Modern Mining Marchh 2017

MINING News

previously announced in 2016. The underground operation is pro- gressing well, with the two underground sections delivering 67 kt for the month of February. A third underground section is due to start production this month (March). The underground mine delivers pri- marily 6 000 kcal thermal coal from the Diepspruit shaft and is set to achieve nameplate tonnage rates of 900 000 t/a by the end of June this year. Universal is also in the process of start- ing opencast operations at NCC – at the Roodekop pit – with targeted production being 2,4 Mt/a ROM of premium quality domestic thermal coal and low phos met- allurgical coal. Steady state is expected to be achieved in mid-2017. The boxcut development, which com- menced in January this year, remains on schedule and the first overburden blast took place recently. Says Universal: “With first ROM coal scheduled by the end of March 2017, opencast coal will be pro- cessed in April as per schedule, ensuring contractual coal sales will be exceeded rather than met.” According to Universal, reconstruc- tion of the third DMS module of the Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) is progressing well and is on schedule for commissioning shortly, in line with first production from the opencast operation. The HMS module will increase the total operational capacity, enabling NCC to reach the targeted steady state beneficia- tion capacity of 3,3 Mt/a. 

DRA launches two-year graduate programme In order to further the number of quali- fied graduates with practical experience in the industry, global engineering firm DRA is launching a two-year graduate programme that will see it taking on eight graduates across several disciplines in the next year.

neering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has a five-year practical experience requirement, students can use the two-year graduate programme towards their five-year ECSA requirement. Since DRA is a global engineering firm, the graduates also have the opportunity to learn from engineers across the world dur- ing their two-year experience at the DRA Johannesburg office. “There is a skills shortage in the broad engineering sector and DRA saw an oppor- tunity to contribute towards developing talent within the industry,”Dercksen says. The skills shortage is not limited to South Africa. According to Manpower Group’s annual talent shortage survey for 2016, engineers are ranked fourth out of the top ten difficult positions to fill due to lack of skills. The survey goes on to say that the four top reasons why it is hard to fill positions include: a lack of applicants – 64 %; a lack of hard skills or technical competencies – 19 %; a lack of experience – 19 %; and a lack of soft skills (workplace experience) – 11 %. Dercksen says the DRA programme can help alleviate this. “During the programme, the students will be exposed to all elements of the work we do, going through a rota- tional programme. There will be ongoing evaluation of their performance as they work their way through the different engi- neering disciplines and also learn about cost control, budget management, quality control and the ins and outs of site work,” she says. 

Louise Dercksen, Group Human Resources Manager at DRA, says the group will hire graduates from each engineering discipline – mechanical, electrical, process and civil. “We have approached the uni- versities, as well as a graduate recruitment agency, and the two-year programme will start this year and finish in 2019,” she says. Participating students had to send through a short CV, and their latest study results. They also had to go through an interview process and complete a psycho- metric test. “We didn’t look solely at academic results. We’re looking for candidates who are keen to innovate, possess people skills and show potential in business acumen. All-round stu- dents who can add value to our company and the industry,”Dercksen says. Phillip DeWeerdt and Antonio Da Gama Texeira, two project engineers at DRA who recently completed their MBA studies, will be functioning as Project Sponsors for the two-year programme and will ensure its success. The graduates will also be appointed discipline-specific mentors to ensure their development in all required proficiencies of the programme. Dercksen says that while the Engi­

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