Modern Mining January 2018

PRODUCT News

Mechanised equipment developed for local market

operations, while extending the life of these mines. C o mm e n t s D a n i e Burger, MD of CMTI Group: “It is a serious concern to all stakeholders in the indus- try that the death toll in South Africa’s mines this year (2017) has surpassed those in 2016. There were

Stillwater’s technology partner, supporting the miner’s mechanisation drive. The company’s technologies have already played an important part in help- ing a leading platinum miner reduce safety-related stoppages at its Rustenburg operations in the 2017 financial year. Similar successes have been achieved at Bathopele platinum mine near Rustenburg, while CMTI Group’s MT100 and MT1000 ULP equipment has been operating in Burnstone gold mine in Balfour, Mpumalanga. CMTI Group’s MT100 has a maximum height of 420 mm and a battery life of seven hours. Importantly, this versatile machine can be equipped with any two attachments, such as a sweeper, scraper and dozer with an 850 kg dozing capacity. This allows the re-mining of inaccessible areas that still contain some reserves in the form of fines. Powered by a trailing cable, the MT1000 features a rock-breaker for non-explosive mining and a patented multi-drill attach- ment, which allows four holes to be drilled quickly and accurately at the correct angles. Using the technology, two panels are being drilled in a single shift and CMTI Group says it will improve on this stellar performance early next year. By contrast, it currently takes up to five rock-drill opera- tors to drill a 30-m panel using traditional mining methods. Both machines feature a multi-track concept. Four tracks are individually driven and are able to swing around a centre point for the platforms to negate vertical obstacles as high as 400 mm. The tracks on the MT1000 are also steerable. CMTI Group, tel (+27 12) 653-0085 The alternation between compression and expansion of the internal hose creates a constant rate of displacement. The hose is the only part under wear and its interior part is the only component that contacts the fluid. In the metering of corrosive reagents or for use in processes involving sulphur and cyanide, for example, this min- imises downtime related to maintenance, especially in 24/7 continuous processes. PMPS, tel (+27 11) 395-2422 the roller passes, the internal hose returns to the uncompressed state, creating a vac- uum which draws fluid in.

The MTI100 can be equipped with any two attachments, such as a sweeper, scraper and dozer with an 850-kg dozing capacity.

82 fatalities in 2017, over and above the 73 reported in the previous year. This has ended nine consecutive years of falling fatalities in the world’s deepest mines, and the call for increased mechanisation will continue to gain momentum.” Mechanised equipment establishes an environment conducive to continuous oper- ations beyond 2045. Their mechanisation will facilitate themining of deeper resources and greenfields targets that depend on con- tinuous operations, Burger says. “Our solutions are based on extensive learning from prominent gold and PGM miners,” says Burger. “They are the out- come of a process that was driven by the needs of the sectors, as opposed to a‘push’ approach from international manufactur- ers in the supply chain. By allowing the mines to drive the process, we have devel- oped successful solutions for unique local operating conditions.” For example, CMTI Consulting’s 10-t hybrid-diesel locomotive spent 18 months operating in local deep level gold mines, where proof of concept was finalised ahead of its commercial launch. Meanwhile, the company’s ULP mining machines have exceeded expectations at several South African gold and platinum mines. Moreover, CMTI Group is Sibanye “A key competitive edge of the new Rotho peristaltic hose pump is that it allows for pumping of both rugged and clean fluids, while available competitive solu- tions only do either of the two,” says David O’Neill, Technical Director at PMPS. The fluid being transferred is confined within a reinforced internal hose located within the pump housing. The pumping action occurs when the pump roller glides over and compresses the internal hose, cre- ating pressure which forces fluid out. Once

CMTI Group’s locally-developed and pat- ented mechanised underground mining equipment is now ready for commercial contracting. The cutting-edge technology includes ultra-low profile (ULP) mining and integrated brake-testing equipment, as well as rail-bound transport solutions, such as a unique hybrid diesel-electric locomotive. These are the outcome of a 12-year- long development programme working in joint venture with some of the world’s largest platinum group metal (PGM) and gold mining houses, and more than three years of testing the sophisticated solutions in arduous South African underground environments. CMTI Group is manufacturing the equipment at its factory in Tshwane, Gauteng, which commenced operations at the start of 2017. As part of the ramp-up, the group embarked on a fund-raising round that will close during the first quarter of 2018 to satisfy growth and the significant demand for South African mechanised mining solutions. CMTI Group’s technologies are report- edly a proactive response to a clarion call for locally-developed solutions that will promote safer gold- and PGM-mining

New pump can handle viscous/abrasive fluids Packaged Metering & Pumping Solutions (PMPS) will soon introduce the Rotho peristaltic hose pump from Italian manu- facturer Ragazzini to the local mining sector. Having previously been available to the wine industry only, the versatile, positive displacement transfer machine can be deployed for pumping a variety of substances and is seen as being particu- larly suited to the mining industry given its ability to move viscous/abrasive fluids without blocking.

66  MODERN MINING  January 2018