The lack of power or irregular power supply is posing an additional challenge for the South African mining sector, which has had to grapple with policy uncertainty, rising input costs, labour unrest and illegal mining.

This is according to University of the Witwatersrand professor Dr Ria Vosloo, who said during her address at the Barloworld Power Coal Mine Methane Seminar, held in Sandton last month, that mining companies should consider alternative power supplies, such as coal mine methane, to remain competitive.

“The South African mining industry is currently at the crossroads of uncertainty and disagreement in terms of laws, policies and the basic infrastructure needed for mining to take place.”

She added that government was, however, trying to put systems in place that would ensure that mining took place in a less strenuous way.

Vosloo said, however, that the rules pertaining to operational management in the sector were constantly changing, which subsequently required mining companies to change their systems to handle the pressures of the industry.

Therefore, companies had to react quickly to changing circumstances and develop resilience to ensure that operations were not affected.

Considering other forms of power generation would, therefore, enable mining companies to reduce their dependence on grid supply, she added, especially amid State-owned utility Eskom’s announcement that load-shedding would be implemented for some time, as the power- supply system was overloaded.

Moreover, industrial brand management company Barloworld Power business development manager Nalen Alwar noted at the seminar that coal mine methane allowed for production without disturbances from unstable grid supply.

The coal mine methane process uses methane from coal mining – which emits about 72 000 t/y of methane – to generate electricity.

“Further, as methane is a hazardous gas in mining operations, using methane to generate power can improve mine safety and health, and also mitigate global warming,” he pointed out.

As a result, Barloworld Power provides different coal mine methane gas generators, based on the scale of the operation requiring the generator.

Alwar added that using combined heat and power technology for the generators could ensure higher efficiency. Wasted heat emitted by the generators could be used for other heating or cooling requirements by incorporating heat exchangers or chillers into the overall solution.