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December 2015
MODERN MINING
9
MINING News
Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine in Lephalale
has commissioned a R385 million, envi-
ronmentally friendly, cyclic-operated coal
slimes ponds facility. This innovative solu-
tion is reported to be the first of its kind
globally. It provides unlimited capacity due
to continuous reclamation of the dried coal
slimes, which can be used as a fuel source.
The facility consists of four ponds, each
with a capacity of 365 000 m
3
, two return
water dams, each of 68 000 m
3
capacity,
a pump station, a substation and a slurry
delivery line.
According to Exxaro, the large-scale
installation of a sophisticated barrier and
drainage system is a first in the South
African mining industry while the recla-
mation of the coal fines as a continuous
operation (ongoing re-mining) is – in its
own right – another first for the industry. It
also ranks the complex base construction
of division walls in conjunction with the
liner system draped over as a construction
engineering feat.
According to Project Manager Happy
Ntsala, the new facility will prevent harm to
the environment by adhering to strict pollu-
tion prevention and control measures. “We
considered theavailablemethods in themar-
ket andpreferred the cyclic ponds due to the
technological advancements and our com-
mitment to reducing our carbon footprint,”
he says. “The ponds are not a permanent
storage facility but serve as a temporary‘dry-
ing’facility before reclamation.
Pace-setting slimes facility at Grootegeluk completed
“This solution has not been used else-
where in the world as far as we know. The
design of the evaporative drying of the
coal fines is based on modern and ongo-
ing research on the subject and the science
of evaporative drying.”
Grootegeluk’s Coal Beneficiation
Operations Manager, Adrie Conradie, com-
The R385 million cyclic-operated coal slimes ponds facility at Grootegeluk.
mended the teamon the excellent and safe
execution of the project. The Department
of Water Affairs also gave the facility a
thumbs up during one of its recent visits
to the site and encouraged Exxaro to share
its expertise and innovation with industry
peers to uplift the standard of mining in
South Africa and elsewhere.
Acacia Mining slims down its workforce
London-listed Acacia Mining, which oper-
ates three gold mines in Tanzania, says that
over the past two years it has been under-
taking a process to drive productivity and
cash flow across the company.
Says the company in a statement: “We
have implemented significant improve-
ments to our mine plans, including the
mechanisation of the Bulyanhulu mine and
the move from open-pit to underground
mining at the Gokona pit at North Mara.
Alongside a formal cost saving programme,
these changes have led to a reduction in our
costs of approximately 30 % from their peak
in 2012.
“As part of this process, there has been
an ongoing programme to ensure that
our workforce is of the appropriate size
and mix for our operations. This process,
initially scheduled to continue through to
the end of 2016, has already led to a 60 %
reduction in the number of higher-cost
expatriates.
“Following a further review of the organ-
isation in light of the current gold price and
recent performance, Acacia has accelerated
the process of organisational change. As a
result, approximately 1 050 of our people,
representing approximately 27 % of our
workforce, have either left or are expected
to leave Acacia over the next few months
through a combination of voluntary sepa-
ration agreements and redundancies.
“The largest proportion of the role
reductions is at Bulyanhulu, but all of our
mines and offices will be affected. As part
of this process, Acacia has fulfilled all local
legislative requirements and is committed
to minimising any employee hardship; as
such, we have put in place support services
to assist those affected.”
According to Acacia, the restructuring,
which is expected to lead to an annual sav-
ing of US$25 million, prior to a restructuring
charge of approximately US$11 million pre-
dominantly incurred in 2015, is one of a
number of initiatives underway to ensure
costs within the business are optimised, in
turn enhancing cash flow generation even
in a low gold price environment.