Modern Mining August 2019

COVER STORY

Bill Gates as one of its shareholders. Kymeta has introduced disruptive technology to the satellite communications space with its development of ground- breaking ‘plug and play’, flat-panel, satellite antenna technology that promises to revolutionise the field of connectivity on the move. The Kymeta™ technology overcomes the limitations of conventional satellite

antennae and offers full broadband connectivity any- where in the world, at any time, at competitive prices, especially when used on moving vehicles. “We signed a distributorship agreement with Kymeta in 2018 and we’re now looking to roll out the technology in Africa,” says Meijers. “We see applica- tion in a range of industries, especially mining, where sites are very often extremely remote and have to rely on satellite communications. The Kymeta tech- nology offers big advantages over conventional fixed satellite dishes. It is very affordable, very com- pact and can be set up within half an hour. We’ve demonstrated it to many potential customers, includ- ing mines, and we’ve had a very positive response.” While the technologies from Novatec and Kymeta have involved overseas partners, a third high-tech offering now available from ELB Engineering is totally South African. “This particular initiative cen- tres on some really revolutionary camera recognition technology we’ve developed in house in collabora- tion with local partners and which we’re patenting,” Meijers explains. “It’s really about taking an image and analys- ing it via an algorithm. How we interpret the image depends on what we want to get out. To take just

remote monitoring solutions via the cloud,” he says. “We worked with them at Gamsberg and were very impressed with the quality of their work. We’re now partnering with them on a formal basis and the joint venture is able to offer a full turnkey service on electrical (MCCs) and PLC panels from design, manufacturing and programming right through to installation and commissioning. In fact, Novatec SA is the only company in South Africa with this end-to- end capability.” According to Van den Heever, who is ELB Engineering’s Electrical, Instrumentation and Control Engineering Manager and a Director of Novatec SA, the joint venture has hit the ground running, with eight projects under its belt already, one of them in Zambia. “The business broke even within four months of being founded and we’re expecting it to become a material contributor to ELB Engineering’s bottom line within two years,” he says. In a second high-tech

One of ELBCON’s current projects is the installation of four leach vats, as well as associated structural steel, for Turnmill Proquip Equipment at Glencore’s Rhovan Mine Operations at Bethanie outside Brits in North West Province. A heavy load is seen here arriving on site.

A Motor Control Centre (MCC) from Novatec SA, a 50/50 joint venture between ELB Engineering and Croatian company, Novatec New Technologies.

venture, ELB Engineering is now also working closely with an American company, Seattle-based Kymeta, which has Microsoft-founder

The Kymeta™ technology overcomes the limitations of conventional satellite antennae.

18  MODERN MINING  August 2019