Capital Equipment News March 2018

MINING NEWS

Cutting-edge tech changing the face of mining at Kumba from 14 to 17 hours a day, the quality of the drill holes has improved, and fewer drilling machines will be needed over the lifetime of the mine.

The benefits have been immediate, with the drones providing information and data on Kumba’s operations that used to take days, or even weeks, to accumulate. In many cases, they are delivering new data that wasn’t accessible before, and is allowing Kumba to operate far more efficiently than before. Not all the technologies are as glamorous as robotic drills or drones – but they are no less effective in contributing to a modern mining operation. Kumba is particularly proud of its Advanced Process Control (ACP) system, which in simple terms controls the flow of material through the processing plant, with fewer interruptions and better quality. And then there’s the autonomous braking for Kumba’s haul trucks, which automatically brings the massive trucks to a stop to avoid collisions and accidents. More than 10 trucks have already been fitted with the new braking system. The best part of the technology strategy, according to Bongi Ntsoelengoe, technology manager at Kumba Iron Ore, is that not a single job has been lost in the process. “Rather than replacing employees, we have shown that using technology in our operations improves skills and provides an opportunity for staff to develop and grow. b

The robotic drilling machines are part of a R500-million investment in technology by Kumba at its mines in the Northern Cape as part of its efforts to make mining safer, more productive and more environment-friendly. Kumba is one of only two iron ore miners in the world to use autonomous drills, along with BHP Billiton’s Yandi mine in Western Australia. The machines aren’t only taking over the drilling operations, though. The skies are also a lot busier over Kumba’s Kolomela and Sishen mines these days, with a fleet of 10 drones providing information on everything from where mining has taken place to current stockpiles. Kumba has spent more than R6 million on its drone fleet, which includes both fixed-wing and quadcopter units, fitted with state-of-the-art cameras and laser scanners, which are used to create three-dimensional images and surveys. They are operated by five staff members who have received specialised training as drone pilots, and are fully licensed by the SA Civil Aviation Authority to do so.

Four years ago, Leigh Ann Booysen worked gruelling shifts at Kumba’s Kolomela iron ore mine as a drill operator. That meant sitting on a truck-sized drilling machine in an iron ore pit for eight hours, drilling holes for explosives before blasting. Today, she proudly boasts that she works an office job – and yet, she has never drilled more, or better, holes in her life. Leigh Ann is at the forefront of a technol- ogy revolution that is changing the face of Kumba’s operations – and indeed, the entire iron ore mining industry. She is now one of a team responsible for operating Kumba’s fleet of automated drilling machines from a safe, air-conditioned control centre next to the mine’s offices. It’s not just the drill operators’ lives that have improved. The rise in productivity has been dramatic. Operating hours are up 20%,

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