State-owned mineral and metallurgical innovation company Mintek unveiled its newly overhauled analytical services division (ASD) earlier this month, declaring the new facility an investment in both its and the mining industry’s future.

It is planned that the ASD will be fully operational before the end of this month.

Mintek technology GM Alan McKenzie says the revamping of its ASD, which cost R18-million, coincides with Mintek’s fortieth anniversary this year. “We come from a background of very old facilities. The ASD, along with some other divisions,[was] not extensively renovated in those 40 years,” he notes, adding that the age aspect goes right back to the “fabric” of the building, such as the piping, plumbing, electrical networks, windows and doors. “Everything was starting to show its age and signs of deterioration.”

The previous ASD was spread across seven floors, with numerous small rooms that housed different sections. However, Mintek CEO Abiel Mngomezulu points out that the new ASD will only occupy three floors, with the fire assay section remaining on its existing floor, but still forming part of the ASD.

To facilitate the revamp, the floors on which the new ASD is to be constructed were completely gutted, leaving only the concrete structure and extraction ducts. Mngomezulu says the gutting was essential to ensure the new ASD could be built on a clean slate, thereby enabling it to accommodate the future requirements of a modern laboratory with greater efficiency and transparency of activities.

The new ASD features have improved natural and artificial lighting, enabled through the use of large glass windows and panels separating the different sections. This improved internal visibility facilitates enhanced supervision and cooperation between adjoining sections, as well as makes the tracking and moving of samples easier.

An improved ventilation system incorporates positive air pressure throughout the ASD, thereby mitigating any dust ingress. This is coupled with variable-speed fume extraction fans on some instruments to increase energy efficiency throughout their operating and idle cycles.

Another key aspect of increasing efficiencies is Mintek’s initiative to insource its radiation testing of laboratory staff, who are exposed to the possibility of above-normal levels of radiation. This testing will be accommodated within the new ASD.

McKenzie states that Mintek has taken the decision to withdraw staff bonuses and spend the money on upgrading the ASD facility instead to ensure the sustainability of the company and the division in the years to come.

The ASD is under the management of Joe Baloyi.

The current mining industry downturn has also played a crucial role in Mintek’s decision on when to undertake the renovation, as fewer samples are currently in the pipeline for processing, thereby enabling the company to more easily transition into its new environment while the work demand is low.

“We took a decision a number of years ago to look at efficiencies within the organisation,” McKenzie notes, adding that the building was designed and built during a time when the latest technology was “pipettes and burettes”.

The 40 years that have passed since then have brought significant changes in technology, he says. “The previous laboratories were simply not designed for the type of analytical services undertaken in current times,” McKenzie says, describing how computers and digital instruments dominate the laboratory presently.

According to him, there are three cornerstones to operating a successful analytical laboratory, namely quality, turnaround time and cost. “You need to ensure you are competitive in all three of these,” McKenzie says. “Being competent in these three categories is not only important for external clients who want samples processed, but it is also important for internal operations, as other divisions of Mintek that are supported by the ASD will experience knock-on benefits.

About 70% of the work undertaken by the ASD stems from internal samples generated at Mintek.

Chemical analysis and its results are “absolutely critical” to the work done in a research organisation and to the mining industry to broaden the understanding of what is happening in processing plants and improve efficiency, notes McKenzie.

“Chemical analysis is the cornerstone of everything that is done in the mining industry; without it, an organisation like Mintek would not survive,” he concludes.