Modern Mining February 2015

MINING News

Technical scoping study on coal deposit completed These are an international seaborne coal product at a calorific value (CV) grade of 5 500 kcal/kg, a mid-range product at around 4 800 kcal/kg and a power station feed of 4 200 kcal/kg.

the emerging economies of the world with energy for generations to come. The Takatokwane complex will not be just a mining site but an entire coal mining province.” Non-optimised capex for the project is estimated at US$767 million with operat- ing and logistics costs ranging between US$43 and US$57 per tonne FOB. The study has been finalised on the basis of the Trans-Kalahari Rail (TKR) project being constructed by others as per current plan- ning and progress. Although the study has opted for a 12 Mt/a production rate, this can be sig- nificantly upscaled in modular extensions. The study also considers the ability of the project, by virtue of its location adjacent to the route of the Trans-Kalahari Rail project, to move coal product both to the west to Walvis Bay and also southwards to South Africa. According to Walkabout, the develop- ment of the Takatokwane project remains dependent on the construction of suit- able rail infrastructure to move the coal product. Currently, the Coal Development Unit of Botswana is managing the Feasibility Study of the TKR project and this project is expected to be completed by 2019/2020. The Takatokwane coal project is a key input to the viability of the TKR. Walkabout Resources controls 67 % of the Takatokwane project through two joint ventures it has with Botswana-based companies.  deep. The inspection device has the capa- bility to scan the geometry of the execution and identify the lithology. This is important to determine the stability of the shaft dur- ing or after construction. Master Drilling recently completed the 1 km deep Rowland shaft at Lonmin using similar technology. Accomplished within budget and schedule and with no incidents, accidents or damage to prop- erty, the operation was reportedly a huge success and the company employed three local community members as part of its drilling crew. “The new crew members will now be moving with us to the next job as they have proven their competency and fit to company culture,” says Pretorius. 

ASX-listed Walkabout Resources has announced the results of a technical scoping study finalised as part of the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on the Takatokwane thermal coal project in Botswana. The project has a JORC indi- cated resource of 7 billion tonnes. The mine design has focused on the Target Mining Area which hosts 748 Mt of indi- cated resource. The conceptual operation at Taka­ tokwane mine contemplates two open-cut stripmines employing dragline machinery, each mining some 6 Mt/a of coal. Some of this product will be upgraded through a modular two-stage washing plant with three products delivered for despatch.

“It was always important that we under- stood the optimum profile for mining the huge Takatokwane deposit,” says Allan Mulligan, MD of Walkabout Resources. “We now know that we will be building large scale, open-cut strip mines employ- ing draglines and rope excavators that will produce coal for many years into the future. “Similar to those planned for the Galilee Basin in Australia, these are going to be long life, stable mines that supply

Drilling underway in the Takatokwane project area. The project is located approximately 195 kmwest-northwest of Gaborone (photo: Walkabout Resources).

Master Drilling awarded landmark Palabora contract Master Drilling Group Limited has recently been awarded a shaft construction contract with Palabora Mining Company Limited in an industry first for the mining sector. Master Drilling has designed and built the RD8 raise boring machine specifically cus- tomised for the Palabora contract, which entails the construction of two ventilation shafts, each 6,1 m diameter and a record- breaking 1,2 km deep. says Master Drilling – to be up to four times faster than conventional blind sinking methods, and only requires two persons per shift working from the safety of an above-ground control room. Ultimately, this ground-breaking raise boring machine is key to pursuing deep-level, large- diameter shafts in future projects.

Master Drilling’s remote operated shaft support unit and inspection device will be used to line parts, or even the full depth, of the shafts, either during or after the raise boring process. In comparison to its com- petitors’ systems, which can only go down to 350 m with umbilical cords, the Master Drilling system can line up to a full 1,5 km

“Once completed, the project will qual- ify as the largest scope of raise boring work per cubic metre ever embarked on, not only in South Africa but across the globe,” says Danie Pretorius, Master Drilling’s CEO. This unique technology is estimated –

8  MODERN MINING  February 2015