When a South African coal mine was facing highwall challenges that raised its operating cost, BME’s technical team was able to design and implement a modified pre-split design that cut costs while retaining optimal fragmentation. The mine had experienced problems with poor blast performance and geological issues at its highwalls, according to BME technical services manager Tom Dermody. “Excessive burdens, mechanical over-digging and poor pre-split performance were factors behind the unfavourable high-wall conditions,” said Dermody. “Previous attempts to address the issue had added additional f ..read more

By Steve Mallaby, CEO, adumo Payouts As we commemorate Youth Month in June, it is crucial to acknowledge the pivotal role that smaller-scale or so-called ‘junior’ mining companies play in driving financial resilience and empowerment, not only on a local level but also within the broader mining industry. While these companies may differ in size from the major mining houses, they share a common obligation to foster a culture of savings, safety, and productivity in communities. The mining industry stands as a cornerstone of our nation’s economic landscape. Its ethos of sustainability and safety r ..read more

With mining companies in Asia taking a growing interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects of their operations, SRK Consulting engaged over 40 of its clients and other companies in a workshop dedicated to these topics in Beijing recently. This followed an internal SRK knowledge-sharing workshop in which staff from its Asian and African offices discussed ways to integrate ESG issues into the company’s range of other resource-related disciplines. Vis Reddy, current chairman of SRK Consulting South Africa and now Africa regional coordinator at SRK Consulting, said the topics pr ..read more

Ivanhoe Mines, Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa, has announced the completion of Phase 3 concentrator construction at its Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ahead of schedule and on budget. According to a report shared with the media, Ivanhoe’s Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete said that on May 26, 2024, first ore was fed into the Phase 3 concentrator at the plant’s Kamoa-Kakula copper complex. This marks the completion of construction of the Phase 3 concentrator, whi ..read more

Andrada Mining has purchased TOMRA XRT sorters as part of its expansion plans at the flagship Uis Mine in Namibia. The sorters feature TOMRA’s latest innovation launched earlier this year at the Mining Indaba exhibition: the groundbreaking OBTAINsoftware that leverages Deep Learning to bring single-particle precision to high-throughput particle sorting. Andrada Mining, the African technology metals mining company, owns the open-pit Uis tin mine, which represents one of the largest tin reserves in Namibia. It is in the course of implementing expansion plans at the mine, which include introducin ..read more

The organisers of DRC Mining Week have announced that the newly re-elected governor of Haut-Katanga, Jacques Kyabula Katwe, will return to the event in June and deliver the welcome address on the opening day on 12 June. The 19th edition of this long-running flagship event by VUKA Group is taking place in Lubumbashi from 12–14 June. H.E. Jacques Kyabula Katwe was re-elected as governor of Haut-Katanga at the end of April. In a letter to the organisers, Governor Kyabula Katwe congratulated the DRC Mining Week team for the chosen theme of this year’s conference, namely “Prioritising Sustaina ..read more

Africa is witnessing a natural gas drive in Angola that is set to revolutionize the continents natural gas industry. From exploration to production to exports, the Angolan oil and natural gas industry is bustling with new initiatives. This past year alone, international oil companies and the Angolan government partnered to award numerous regional operators with service contracts worth billions of dollars in combined value. The African Energy Chamber has been particularly pleased to see Angola driving its natural gas industry forward. In August 2022, solidified plans to develop the Quiluma and ..read more

In an industry first, Rio Tinto and BHP will collaborate on the testing of large battery-electric haul truck technology in the Pilbara, Western Australia, to accelerate the potential for its future deployment. The two companies will work with manufacturers Caterpillar and Komatsu to conduct independent trials of their battery-electric haul trucks, including testing of battery, static and dynamic charging systems, to assess performance and productivity in the Pilbara environment. The collaboration reflects the individual commitments made from BHP, Rio Tinto, Komatsu and Caterpillar to support R ..read more

thyssenkrupp Uhde South Africa first opened its door to the local market in 1959 with engineering as the mainstay of its service portfolio. By the early 1970s, procurement, construction and management capabilities were added. The organisation continued to evolve, developing into a competent, diverse, and capable contractor that efficiently manages an extensive range of project types, technologies and customer requirements across the Southern African region. The ability of the local subsidiary to tap into the specialisation available through its parent company, thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH in Germany ..read more

Oil and gas supermajor TotalEnergies has announced that it will invest $600 million to strengthen exploration and production activities in the Republic of Congo in 2024. The investment will be used to finance exploration and maintain production in the country’s deep offshore Moho Nord field, which accounts for approximately half of all Congolese oil production, or roughly 140,000 barrels per day (bpd). As the voice of the African energy sector, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) commends the commitment by TotalEnergies to Congo’s oil and gas future. The $600 million investment signals a strong i ..read more