Modern Mining March 2019

PRODUCT News

Elf Drilling is first SA buyer of BenchREMOTE a head office in Kimberley and a workshop in Kuruman and supported by a team of 145 employees, the company boasts extensive experience across South Africa, as well as in Namibia and Angola.

offering, LH Marthinusen (LHM), a divi- sion of ACTOM, has been appointed as the group’s authorised service partner. LHMwill be responsible for the maintenance and refurbishment of the full range of TLT-Turbo fans, as well as the distribution of spare parts, on an exclusive basis in South Africa and on a non-exclusive basis in 20 other sub-Saharan countries. LHM will provide routine mainte- nance services on both new and installed TLT‑Turbo products, such as the 36 large induced draft fans at Majuba, Medupi and Kusile power stations, other installed sur- face and process fans, as well as a range of auxiliary fans, axial flow and centrifugal fans. TLT-Turbo Africa, website: www.tlt-turbo.africa. Elf Drilling’s purchase of the first BenchREMOTE in South Africa, as well as the two SmartROCs, was commemo- rated in January this year at a celebratory function at the Elf Drilling Service Hub in Kuruman, Northern Cape. Epiroc, tel (+27 11) 821-9000 to become Epiroc, the connection with Elf Drilling remained unaffected. The BenchREMOTE comprises premium quality components such as SR and PTZ cameras that enable operators to conve- niently monitor progress from the comfort of a FOPS/ROPS approved cabin, situated 100 m away within the line of sight. “This feature converts the SmartROC into a reliable, low-maintenance partner on the bench, and enables substantially improved operational and safety efficien- cies,” notes Hedley Birnie, Business Line Manager of Surface & Exploration Drilling at Epiroc. The single BenchREMOTE’s capability to operate up to three SmartROC drill rigs enhances productivity for the lowest pos- sible total cost of ownership. Its memory can store information on up to ten drill rigs, so that when required the machine can be moved from one block or area to another, and control the rigs in each respective area. Elf Drilling also utilises a web-based on- board reporting system from Epiroc called CERTIQ to monitor operator activities and productivity as well as machine health. This innovative monitoring system allows customers to remotely log in to view their fleets through a smart mobile device.

Epiroc has sold the first BenchREMOTE in South Africa to key customer Elf Drilling. The innovative BenchREMOTE is an advanced monitoring system, which can be linked to up to three SmartROCs. It is said to be ideal for removing the operator from dangerous areas. Since its inception three decades ago, Elf Drilling has been a frontrunner in drill- ing, sampling and service for the Northern Cape mining industry. Operating as a complementary team, Faghmi Cader and Eduard and Lizelle Mostert are committed to leading Elf Drilling into the new age of automation drilling. Consisting of a regional office in Kathu,

The company has an Epiroc fleet of 25 machines. It procured its first FlexiROC D65 in 2012 and more recently took delivery of two SmartROC D65s, together with the BenchREMOTE, in Q4 2018. The relationship between Epiroc and Elf Drilling began 17 years ago when Eduard Mostert operated on a zinc mine in Namibia using Atlas Copco air compres- sors. There he met Cobus Engelbrecht from Atlas Copco who introduced him to the then Atlas Copco L8 drill rig. “When I f i r s t s aw t h i s

machine I was highly impressed by its compactness, flexibility and manoeuvrability,” states Mostert. “But what really stood out for me was the machine’s automated rod handing capabil- ity which takes safety to the next level. In addition to reducing the risk of manual errors, operators are kept away from potential risk areas. The auto-rod han- dling function also minimises wear on the rig as well as on consumables.” Fromhere on the relationship between the two companies grew steadily. When Mining & Rock Excavation Technique branched off from Atlas Copco

Eduard Mostert test driving Elf Drilling’s new BenchREMOTE. Also pictured (from left) are Hedley Birnie, Cobus Engelbrecht and Kevin Govender, all of Epiroc, and Lizelle Mostert and Faghmi Cader of ELF Drilling.

Turnkey approach to ventilation solutions Following the official launch of regional entity TLT-Turbo Africa in April 2018, TLT- Turbo has now concluded the consolidation of its South African operations.

process fans on a global scale. TLT-Turbo manufactures radial and axial flow fans for virtually any industrial application and is regarded as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of technology-driven indus- trial fans and ventilation systems. “One of our main objectives following the complete consolidation of TLT-Turbo Africa’s operations is to produce and distrib- ute a full range of ventilation products for the mining, industrial and power markets for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In future, our product lines will be based on the TLT Global group’s unique, proprietary ventilation solutions,” says Erasmus. To enhance TLT-Turbo Africa’s service

“Over the past two years, the TLT-Turbo Africa board, under the global leadership of TLT-Turbo, has worked towards the com- plete integration of product, service and project capabilities. Our objective was to provide our clients with an absolute turn- key approach to ventilation solutions,” says TLT‑Turbo Africa’s Managing Director, Luther Erasmus. TLT-Turbo Africa will capitalise on TLT-Turbo’s global reputation as a lead- ing provider of advanced ventilation and

50  MODERN MINING  March 2019