Modern Mining August 2018

ELECTRA MINING PREVIEW

Electra Mining 2018 –

This year’s Electra Mining Africa, to be held from 10-14 Sep- tember at the Expo Centre in Nasrec, Johannesburg, will – like its predecessor in 2016 – take place against the back- drop of a mining industry that is struggling to emerge from a long downturn. It is nevertheless expected to have more than 900 exhibitors, many of whomwill be introducing new or upgraded products and systems. In this article, Modern Mining looks at what visitors to the show can expect to see.

A feature of the show this year will be that each day will be themed differently. “Our first day will focus on the future of skills development and we are launching a brand new artisans training area in Hall 10,” says Charlene Hefer, Event Direc- tor for Electra Mining Africa. “On the second day, the spotlight will be on new product inno- vation and product launches. And day three is our proudly South African day. On the Thurs- day, we will put the spotlight on safety and on the last day, Friday, we will celebrate our diversity.” Free-to-attend seminars were launched at the 2016 show. According to the organisers, these were so well received that they have been included in this year’s show as well, with an even greater range of topics to be addressed. Hosted by the South African Institution of Mechanical Engineering (SAIMechE), the

seminars will be presented by expert speakers and the content will be aligned to the show’s ‘five days, five themes’ topics. What looks to be a particularly interesting presentation will be given by Navin Singh, co-Director of the Mandela Mining Precinct and Manager for Mining R&D at the CSIR, together with Freddy Mugeri, Board Chair at the Mining Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa (MEMSA). They will talk about the new Mandela Mining Precinct and the revitalising and modernising of South Africa’s mining sec- tor. Delegates will be given insight into this public–private partnership that is looking to ensure the longevity of the South African min- ing industry. On the all-important topic of safety, a speaker to look out for will be Philip Fourie, Executive Head of Safety and Sustainable Development for Anglo American – Kumba Iron Ore. His topic is ‘Eradicating fatal injuries in mining’ and he will talk about how, over the past few years, the min- ing industry has been heavily criticised for its apparent inability to avoid fatalities among min- ers. Yet in some cases, enormous strides have been taken to protect miners. More knowledge and industry insights will be available to delegates as they listen to top

Sandvik’s AutoMine® system will feature on its stand at the show.

44  MODERN MINING  August 2018