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Drilling and Tunnelling News
Greater urgency needed in adopting mechanisation in South Africa
By: Aarifah Nosarka 28th October 2016 For the local mining industry to ensure its sustainability, the industry needs to accelerate the rate at which it is adopting new technology, mechanical engineering consultant CMTI Consulting MD Dr Danie Burger tells Mining Weekly. “The transitioning of mines to greater mechanisation and... →
Horizontal raiseboring at Cullinan mine outperforms traditional methods
By: Ilan Solomons 21st October 2016 Raise boring and drilling services group Master Drilling is nearing completion of a 220 m hole with a diameter of 4.5 m horizontal raise bore (HRB) trial project at Southern Africa-focused miner Petra Diamonds’ Cullinan diamond mine, in Gauteng. During a site visit to the mine earlier this month,... →
HORIZONTAL RAISE BORING Horizontal raise boring is a developing technology with potentially faster production advances and is consistently more stable than traditional drill and blast
New body for shaft sinkers launched
By: Ilan Solomons 30th September 2016 The South African Shaft Sinking, Equipment and Services (Sasses) supply group, a subgroup within the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (Saceec) was officially launched at the Electra Mining Africa 2016 tradeshow in Johannesburg, last week. Sasses aims to assist local manufacturers... →
Studies seek ways to prevent falls-of-ground accidents at mines
By: Ilan Solomons 30th September 2016 A series of implementation projects were carried out between 2012 and 2015 by global engineering consultancy SRK through the Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee with funds from the Mine Health and Safety Council (MSHC) with the aim of imparting a risk-based support design methodology to... →
Ontario govt awards Boart Longyear C$1.37m to improve safety, reduce costs
By: Henry Lazenby 28th September 2016 Multinational drilling equipment and services provider Boart Longyear has received an award of C$1.37-million from the Ontario government to help improve safety at mineral exploration drilling sites and the efficiency of drilling systems technology. The Salt Lake City, Utah-headquartered company... →
Cash costs plunge below $700/oz at AngloGold’s Mponeng mine
By: David Oliveira 23rd September 2016 South African gold mining major Anglo-Gold Ashanti reported in its six- months through June 30 earnings report, released in mid-August, that its South African flagship operation, Mponeng gold mine, near Carletonville, was one of the lowest-cost producers in South Africa during the first half of... →
Hughes Drilling appoints administrators
By: Creamer Media Reporter 22nd September 2016 Queensland-based coal driller and miner Hughes Drilling has collapsed. Jason Preston, Shaun Fraser and Jamie Harris, partners of McGrathNicol, were on Thursday appointed as joint administrators of all the entities controlled by Hughes Drilling, except of its US subsidiary Reichdrill. →
Shaft sinking industry group launches, seeks to create new opportunities
By: Ilan Solomons 16th September 2016 The South African Shaft Sinking, Equipment and Services (Sasses) supply group, a subgroup within the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (Saceec), was officially launched at the Electra Mining Africa 2016 tradeshow in Johannesburg, this week. Sasses aims to assist local manufacturers... →
Indicated resources at Tanzania gold prospect up 409% to 205 347 oz
By: Mia Breytenbach 16th September 2016 East Africa-focused gold producer, developer and explorer Shanta Gold has upgraded its Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource estimate at the Ilunga satellite deposit at the New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM), in south-west Tanzania, with indicated resources increasing by 409% – from 40 352 oz... →
GRADE ELEVATION The indicated resource gold grade rose 17%, from 4.03 g/t of gold to 4.71 g/t of gold
Caterpillar to discontinue some underground equipment ranges
By: Ilan Solomons 16th September 2016 In a “strategic initiative” to restructure and optimise its manufacturing footprint, US mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has decided to place its soft rock room and pillar underground equipment production under review and will stop taking orders for this equipment. The company has... →
Master Drilling posts 15.4% revenue growth despite tough operating environment
By: Ilan Solomons 16th September 2016 JSE-listed drilling services provider Master Drilling has overcome a challenging economic climate to secure a $208.9-million order book, while its headline earnings a share increased 30.1% year-on-year to 97.6c in the six months ended June 30. At a presentation of the company’s interim results,... →
DANIE PRETORIUS Master Drilling experienced a slow start to 2016, owing to delayed access to sites, delays in project start-ups, poor ground conditions and economic fluctuations
Consultant promotes technology over subsidies to ensure sustainability
By: Nadine James 16th September 2016 Coal mining companies need to embrace the technological revolution if they are to overcome current challenges, including lower commodity prices, rising labour costs and increased regulatory pressures, says commodity and industrial consulting firm Bryanston Resources. According to Bryanston... →
Sentinel at forefront of global mining technology
9th September 2016 Canadian base metals producer First Quantum Minerals’ (FQM’s) $2.1-billion Sentinel mine, in Zambia’s North-Western province, is described by the Zambian Chamber of Mines (CoM) as the country’s mining industry’s “most ambitious venture ever” and the single-largest upfront infrastructure... →
Master Drilling secures healthy pipeline of projects, despite challenges 
By: Ilan Solomons 6th September 2016 JSE-listed drilling services provider Master Drilling has overcome a challenging economic climate to secure a $208.9-million order book, while its headline earnings a share increased 30.1% year-on-year to 97.6c in the six months ended June 30. At a presentation of the company’s interim results,... →
Kansanshi copper mine renews drill fleet
By: Mia Breytenbach 2nd September 2016 Amid lacklustre global commodity prices and difficult times faced by the Zambian copper mining industry, the country’s largest copper mine, Kansanshi, has opted to renew its fleet of blast hole drill rigs by acquiring Sandvik D25KS and DP1500i drill rigs. Sandvik Zambia key account manager for... →
Schwalbe
26th August 2016 Focused on providing products and services whilst ensuring competitiveness in quality, reliability and price, South Africa-based drilling equipment supplier Schwalbe’s product lines have been supplied to and tested, with favourable results, by companies such as gold producer AngloGold Ashanti,... →
Impeded release of nitrates mitigating enviro impact of mining explosives
By: Donna Slater 19th August 2016 Developments over the past three decades by mining explosives manufacturer BME, have resulted in a lowered negative impact on the environment through the impeded release of nitrates during blasting operations, thereby, preventing possible groundwater contamination and allowing enhanced recycling... →
Large-diameter drilling at Orapa project may start at year-end
By: Kimberley Smuts 29th July 2016 Exploration company Tsodilo Resources aims to extract between 2 000 t and 3 000 t of kimberlite from BK16, potentially one of the last economic kimberlite pipes in the Orapa kimberlite province in Botswana, during a large-diameter drilling (LDD) programme in the fourth quarter of the year. The... →
New diesel-hydraulic tunnelling jumbo provides high-quality drilling solution
15th July 2016 A new tunnelling jumbo, the DT912D, has been added to the range of products offered by breaking, drilling, crushing tools and equipment provider Sandvik Construction and is equipped with the company’s RD525 hydraulic rock drill, or optionally the RD520. →
Pneumatic equipment no longer centre stage, but still has place
By: Sebastian Whyle 15th July 2016 The uptake of pneumatic tools at mine sites has slowed, owing to new mining technology and techniques, equipment provider Borwa Mining Instruments MD Lebogang Matlou tells Mining Weekly. →
Bada’s initial drill phase set for August
By: Nadine James 8th July 2016 Resource company Essel Group Middle East (EGME) expects to start Phase 1 of its drilling programme for its Bada potash project, in Eritrea, next month. EGME CEO Punkaj Gupta says the remainder of its 2016 exploration campaign will primarily be focused on drilling test holes to examine the layers... →
Drilling reveals visible gold in Burkina Faso
8th July 2016 Gold developer West African Resources has reported high-grade reverse circulation (RC) drilling results from the M1 prospect at its Tanlouka gold project, in Burkina Faso. →
Some services firms report business revival as several commodity prices rise
By: Henry Lazenby 6th July 2016 Certain mining services providers have reported increased interest from customers on both the investor and mining side, saying the slight recovery for many major commodities so far this year had translated into improved business. “Yes, there’s definite improvement in our business, especially... →
Mining equipment sector to reach $156bn by 2022 – report
By: Ilan Solomons 6th July 2016 The global mining equipment sector is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% between 2016 and 2022, to reach a value of over $150-billion by 2022. This was according to a new report published on Monday by global market research company Allied Market Research (AMR) titled ‘World... →
Moatize takes delivery of 212 t surface miner
By: Kimberley Smuts 1st July 2016 Mining services and construction provider Wirtgen South Africa (SA) has supplied its biggest surface mining model, the 212 t 4200SM, to diversified miner Vale’s Moatize coal mine project, in Tete, Mozambique. The 4200SM costs about €5-million depending on client specifications and can mine out... →
Atlas Copco launches automated surface drill rig
By: Donna Slater 24th June 2016 Equipment manufacturer Atlas Copco in April launched its automated surface drill rig – the SmartROC – to the South African industry in the mining town of Kathu, in the Northern Cape. →
UK show sees strong demand
By: Kimberley Smuts 17th June 2016 The Hillhead international quarrying and recycling show is famous for its live demonstrations and 2016 will be no different with a range of equipment being put through its paces in a live quarry environment. Demand for the 2016 event has been strong with every square metre now allocated,... →
Essential maintenance supplied despite budget cuts by mines
By: Sebastian Whyle 17th June 2016 Rope access service and equipment provider Skyriders is, to a large extent, immune to the current commodities price slump, as inspection and maintenance is an essential part of keeping sites operational, notes marketing manager Mike Zinn. →
Sandvik reinvents top hammer drill bit
By: Mia Breytenbach 10th June 2016 To solve problems when drilling in abrasive rock conditions, global supplier of equipment and tools, service and technical solutions for the mining industry Sandvik Mining introduced a “groundbreaking” new design for drill bits. The primary applications for the top centre drill bits include face... →
German company develops four machines for blind-shaft construction, enlargement
By: Donna Slater 3rd June 2016 German mechanised tunnelling engineering company Herrenknecht AG has developed a range of four shaft boring machines for the safe and rapid construction of blind shafts or shaft enlargements to a depth of 2 000 m. →
Sasol investing $1.4bn to grow Mozambique gas platform 
By: Terence Creamer 30th May 2016 Energy group Sasol has started drilling the first of what will be 12 new gas and oil wells in Mozambique where the government recently approved a production sharing agreement (PSA), as well as a field development plan for the resources, which are in the same neighbourhood as Sasol’s producing... →
Drilling for gas in Temane
Aggressive drilling programme under way at Gascoyne’s Dalgaranga
By: Samantha Herbst 24th May 2016 Following the completion of a prefeasibility study of its 80%-owned Dalgaranga gold project earlier this year, which proved the project to be a robust development, ASX-listed gold hopeful Gascoyne Resources on Tuesday announced that an aggressive drilling programme was currently under way at... →
Australia’s GB Energy to acquire lithium project in Namibia
By: Samantha Herbst 19th May 2016 In line with its strategy of targeting minerals critical for the future of the energy environment, ASX-listed GB Energy has entered into an option agreement with an unnamed South African company which, if exercised, provides the GB Energy with the right to acquire a 70% stake in Namibia’s... →
Draft Mining Charter 'only a proposal' – Zwane
By: Ilan Solomons 22nd April 2016 Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane on Friday sought to assure mining industry stakeholders concerned about certain provisions in the new broad-based black economic-empowerment Mining Charter that the draft was “just a proposal by government” and that “nothing has been cast in stone". The... →
New drill rig alignment tool drastically slashes rig set-up time
By: Donna Slater 22nd April 2016 Australia-based mining technology firm Minnovare’s drill rig alignment tool, the Azimuth Alinger, is delivering “unprecedented” efficiency to the underground drilling process by substantially reducing rig set-up time, the company claims. →
Main sinking at Platreef Shaft 1
15th April 2016 The changeover from presinking activities to main-sinking activities at Shaft 1 of the Platreef platinum-group metals (PGMs) mining project, in Limpopo, is expected to be completed by April, enabling the start of main sinking. Presinking of the shaft was completed to a depth of 54 m below surface. →
Companies ink deal to co-market hard-rock mining services in Africa
By: David Oliveira 15th April 2016 Australian underground hard-rock mining contractor PYBAR Mining Services announced a three-year agreement with LSE-listed drilling services company Capital Drilling earlier this month for the comarketing of underground hard-rock mining services in Africa. Capital Drilling is headquartered in... →
Infill drilling at DRC copper project to start next month
By: David Oliveira 15th April 2016 Canadian exploration and development company Ivanhoe Mines executive chairperson Robert Friedland announced earlier this month that the company and its joint venture partner Chinese miner Zijin Mining were preparing to accelerate a planned infill drilling programme on the Kakula discovery area at... →
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