https://www.miningweekly.com

Shondoni Mine nearing completion

22nd August 2016

  

Font size: - +

This article has been supplied as a media statement and is not written by Creamer Media. It may be available only for a limited time on this website.

Sasol’s Shondoni Mine  (0.06 MB)

Construction of Sasol’s Shondoni Mine near Secunda is approaching completion with the realisation of the first key milestone on 1 February 2016 seeing the handover of surface infrastructure and licencing of the winder and shaft complex, while production of three production sections’ coal is expected to commence via the new incline conveyor in August 2016.

Sasol awarded WorleyParsons RSA the EPCM contract in January 2012 for the new Shondoni Mine which will replace the ageing Middelbult Mine and protect the baseline feed stock for the Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) operations within Sasol Synfuels.  The mine is expected to produce 9.2 Mtpa of coal via a conveyor system that will transport the coal by a 21 km conveyor belt to Sasol Coal Supply (SCS).  The single belt curved overland conveyor is one of the longest conveyor belts in the industry and one of the last key elements that need to become operational before coal from underground can be fed onto the system. 

Since February this year the surface infrastructure at the mine has been completed to facilitate full operational status.   Occupation by production Personnel started in April 2016 and will ramp up to a total of 1 190 site based mining employees, working around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. Two office blocks provide for 156 offices, covering an area of 4 950 square metres. The complete building footprint amounts to a massive 24 500 square metres.  The buildings also include operational change houses, a sewage treatment plant with a 200 000-litre effluent capacity per day, 460 covered parking bays, roads, access control, paving and power.  This is in addition to the fully operational shaft system, incorporating a man and material shaft, ventilation shaft and decline shaft with fully licenced winders. Secondary systems such as the fire suppression, service water reticulation, security fencing, lighting, walkways and electrical reticulation are also all in place.

Lead civil engineer for WorleyParsons RSA on the Shondoni project, Frikkie Naudé, says that the construction of the surface infrastructure included moving an earthworks volume of 1 092 000 cubic metres, construction of 39 500 cubic metres of concrete, and supply and erection of 9 300 tonnes of structural steel.  In addition to the 21 km length of conveyor,  36,5 km of road has been constructed, 37 2000 square metres of concrete and block paving laid, and 21,5 megawatts power capacity  installed.

Commenting on WorleyParsons RSA’s timeous and highly successful handover of their first key milestone, HOD Project Engineering Manager- at WorleyParsons, Gary Bullen, says, “We have a good relationship with Sasol and as a team, under the guidance of Sasol and with assistance from all our service providers, we have performed well and reached our objectives within the adjusted time constraints.” The team is now tasked with ensuring that the second key milestone is achieved, whereby the mine is set to produce the first coal via the underground conveyor system and then transport the coal by the conveyor belt to Sasol Coal Supply for use in producing synthetic fuels from August 2016.

Says Bullen, “By June this year we have to ensure that the underground supporting infrastructure is up and running in order to extract coal from Shondoni and supply and deliver it to the client. The mine is very near to completion with only the surface conveyor belt and underground workshops and supporting infrastructure to be finalised,” he adds.

The unique overland conveyor belt represents one of the longest of its kind in the mining industry and will provide Sasol Mining with a cost-effective and efficient means of transporting their own coal to SCS in Secunda. Coal is delivered from the Shondoni mine decline shaft to a 15 000 tonne capacity surface bunker for temporary storage before being transferred via the conveyor to the SCS site.  A 4 000 tonne capacity surface bunker was also constructed for temporary storage at SCS.

“The surface structure is accessible to the client, the winder and shaft complex has been licenced by the inspectorate and is now fully operational, with all the infrastructure support that is in place,” concludes Bullen.
The Shondoni Mining Project is part of a R15,3-billion project undertaken by Sasol Mining to replace three of its ageing coal mines in the Secunda area. Upon completion of the project, the three mines will contribute in supplying 42-million tonnes of coal per year to Sasol Synfuels , and the Secunda area remains one of the largest underground coal complexes in the world.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

AutoX
AutoX

We are dedicated to business excellence and innovation.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Rittal
Rittal

Rittal is a world leading provider of top-quality integrated systems for enclosures, power distribution, climate control, IT infrastructure and...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.097 0.129s - 91pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now