Modern Mining March 2015

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MINING News

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Bulk sampling programme starts at Oena diamond project Canadian company Tango Mining Limited reports that the bulk sampling programme at its Oena project in the Northern Cape began in February on schedule. Oena is located 50 km upstream of Namdeb’s Auchas and Daberas alluvial diamond mines which are on the Namibian or north bank of the Orange River, while Trans Hex’s Reuning and Baken alluvial diamond mines are respectively 15 km and 60 km downstream of Oena on the South African or southern bank of the river. Mining contractor earthmoving equipment to support a 1,5 Mt/a throughput capacity has been mobilised to the site and the first 24 421 tonnes has been excavated, of which 3 390 run of mine tonnes have been processed through the newly commissioned rotary plant and recovery system. According to Tango, the newly acquired high volume Bourevestnik (SA) (BVX) X-ray recovery equipment, to be commissioned in March 2015, will allow for increased recovery efficiencies and product insur- ance and protection.  To optimise efficiency and minimise downtime underground at Tumela mine, units can be easily ‘exchanged’ and replaced from the stores. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is employed to track the location of pumping units at all times.  of 54 PCUs across Tumela mine’s underground operations.” Prinsloo said the testing process to date had included engage- ment with the union leadership, underground crews and employees in general to ensure that all stakeholders were involved in playing a role in establishing the value of any new interventions undertaken by Tumela mine. He said the positive feedback and blasting results had led to this next phase. “Our resources on site include a PCU workshop, a training centre and spares stores for the support of operations,” said Albie Visser, BME’s General Manager for South Africa. “We have 12 staff on site to ensure a smooth roll-out, including managers, administrators, main- tenance technicians and training practitioners.” Among the breakthroughs achieved in the evolution of the PCU has been its compact, lightweight and robust design; weighing just 14 kg, the pump component is carried separately from multiple 20 kg emulsion bags. The sensitiser tank is also in a separate con- tainer – latched onto the pump just before charging – and renders the emulsion ready for blasting as it enters the blast hole. “Our Closed Emulsion System prevents emulsion contamination and waste through the use of dedicated bag-filling stations, located underground close to the work face,”said Pearton.“These stations are supplied from transfer cassettes which bring the emulsion from our facilities on surface.” He said the simplicity of the pump’s design and operation proce- dures allows training to be conducted cost-effectively and relatively quickly, with training facilities including a mock-up blasting rig to ensure real experience during training. “The quality of BME’s emulsion is another vital element of the process,” said Pearton, “as it can be pumped numerous times without causing any product degradation; it can also be stored for extended periods with no reduction in quality.”

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March 2015  MODERN MINING  11