Modern Mining January 2020

included the construction of four major dams (lined with both a geosynethetic clay liner and HDP sheets), 26 concrete platforms and terraces, 37 inter- nal roads totalling 16 km in length, and the upgrade of almost 13 km of provincial roads. The provincial roads upgraded are the D1770 and the D1110 with the work including eight major culverts and the installa- tion of 9,5 km of subsoil drains. By any standards, Belfast is a big project. During construction, 556 piles were installed, concrete equivalent to 5 568 concrete truck loads was placed, 16 312 tonnes of structural steel was erected and 117 000 m 2 of asphalt laid. Brickwork totalled 7 882 m 2 and roof sheeting 6 028 m 2 . The total vol- ume of excavated material was 1,46 million m 3 . The total cabling on site amounts to 127 km. As mentioned, what sets Belfast apart is the high degree of digitalisation that has been built into its design and its operations. Particularly interesting is the digital twin concept, which has involved the creation of a digital replica of the mine that allows Exxaro managers – and, where appropriate, con- sultants and contractors – to connect into the mine and manage it from anywhere. Digitalisation makes it possible to remotely monitor and track all the devices and access performance data; maintenance

effect) will result in more than 15 500 beneficiaries. The targeted local spend during construction was R293 million. Two mining contractors are undertaking min- ing operations and have committed 30 % towards local procurement while three black-women-owned companies have been appointed to transport coal by road from the mine to the Rietkuil siding, which has been constructed near the Arnot Power Station. Exxaro managed the development of the project using its own in-house team. The major contractors contributing to the project were DRA, the EPCM contractor for the coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP), Concor Infrastructure, responsible for earthworks and civils, and SMEI, appointed as the structural, mechanical, platework & piping (SMPP) contractor. The CHPP consists of primary and secondary sizing stations (with MMD Mineral Sizers Africa sup- plying the mineral sizers), an overland conveyor, two 7 500-t capacity, 42-m high silos, low gravity and high gravity DMS modules, a thickener circuit, a filter plant and a stacker conveyor. The capacity is 500 t/h and the plant is able to produce both a domestic and an export product. The scope of Concor Infrastructure’s work

A panoramic view of the Belfast site at an advanced stage of construction showing the processing plant and coal silos.

The two 7 500-t capacity, 42-m high coal silos.

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January 2020  MODERN MINING  49