Capital Equipment News June 2017

MINING NEWS

Babcock’s equipment division will be delivering 19 new Volvo machines to Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services (SSMS) in a sales agreement that is not only noteworthy for its size, but also as it’s the first time the leading construction consortium will be utilising Volvo construction equipment. Mark Barrett, sales representative at Babcock’s equipment division, says Babcock’s contract comprises the delivery of 15 A40G dump trucks and four EC750 crawler excavators for a new open pit coal mining project outside Ermelo. The agreement also includes a 5 000-hour service contract from Babcock. Stefanutti Stocks’ mining operations include drilling explorations, blasting and load and haul of the various material types, and the Volvo machines are needed to meet monthly production targets on the mine. The Volvo A40G articulated haulers, with their 39 000 kg payload, will be used to transport the coal from the pit, while the With an industry target set to eliminate mining fatalities by 2020 and reduce Lost Time Injuries by 20% from January 2017, the pressure is on mines and their suppliers, including those in the field of proximity detection systems (PDS), to meet this vital goal. “Transport-related incidents are still one of the top causes of fatalities, alongside fall-of-ground,” says Anton Lourens, MD of Booyco Electronics, a leading PDS OEM. “While deaths in mining fell 5% to a record low of 73 in 2016 and injuries fell 15% to 2  662 last year, there is still a long way to go to meet the 2020 target.” Lourens says PDS is a key part of the sector’s strategy to implement zero harm, and is already a legislated requirement for underground coal mines, who need to ensure their systems are ‘fit for purpose’ in order to comply. “Coal mines continue to make strides towards better safety, with the injury rate in 2016 down 11% to 183 from 206 in 2015,” he says. “Continued progress requires ongoing compliance and dedication to implementing not just the later but the spirit of the law.” PDS allows for interventions where a potentially dangerous situation exists between a pedestrian and a machine. The system includes a sensing device, to detect the presence of an object in a working area, and an audible and visual alarm to both the equipment operator and pedestrians as they enter danger zones. It can also help PDS can help meet zero fatality targets in coal mines Stefanutti Stocks opts for Volvo gear

EC750D excavators with their increased bucket capacity and greater digging force, will be used to load the A40Gs. Freddie Strydom, Stefanutti Stocks Mining Services contracts director, says price, reliability, aftermarket service, availability of spare parts and cost of spare parts all played a role in the final decision to purchase Volvo construction equipment from Babcock. Babcock is the exclusive regional dis- tributor of Volvo construction equipment in southern Africa and is well-estab- lished as one of Africa’s industry leaders in building long-term relationships with its customers. Barrett believes that this, together with Babcock’s competitive pricing and strong reputation of the Vol- vo brand, gave the company an edge over competitors. The open pit coal mining project outside of Ermelo has an estimated life span of eight years over which approximately 10,1 million tonnes of coal and 53,6 million locate people and machinery if there is an emergency underground. Apart from the safety aspect, the technology helps mines to locate pedestrians and vehicles underground, providing data that can be analysed for patterns that affect production efficiencies. “The groundwork for the wider application of PDS has already been laid down by the Department of Mineral Resources, through an amendment to Chapter 8 of the Mines Health and Safety Act (MHSA) in February 2015,” he says. “It is now required that PDS be installed on all mobile equipment on mines.” He highlights that mines are required to assess significant risk in terms of moving machinery and people, and to put an action plan in place to mitigate that risk. One of the challenges, however, is that some mines still consider PDS a ‘grudge purchase’, and do not fully understand their legal responsibility to choose suppliers whose equipment is fit-for- purpose. “While it may be tempting for a mine to select the cheapest equipment, they will need to prove in the case of an inspection or an accident that the equipment is up to the task and compliant,” says Lourens. “Even from our point of view as PDS suppliers, we have a legal responsibility to deliver a reliable solution, as suppliers can also be legally charged if the equipment fails to comply.” b

bank cubic metres of waste material will be moved. Stefanutti Stocks is a leading multidisci- plinary construction group operating across southern Africa, Africa and the Middle East. Its mining portfolio includes the de- sign and construction of mine infrastruc- ture, open pit mine design and scheduling, open pit mining, materials handling and tailings operations with the capability to construct the full spectrum of mine infra- structure. b Trysome renews collaboration with Hexagon Mining Trysome Auto Electrical South Africa has announced the renewal of its reseller agreement with Hexagon Mining. CEO, Eddie Smith and Hexagon Mining President, Hélio Samora strengthened the long-standing collaboration between the organisations by signing a new agreement at Trysome’s head office in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 21. The partnership ensures the continued availability of Hexagon Mining’s SAFEmine suite of collision avoidance solutions in the South African market. It also means strengthened service and support for Hexagon Mining’s wider portfolio of integrated solutions. Besides collision avoidance and fatigue monitoring, the solutions include proven technologies for surveying, design, fleet management and production optimisation. Trysome has represented Hexagon Mining in the sub-Saharan African region since 2008. Today, the Collision Avoidance System (CAS) is running in more than 25 000 mining vehicles in more than 60 mines worldwide. Samora and Smith agreed that renewed collaboration is good news for customers in South Africa. “Deadlines are looming for many mines to comply with South Africa’s new safety regulations, so this is a timely agreement between our companies,” says Samora. “CAS and our new Vehicle Intervention System (VIS) will help customers protect their people and equipment, as well as meeting those deadlines.” b

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