ONE OF A KIND The Ghaghoo diamond mine incline sand tunnel project involved tunnelling a decline at a -8° inclination through 80-m-thick desert sand over 21 months
With commodities, such as gold and copper, showing positive growth, mining contracting and engineering company Redpath Mining Africa has noted an upswing in contracting work in the African mining sector.
Redpath Mining Africa MD Ockert Douglas says this was also the sentiment held by others at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, adding that 2017 might not be the breakthrough year for a mining boom, but current activity levels in industry point to a definite, albeit slow, upswing.
“Our tender department’s workload indicates that the industry is becoming busier. However, only new developments in mechanisation and greater ingenuity in project management and mining methods can improve and drive the upswing in 2017.”
By adopting the latest advancements in mechanisation, mines can lower the unit costs of production, thereby allowing for increased output.
Douglas explains that mechanisation does not diminish job opportunities, but rather allows for existing employees to be upskilled by increasing their knowledge base.
“An increase in the knowledge of employees will also improve efficiencies and margins, which is, ultimately, a success as far as I am concerned,” he says, emphasising that growth and knowledge transfer is extremely important to the company.
Over the past four years, Redpath Mining Africa has grown its business at “quite a rate”, enthuses Douglas, attributing this to the company’s people. “Our team members are selected not only for their qualifications and experience in their field of expertise but also for their complementary strengths.
“We feel that the company is in a position to expand and compete aggressively in the African contracting market.”
Douglas also notes that Redpath Mining Africa is looking forward to two new mining projects with coal mining company Sasol Mining and platinum and palladium producer Platinum Group Metals.
Showcasing its vision for growth, Redpath Mining Africa displayed a number of completed projects to visitors at the Mining Indaba held from February 6 to 9 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre – where Douglas says there was “a positive atmosphere”.
“The high quality of the exhibitions and the number of people who attended the event and exhibited, were exceptional. Although not everyone who attended the Indaba is a potential client, networking should be part of any mining services provider’s marketing arsenal, as it lays the foundation for new work opportunities.”
One of the projects showcased by Redpath Mining Africa was the Ghaghoo diamond mine incline sand tunnel project – near the south-eastern border of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, in Botswana.
“This project was a world first, with the decline at a –8° inclination through 80-m-thick desert sand,” Douglas highlights, adding that the project took 21 months to complete, after starting in October 2011, using a specially designed hydraulically-operated 96 t open face tunnel shield to support the 6.1-m-diameter sand tunnel.
The company also showcased the ability of its Redbore series of raise drills. The company currently offers nine raise drills in this series, which includes the Redbore 30, 40, 50, 50X, 60UR, 70, 80, 90 and 100 models.