Tag Archives: Belfast

DRA Global’s ‘total solutions offering’ put to the test at Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine

Bulk handling, Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DRA Global says it has continued to sustain its long-term client relationship with Exxaro Resources through the progressive engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract at the Grootegeluk coal asset in South Africa.

Exxaro’s Grootegeluk is an open-pit coal mine, 20 km from Lephalale in Limpopo province. The mine produced 26 Mt/y final coal products, using a conventional truck and shovel operation, and has an estimated mineable coal reserve of 3,261 Mt, and a total measured coal resource of 4,719 Mt.

“A project of this magnitude speaks to the extensive experience in project development and delivery extended to the client by DRA,” DRA says.

DRA’s specialist engineering expertise and total solutions package at Exxaro’s Grootegeluk includes, but is not limited to:

  • Bankable feasibility study;
  • Installation of a new PC2 Discard Conveyor alongside the current PC1 Discard Conveyor;
  • Installation of new bifurcated transfer chutes to discharge onto either PC1 or PC2 Conveyor;
  • Seven transfers in total that requires conversion; and
  • Construction of associated infrastructure; such as stormwater control, road crossing, new spillage collection and a transfer system.

Furthermore, DRA recently completed the 3D scanning of existing conveyors and accompanying infrastructure. The compiling of the 3D model has commenced and will inform the engineering of the various transfer towers and the new PC2 Conveyor onto the next phase, it said.

Exxarro, in 2018, initially awarded DRA a contract to construct a 500 t/h coal handling and preparation plant at the Belfast Implementation project, in Mpumalanga.

“The client’s faith in DRA showcases the proficiency in implementing large-scale coal projects and further solidifies the organisations’ reputation for successful project delivery (even under these new circumstances),” it said.

Alistair Hodgkinson, Senior Vice President at DRA, said: “Grootegeluk is just one of many projects under DRA that provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our engineering capability. This is a complex brownfields project that will require attention to detail to achieve successful construction during a tight shutdown deadline; the client values our reputation for being able to deliver challenging brownfields projects successfully.”

The project commenced in the September quarter and is forecasted for completion by the June quarter of 2021.

Concor Infrastructure helps Exxaro beat Belfast coal mine production goal

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , ,

The start-up of Exxaro’s Belfast coal mine in Mpumalanga province, South Africa, has been aided by Concor Infrastructure’s work on building dams, roads, platforms and other infrastructure, the infrastructure group said.

At work since October 2017, Concor Infrastructure is constructing four major dams, 26 concrete platforms and terraces, 37 internal roads of 16 km in length, and is upgrading almost 13 km of provincial roads, among other aspects at the mine, it said.

This month, Exxaro announced that Belfast had produced its first coal six months ahead of schedule. The mine, which was only expected to start producing coal in 2020, was expected to cost R3.3 billion ($221 million) to build and would be a “first-of-its-kind digital mine”, ranking as the last good-quality A-grade, high-yield coal deposit in Mpumalanga, the coal miner said.

According to Concor Infrastructure Contracts Manager, Pierre van Vuuren, these tailings dams are being lined with both a geosynthetic clay liner and high-density polyethylene sheets, in accordance with the water use licence and related environmental regulations. Various structures around the dams are also being installed, including large silt traps, drying beds, inflow chutes to prevent scouring, and spillways and sumps.

Among the concrete platforms and terraces are two primary crusher bases being built for the run-of-mine crushing facilities. The various structures being built by Concor will demand almost 350 t of steel reinforcing and nearly 2,700 t of bulk cement. Other inputs will be around 15,000 t of 19 mm aggregate and nearly 13,000 t of crusher sand.

Extensive upgrading is being done on the D1770 and D1110 provincial roads – for the transport of coal to the rail siding – including eight major culverts under the roadway, Concor said. For all the project’s road works, almost 9.5 km of subsoil drains are to be installed, as well as 2.7 km of stormwater culverts. G5 and G6 construction material comes from an external quarry and crushing plant about 30 km from site towards Carolina.

Contracts Manager, Mabandla Dlamini, says the project has had a substantial local impact with a core labour complement of about 180 personnel being accommodated in the Emakhazeni municipal district. The overall workforce managed by Concor Infrastructure, with contractors, totals closer to 700 – all of which are transported 30 km daily by the local taxi network.

Dlamini also says various subcontracts are outsourced to local small enterprises, such as drainage, stone pitching, paving, kerbing, fencing, security services and catering. Diesel is sourced from a local fuel depot in Belfast with the project expected to consume about 4.3 million litres of diesel in site-wide applications.

Over 150 items of plant and equipment are active on the site, according to Site Agent, Sarel van der Berg, with about 40 items such as articulated dump trucks, tippers and graders sourced from local plant hirers.

Belfast is expected to produce 2.7 Mt of good-quality thermal coal a year for at least the next 17 years, starting in 2020. There is also potential for a second phase, which could take the mine life to 30 years.