Modern Mining October 2015

COAL MINING

contenders in this prestigious category, and to have received not one, but two, of the three commendations awarded over and above the winning project is an indication of the diffi- culty in selecting a clean-cut winner,” Hatch Goba Chairman Trueman Goba comments. Hatch Goba’s second commendation in the cat- egory of ‘Projects with a value in excess of R250 million’ was the Umgeni Road Interchange upgrade for SANRAL. Impumelelo forms part of a larger replace- ment project that will transform the Secunda area in Mpumalanga into one of the largest underground coal complexes in the world, with total extractable run-of-mine reserves estimated at 1,3 billion tons. In terms of the overall proj- ect, Thubelisha will replace Twistdraai and Impumelelo will replace Brandspruit, while Middelbult will be expanded by Shondoni. Hatch Goba’s mining capability ranges from dewatering to infrastructure, shaft sinking, materials handling systems, hoisting headgear design and dynamic simulation or operational modelling across all of these areas. 

underground development. In addition, the scope of works comprised all supporting infra- structure, from offices to a change-house and workshops, as well as fibre-optics, roads, power and water supply and sewage treatment. The materials handling system comprises underground conveyors, surface bunkers and a 2 400 t/h, 27-km-long single-flight surface over- land conveying system, reportedly the longest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere to date. The geographical area of the project extended over 27 km. A 4 000 tonne coal bunker was con- structed at one end (km 27), with the overland conveyor infrastructure at mid-station (km 18). A 15 000 tonne coal bunker was constructed at the other end (km 0), together with the various ancillary buildings, dams and the shafts. The current reserves at Brandspruit mine are nearing depletion, and hence the new Impumelelo mine, which is ultimately expand- able to 10,5 Mt/a, is essential to guarantee coal supply to the Sasol Synfuels Complex. The project created significant opportunities for local community involvement in that local contractors and labour were used wherever possible. There were about 1 300 workers on- site during the construction period up to April 2015, with a peak of 2 122 in November 2013. The project clocked over 13 million man hours. The Impumelelo shaft project at Brandspruit was one of two commendations received by Hatch Goba in the category of ‘Projects with a value in excess of R250 million’ at the CESA Aon Awards at the Vodafone Arena on the evening of 12 August. Present at the awards banquet were Kobus Louw, Johan Duvenhage and Willem van den Heever, all from Sasol Mining, Conrad Stark from Hatch Goba, and Alan Wingrove from RSV ENCO. “The r e we r e nine vas t l y di f f e r ent

The Impumelelo overland conveyor and power line. The 2 400 t/h, 27-km-long single-flight conveying sys- tem is reportedly the longest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Overall view of the Impumelelo mine site.

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October 2015  MODERN MINING  37