36 / 52
34
MODERN MINING
December 2016
BULK MATERIALS
HANDLING
feature
equipment/materials, as well as the associated
installation on site.
Further north in Zimbabwe, ELB has been
awarded a contract by PPC Zimbabwe for the
upgrade of the clinker loading facilities at
Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South. ELB’s
responsibilities include the design, procure-
ment, delivery, installation and management
of all the elements of the upgrade, which is
designed to reduce the excessively high dust
volumes generated during the process of
loading rail wagons and to achieve a quicker
turnaround time of the complete rake.
The dust volumes will be reduced by
innovative design around the integration
of the de-dusting unit with the bulk load-
ing head while the increased loading rate
will be achieved by the interface between the
feed conveyor, weigh flask and loading head
configuration.
Whilst ELB has had a long involvement
in executing projects in Africa, a recent con-
tract will be taking it to Ghana, where it has
never worked before. Says Meijers: “We’ve
been appointed to undertake the Front End
Engineering and Design (FEED) for the 27,1 km
single-flight overland conveyor forming part
of the Phase 2A project at Asanko’s flagship
operation, the Asanko gold mine. The capac-
ity is 1 200 t/h and the installed power will be
2,8 MW. We’ll be working with our American
technology partner, Conveyor Dynamics
Inc (CDI), one of the world’s leaders in the
dynamic analysis and design of bulk materials
handling systems.”
In executing all its new contracts, ELB
will be relying to a large extent on its in-
house resources. “In 2012 we established ELB
Construction (ELBCON) as our construction
arm and this has been a game-changer for us,
allowing much better control over costs and
project execution,” says Meijers. “ELBCON has
a full structural, mechanical and piping capa-
bility although we still have to contract in the
necessary building and civils skills. In addi-
tion, we are now self-sufficient in electrical and
instrumentation work following our acquisition
of B&W Instrumentation & Electrical in 2014,
without question one of the leading companies
operating in this field in Africa.”
Giving a round-up of some of ELB’s other
current contracts, Meijers says the company
is still on site at Eskom’s new Medupi Power
Station near Lephalale, where it has been active
since 2011. “Medupi has been a flagship proj-
ect for us, with the heart of our work being the
provision of coal and ash handling facilities,”
he says.
ELB is also busy at Black Rock Mine
Operations near Hotazel in the Northern Cape,
which is operated by Assmang Limited, which
is jointly owned by African Rainbow Minerals
Limited and Assore Limited.
“At Black Rock Mine Operations, we’re pro-
viding a Rapid Train Loading Station (RTLS)
for the Nchwaning mine, an associated 518 m
feed conveyor, as well as two product stackers.
Our RTLS technology is amongst the best in the
world and the facility at Black Rock will be able
to meet Transnet quick loading requirements.”
Across border, ELB is working at a diamond
mine in Botswana and is also undertaking a
shiploader upgrade in Mozambique.
Finally, and reflecting on ELB’s successes,
Meijers says it is amazing what a difference just
a few months can make. “When 2016 opened,
we were feeling the effects of the recession in
mining and were forced to cut our overheads
drastically,” he observes. “We achieved this
in part by cutting the salaries of everyone in
the company, including management, a move
A Rapid Train Loading
Station (RTLS) is being
provided at Assmang’s
Black Rock Mining
Operations (BRMO).