JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Gold Fields is upping its operational game to cope with the increased operational volatility of government stoppages and the consequent restarting delays as well as the intensity of seismicity at depth.

Full calendar operation (Fulco) is already under way at the mechanised South Deep gold mine and talks are progressing for a six-day week at the company's Driefontein and Kloof gold mines.

Changes are being made to strengthen business fundamentals, says Gold Fields South Africa head Vishnu Pillay.

JP Morgan analyst Allan Cooke says that Fulco has not worked at other companies and queries its impact on shaft maintenance programmes.

Pillay's response is that the proposed 35% increase in electricity over three years would be tough to accommodate if the fundamentals of the gold-mining business were not changed.

"That's the harsh reality that we all have to face. This industry is at a crossroads and we have to shape this industry," Pillay says.

He adds that Fulco will ensure continuous work at the face until midday on Saturdays and maintenance will take place from then until Sunday evening at 21:00.

"The Christmas and Easter breaks are also worked into this schedule so we have long periods off in which to do major infrastructure maintenance," Pillay explains.

Workers will have extended holidays for the same pay: "This will allow us to employ our people effectively. These are the fundamentals that we have to put in place to change the way we work in order to deliver value into the future," Pillay explains to Mining Weekly.

Gold Fields' safety is improving after the installation of 90 km of secondary support in all operations to curb fall-of-ground incidents.

The battle against seismicity has resulted in fewer fall-of-ground incidents.

Pillay tells Mining Weekly that the long-term solution to the management of seismicity on deep-level mining operations rests in spreading the concentration of mining across greater areas.

To be able to spread the concentration of mining, orebodies need to be opened up by development, which the company is stepping up through mechanisation. More than half of the Gold Fields' development is now mechanised.

Additional mitigation of seismic risk is being achieved through centralised blasting, increased aerial support and the preconditioning of mining faces.

The solution still remains in opening up the orebody, and mining only a predetermined number of square metres, which requires additional face to be developed.

Centralised blasting has restricted the seismic window to three hours, from six to nine in the evening, when no personnel are allowed at the face.

This has resulted in fewer gravitational and seismic falls-of-ground, which has resulted in a 60% lower injury frequency rate.

There have been fewer facebursts at Kloof and Driefontein since the Gold Fields embarked on its practice of preconditioning every working face.

Gold Fields lost 76 days last year as a result of unplanned stoppages worth 2,2 t of gold and has been working "feverishly" to put a protocol in place for these stoppages.

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