Modern Mining November 2018

PRODUCT News

BME supports Zambia’s success in copper and more

reactive ground – which occurs not just on coal mines but also on copper proper- ties. Faster testing on site leads to safer and quality blasting by allowing emulsion for- mulations to be fine-tuned in response to specific ground conditions; this is possible when customers have on-site manufactur- ing facilities where last minute changes to the emulsion mix can be quickly implemented. Pieterse emphasises the technological readiness of Zambia’s large copper mines, and their insistence on being at the cutting edge of blasting practice. “This means that BME’s technical expertise and products are well utilised in Zambia’s mining sector, including the application of down-hole calipers for testing borehole diameters in pursuit of accurate and efficient blasting,” he said. “We are also pioneering signature trace hole analysis with customers, adapting blast timing to enhance fragmentation and rock movement for more efficient loading.” BME is currently making its drone technology and high-speed photography available to calculate rock response time and expects take-up to be enthusiastic. BME, website: www.bme.co.za The development of this tooling enabled a 450 mm pinch valve to be built for a working pressure of up to 35 bar, a test pressure of 70 bar and a calculated burst of 105 bar. These 450 mm valves are fitted with 4 x 160 mm hydraulic cylinders which at a hydraulic pressure of 200 bar would seal the valves against a pressure of approxi- mately 34 bar giving a sealing safety factor in excess of 30 %. The hydraulic power pack to operate the valves has a constant recharge system to ensure that the valves stay closed. Although not required for this proj- ect, the hydraulic power pack could have been built to automatically close the pinch valves in the event of an electrical power failure which means the valves could be used as open/close and non-return valves. Typical non-return valves in slurry pipe- lines are not always reliable so this system has excellent advantages. Corflex Engineering, e-mail: info@corflex.co.za

ing regions for copper mining, including First Quantum Minerals’ established Kansanshi mine and its large new Sentinel mine – as well as Barrick’s Lumwana opera- tion,” said Pieterse. “While we have on-site manu- facturing plants on the mines of our larger customers, our smaller customers are serviced from our plants in Ndola and Lusaka.” BME’s electronic detonation systems have been well accepted in the Zambian market, with one of the largest ever electroni-

As Zambia’s copper mining focus shifts west from Kitwe, Ndola and Chingola to the growing operations at Solwezi and Kalumbila, blasting leader BME supplies some of the largest minerals operations in the country – with further potential for growth across the border in the DRC. According to BME Regional Manager SADC, Deon Pieterse, the company sup- plies emulsion explosives to a range of Zambian mining operations, from the largest copper producers to the numerous smaller mini-pit operations in the coal- mining and quarrying sectors. “This is one of the world’s most excit- BME has established a strong technical base in Zambia. Seen here is the BME Zambia team.

cally initiated blasts being conducted at Kansanshi mine in 2017 – when 6 690 electronic delay detonators (EDDs) were successfully initiated using BME’s AXXIS digital initiation system. “We have established a strong technical base in Zambia, with our own in-country technical department – staffed and man- aged by Zambian experts,” he said. “This capacity includes highly trained and expe- rienced blasting engineers, as well as our specialised technical vehicle for on-site testing.” These facilities provide efficient test- ing capability to address challenges like

Corflex has supplied an order for 450 mm pinch valves to operate at a pressure of 25 bar for a tailings project at Evander Kinross in Mpumalanga. Pinch valves for high pressures have Pinch valves supplied for tailings project to be manufactured with both safety and performance in mind. Special tooling had to be designed and built to enable the use of larger gauge wire reinforcement in the flange area.

Epiroc to acquire New Concept Mining Epiroc, a leading productivity partner for the mining, infrastructure and natural resources industries, has agreed to acquire Innovative Mining Products (Proprietary) Limited, widely known as New Concept Mining, a South African manufacturer of rock reinforcement products for underground mining.

strengthen our global position in the hard rock bolting market,” said Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s Senior Executive Vice President Mining and Infrastructure. “We are happy to combine forces with the strong team at Innovative Mining Products to bring the best rock reinforcement solutions to min- ing customers.” The acquisition is expected to be com- pleted in the first quarter of 2019, pending approval from regulatory authorities. The business will become part of Epiroc’s Rock Drilling Tools division, and will continue to be based in Johannesburg.

Innovative Mining Products is based in Johannesburg and has facilities also in Peru, Zambia and Canada. It manufactures a comprehensive range of underground min- ing roof support products, rock monitoring systems and related accessories. “This acquisition will enable us to

46  MODERN MINING  November 2018