Firm assists companies in developing environment-friendly operations

Consulting engineering and project implementation firm Hatch Africa says it has become increasingly important for the mining industry to mitigate environmental impact and confront other issues that go beyond compliance with legislated...

Power, labour costs making SA an expensive mining destination

South Africa is one of the most expensive countries for gold mining, with the cost per ounce of gold produced averaging at $968, Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland said on Friday, delivering the miner’s financial results for the 2011 financial year....

R26-million in green technology principles for green housing project

With its goal of reducing its energy use by 15% by 2015 in mind, coal miner Exxaro has built green housing for its employees through the company’s eco-friendly housing project, in Lephalale, Limpopo. This is in line with the Department of...

Green chemistry-engineered solution for RO systems to hit African soil

Water treatment and processing company Nalco Africa plans to introduce its industrial reverse osmosis (RO) management system, 3D TRASAR for membranes, to the African market next year.

Exploring alternative energy sources for mine sites

Closed or abandoned mining sites can all too easily leave behind a negative legacy. Is it really possible to turn this situation around and leave a positive inheritance for the wider environment and local communities?

New energy efficient melting systems enter market

Induction heating solutions company Hot Platinum’s (HPT’s) insulated gate bipolar transistor-based induction melting technologies, combined with a high level of system automation, have resulted in an estimated 30% decrease in energy use and...

Australia may boost north-west defence presence to protect offshore energy belt

The Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) on Wednesday welcomed Defence Minister Stephen Smith’s defence force posture review announcement. The review would address a range of security factors but one of the key issues would...

Need to diversify education for SA’s coal industry

Currently, little is being done to improve the limited education and skills training in the fields of coal mining, coal production and coal as a source of energy, University of Witwatersrand School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering...

Tribology education key – institute

Tribology education is key to understanding the cost of nonconformance to tribology practices in, besides others, the mining sector, says the South African Institute of Tribology president John Fitton.

Deloitte identifies govt actions as a big challenge for the mining industry

International auditing, consulting, financial advisory and risk management company Deloitte has highlighted government intervention as one of the biggest challenges the international mining industry will face in the coming year.

Drive technology fast 
becoming industry standard

The latest active front-end (AFE) drive technology is fast becoming the industry standard for manufacturers, owing to their energy savings, a near unity power factor and current distortion (THDi) 5% of nominal current at full load, low-voltage...

Energy savings need careful examination

Almost 65% of all energy used on average is consumed by electric motors, and replacing old units with more energy-efficient motors should be considered to reduce energy demand. However, motor replacement needs to be examined on a case-by-case...