Platinum producer Northam Platinum earlier this month awarded JSE-listed Murray & Roberts Cementation the Phase 1 contract for the Mpumalanga-based Booysendal South Central complex, a new mine that will be established on the same mining lease as the Booysendal platinum mine.
Murray & Roberts Cementation business executive Allan Widlake notes that the contract, due to start in April next year, includes the development of an access decline system to be established as part of Phase 1 of the project.
Murray & Roberts will employ trackless mining methods on the access development, using load-haul-dump tramming to remove the waste rock and ore until the conveyor systems are established and commissioned.
Murray & Roberts will then mine the access decline system, initially inclining to the reef intersection and then declining down through the upper group two (UG2) reef footwall, to continue as on-reef declines, providing access to Phase 2 stoping activities. To intersect the nearest decline, the company will then develop a standalone ventilation adit, initially driven on reef and then turning as a strike vent drive.
“Murray & Roberts Cementation is currently the main contractor operating Booysendal North mine, mining both the UG2 and the Merensky orebodies, and we are extremely proud that we will continue to be associated with Northam Platinum in this way,” says Widlake, adding that Murray & Roberts would continue to build a sustainable relationship with Northam.
“The Murray & Roberts Cementation team will apply all lessons learnt from the North mine in developing the new access decline system as quickly as possible. “However, as always, safety remains a top priority,” he concludes.