Engineering project house TWP Projects is executing the project for a deep-level shaft on the Styldrift Merensky phase 1 project, in North West province.

The project is a joint venture between the world’s number one platinum producer Anglo Platinum (Angloplat) and community-based investment company Royal Bafokeng Hold- ings, at the Bafokeng Rasimone platinum mine (BRPM). The project will process 230 000 t/m of Merensky reef at steady-state production.

Styldrift is about 5,5 km from the exist- ing BRPM concentrator and an overland conveying system will be constructed to transport the ore to the concentrator, which will be increased by 450 000 t/m to accommodate the mine’s production.

Shaft site infrastructure will comprise the twin-shaft system, associated mining surface infrastructure and the waste rock dumps.

TWP Projects MD Digby Glover says that the surface terracing and earthworks on the project is complete and the excavation and foundation work for the winder houses is progressing. Further, the main sinking contract will soon be awarded.

Earlier this year, Styldrift celebrated a lost-time injury-free year and Glover attributes this to the focus on safety in the project and the concerted effort to ensure that everything is done according to best health and safety practices. Glover says that the project was deliberately slowed owing to the economic climate, but it is likely that it will be fully revived in the near future.

Thembelani 2 Shaft Project
TWP Projects is also managing Angloplat’s Thembelani 2 shaft project, in Rustenburg, in the North West province. TWP is respon- sible for the engineering, procurement, construction and management (EPCM) portion of the project.

Thembelani 2 (formerly known as the Paardekraal 2 shaft project) is a replacement project that will gain access to deeper Merensky reef reserves at a rate of 120 000 oz/y, which is expected by 2015.

The project includes a downcast vertical men-and-materials shaft, and an adjacent matching vertical upcast ventilation shaft, which will intersect the existing horizontal connections. It also involves the extension of the existing declines at the Thembelani 1 shaft project.

Glover says that extensive design work is being undertaken on the project and that the mine is taking greater responsibility for the work on Thembelani 1, which is effectively an underground development project.

He says that, although the project has been challenging from a safety perspec- tive, its safety record has been improving. The on-site safety management team com- prises a chief safety officer, two assistant officers, a full-time Angloplat safety representative, as well as a health and safety manager who oversees the project and its safety systems.

Further, TWP now has OHSAS 18000 accreditation, as well as a fully fledged in-house management system in place, which is augmented by the Angloplat health and safety system.

Sinking Methodology
To further improve safety, significant changes have been made to the sinking methodology on the project in an effort to reduce and possibly eliminate the amount of in-line activities in the shaft and prevent people from working above one another, he says. Although the cycle times have increased, they are improving as the sinking crew grow accustomed to the new methodology, he says.

Electrohydraulic drilling methodology for shaft sinking was previously introduced on the project, for which there were great expectations. Unfortunately, the use of the technology has not been too successful in practice. TWP reports that the sinking contractor is hoping to reintroduce this technology in the near future.

Meanwhile, TWP is well under way to obtaining ISO 14001 accreditation, hope- fully by the end of the year. In line with this aim, the company has been operating in accordance with IS0 14001 on site to ensure that environmental best practice is followed.

In other news, TWP North West is commissioning the magnetic concentration plant at operating smelter/refinery Rustenburg Base Metals Refiners. Glover explains that the new magnetic separation plant is at a brownfield site and that it was a challenging project as a result of space constraints, high security measures, as well as time and capital cost pressures. He says that, from a technical point of view, the project has been a success and recovery has improved since the commis- sioning of the plant.

TWP is involved in a number of other projects for Angloplat, as well as for diver- sified miner Anglo American. Glover says that its relationship with Angloplat has been an ongoing reaffirmation of TWP’s ability to manage large and small projects in the mining and pro- cessing fields.