Modern Mining December 2019

into the manufacture of con- veyor and related systems such as transfer stations and mobile radial stackers,” he explains. Niemandt, who was previ- ously Engineering Manager with Sandvik Mining Systems Africa, joined NEPEAN in 2016 and a year later assumed his present position as GM. He has played a major role in setting up the South African manufacturing facility – which has 2 400 m 2 under roof – and is driving the move into the fabrication of complete conveyor systems. “Being able to design and manufacture gives us a com- petitive edge,” he says. “We

can customise solutions for our customers and our turnaround time is fast, typically measured in weeks or just several months, with this including design, drafting, manufacturing and corrosion protection if required. Most of our customers undertake installa- tion themselves but we can also handle this if the customer prefers. We don’t have our own installation crews so we will sub-contract the work and closely supervise it.” He adds that NEPEAN employs the latest design techniques including Discrete Element Modelling, Finite Element Analysis and 3D modelling and also uses state-of-the-art conveyor design software pack- ages. Manufacturing is to ISO 9001 standards. NEPEAN South Africa’s main market is under- ground and surface mining. “Initially, we were very

facility, the company was about to start work on the renovation of a system from a local coal mine. “With fewer greenfield-type projects around, mines are having to get the most out of existing assets, so we foresee refurbishment becoming an increasingly important part of our business,” says Niemandt. Looking ahead, Niemandt is optimistic about pros- pects for the company. “Our decision to manufacture complete conveyor systems has been a successful move. Business conditions remain constrained but we are definitely on an upward path in terms of turn- over and revenue. We also intend expanding our African business. We’ve already shown we can work successfully all over the continent and further pen- etration of the African market will be a definite focus for us in the future.” 

Willem Niemandt at the NEPEAN manufacturing facility in Roodepoort. Note the BOSS coupling (on the right of the photo) under test.

Belt clamps in the Roodepoort facility ready for delivery.

involved in systems for coal mines but we have now broadened our service to include hard rock mines. Most of our customer base is in South Africa but we have worked much further afield, as far north in fact as Guinea and Senegal,” states Niemandt. One recent contract saw the com- pany supplying two 200 kN belt clamps for a project in the DRC. The clamps were installed on a 1 500 mm wide inclined belt conveyor with a lift of 190 m with the clamps isolating the belt during its installation on the conveyor structure. The clamps are designed not to exert a clamping force of more than 2 MPa to prevent damage to the belt when clamped. A fairly new market for NEPEAN is the refurbishment of conveyor struc- tures and when Modern Mining recently visited the company’s Roodepoort

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December 2019  MODERN MINING  29