Modern Quarrying January-February 2015

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Know your project’s risks

New Lafarge Aggregates GM

Miners, ministers and other mining industry

address the various ‘modifying factors’ that stand between a prospective deposit and a viable mine.” With a 40-year reputation built ini- tially on geotechnical engineering, SRK Consulting has grown into a global net- work of engineering consultants with in-house expertise ranging from explo- ration, mining and infrastructure engi- neering to water, tailings, and social and environmental impact assessment. “Integrating the various technical disciplines is the only way to fully under- stand project risk,” Dixon says. “Open-pit economics, for example, are heavily dependent on the pit slope angle. To optimise this angle, a detailed knowl- edge of the structural geology is required, as well as rock characteristics and ground- water behaviour.” “The three areas of knowledge can then be integrated into the preliminary mine design, and pit optimisation runs can be completed with confidence.” www.srk.co.za

Pr aveen Bechoo, wh o s e a p p o i n t - ment commenced on October 1, 2014, i s b a s ed a t t h e Lafarge head office in Longmeadow. He

players are gather- ing at the Cape Town A f r i c an

Mining Indaba in February, under a cloud of low com-

is also a member of the country executive. Bechoo holds degrees in BSc Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Business Administration. Prior to joining Lafarge, he occupied various senior management roles with companies including Eskom, Holcim and M-Web Commerce Zone. His recent posi- tion was Business Unit CEO at Macsteel Coil Processing and Macsteel Special Steels, where he spent 13 years. Bechoo has replaced Jacques Schutte, who has been overseeing the Aggregates product line for the past nine months. Schutte has returned to his position as strat- egy and business development manager. www.lafarge.co.za

modity prices, rising mining costs and falling productivity – a risky environment that requires higher levels of technical certainty, according to SRK Consulting. “Tough economic conditions are making it harder to fund new mines to even sustain existing conditions, so explorers, developers and operators must ensure that the risk factors are well understood and mitigated,” says SRK chairman and corporate consultant, Roger Dixon ( above ). “As margins for proposed mining projects are squeezed between softer prices and higher costs, there is less room to deal with project risk. The key to success is to properly

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MODERN QUARRYING

January - February 2015

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