the Fukushima disaster in Japan, Germany announced its intention to shut down all its nuclear plants by 2022. In contrast, Britain has announced a deal to build a new nuclear plant in South East England, where Chinese companies will contribute up to 40% of the cost. Britain plans to erect 12 new nuclear reactors within the next 16 years. At the same time, the US is busy with four new reactors in Georgia and South Carolina, with Chinese participation.”

However, this has by no means quelled the demand for new coal-fired power stations. “About 18 new coal plants will be constructed in Europe from 2012 to 2020. The main reason is that a lot of existing plants are reaching the end of their economic life, or it is not possible to modernise them to take into account emission specifications.” The automatic inference here is that Europe is going to need a lot more coal in the near future.

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TECHNOLOGY

Cat-certified hose assessment Barloworld Equipment has introduced an advanced master-class hydraulic hose assembly training programme.

T

HE PROGRAMME is being rolled out across all its operating centres in Southern Africa, ensuring that the highest levels of competency are maintained in accordance with industry safety, health and environmental legislation.

Barloworld Equipment group product specialist Paul Verwey says that the training is in accordance with the MERSETA

26 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

(Manufacturing Engineering and Related Services Sector and Training Authority) unit standards for hydraulic hose assembly, with qualifying candidates receiving SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) certification.

Final competency “OEM specification training is provided by a Caterpillar instructor, with final competency determined by a Barloworld Equipment-accredited assessor,” he explains. Barloworld Equipment is the Cat dealer for Southern Africa.

The week-long training course places equal emphasis on theory and practice to ensure a comprehensive understanding of hydraulic system functionality and correct hose assembly techniques. This is then followed by a competency trade test.

This initiative forms part of an ongoing expansion in Barloworld Equipment’s hydraulic after-sales customer support strategy. In the past 12 months, for example, the company has invested in new state-of-the-art Cat hydraulic hose presses, with 39 currently installed across its service centre network. These hose presses cater for both reusable and No-Skive couplings for all Cat machine classes.

The first eight Barloworld Equipment (BWE) hose assemblers to complete the master-class training programme, seen here with their Caterpillar trainer and BWE-accredited assessor. From left to right (staggered) are Wes Everett, Caterpillar instructor; Mischack Tjabadi; Anesh Devduth; Robert Ratshipanga; Neto Eloy; Desmond Kitchin; Vusi Mkhwanazi; Hans Madisha; Ryno Jacobsz; and Paul Verwey

TECHNOLOGY

Babcock extends crane fleet Babcock has made a major investment into its equipment-hire fleet, with a view to expanding its crane-hire services into the mining sector.

T

HE COMPANY RECENTLY purchased one ATF 40G-5, one ATF 90G-4, three ATF 130G-5 and three ATF 220G-5 Tadano all-terrain cranes, as well as one GR350-XL Tadano rough-terrain crane. In line with its expansion plans, the fleet now consists of more than 170 cranes, ranging from five to 600 tonnes, distributed nationally and within the SADC region.

With a combined inventory of more than 20 000 items for hire, Babcock is already a leading supplier of mobile cranes, as well as welding and mechanical construction plants to the energy, process, marine, petrochemical and construction industries in Africa. Since joining forces with Target Cranes in 2012, Babcock has become the largest empowered mobile crane and plant service provider in Southern Africa.

“In addition to investing in the new cranes, we have opened up a dedicated branch in Rustenburg to focus on serving mining operations in the area,” says Babcock’s Ian Kendrick. “A 40 tonne, 130 tonne and two 220 tonne cranes have been deployed to this branch, and our Rustenburg field service team is fully equipped to service, both at client sites and at the branch workshop.”

The Tadano ATF 40G-2 features a fullwidth two-man cabin and a telescopic boom extending from 10.45 m to 35.2 m.

Safety devices include electronic load moment and automatic overload shut-off, hoist limit with shut-off, overload warning and load moment gauge. Digital displays show boom angle, boom length, sheave height, working radius and hook load.

The ATF 130G-5 is equipped with an 18 m boom extension mounted to the 60 m main boom. It can be carried along with the crane, which has a total weight of 60 tonnes and an axle load of 12 tonnes. As

required, the boom extension can be used as a 3.8 m heavy duty jib or as a 10/18 m jib, eliminating the need to transport and mount the whole boom extension separately, or the heavy duty jib, and achieving significant cost savings.

The ATF 220G-5 offers a high-load capacity combined with a 68 m main boom and an axle load of 12 tonnes to ensure possible utilisation and applications up to the six-axle class. Boom extensions can be offset mechanically and, since bending takes place at the main boom head, the crane can be placed close to buildings and lift loads far beyond the building’s edges, owing to the 20 or 40 degree bend of the boom extensions. Installation close to buildings also ensures a short working radius, so that the full range of the load charts can be utilised, with less site space blocked by the crane.

All the new cranes incorporate environmentally friendly Bluetec engines, while the ATF 130G-5 and ATF 220G-5 are equipped with the unique Tadano lift adjuster as standard, which can be activated at the touch of a button. In case of critical loading conditions, the lift adjuster allows for quick and easy load pick-up without load swing, considerably reducing accident risk during crane operations, as the crane driver need not watch the radius display and can focus full attention on the load.

“We are the only plant services operator in South Africa with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 18001 accreditation,” says Kendrick. “After decades of high-quality service in the sales and servicing of site equipment to a diversity of customer sectors, we are excited to be moving with purpose into the mining sector.”

RIGHT AND TOP The ATF 220G-5 offers a high load capacity and a 68 main boom

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 27

COMMUNITION

Drill of choice Atlas Copco has introduced the latest in its rugged and reliable Drillmaster (DM) line.

T

HE DM 30 Mark II is created from the same DNA that at makes the DM 45 and DML thee drill of choice worldwide for safe, efficient, efficient, high-production blast-holee drilling. Manufactured in Nanjing, China, na, the DM 30 II is suited for both rotary and DTH (downthe-hole) applications, with h low- and highpressure compressor options. ns.

The component layout and nd spacious electric-over-hydraulic cab are re taken directly from its big brothers in the he DM line. Hydraulic system components, s, the feed system and the rotary head have been proven by over 28 years of use on the DM 30.

“Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions utions established manufacturing in Nanjing, China with a goal to develop a world-class, aff ffordable product for the mineral extraction n industry. After five years and 52 units operating difficult erating in difficult and remote areas, we are pleased to offer the DM 30 II for rotary orr DTH drilling of blast-holes to the mining and construction industry,” said Mark Stewart, ewart, marketing manager for Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions in Nanjing, China.

“We are well positioned with service and parts available from our Nanjing distribution centre to support thee DM 30 II in all corners of the world.” Upgrades rades on the Mark II include a robust I-beam frame, increased decking and component access, and improved rod handling and breakout. reakout. Standard features now include auto o thread lube, head up tram interlock ock and grease manifold, plus a wider range of options created from om customer special requests.

The DM 30 II has enjoyed success with pre-release units drilling ling for gold in PNG, coal in Indonesia, onesia, contract drillers in South Africa and copper in Mongolia. Th Thee unit is now available in all non-Tier Tier 4 emissions countries.

TOP RIGHT Atlas Copco DM M 30 II lowor options and high-pressure compressor ary and downmake it suitable for both rotary the-hole applications

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 29

S

ETCHEM is a privately-owned South African company specialising in the supply of chemicals and chemical dosing plants, including superior back-up services to the mining and minerals-processing industries.

Setchem is affiliated with Roymec Technologies, a company that was established in 2000. It has gained many years of experience in the South African minerals processing, metallurgical, pulp and paper, water treatment, chemical and sugar industries, to meet the challenges of the solid-liquid separa on, process technology and screening markets.

Setchem is currently supplying flocculants and coagulants to the coal, copper, diamond, gold, uranium, nickel, ferrochrome and pla num industry. We supply a superiorquality PAM product range that enables our clients to increase thickener capacity and improve efficiencies, at reduced reagent consump on. We also supply commodi es and coagulants to reduce and remove colloidal silica created by an aggressive leaching process

Setchem prides itself on supplying a superior product that endures stringent tes ng and surpasses all quality standards. We provide excellent technical back-up service that enables our clients to benefit from our knowledge of process op misa on for their specific applica ons.

The following services are offered: • Sta c test work on-site or at our wet lab to iden fy the best-performing reagent for client applica on.

• Dynamic test campaigns, should the client require them.

• Plant trials conducted by skilled engineers to evaluate, monitor and op mise processing.

• Monthly site/plant visits.

• Bimonthly test-work campaign.

• Products dispatched within 72 hours of order placement.

Setchem flocculated material

Sta c se ling test campaign for flocculant op misa on

We have changed over to Setchem’s SC range since June 2013, and have found a 60% reduc on in flocculant consump on along with vastly improved se ling rates and brilliant overflows. The added benefit being the fact that Setchem has proven to be the most costeffec ve op on, together with superior services.” Deon Van Tonder, plant superintendent: Gold 1, Cooke 4

PRODUCT RANGE • Non-ionic polyacrylamide (PAM) • Anionic PAM • Ca onic PAM • PEG esters • Colloidal silica removal polyamine coagulants • ACH coagulant • Polydadmac coagulant • Polydimdac coagulant • Alums • Coagulant blends

unflocculated material

Jar testwork conducted for flocculant screening to a ain the best flocculant for specific applica ons

Increased thickener capaci es using Setchem flocculant

CONTACT DETAILS 3 Angus Crescent, Longmeadow Business Estate, Longmeadow East, Modderfontein

t +(0)27 11 608 1029 f +(0)27 11 608 4126

Sales Manager

Technical Sales Representa ve

Nishalan Pillay nishalan.pillay@setchem.co.za +(0)27 76 348 6375

Simonee Pillay simonee.pillay@setchem.co.za +(0)27 79 500 9784

NuWater Novel mine wastewater treatment plants

The water issue P34 COVER STORY Tackling the AMD challenge NuWater’s innovative mine wastewater treatment plants and related services are making a measurable impact on mine drainage water management, both in South Africa and abroad, CEO John Holmes tells Inside Mining.

P39

The true cost of water

Water quantity and quality issues are the fastest-growing economic and social challenge the mining industry faces today.

P40

Mintails pioneers AMD solution

Mining company Mintails has pioneered a tailings water treatment (TWT) process that can be applied successfully to the

problem of acid mine drainage (AMD) in the Western Basin.

P44

Aveng boosts HiPRO

Aveng Water has boosted the performance of the typical three-stage HiPRO plant, transforming this into a flagship product for the industrial-scale treatment of mine water.

P45

M&R enters minewater sector

Murray & Roberts has concluded a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Hydrochem.

P46

TCTA comes a long way

“We have come a long way,� Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said at the official

installation of the dewatering pumps at the TCTA’s AMD project in the Central Basin in Germiston, representing the completion of this fast-track project.

P49 Containerised water plants into Africa Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies SA has supplied seven modular watertreatment plants to the mining industry in the DRC.

P50 Wastewater treatment of the future When chemicals are used to treat water, one is actually adding secondary pollution to the water. In solving one problem, another is created, argues P2W’s Palmach Zeevy.

V13813

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EDITOR’S COMMENT

Acid mine drainage

T

HE REMEDIATION of acid mine drainage (AMD) is a particularly hot topic in the mining industry at present. Riana Munnik from Golder Associates says that Section 19 of the Water Act does, indeed, address the requirement for pollution prevention. “There is a hierarchy of water-quality management that requires users to prevent pollution.”

An added complication is determining who was responsible for specific instances of historical AMD, with the government having to allocate emergency funding to deal with the problem, especially in the Witwatersrand Basin. “The latest thinking on the part of the Department of Water Affairs is to try and prevent pollution before it even occurs. In this regard, the capping and closing of discard dumps is a fine example of how mining clients can eliminate ingress and seepage, which can result in a long-term treatment dilemma.”

In conjunction with the Water Research Commission, Golder Associates is also spearheading the development of a South African mine-water atlas, which will provide a definitive guide to the extent of mine-influenced water in the country.

Munnik says that this ambitious project

is scheduled for completion in 2016, and will give invaluable insight into the intersection of surface water, groundwater and mining activities.

Water-quantity and -quality issues are the fastest-growing economic and social challenge the global mining industry faces today, according to Hecla Mining’s Luke Russell. In the US, for example, rising concerns about the true cost of water in mining have led to increasing regulatory scrutiny and community activism to stop or delay mining projects. There have been regulatory permit withdrawals, preemptive watershed assessments, and litigation which has gone all the way to the US Supreme Court.

Russell told the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) national convention attendees in Salt Lake City that soaring increases in mine closure costs are directly related to water issues. Global Water Intelligence estimated mining companies spent US$12 billion (R126 billion) globally on water infrastructure in 2013, up 275% from 2009 expenditures.

Yet, mining production costs were up only 52% during the same period. Moody’s contends that the increase in water management costs outstrips the gain in

mining output, which is an alarming indictment of the mining industry’s long-term sustainability. As mining environmental and reclamation bonding approaches the US$100 million mark, Russell blamed soaring costs on water-related concerns.

To ease conflicts with communities and governments over water rights, Russell said some major mining companies are turning to desalination and water treatment, including Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Currently, Newmont is investing US$200 million in its ‘water first’ approach at Minas Conga.

Barrick suspended Pascua-Lama project to address water-pollution concerns.

The US Environmental Protection Agency tried to pre-empt the Pebble Project on potential water-pollution issues, although no permitting requests have actually been filed. As the company left the Pebble Project, Anglo American said it was now factoring in water issues when selecting mining development projects. “The true cost of water is way more than the figures the industry can actually calculate at this point,” argued Russell.

Editor Gerhard Hope IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 33

COVER STORY

Tackling the AMD challenge NuWater’s innovative mine wastewater treatment plants and related services are making a measurable impact on mine drainage water management, both in South Africa and abroad, CEO John Holmes tells Inside Mining.

D

EALING EFFECTIVELY with mine drainage water in a cost-effective manner is critical to the sustainability of the mining sector, not just in South Africa but around the world. The demand for water continues to rise, as do the expectations of the voting public when it comes to accessing safe water and the protection of the environment.

The time when the benefits of the mining sector were considered to be greater than the potential, or actual, adverse environmental impact has long gone. There are numerous case studies showing the longterm, real economic and social impacts of inadequate water management and treatment in the sector.

As the mining industry as a whole struggles to secure its long-term future in South

Africa, the question is whether it can afford to adequately tackle mine drainage water treatment for its ongoing operations, let alone addressing legacy mine drainage water issues.

Mining is a great proving ground According to Holmes, “NuWater continues to demonstrate that its large-scale modular, rapidly deployable, and redeployable, plants have a significant role to play both in the mining sector and in the broader water and wastewater treatment sectors.

The mining sector has, however, been a great proving ground for our solutions given its particular treatment challenges and commercial demands.”

To start with, a mine’s water treatment requirements can vary significantly over time, both in terms of the nature and

quantities of water to be treated. In addition, the capital budgets of almost all mines are under significant pressure. This means that water treatment service providers are increaingly expected to provide a complete water treatment service, including the funding of capital equipment, rather than simply selling equipment.

The challenges for water treatment companies operating in the mining sector are therefore threefold. First, there is the technical challenge of dealing with variable water specifications. This may mean variabilities in both suspended and dissolved solids that must both be reliably reduced in order to either reuse or discharge the treated water back into the environment.

Funding challenge Second, there is the funding challenge, whereby customers expect service providers to fund the capital cost of the equipment and recover this over time, or as a function of the volume of water treated.

This funding challenge is made all the more difficult by the fact that customers are often recluctant to commit to contract periods of more than two or three years at a time due to the reduced visibility of their own businesses.

Finally, there is the operational challenge. Mines are challenging places to operate both for men and machines, and are highly regulated in terms of health and safety. The operational efficiency and reliability, of both service provision and equipment, are therefore critical to ensuring the commercial viability of water treatment projects.

Three years ago, NuWater undertook an ambitious project for Anglo American’s thermal coal operations to provide a complete, large-scale mine wastewater treatment and desalination solution for the New Vaal colliery on a build, own and operate basis. This experience, and the success demonstrated to date, has positioned the company uniquely to roll-out its mine drainage water treatment solutions to the mining sector.

Anglo’s New Vaal Jeeten Nathoo, NuWater’s chief technology officer, explains that in the case of New Vaal the plant was required to deal with high suspended solids loads and to reduce dissolved solids, or dissolved salts, LEFT NuWater provided a complete largescale mine wastewater treatment and desalination plant at New Vaal Colliery

34 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

COVER STORY

operational commitment and ability to finance large-scale projects simply reinforce our credentials as arguably the premier solutions provider in South Africa.”

Ghana plant for Gold Fields

to acceptable limits for discharge back into the environment. “Fortunately we had the technology,” says Nathoo. This included the company’s patented 16-inch reverse osmosis technology. The end result was “a highly compact and high-capacity plant design that has become the cornerstone of our product offering.”

NuWater was able to start delivering high-quality water from the mine’s wastewater storage dam within weeks of signing the initial contract, as the plant modules were trailer-based and could therefore be quickly moved onto the simple levelled site. There is minimal fixed infrastructure, which means the plant can be easily and quickly redeployed should the mine’s wastewater treatment requirements change.

The plant has produced an astonishing 12 billion litres of high-quality water since its commissioning. To further enhance the success and environmental credentials of this project, the water produced is of such

a high quality that it has all been used by the neighbouring Lethabo power station as cooling water, reducing the water demand on the Vaal River.

Flexible and adaptable NuWater’s plant is also the largest completely modular and mobile water treatment and desalination plant in the world.

“What this has proved is that our plants address both short- and longer-term requirements, and provide the flexibility to adapt to our customers’ changing requirements.

“NuWater’s concept of ‘modular and mobile’ plants was unheard of before our success at New Vaal, and even now new customers are surprised to find out that such a solution exists, and has been demonstrated so successfully,” says Nathoo.

Holmes adds: “Our ongoing success at New Vaal continues to help us change perceptions of how the mine drainage water challenge can be tackled. Our plant designs, engineering capabilities,

NuWater’s success in the South African mining sector has not gone unnoticed. The company is in the final stages of commissioning its third modular plant in Ghana to treat mine drainage water for Gold Fields (see the cover picture on page 31).

According to Holmes, NuWater is seeing the same mine drainage water challenges around the world. There are very few service providers that have demonstrated success in delivering the flexible and cost-effective solutions demanded by the mining industry.

“The scale and complexity of the mine drainage water treatment challenge can be overwhelming. We have seen a number of competitors try, and fail, to replicate our plant designs. NuWater is the only service provider in South Africa that has demonstrated the capability to deliver largescale mine drainage water treatment as a service, with the customer paying for the water treated, rather than having to fund the capital cost of the plant upfront and taking on the project risk itself.

Growing track record

“Our customers appreciate the fact that we are prepared to take on the technology, operational and financing risks related to these complex projects. Our growing track record of success provides them with the peace of mind that allows them to focus on their core business of mining,” comments Holmes.

While it is apparent there is no silver bullet to address the mine drainage challenge, NuWater is clearly demonstrating how forward-looking customers, and the broader mining industry, can benefit from its innovative treatment solutions and services.

The adoption of proven solutions and services will drive down “NuWater’s modular, costs due to economies of scale, bringing the reality of affordable rapidly deployable, and mine drainage water treatment redeployable, plants play a a step closer. “NuWater will no significant role in the mining doubt continue to play an important role in solving future chalsector.” John Holmes, CEO, NuWater lenges,” concludes Holmes.

12 billion litres

Produced by the New Vaal plant since its commissioning IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 35

HOT SEAT

African leader in mining chemicals Established in 1958, Senmin improves the metallurgical performance of mines by developing, manufacturing and supplying a range of reagents for ore-beneficiation processes involving flotation technologies, as well as solutions for tailings management. Inside Mining talks exclusively to managing director Theunis Botha.

S

enmin is both a manufacturer and service provider.

Can you elaborate a bit on the service model you offer clients? TB Since every mine is unique in terms of metallurgy, ore, processing equipment and water quality, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach when it comes to ore beneficiation processes that involve flotation technologies, as well as the management of tailings.

Together with our customers, we leverage our vast analytical capability, experience, knowledge and state-of-theart resources to establish the best reagent suite for the achievement of optimal grades and recoveries in a specific situation.

Once a reagent suite is in place, ongoing refinement is imperative for success. A customer who subscribes to our full-service model benefits from the on-site presence of our metallurgical experts 24/7.

Our team ensures the correct make-up and application

LEFT New products from Senmin include flocculants for water treatment

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of reagents. They monitor performance, implement continuous improvement programmes and resolve issues in real-time. The provision of logistics, make-up equipment and storage add further value and practical support. As a result, mine personnel are free to concentrate on production.

There are also cost and space savings.

Can you tell us a bit about your strategy to expand into Africa? What countries are you represented in at present? What is next in terms of your expansion?

As a member of AECI’s mining cluster, we are focused on growing our business in Africa, Australia, Brazil and Chile. A partnership-driven model is in place, whereby we support AEL Mining Services’ customers, as well as customers who come to us directly. Presently, we have representation in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

What are the particular challenges presented by the larger African market? There are a number

HOT SEAT

“Since every mine is unique in terms of metallurgy, ore, processing equipment and water quality, there is no ‘onesize-fits-all’ approach.” of challenges, namely debtor management, language, logistics and skill shortages.

Can you explain a bit about your involvement with AECI’s mining chemicals venture?

Senmin is a wholly owned subsidiary of AECI, Africa’s leading explosives and specialty chemicals company. Together with AEL Mining Services and ImproChem, we are a member of AECI’s mining cluster.

AEL is one of the world’s leading suppliers of explosives and initiating systems, whereas ImproChem is GE’s Chemical and Monitoring Solutions (CMS) partner in Africa and

a pre-eminent provider of water-treatment chemicals, equipment and services to the mineral processing/ mining industry.

Wherever possible, we leverage synergies and share best practices. This collective approach means mining houses can secure a basket of goods and services from a single point of contact, which improves efficiencies in logistics and procurement. AECI’s other clusters are: oil, water, energy and gas; agriculture; food additives and distribution of specialty chemicals in Africa.

Tell us a bit more about the expansion of Senmin’s

LEFT Senmin offers the best reagent suite for optimal grades and recoveries

• complex ores containing copper, gold/silver, molybdenum and zinc.

Sasolburg manufacturing facility Following the recent

What are some of the latest trends, particularly in terms of sustainability and environmental awareness? Some of the

completion of a significant capital expenditure programme, we increased our manufacturing capacity and product range, while reducing our carbon footprint, particularly in terms of energy and waste.

These positive advances were made possible through the implementation of eco-friendly processes, such as closedloop systems.

At the same time, selfsufficiency of supply was achieved in a number of areas, like CS2. Our requirements for importing raw materials declined accordingly. Presently, a state-of-the-art research and development centre is under construction.

Specific investments were: • construction of a new polyacrylamide facility that utilises biotechnology processes (the unit is the only one in Africa) • expansion of the guar depressant facility • increased xanthate capacity for a larger range, such as amyl, ethyl and isobutyl.

What are some of the latest products and developments you have introduced into this sector? Some of the products we have introduced are: • flocculants for water treatment • Novel Senkol co-collectors that enhance platinum recoveries • Novel depressants for improved grade and recovery of ore.

What are some of the latest projects/commodity sectors you have been involved with? Some of the projects we have been involved with include: • aluminium and iron ore, particularly in Australia, Brazil and Chile

latest trends are energy, waste and water.

What are some of the latest issues impacting on the cost of mining chemicals? The latest issues are: • energy • labour • parity pricing • rate of exchange on imports.

How has the downturn in the mining industry impacted on your business? Since delivering a world-class service at the lowest cost is imperative, we have become even more innovative.

We are also growing further afield, including exports.

What is your outlook for growth going forward?

What do you see as your main opportunities? We are positive about the future. The main opportunities are: • delivering on issues facing mines, such as declining ore grades, remote locations, water scarcity, etc.

• developing new products to deal with complex lowgrade ores • ‘exporting’ Senmin’s fullservice model to Australia, Brazil, Chile and the rest of Africa • innovating green solutions.

SENMIN’S ‘BIG FIVE’ REAGENTS • Primary collectors (xanthates) • Secondary collectors (Senkol) • Depressants (Sendep) • Flocculants (Senfloc) • Frothers (Senfroth)

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M&R enters mine-water sector Murray & Roberts has concluded a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Hydrochem.

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Acid mine drainage YDROCHEM IS a wholly owned subsidi“Our partnership with ary of Hyflux, a global, continents. The group offers civil, Hyflux provides both fully integrated water mechanical, electrical, mining and solutions company. Hyflux boasts process engineering and general companies with an extensive experience in the manbuilding, construction and infraopportunity to participate ufacture and use of membrane structure development services in significant waterand related technologies for fluid in the global underground minseparation and provides solutions ing market and selected emerging treatment projects.” in seawater desalination, water markets in the natural resources recycling, wastewater treatment and infrastructure sectors. and potable water treatment. Its projects Frank Saieva, executive director, Murwastewater reuse, mine water and indusand operations span the globe, and its ray & Roberts, commented: “We are extrial water treatment sectors in Africa landmark projects include some of the cited about our partnership with Hyflux, where Murray & Roberts Limited has a world’s largest seawater reverse osmosis as it provides both companies with an strong presence.” desalination plants in Algeria, Singapore opportunity to participate in significant Murray & Roberts is a leading South and China. water-treatment projects expected to African engineering, contracting and Olivia Lum, executive chairman and materialise in sub-Saharan Africa in the construction services company, operatgroup CEO of Hyflux, commented: “The short-to-medium term.” ing for more than 110 years and on five MoA paved the way for the companies to utilise each other’s experience and capabilities to jointly pursue, secure How long Murray & and develop membrane-based opporRoberts has been tunities in the seawater desalination, operating for

110 years

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Mintails pioneers AMD solution Mining company Mintails has pioneered a tailings water treatment (TWT) process that can be applied successfully to the problem of acid mine drainage (AMD) in the Western Basin, reports Gerhard Hope.

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HE UNPRECEDENTED rainfall in the Western Basin over the past couple of months, with 200 mm reported in a single 24-hour period, has overwhelmed the capacity of the Rand Uranium treatment plant to deal with the uncontrolled decant from the 17 Winze and 18 Winze shafts in particular.

BELOW The barren tailings stream ultimately ends up at the West Wits Pit

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“To make an impact on the future treatment of AMD and reduce the void levels, you need to push the treatment to a level that is maintainable, sustainable and manageable,” Mintails CFO Eddie Milne tells Inside Mining on-site at 18 Winze on the West Rand. This means a treatment capacity of 60 Mℓ to 70 Mℓ/day, while Rand Uranium’s current capacity is only 30 Mℓ/day.

“Over the long term, it is about closure mining. This means closing off the void by either halting the ingress of rainwater, or

backfilling mined material into the void,” says Milne. So severe is the problem that Mintails argues in its ‘Approach to Closure Mining’ briefing document that “the Western Basin should be considered a national disaster area because of the AMD flows that have breached environmental critical levels.”

Uncontrolled decant The mining company recently hosted a site visit to the Winze shaft area in order

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Tailings disposal facilities

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At present, the mining company has rights to about abou 100 million tonnes worth of taili tailings disposal facilities, known collectively as the Randco fontein Cluster.

Th e majority fon of these dumps are clustered o the around the upper regions of arou the Wonderfontein Spruit, 80% of Mintails' taails ills' which drains a highly imwhic total water use at pacted pacte area focused on the present is treated Lancaster Dam. Lanc mine water Jacobs says that more than Jaco 80% of the mining company’s total wate water usage at present comprises treated mine water, compared to a zero base only five years ago. This is believed to be the highest uptake of safely processed AMD in the mining industry to date.

The resultant slurry is pumped back to a processing plant, where it is blended with ore at the mills in order to boost the runof-mine throughput and thereby increase ABOVE Uncontrolled decant of AMD from the profitability. The subsequent blend Major impact 18 Winze shaft on the West Rand of recovered tailings slurry and crushed The decant from the Winze shaft area ore forms the feedstock for the carbonflows into the Tweeloopies Spruit, which in-leach process. Mintails currently opereventually goes underground and then to demonstrate the extent of the unconates a 30 Mℓ/day water treatment plant, re-emerges in the area of the Sterkfontein trolled decant of what is essentially dilutbut has plans to commission a second caves. “It has quite a big impact on the ed sulphuric acid from abandoned under350 000 tonne a day plant, which will inCradle of Humankind heritage-site area. ground workings. This comprises what is crease its capacity to 70 Mℓ to 75 Mℓ/day.

From there it ends up in the Limpopo Rivtermed a ‘void’.

“That is the biggest AMD treatment plant er,” says Jacobs.

Jan Jacobs, GM of operations at Mintthere will be,” says Jacobs.

Despite the Department of Water Affairs ails, explains that there were originally 12 dramatically ramping up the high-density sludge (HDS) Barren tailings stream No mine in South Africa treatment plant at Rand UraThe barren tailings stream is finally disnium, the heavy rains have posed of at the West Wits Pit, where the has ever been closed meant it has barely coped long-term plan is to treat it to grey-water legally with no effective with the void recharge rate of standard for use elsewhere in the econo27 Mℓ a day.

“After the latest my. Jacobs cautions that such a strategy means of preventing rainy season, we are back to will only fly if the DWA and Department erosion, of tailings dams square one,” says Jacobs. This of Mineral Resources (DMR) collaborate means that all the eff ort and on a regional closure plan for the mining or generation of AMD expense that has gone into industry, involving one massive tailings reducing the level to date has dump, as opposed to the 300 dotting the been rendered null and void. However, landscape at present. different reef outcroppings on the compaMintails is so confident about its proprie“This is the only way that such a closure ny’s current mining right area, of which tary solution to this problem that it is “in strategy can work: it is about partnerfour or five were mined extensively, thereadvanced discussions” with the DWA to ships. If we can forge a partnership with by creating a void. This dips about 30°, all adopt its process. the DMR, we can enforce it. However, the way to where it is intersected by the The TWT process uses AMD that is abwe need high levels of cooperation in Witpoortjie Fault. stracted from the void and neutralised order for us to be able to achieve this,” “It is a massive aquifer that has filled up so that it can be used as process water to argues Jacobs. over a relatively short period,” says Jacobs. mine tailings in the form of slurry. It is Once the tailings have been removed, “The last shaft closed down in 1998, and a particularly elegant solution that uses the site is rehabilitated for future use. was overflowing by 2002.” The problem the source of one environmental headMintails is currently running a nursery with this water in the void is that if left ache, namely AMD, to treat another enproject that “feeds directly into our reunmanaged it decants to the surface in the vironmental hazard, the numerous tailquirements for closure mining. Once we form of highly toxic AMD, which is characings dumps that litter the Johannesburg have removed the tailings dam from the terised by a low pH, together with a high mining landscape. surface, what happens to the land at the concentration of dissolved heavy metals.

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ABOVE Mintails aims to build a second gold-processing plant LEFT Converting all surface-striking reefs into opencast mining will reduce the ingress of rainwater, which results in AMD BOTTOM LEFT The tailings dumps are being removed by means of hydraulic mining

bottom? You need to rehabilitate, so having a plant-and-tree nursery within the area is important for our vision, and it supports the objectives of the West Rand District Municipality and Mogale City,” comments Milne. “When we enter into a project like this, it is essential that it is sustainable and creates opportunities for both the community and the employees.”

Hydraulic mining Milne explains further that the tailings dumps themselves are removed by means of hydraulic mining, with the resultant slurry transported to the processing plant

100 million 42 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

via a pipeline. Such has been the success of this approach that Mintails has been able to report a 99.72% success rate of all tailings recovered in this manner, with an ultimate target of achieving a <0.25% spillage rate.

Apart from recovering gold from tailings dumps, Mintails also has to contend with a number of surface-striking reef outcroppings in its mining-right area. In general, each of these outcroppings has a hole to the surface every 100 m, due to earlier shallow mining operations that deployed natural ventilation. Not only does this mean that the area is rife with artisanal mining, but that such illegal activities have rendered it geotechnically unstable.

The solution proposed by Mintails to this particular problem is to remove all surface-striking reefs by means of opencast mining, specifically in the form of a long and narrow pit that can be backfilled simultaneously from one end. This not only eliminates the entry points for illegal

tonnes of tailings dumps that Mintails holds the rights to

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WHAT IS CLOSURE MINING? Not yet in widespread use in the Witwatersrand, closure mining is being pioneered by Mintails as an adaptive response to changing circumstances. This maximises benefits to society over time, as the historic externalities of mining, now manifesting as constraints to future development, are dealt with systematically in partnership with key stakeholders.

ABOVE The depleted tailings dumps are rehabilitated for future use

miners, but also reduces the ingress of the rainwater that results in AMD.

Community consultation It has not been an easy road for Mintails, which had its Kagiso mining operation suspended by Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu following protest activity

by the local community. “We are engaged in further consultation, and have established a community engagement forum,” says Jacobs. We are planning on entering into a memorandum of understanding with the local community in terms of mining in the area. It is going to take time to address some of the legacy issues we are faced with.”

Despite such challenges, Mintails continues to forge ahead with its closure mining

approach, which it upholds as a long-term solution to the myriad problems, both environmental and social, faced by the mining industry in South Africa.

“The recent decant from 17 and 18 Winze shafts offers an opportunity to rethink the logic underpinning the solution that has been used until now, by showing that government cannot solve these complex problems alone. Mintails wants to be part of the solution, rather than being part of the problem confronting society as a whole,” it concludes in its briefing document.

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Aveng Water boosts HiPRO performance Aveng Water has boosted the performance of the typical three-stage HiPRO plant, transforming this into a flagship product for the industrial-scale treatment of mine water.

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S COMPETITION in the acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment sector starts to gain momentum, Aveng Water realised that its original HiPRO plant had to be modified in order to stay at the cutting-edge of technological development in the sector. “Aveng Water is in a fortunate position to have plants in operation, so process optimisation and continual improvement is possible,” says process engineer Ashton Drummond. Operational plants are currently treating over 35 Mℓ/

day at recoveries in excess of 98%, with an additional 45 Mℓ/day coming online in the next year. The extremely high water recovery possible makes HiPRO an attractive option for the mining industry, as competitors not only have lower recoveries, but these also result in a brine stream that can ultimately pose an even larger problem.

Aveng Water developed the gypsum reactor as the heart of the HiPRO process. The removal of sparingly soluble salts allows the operation of more than one membrane stage to increase water recovery, while

limiting the osmotic pressure required on these subsequent stages. Through research and development efforts, a large amount of information has been gained regarding the chemistry and operation of these reactors. Aveng Water prides itself as the market leader in gypsum reactor technology.

HiPRO solution The HiPRO solution has now evolved to a superior process design which looks at the operational difficulties associated with the typical three-stage HiPRO plant, and solves them. The process design delivers a tried-and-tested HiPRO plant with the following characteristics: • superior stability • decreased process sensitivity • reduced footprint • decreased membrane area • fewer pieces of equipment • reduced energy usage • reduced capital cost.

Aveng Water found that, when looking at options to increase plant performance while decreasing capital cost, two options were evident: either optimise the original HiPRO design, or try one of the various other AMD treatment options. In terms of a 20-year life cycle costing for a typical water treatment plant, nothing competes with the optimised HiPRO process.

LEFT Aveng Water has developed UF/RO membrane skids for AMD treatment OPPOSITE The HiPRO solution has envolved into a superior process design

35 Mℓ/day 44 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

Being treated at present by HiPRO plants

45 Mℓ/day

Coming online in the next year

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by its high safety standards. The Aveng Group is an industry leader in safe operating practices, and Aveng Water is committed to providing the best possible working conditions for all its employees, visitors and contractors. Its SHEQ programme meets the requirements of the OHSAS 18001 international standard, and it is currently gearing up for ISO 14001. Further to that, the Aveng Water directorate has authorised a quality management system, and subscribes to the principles of the ISO 9001 quality management framework.

Aveng Water has developed modular designs that drastically reduce design and construction time Modular designs There has been a market-driven requirement to design and deliver smaller (5 Mℓ/ day and less) AMD plants in timeframes that would not allow for large civil works, as was typical for large-scale HiPRO plants. Aveng Water has developed modular designs that drastically reduce design and construction time on future projects, as well as minimising the plant footprint, while still offering the award-winning process and reliability expected from the optimised HiPRO solution.

The water qualities that Aveng Water are currently treating range from a neutral pH, with high calcium, sulphate, magnesium and sodium levels, to more acidic waters with pH values as low as 2.0.

These low-pH waters, with excessive levels of dissolved iron and manganese content, come with many process-engineering design problems.

Aveng Water has recently developed and implemented a novel process to deal with these extremely acidic waters, with the impressive addition of treating the water with zero brine production. Aveng Water’s unrivalled technical acumen is supported

Operations and maintenance Aveng Water’s Operations & Maintenance division has eight current outsourced contracts, having successfully completed a further 15.

Within Aveng Water O&M, the current five plants being operated and maintained on an outsourced basis are the eMalahleni AMD water reclamation plant, the Optimum Colliery AMD water reclamation plant, the Kromdraai modular AMD water reclamation plant, the Erongo seawater desalination plant in Namibia and the Lephalale methane gas water plant.

Aveng Water continues to push the boundaries in the water-treatment sector, and stays true to the company vision of being the water-treatment solutions partner that focuses on innovation and agility in servicing its clients, leaving behind a positive legacy.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR WATER CHALLENGES Aveng Water is an operating group of the Aveng Group, South Africa’s largest infrastructure company, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1991, and operating in over 30 countries.

The group has, to date, built many of the iconic structures, landmark buildings, bridges, dams, airports and power stations that today form the backbone of the economies of many developing countries. With its broad exposure across the infrastructure value chain, the Aveng Group has the capability to deliver multidisciplinary projects in construction, engineering, mining, water, power, steel and manufacturing.

Aveng Water, as part of the Aveng Group, is positioned to play a key role in the delivery of advanced water solutions in Southern Africa, South America and Australia. Its vision is to be a water-treatment solutions partner that attracts clients through innovation and agility, leaving a positive legacy.

It is driven by a highly-qualified team of engineers experienced in implementing tailor-made, leadingedge water treatment solutions.

The group provides viable options to ensure security of the supply of water resources through technology, innovation, and by fostering the ingenuity of our engineers.

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TCTA has come a long way “We have come a long way,” Water Affairs Minister Edna Molewa said at the official installation of the dewatering pumps at the TCTA’s AMD project in the Central Basin in Germiston.

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INISTER MOLEWA said that a Cabinet-appointed inter-ministerial committee on acid mine drainage (AMD) was convened as long ago as September 2010, with the subsequent remedial measures derived at by a panel of experts culminating in the successful completion of the Central Basin project.

This project was undertaken by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA), which was tasked to effect certain remedial interventions as “emergency interven works” for AM AMD mitigation on the Witwatersrand. A due-diligence Witwatersran study id identified the need for stud an immediate solution on n im the Western Basin (Krugersdorp), and short-term gers The pumps ps solutions in the Eastern solu are 15 m high, (Springs) and Central Ba(Spri the equivalent of sins (Germiston). These

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four storeys

solutions were aimed at addressing current and near-future AMD risks.

By August 2012, surface decant of AMD in the Western Basin was eradicated completely. “The Western Basin was characterised previously by sporadic surface decant, resulting in negative environmental impacts. Implementation of an immediate solution for the neutralisation of AMD and concomitant surface decant eradication has yielded positive environmental benefits for the area, including improvements in ground and surface water qualities. We are confident that our work here [in the Central Basin] will yield similar positive results,” said Minister Molewa.

15 m-high pumps The new pump station became fully operational at the end of April, following the installation of the dewatering pumps. The scale and complexity of all the project elements was enormous, including the dewatering pumps. The mine shaft is over 1 500 m deep. The pumps, which are 15 m high (the equivalent of four storeys), weigh 25 t, and had to be lowered 200 m down the shaft without being dropped.

Ritz Pumps South Africa, in conjunction with its German joint-venture partner Andritz Ritz, was contracted to supply two heavy-duty mining dewatering pumps to the project. “They originally belonged to Central Rand Gold, which graciously donated them to TCTA for the TOP LEFT Ritz Pumps’ technology allows it to free-hang pumps up to 1 250 m LEFT Carl Hamm of Germany supplied the pipe systems

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RIGHT The AMD treatment plant at the Central Basin in Germiston

project. The pumps were based at the Andritz facility in Germany, where they underwent their second factory acceptance test. Following this, they were shipped to South Africa, where we oversaw the installation,” said Chris Munnick, MD of Ritz Pumps South Africa.

“The beauty of our system is that our pump is assembled above ground and then “free hung”, suspended from the surface, which means underground access to get to the pump station, as is generally the case in South Africa, is not needed,” said Munnick. “The pump is simply suspended in the shaft opening with our ZSM system, which can withstand in excess of 1 600 t, this due to an axial non-positive and detachable pipe connection.

Free-hang pumps “Our technology enables us to free-hang pumps up to 1 250 m, with piping from 80 to 600 nominal bore and with heads of 1 500 m. We can also insert a pump in a large borehole from the surface straight down into the water source, suspend and hang the pump in the water, and then pump out directly without having to go through the shaft with a complex piping

system, as is required for the traditional underground high-pressure pump station setup,” explained Munnick.

“The use of single-suction submersible motor pumps for pumping huge quantities to or from great depths is associated with extreme loads on the unit,” noted Munnick. The higher the pump performance, the stronger the axial thrust exerted on the pump, the motor and its thrust bearing. The consequences of this are overloading and untimely shutdown. “The solution is to double up, meaning greater durability. This is what our design is all about: a double-suction pump that provides full compensation for axial thrust. In short, the heavy-duty pump is designed for a longer life of between 25 to 30 years.”

Once in place and fully operational, an average of 57 million litres a day of AMD will be treated and discharged

“A proactive approach is required to prevent a duplication of the situation in other mining areas.” Edna Molewa, Minister of Water Affairs

57 million litres

into the Klip River, a critical tributary of the Vaal River. “Therefore it is important to note that this treated decant will not impact negatively on the Vaal River,” said Minister Molewa.

Solid-sludge treatment The treatment of the solid sludge is a critical part of this process, and will be pumped into the mine’s waste-storage facilities. This initiative will ensure that underground AMD in the Central Basin is managed at a suitable level so as not to create adverse environmental as well as socio-economic impacts.

“The government recognises that the long history of mining on the Witwatersrand has created the AMD challenge we face today. As efforts are intensified to further manage the problem sustainably, a proactive approach is required to prevent a duplication of the situation in other mining areas, such as the KwaZulu-Natal coalfields, the Free State gold fields and the Northern Cape base metal mines,” said Minister Molewa.

“In this regard, we continuously apply regulatory mechanisms for the adoption and implementation of long-term AMD/ mine-water management strategies by mining companies. We are grateful for the cooperation of all stakeholders towards the achievement of these objectives,” concluded Minister Molewa.

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MetropolitanRepublic/14379/E

WE CREATE FRESH WATER EVERY DAY Predictions are that by 2021 Southern Africa will face substantial water shortages.

Aveng Water creates more than 60 million litres of fresh drinking water daily, unlocking the potential of previously unusable water sources for communities and industry, whilst simultaneously addressing the environmental degradation caused by AMD. With the combination of a remarkable design capability and skilled operating staff, we consistently deliver innovative water treatment solutions to the mining community.

Positively linking environmental sustainability and mining viability for years to come.

Leaders in water treatment

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Containerised water plants into Africa Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies SA has supplied seven modular water-treatment plants to the DRC.

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LARGE MINING project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has received seven modular water-treatment plants – four to treat domestic sewage, and three for supplying drinking water – from Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa, a subsidiary of Veolia Water. The plants will service construction and operations camps in the area.

Six of these plants will be installed at a construction-phase gold mine in the north-eastern DRC to support construction, maintenance and operations staff, while one of the drinking-water plants will be installed at an important trading post nearby. The largest of the wastewater plants will treat 3 000 litres per hour to serve roughly 300 people.

“These plants use trickling filter technology that is ideally suited for operation in Africa,” says Warrick Sanders, project engineer at Veolia. “Trickling filter plants are robust and recover easily from power cuts with minimal disruption to the biological processes. With typically one to two sets of motors being the only moving parts, these plants need minimal maintenance.”

step by facilitating anaerobic digestion of COD (chemical oxygen deThe largest of the mand) and BOD (biochemical oxygen wastewater plants demand). The three drinking-water will treat 3 000 litres plants will source water from boreholes: filtration will remove any sedper hour iment, while chlorination will ensure water is disinfected and suitable for The plants have been shipped from Durhuman consumption. ban to Mombasa, and forwarded to the Veolia’s modular plants are assembled to main site. “Because of the road infrastruc95% completion at the company’s Sebenza ture between the port and the mine site, factory in Johannesburg. They are comwe had to reinforce the plants’ internal pletely containerised for easy transporsystems to ensure minimal damage during tation and scalability, and need minimal transportation,” concludes Sanders. set-up once on-site. “A decentralised plant has been used on this site to generate potable water for other areas of the plant,” says The plants use trickling filter technology Sanders. “These plants can also be relocatthat is robust and can recover easily from ed to a different site once construction or power cuts, with minimal disruption to the other operations have been completed.” biological processes

Aerobic treatment Plastic honeycomb carrier elements, designed for high-performance biological growth, facilitate the aerobic treatment which breaks down organic matter and supports nitrification. After the subsequent clarification process to remove accumulated biomass, water is disinfected with chlorine and discharged, while any sludge is fed back into the system for re-digestion.

This discharge typically conforms to South African general standards for effluent discharge into natural water sources.

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Wastewater treatment of the future When chemicals are used to treat water, you are actually adding secondary pollution to the water.

In solving one problem, another is created, argues P2W’s Palmach Zeevy.

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The P2W W

encompasses heavy process requires uirees metals, pH and conjust 1 kW/h for 1 000 litres of polluted ductivity of the wawater ter. Simply put, P2W makes use of reactors eactors which remove the sulphates in the water water, without the need for the use of any membranes.

Zeevy explains that most processes today used to treat AMD consume large amounts of lime, which results in large amounts of sludge at the end of the process. The P2W treatment process does not make use of any lime. The process used today is known as the high-density sludge (HDS) pre-treatment phase. This is a twostage treatment process that requires lime and makes use of membranes. The P2W technology uses a one-step on-line process, skipping the HDS stage.

Eliminates chemicals

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EEVY IS executive chairman and founder of Pollution to Water (P2W). The company was established in 2005. It has a number of commissioned sites in Europe and Israel. In Africa, the company currently has four projects at mines that it operates at the size of 12 Mℓ to 14 Mℓ a day, treating every possible contaminant in one system.

“All possible contaminants found in wastewater are being treated in one online process. The unique thing about P2W is that our technology is capable of handling anything from cyanide to heavy metals and sulphates, at the same time. This is all done without membranes and without chemicals,” explains Zeevy.

The company has mastered the unique challenges posed by acid mine drainage (AMD) through its state-of-the-art technology. Zeevy elaborates on the main challenges in the treatment of AMD,

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Site of P2W’s plant at Golden Star Resources in Ghana

and how P2W’s technology deals with such challenges.

Sulphate levels “What we have found to be constant challenges are that the sulphate levels vary often, the pH is not steady and that the membranes cannot tolerate changes in the contamination of heavy metals,” says Zeevy. One of the first challenges is the large volume of contaminated water.

P2W’s technology has absolutely no limitations in terms of the size of the system that can be used for these volumes.

In South Africa, the most commonly used systems make use of membranes.

Overall, the membranes are vulnerable and subject to the harsh conditions of the strong pre-treatment process, which

Using lime and chemicals is not only costly, but adds secondary pollution to the water. The P2W process eliminates chemicals, which is a far more sustainable approach. “Our vision and mission is to save lives and the environment each and every day with our treatment technology,” asserts Zeevy.

In addition, the P2W process requires very little maintenance, and is monitored and controlled for convenience via an online method. In terms of challenges such as energy efficiency, P2W requires just 1 kW/h for 1 000 litres of polluted water.

P2W became involved in providing a solution to South Africa’s unique challenges related to AMD when the company was approached at a leading event in Cape Town two years ago. “P2W was approached by government officials at Mining Indaba Africa, who asked about our technology being modified specifically for treating AMD in South Africa. They had heard about the performance of our technology at several sites in Ghana, and were enquiring whether we could adopt the same technology for AMD.”

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WATER

Compressed air systems in mines Leaks in compressed air pipelines can cost hundreds of thousands of rand every year, making air loss one of the mining industry’s most costly problems.

By Barry van Jaarsveld, Victaulic regional manager – South Africa

L

EAKS, WHICH can occur at any point along the pipeline, have a number of causes, including regular mining activities that expose the lines to vibration, impact and harsh materials. Yet optimising coupling and gasket installation is surprisingly easy and delivers dramatic cost savings and productivity improvements.

Energy accounts for a very large part of the total life time cost of a compressed air system in a mine – as much as 80% according to the United Nations Environment Programme (2006). Compressed systems can be responsible for as much as 20% of a typical mine’s total energy bill, which is a significant percentage in an industry that used an estimated 14% of Eskom national electricity production as recently as 2008.

Compressed air piping often runs to depths of around 3 000 m, in long, deep shafts, with countless changes having been made to systems over their lifetimes. Piping layouts may be chaotic – or at least less than well planned – with few records of changes. Solutions include reduction of inappropriate pipe use by personnel, better control of pressure drop and system pressure, and reduction of system leaks.

While leaks occur for a variety of reasons, the compressed air process is hardly efficient to begin with: less than one-fifth of the energy put into compressed air systems reaches its end purpose – and this is before leaks are taken into consideration.

In fact, a typical South African industrial compressed air system may have a net efficiency of 1%, while a large but

52 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

poorly managed installation may have a net efficiency of just 0.3%. Because of this very low net energy yield, compressed air is a precious commodity and leak management – quick and easy to implement – can realistically deliver 30% savings in many situations.

According to the Ontario Mining Association’s compressed air leak management programme report, Implementing a Sustainable Compressed Air Leak Programme, compressed air systems typically consume 20 to 40% of the electricity used in mines. Anywhere from 30 to 70% of that air is wasted through leaks.

Although these numbers are impressive, the cost associated with this wasted energy is much more dramatic.

Assuming an energy cost of R0.410 kWh, a 1/16-inch (1.6 mm) diameter leak can result in R824 worth of wasted energy for a one-shift operation, and up to R3 075 for a three-shift operation each year. That amount increases exponentially as the leak size increases.

A ½-inch (12.7 mm) diameter leak can cost R52 527 for a one-shift operation, and as much as R196 033 for a threeshift operation each year.

Considering an average mine can have hundreds of air-line leaks, the cost in wasted energy easily reaches into millions of rand, a figure sure to catch any executive’s attention even in a country with some of the lowest electricity costs in the world.

The costs of air loss are not limited to wasted energy; productivity is also affected. A leak in a compressed air line can lead to a drop in system pressure, affecting the performance of tools and

equipment that rely on compressed air.

Operation time may need to be increased to make up for the lower pressure, which can increase maintenance requirements and potentially shorten the equipment’s life expectancy. The mounting costs of air loss certainly make it a problem worth addressing.

Regular maintenance is essential in the fight against air loss. Air loss results in more than just unnecessary energy expenditures; it can increase maintenance requirements, leading to prolonged downtime and reduced productivity. Repairing leaks can reduce air loss to less than 10% of a mine’s compressed air output, which will result in immediate cost savings.

Most mines rely on grooved systems, particularly high-quality couplings supplied by Victaulic, for their ease-of-use, robustness and ability to accommodate the changing landscape both above and underground. Proper selection and installation of couplings plays a role in reducing costs associated with leaks.

Maintenance and system checks are indispensable, because the eruption of a high-pressure pipeline can cause serious injury.

The swiftness to replace damaged or broken pipelines during lock out is of major importance and the initial selection of the pipe joining method has a huge influence on reducing downtime.

With grooved systems, a union at every joint allows for fast and easy maintenance, requiring the removal of only two couplings to replace a pipe section.

Victaulic installation-ready couplings do not require disassembly prior to

Most mines rely on grooved systems for their ease-of-use, robustness and ability

W

WATER

AT

ER

Xstrata Copper pp peerr Kidd Creek Mi Mine M achieved a 40% reduction in air loss using Victaulic

installation. They can simply mply be positioned on the pipe ends and tightened using standard ndard hand tools, minimising the he risk of gasket pinching while also reducing material handling and installation time compared to couplings that need to be disassembled. Victaulic supplies two styles of the patented QuickVic couplings, namely Style 177 flexible couplings and Style 107H rigid couplings.

Selecting the proper gasket material also has a huge influence on the system performance. Many mines use only one type of gasket material for both water and air piping systems, usually Grade E (or EPDM). However, this material is not recommended for petroleum services.

Oil-separating filters are generally not used on compressed air systems in mines, so the air lines may carry oil vapours. These vapours can degrade the EPDM compound, leading to leaks. Victaulic now offers Grade T (or Nitrile) gaskets that are designed specifically for air with oil vapours and form a leak-tight and pressureresponsive seal. This means that a mine should use two types of gaskets: EPDM for water services and Nitrile for air lines. Butterfly valves can also have a very positive impact, as they provide a ‘dead-end’ shut-off service to isolate equipment during lock out procedures.

Yvan Dumouchel, maintenance planner at the Xstrata Copper Kidd Creek Mine in Timmins, Ontario, says the use of Victaulic grooved products on their compressed air system resulted in a 40% reduction of air loss, saving tens of thousands of dollars a year in energy costs.

Barry van Jaarsveld is regional manager in South Africa for Victaulic, a leading manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining systems. The company develops products for a full range of mining, industrial, commercial and institutional piping system applications.

I N S I D E M I N I N G 0 5 | 2 0 1 4 53

OSH EXPO

A breath of fresh air 3M’s respiratory business has been established for over 40 years. The company released the first NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Health & Safety) approved respirator in the mid1970s, and is launching its new 6500 series reusable half-face respirator at OSH EXPO Africa 2014.

J

ACO COMBRINCK, respiratory business manager for the Middle East and Africa, Personal Safety Division, says that while respirator technology is quite established, 3M continues to innovate in this arena. “We have been around for a long time, and have been doing this for a long time, and I think that is where our success stems from. We have the experience, and are also constantly innovating in order to improve our products.”

A major factor in such innovation is the issue of wearer comfort. “The main element that sells respirators is comfort, what we refer to as breathability, which means how easy it is to breathe through the respirator. No respirator is comfortable to wear, as it is not natural. We try to make the breathability as high as possible, which then speaks directly to the comfort.

At the end of the day, if a worker is comfortable, he or she will wear the face piece for the entire shift, and that is the only way they can be protected.”

An example of this constant innovation is the new 6500 series reusable half face respirator, which combines the construction of the 6000 series half mask with the silicone technology of the high-end 7500 series half ha face respirator.

“The 65 6500 series respirator is being positioned as mid-range,” explains Combrinck. ““It has a similar construction to the 600 6000 series in terms of a hard shell with a face seal moulded onto it. The 7500 series respirator, on the other hand, hand is a full-silicone face piece, with no o over mould. What makes the 6500 respirator so unique, and why I am resp so excited about it, is that this is a e cost-eff ective silicone face piece.” cost-e

Harsh en environments like mining Combrinck adds that the 6500 half face respirator is slightly textured and firmer in comparison to the 7500 series, which means it is suited for harsher working environments, such as mining and oil and gas. “We refer to this as ‘rugged comfort’, which is how we will market it. Therefore we get the best of both worlds: a lightweight face piece, with a silicone face seal.” The 6500 series is also available in

54 INS I DE MI NI NG 0 5 | 2 0 1 4

a patented Quick Latch version, a feature that will be showcased at OSH EXPO Africa 2014.

Silicone is also capable of withstanding higher heat and facial oils, for example.

However, it is a more expensive product, as silicone is difficult to work with and mould. This means it is currently only being manufactured in the US. 3M does manufacture the 8810, 8710 and 8820 disposable respirators locally though, which is something that Combrinck is particularly proud of, and wants to bring to the attention of the mining industry in particular.

“We started local manufacture last year.

It speaks to our commitment to South Africa. The fact that a prominent multinational like 3M invests in South Africa is a significant commitment.”

Combrinck adds that mining is a major focus for 3M at the moment, together with oil and gas. These major industries have a single division dedicated to them.

“Mining will always be a focus, even with the turmoil we are currently experiencing.

It is still one of the largest employers in our markets.”

The challenge for 3M is to convince mining clients to buy appropriate PPE (personal protection equipment). “It is a big spend, and the long-term benefits of protecting people from lung hazards such as silicosis and asbestosis are not always considered when choosing the correct respirator.”

Industry needs to look ahead “Industry needs to look further ahead and realise that spending R1 now on the correct PPE will save millions later. In addition to that, it is also a corporate social responsibility. Why expose a worker to a hazard and then not protect him or her?” Combrinck argues that replacing a single worker is not so straightforward, as it has to factor in the cost of experience and training.

The type of respirators selected by the mining industry depends on the application, notes Combrinck. “In an environment like underground mining, where the exposure is mainly dust and mist, there is not necessarily a need for reusable respirators. You also need to keep in mind that it is hot and humid down there, so we need to look at comfort first of all.

OSH EXPO

“Whereas with a minerals processing type of application, we now start What makes the 6500 to deal with vapours and gases, and so unique is that it is a you start to move away from disposable towards reusable respirators.” cost-effective silicone This could be the 6500 half-face resface piece pirator, or even a powered or supplied air option, depending on the exposure levels and application. for the hazard level in question.” Be that as “When we carry out an assessment for it may, Combrinck points out that the final a customer, the first question we ask is decision is always the prerogative of the cliwhether or not there is sufficient oxygen ent. “At the end of the day, all we can do is in your particular application or hazard. Is make a recommendation.” the oxygen level constantly above 19%? If Combrinck explains that his team is cait is not, our first response would be that pable of devising an entire respiratory proyou require supplied air. Once we undergramme for a client. “The first thing would stand the hazard, then we need to ascerbe to carry out an assessment in order to tain how long the workers will be exposed, understand the risk, then we recommend and what the exposure levels are.” a suitable product, whereupon we will carry out fit testing with the workers.” The latter is critical due to the wide variety Selection tools of face sizes and nose-bridge heights, for Based on this information, Combrinck’s example. “There are a lot of factors that team is able to recommend the best prodhave to be taken into account, which is ucts. “We also have a number of downloadwhy we have three different sizes on our able and online selection tools that will reusable respirators.” help you select the correct filter cartridges

Fit testing also provides an opportunity to train workers in the proper use of respirators. “Once you have done the fit testing and it seals properly, you now know what it feels like to have it on correctly, and then it is just a matter of reinforcing this through additional training.” 3M can also make marketing material such as posters and videos available for worker training.

A full range of spare parts is also available, while 3M can even assist with a maintenance programme, called the Respiratory Care Centre, whereby cleaning is facilitated by a third-party service provider.

Commenting on Osh EXPO Africa itself, Combrinck says: “I am very happy to see how it has grown and matured into something we are proud to be associated with. I think it speaks to a much wider audience than a Mining Indaba, for example, which is very high level.” Combrinck notes that the expo is particularly useful because it attracts dedicated industry professionals such as safety managers and occupational hygienists and nurses.

IN SID E M IN IN G 0 5 | 2014 55

INTRODUCING THE

6500

SERIES

There’s no price tag on

Health and Safety 3M has over 40 years of experience in providing products with w the single-minded business – your people. purpose of protecting the most important assets in your bus Visit us at stand A1 at OSH Expo Africa at Gallagher Estate from 13 to 15 May and experience our comprehensive range of re-usable and disposable respirators; hear about our holistic approach to hearing protection; and see our range of protective eyewear.

For more information about safety products, contact our Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) team Friedah Skhosana +27 11 806 2000 or fskhosana@mmm.com Peilin Zuo +27 11 806 2000 or pzuo@mmm.com Bongani Ntuli +27 11 806 2065 or btntuli@mmm.com 3M.co.za

TECHNOLOGY

Anglo launches Fungcoal A R17.5 million project that harnesses fungi and coal could significantly reduce the cost and improve the rate and quality of opencast mine rehabilitation.

A

NGLO AMERICAN’S thermal coal business has developed and patented this new bioconversion technology. Known as Fungcoal, a combination of the words fungi and coal, the project harnesses fungi and weathered coal, and is being undertaken in partnership with Rhodes University’s Institute for Environmental Biotechnology. The partnership commenced in 2004, when Thermal Coal sought ways of accelerating and improving the quality of rehabilitation at its opencast mines.

“Research shows that certain fungi have the ability to break down and liquefy coal exposed to the elements. When accompanied by other microorganisms, they create humic and fulvic acids, natural fertilisers that are regarded as the building blocks of soil fertility and plant life,” explains mine closure manager Henk Lodewijks.

Humic and fulvic acids have two important properties. First, they promote soil microbe and plant growth and, second, they significantly alleviate the compaction of rehabilitated soil, one of the greatest rehabilitation challenges facing the industry. “As discard coal is used as a medium on which certain grass species grow, we significantly reduce the need for topsoil, a scarce and costly resource.”

The technology has been trialled at four Anglo American coal mines and, in certain applications, has shown extremely positive results, both on rehabilitated mining pits and coal-discard facilities. “What nature does in 60 years we are trying to do over six months, or one growing season,” says Lodewijks.

“Our aim is to restore the ecology of land that has been disturbed. This process is underpinned by organisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye. All organisms act in concert and allow the environment to resurrect itself,” says Professor Keith Cowan, adding that the research team has been fortunate in discovering fungi and bacteria so important to the process, in a relatively short space of time. “What we are doing is finding a complete toolkit of organisms for land that has been disturbed, to ensure that it can be returned to communities for economic activity almost immediately after mining.”

The next steps will be to establish a thorough record of land rehabilitated with Fungcoal, and to gain a greater understanding of the product’s use in other applications and over a longer period of time. Engagement with regulators will take place as the project moves closer to the commercial phase.

Rehabilitation planner Gustav Le Roux and environmental coordinator Dolly Mthethwa inspect Fungcoal trial results at Klipan, where bacteria transformed the rough discard to nurture plant growth

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