Implementing technology that interprets data to automate the mining industry’s decision-making processes, as well as mining technologies that can increase efficient water and energy use, have become increasingly popular over the past decade and will continue to be so, says local process engineering, design and consulting company Swartz Technical Consulting founder and chemical engineer Bronwyn Swartz.

“Rapidly increasing labour costs in South Africa are contributing significantly to producers’ increased overhead costs. Therefore, the focus is on reducing costs and increasing productivity, and automation from new technologies provides an opportunity to achieve both,” Swartz tells Mining Weekly.

She emphasises that the mining industry currently needs technologies that address the nation’s goal of efficient non-coal-based power generation.

As the expansion of the mining industry is hamstrung by State-owned power utility Eskom’s inability to deliver electricity consistently, a mining industry that has an increasingly reduced dependency on the national supplier would allow for growth in bringing new projects online, Swartz points out.

“There are several potential benefits of new technologies, such as platinum mining major Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) fuel cell project, as it is considered as a greener method of generating electricity, owing to the abundance of inputs and the reusability of generated by-products,” she adds.

Launched in 2012, Amplats’ project involves piloting fuel cells or electrochemical converters as energy sources for locomotives at the company’s mining operations in Rustenburg, in the North West.

Meanwhile, JSE-listed gold and precious metals major Gold Fields is conducting mining technology research with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, while gold mining major AngloGold Ashanti is using raise-boring technology in its mining operations.

Change Averse
Past experience has dictated that major producers are typically late adopters of new technologies, as new mining methods and applications tend to have unresolved optimisation aspects before they are implemented, Swartz says.

To major industry players, implementing a technology could present unforeseen challenges, such as posing a risk to process availability and efficiencies, she adds.

Moreover, Swartz says that while the cost of perfecting a technology tends to be exponential, the performance increases are comparatively small, adding that it is not always possible to see the potential areas that may need corrections or changes in a simulated testing environment.

She therefore emphasises that technologies implemented at established sites are subject to a higher level of scrutiny and validation.

While new technologies’ limitations are determined and their benefits quantified during testing in the early implementation stages, the funding of research projects and innovative methods remains a key challenge, as companies focus on retaining their cash-positive position, Swartz explains. 

“With significant mining capital write-downs being common, in-house optimisation remains a key focus of capital-intensive programmes,” she says.

Meanwhile, universities, mine processing and research projects focusing on new technologies, and institutions, like State minerals research organisation Mintek, which have the expertise and resources to conceptualise and test new mining processes or equipment, also tend to receive reduced funding during difficult economic times and are recapitalised only when market conditions become more favourable, says Swartz.

She adds, however, that technologies that create a sustainable business case while offering practical merit, low roll-out costs and quick payback periods are appealing to major producers and attract funding, even in tough economic conditions.

“Technologies or services that fit that value proposition will fit in with most clients’ current operational strategies.”

While Swartz believes that the current economic climate is necessitating a return to the business basics of producing at the most efficient unit cost, she maintains that opportunities do exist for providers that diversify their products and services.

Skills Challenges
Swartz highlights that the low skills level of mine employees who are recruited from the local mining areas influences the implementation of new technology at mines and processing plants.

“At times, implementing new technology is negatively affected by employees’ lack of understanding of the principles of operation,” she says, adding that training employees to assist technology implementation remains challenging.

Swartz cites one example of a mining company that had to teach new recruits how to operate a supervisory control and data acquisition system, as several of them had not been previously exposed to operating this type of hardware.

While this challenge can easily be mitigated through training programmes, Swartz points out that this does come at a cost, which can affect the economic viability of smaller projects and subsequent technology implementation decisions.