Modern Quarrying October-November 2017

AT THE QUARRY FACE WITH SPH-K

get into more ‘smart’ work. Turnkey solu- tions provide a unique opportunity in this regard as it is less volume work but with higher margins.” www.sphkundalila.co.za

A special mention certificate was given to environmental practitioners Anthea Sheldon and Danny de Villiers. Looking to the future, Petter-Bowyer says In terms of future growth opportu- nities, SPH Kundalila is looking to provide turnkey solutions. “We want to do quite a lot more mineral processing and try and

SPH Kundalila’s capacity to be inno- vative has been pivotal in its quest to meet its clients’ needs. For example, at Thabazimbi it transported 17 000 t of run-of-mine iron ore material down a 17° slope for a continuous 2,0 km with- out incident. SPH Kundalila achieved this feat by collaborating with Bell Equipment engineers to alter transmission settings to allow the engines to limit the speed of the load haul dumpers in order to prevent the brakes from overheating. Another value-added service offered is site rehabilitation, which is in high demand in the South African mining industry. “We recognise the ever-increas- ing importance of minimising the impact on all aspects of the environment and are committed to complying with the latest legislation in this regard. Our achieve- ments include the successful rehabilita- tion of part of GoldFields’South Deep Gold Mine as well as some of Driefontein’s rock dumps,”Petter-Bowyer says.“We adhere to the rules and regulations of the health and safety governing bodies such as the DMR, Nosa and ASPASA, and we continue to strive for the highest safety achievements.” The company has won numerous awards in this regard including the inter- national Nosa rating which it held for three consecutive years. “Our safety system endeavours to establish a culture and mindset of safety within our organisation,” he confirms. This system is based on the Aspasa audits which are carried out annually as well as annual internal audits done by the SPH Kundalila SHEQ team. The Aspasa audits are closely aligned to OHSAS 18001. MQ was present earlier this year at an Aspasa awards ceremony lauding quar- ries for their exceptional performance in 2016. Given the results from member operations as far as health and safety, and environmental excellence is concerned, the awards were well deserved. With regard to SPH Kundalila, the com- pany was cited as Top Performing Group, with SPH Kundalila Aggeneys taking the award for Top Performer Non Quarrying. The company also received the award for its Management Safety Commitment.

Report and photographs by Dale Kelly, unless otherwise credited

To date, equipment on the Kersfontein site consists of a 325D excavator, two 95H front-end loaders, an ADT and a Bell B18D water tanker.

The sand deposit at the quarry in Kersfontein is in the region of about 3-million m 3 , with a 15-year life of mine.

17

MODERN QUARRYING

October - November 2017