Modern Mining November 2020

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CONTENTS

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ARTICLES COVER 8 SmartROC MK II – pushing the boundaries in blast hole drilling BULK COMMODITIES 12 Bucking the trend GOLD 16 Progress update: Yaouré Gold Mine to pour first gold ahead of schedule COMMODITY FOCUS – COAL 20 Coal miners’ drive for cost reduction and increased productivity 24 Unpacking new trends in coal processing DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES 30 Protecting important underground mine assets in real-time AUTOMATED MONITORING 34 The right time for moving to automated monitoring

REGULARS MINING NEWS 4

Buoyant take on Northern Cape’s mining potential

4 COVID-19 to reduce global platinum demand by 7,2% in 2020 5 New drill programme at Sanankoro 5 Uis Tin Mine on track to achieve nameplate capacity by end 2020 6 Progress at Keras Resources’ Nayéga Manganese project 6 Implats delivers a strong start to FY2021 6 Twiga pays maiden dividend 7 Pre-drill rig mobilisation underway at Haneti 7 Progress at Pensana’s Longonjo project SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS 36 Travel restrictions no challenge for Sandvik’s technology implementation 36 Cummins Filtration to the rescue 36 Caterpillar to offer fatigue monitoring tech 37 Quality chute designs solve many plant challenges 37 Pekka Vauramo to remain president and CEO of Metso Outotec 38 TOMRA rolls out cloud-based data platform into mining 38 Orica and Glencore sign explosives technology and services partnership 39 E and I Zambia showcases local project capacity on the Copperbelt 39 Datacentrix tackles digital transformation in local mining sector EXPERT VIEW 40 Collaboration and co-operation for a safe mining industry

ON THE COVER With automation technology transforming the mining industry and empowering drilling operations, the updated SmartROC MK II – the latest surface drill rig from Epiroc – makes evolutionary strides with the automation-ready platform and an array of smart features as its foundation. See story on page 8.

November 2020  MODERN MINING  1