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February 2016
MODERN MINING
25
PLATINUM
– the only exception I can think of is Bathopele
– do not achieve this level of mechanisation.”
The mining fleet used at Booysendal is
owned by the mine but maintained and oper-
ated by Murray & Roberts Cementation. It
now consists of approximately 130 units,
including 27 LHDs. Most of the equipment is
from Sandvik although machines from AARD
Mining Equipment and GHH Mining Machines
are progressively being added to the fleet.
Initially, a surface workshop provided all repair
and maintenance needs but a new underground
workshop has now been commissioned to
deliver substantial time and cost benefits.
According to Braam Blom, Project Executive
at Murray & Roberts Cementation, the company
is well experienced in mechanised mining
operations but is nevertheless adding to its
expertise and refining its methods as it pro-
ceeds with the Booysendal contract. “To take
one example, we started off using double boom
drill rigs but – over time – concluded that they
were not ideal for the conditions we have at
Booysendal,” he says. “We’ve now started to
convert them to a single boom configuration
which makes them easier to manoeuvre and
speeds up tramming between sections. It’s all
about maintaining the cycle.”
With Northam Platinum having a policy of
employing locally to the fullest extent possible
(it wants 100 % of the unskilled workforce
and at least 75 % of the semi-skilled work-
force at Booysendal to be recruited locally),
Murray & Roberts Cementation – as the big-
gest single employer at the site – is having to
undertake considerable training to ensure that
these objectives are met. “Fortunately, this is
not a problem for us,” says Blom. “We have
excellent training programmes in place on site
while our group training facilities include our
Bentley Park Training Academy on the West
Rand which – among other things – is equipped
with state-of-the-art machine simulators, while
Northam has a fully functional training centre
with a site-specific trackless equipment simula-
tor on site.”
Detailing the progress made by Murray &
Roberts Cementation at Booysendal, Blom says
that up till the end of October last year the com-
pany had completed 14 006 m of development
and 360 000 m
2
of stoping and had produced
4,6 Mt of ore. At that point, 13 out 14 strike belt
sections were complete and operational and
seven out of eight boxes commissioned, with
all permanent main fans operational to meet
steady-state requirements.
“We now have all infrastructure in place to
achieve ore production targets and this will be
the focus of our efforts moving forward,” he
says.
While the UG2 North mine is the main focus
for Murray & Roberts Cementation, the company
has also been busy over the past eight months
with the Merensky North project (where it will
soon have two crews working on continuing
development and trial mining). Establishing the
boxcut to allow declines to be developed was a
particularly challenging operation, given that it
required blasting in close proximity to existing
infrastructure including offices, the processing
plant, a water storage facility and an Eskom
substation which is the main substation for the
entire mine. In addition, cognisance had to be
taken of historical adits close to the boxcut site.
The Merensky boxcut with
chairlift decline on the left
and conveyor decline on the
right (photo: Arthur Tassell).
“With both
Booysendal North
and South in
operation, PGM
production from
the Booysendal
property could
potentially reach
half a million
ounces a year ... .”
Willie Theron,
GM, Booysendal