Modern Mining February 2015

Hydropowered Mining Tackles Electrical Power and Productivity Challenges

SA mines are severely challenged by electrical power restrictions and rising labour costs, coupled with stagnant productivity.

In narrow tabular deposits, sophisticated mechanisation is often neither practical nor economic. Compared with pneumatic systems, hydropower can do the same job for 10% of the energy consumption and drilling productivity can easily double. Hydropower is also a relatively small technology step and is easily implemented without significant changes to mine infrastructure. Compare this with the organisation, mine design, infrastructure and skills challenges presented by going the fully-mechanised or trackless route.

Hydropowered mining can serve a continuum of needs from hand-held drilling to ‘appropriate technology’ drilling rigs to more sophisticated rigs and systems.

Large gains in power saving and productivity are however immediately achievable with the simplest of systems. These can be further leveraged by incrementally increasing the level of mechanisation. Novatek provide a range of products including rockdrills, drill rigs, tools, pumps and reticulation and on-site maintenance services to support our clients. We provide assistance with system planning and can deliver turnkey hydropower projects.

It’s time to talk to Novatek about how we can help you mine more effectively using hydropower mining technology.

www.novatek.co.za