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March 2017
MODERN MINING
7
MINING News
previously announced in 2016.
The underground operation is pro-
gressing well, with the two underground
sections delivering 67 kt for the month of
February. A third underground section is
due to start production this month (March).
The underground mine delivers pri-
marily 6 000 kcal thermal coal from the
Diepspruit shaft and is set to achieve
nameplate tonnage rates of 900 000 t/a by
the end of June this year.
Universal is also in the process of start-
ing opencast operations at NCC – at the
Roodekop pit – with targeted production
being 2,4 Mt/a ROM of premium quality
domestic thermal coal and low phos met-
allurgical coal. Steady state is expected to
be achieved in mid-2017.
The boxcut development, which com-
menced in January this year, remains on
schedule and the first overburden blast
took place recently. Says Universal: “With
first ROM coal scheduled by the end of
March 2017, opencast coal will be pro-
cessed in April as per schedule, ensuring
contractual coal sales will be exceeded
rather than met.”
According to Universal, reconstruc-
tion of the third DMS module of the Coal
Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) is
progressing well and is on schedule for
commissioning shortly, in line with first
production from the opencast operation.
The HMS module will increase the total
operational capacity, enabling NCC to
reach the targeted steady state beneficia-
tion capacity of 3,3 Mt/a.
DRA launches two-year graduate programme
In order to further the number of quali-
fied graduates with practical experience
in the industry, global engineering firm
DRA is launching a two-year graduate
programme that will see it taking on eight
graduates across several disciplines in the
next year.
Louise Dercksen, Group Human
Resources Manager at DRA, says the group
will hire graduates from each engineering
discipline – mechanical, electrical, process
and civil. “We have approached the uni-
versities, as well as a graduate recruitment
agency, and the two-year programme will
start this year and finish in 2019,” she says.
Participating students had to send
through a short CV, and their latest study
results. They also had to go through an
interview process and complete a psycho-
metric test.
“We didn’t look solely at academic results.
We’re looking for candidates who are keen
to innovate, possess people skills and show
potential in business acumen. All-round stu-
dents who can add value to our company
and the industry,”Dercksen says.
Phillip DeWeerdt and Antonio Da Gama
Texeira, two project engineers at DRA who
recently completed their MBA studies, will
be functioning as Project Sponsors for
the two-year programme and will ensure
its success. The graduates will also be
appointed discipline-specific mentors to
ensure their development in all required
proficiencies of the programme.
Dercksen says that while the Engi
neering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has a
five-year practical experience requirement,
students can use the two-year graduate
programme towards their five-year ECSA
requirement.
Since DRA is a global engineering firm,
the graduates also have the opportunity to
learn from engineers across the world dur-
ing their two-year experience at the DRA
Johannesburg office.
“There is a skills shortage in the broad
engineering sector and DRA saw an oppor-
tunity to contribute towards developing
talent within the industry,”Dercksen says.
The skills shortage is not limited to South
Africa. According to Manpower Group’s
annual talent shortage survey for 2016,
engineers are ranked fourth out of the top
ten difficult positions to fill due to lack of
skills. The survey goes on to say that the four
top reasons why it is hard to fill positions
include: a lack of applicants – 64 %; a lack of
hard skills or technical competencies – 19 %;
a lack of experience – 19 %; and a lack of soft
skills (workplace experience) – 11 %.
Dercksen says the DRA programme can
help alleviate this. “During the programme,
the students will be exposed to all elements
of the work we do, going through a rota-
tional programme. There will be ongoing
evaluation of their performance as they
work their way through the different engi-
neering disciplines and also learn about
cost control, budget management, quality
control and the ins and outs of site work,”
she says.