Tag Archives: Kalahari Copper Belt

Caterpillar, Barloworld, AMS and Sandfire collaborate at Motheo in Botswana

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When Sandfire Resources produces the first ore from its new Motheo copper mine in Botswana, southern Africa, later this year, the company will officially be on its way to developing a long-life copper production hub in the central portion of the Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana and Namibia.

That first ore from Motheo is just the beginning of the company’s long-term growth plans in the region. Before the development of the mine was even completed, Sandfire had already announced plans to enlarge the operation by exploiting an additional deposit and building an expanded processing plant to handle production.

Recognizing the potential of the Kalahari Copper Belt, Sandfire and its chosen operations partner for Motheo — Perenti Group’s African Mining Services (AMS) — made a commitment to the highest standards of productivity, safety, responsibility and sustainability.

A critical contributor to meeting that commitment will be the use of mining technology. And key partners in that effort will be Caterpillar and Cat® dealer Barloworld Equipment, who are working with Perenti/AMS to provide a suite of technology solutions that will deliver innovation to the mining operation.

Crew with mining truck

“We know that Sandfire Resources, our customer Perenti, and the entire team at Motheo is committed to using technology to build the safest, most productive operation possible,” Nathan Wescombe, a Senior Account Manager at Caterpillar, said. “We’re proud that Perenti has chosen Cat technologies to help them become the operator of choice within the region and deliver innovation to their mining practices.”

To ensure the successful deployment of technology in an area of the world where mining technology is not the norm, Caterpillar conducted a three-day information-gathering and change management workshop to consult with key stakeholders to help ensure they are technology-ready.

“Change management is a key to the implementation of technology in any operation,” Leslie Fengu, a Senior Regional representative for Caterpillar’s Mining Technology Solutions division, said. “And it’s even more critical in an area where it’s being introduced for the first time. Fortunately, Caterpillar has a team that has plenty of experience in helping our customers manage this change – understanding the challenges, developing possible solutions to address them, and providing ongoing support through implementation and beyond.”

Held in August 2022, the workshop was very well attended, met with positive feedback, provided critical knowledge of the operation, and identified opportunities moving forward to ensure success for all stakeholders, according to Caterpillar.

Greg Lawson, a General Manager at Perenti/AMS, said: “Incorporating technology into our operations is an important piece of our global strategy. Having the support of Caterpillar and Barloworld as we implement these solutions in a new region is proving to be instrumental in helping us realise our goals. We appreciate the value of their expertise not only in the technology itself but also in addressing the significant change management that goes along with its implementation.”

The Motheo copper mine

Motheo Copper Mine is located in the Kalahari Copper Belt, a major zone of strata-bound copper-silver deposits extending for 1,000 km along the northern margin of the Kalahari Craton in Namibia and Botswana.

The greenfield project is being developed by owner Sandfire Resources, an Australia-based mining and exploration company with a global presence. Open-pit mining services are provided by contractor AMS, the Africa-based surface mining arm of Perenti Group, a global mining services company also based in Australia.

Motheo represents the foundation for Sandfire’s long-term growth plans in Botswana and is expected to generate approximately 1,000 jobs during construction and 600 full-time jobs when fully operational.

After a positive feasibility study in December 2020, Sandfire’s board approved the development of Motheo. The feasibility study identified a robust initial 12.5-year operation with annual production of high-quality copper concentrate estimated at 3.2 Mt. Site construction commenced in 2021, with first production scheduled for mid-2023.

The Motheo Copper Mine will be based on an open-pit operation for the original deposit, identified as T3. The drill-and-blast operation will focus on 10-m benches, using suitable blasting methods to minimise dilution. Trucks will be loaded by 250-t excavators. Direct run-of-mine ore will be delivered directly to the crusher or placed on stockpiles for future rehandling.

AMS selected a fleet of Cat trucks to handle hauling duties, supported by a variety of other Cat machines. Barloworld recently delivered 20 139 t Cat 785 trucks, four D10T dozers, two 777 water trucks and two 18 motor graders to the mine.

Beyond the quality expected from the Cat machines, a major factor in the equipment purchase was related to the Cat MineStar™ technology products that accompany them. AMS, Caterpillar says, selected three separate but integrated solutions that will impact the efficiency and production of the operation, the uptime of machines and the safety of its people:

  • MineStar Edge™, a cloud-based equipment management and production recording platform that provides access to highly accurate production data and gives visibility to the entire mining operation;
  • Health – Equipment insights, a user-friendly data visualisation and reporting tool that allows sites to easily access, view and analyse machine health information and gain insights to help reduce unplanned downtime and prevent failures; and
  • Cat Driver Safety System, an in-cab detection technology that can help sites identify operator fatigue and distraction and address it in real time.

Introducing technology in Botswana

Sandfire and Perenti are no strangers to mining technology. Sandfire’s DeGrussa copper-gold mine in Australia was an early adopter of autonomous mining, using Cat MineStar Command for underground to automate a fleet of underground loaders. The Perenti Group, too, recognises the value of technology in mining, and has added a dedicated services and products business to its portfolio to provide technology and consulting services to the mining industry.

But bringing a technology mindset to this region is not business as usual. For Caterpillar, this is just the third such implementation in southern Africa and the first in Botswana. Cross-departmental interconnectedness is paramount for Perenti and AMS to realise its return on investment as the Motheo team strives to deliver on business demands, Fengu, whose knowledge of the region and its history are extremely valuable to technology implementation in Botswana, said.

“Disruptive technologies, such as those chosen by AMS, require a site-wide approach to achieve successful implementation and sustainable operations,” he said. “Supervisors and their teams are required to effectively manage the implementation and functional changes that will be required with technology, adapting staffed conventional mining techniques to get the most value out of the new mining system.”

To ensure the success of these systems in a country where they have not operated previously, Caterpillar identified an opportunity to leverage the knowledge and capability of its Cat Solutions & Services team, as well as other Cat and Barloworld technology experts. The initiative was led by Caterpillar Technology Change Enablement Manager, Brett Haskins, working with Joel Patterson and Jenny Krasny as key consultants.

“We organised a workshop to develop a deeper understanding of how we could assist in this change, walk through opportunities to help them become more comfortable with the technology and better appreciate how it can help support their roles in the operation,” Wescombe said.

Understanding the site and its culture

This workshop included site observations, interviews, education and facilitated discussions designed to understand the current culture – with a lens toward building operational readiness to capitalise upon the benefits that MineStar Solutions can provide.

The visit occurred over three days with a high level of engagement from every area and level of the deployment. The visit was designed to maximise exposure to the day-to-day goings-on in the operation. Pit operations, departmental interactions and daily activities were observed to determine site mining practices, with a view to assess site readiness to apply MineStar and take advantage of the offerings.

“Understanding the history of change in all organisations was an important part of the workshop and visit,” Wescombe said. “We wanted to learn about change that had been managed well and identify areas for improvement. We did that by asking a lot of questions of people from every aspect of the operation. We engaged the site at all levels – from equipment operators to a representative from Perenti’s office in Perth, Australia.”

The discussions invited participants to share concerns or perceived challenges surrounding daily operations. They were encouraged to contribute ideas around how the daily operation and a change to the site’s mining system can be effectively managed from their perspective.

Workplace culture was also explored, gaining insight into how the site is managed and identifying areas of success and opportunities for improvement. Fengu said: “The goal of this effort was to help reduce incidents and unintended operational consequences, and to provide guidance to remedy any shortcomings through application of the technology.”

In addition, the workshop was designed to strengthen the collaborative relationship between the site, corporate office, Barloworld and Caterpillar. Caterpillar says it and its dealer are essential stakeholders who are pivotal to the successful deployment of MineStar Solutions.

“In a nutshell, our goal was to best understand how we could support AMS through the process of change management,” Patterson, Caterpillar Operational Readiness Consultant, said. “We started by encouraging all participants to leave preconceived ideas at the door on the way in to the workshop and asking everyone to be open-minded to change.”

Developing a path forward

All stakeholders agree that the workshop is just the beginning of ongoing engagement into getting the maximum value from technology at Motheo.

“The workshop helped us start the process,” Sam Farhand, Group Asset Manager for Perenti, said. “We learned a lot about the site and about each other. But now the hard work begins – addressing those challenges we’ve identified and ensuring that we never stop paying attention to how the technology is being used and continuing to find new ways to reap the benefits it delivers.”

An important outcome of the workshop is a 30-plus-page report that identifies the areas impacting successful implementation of MineStar technologies at Motheo and provides recommendations and possible solutions that will help address them.

The report is designed to:

  • Ensure understanding of the “why” for change management, and the benefits of using the Caterpillar team for this initiative;
  • Summarise the vision for the deployment as voiced by Perenti and AMS employees;
  • Articulate the landscape in which the project is taking place;
  • Highlight activities on which to partner or reinforce;
  • Present identified opportunities to adapt, build and embed new processes;
  • Identify the unique needs of the people who will be impacted;
  • Outline a change management plan to support the deployment; and
  • Share immediate action items to facilitate a successful deployment.

Sharing positive feedback

When asked about the success of the workshop, all stakeholders had positive things to say.

“The on-site engagement and participation in the workshop were outstanding,” Pierre Hill, Country Manager for Barloworld Botswana, said. “Attendance was terrific. It was a fantastic example of collaboration and teamwork.”

Wescombe agreed: “We were very pleased with the willingness of the key stakeholders to break traditional silos, open up lines of communication and actively engage in rich discussions between corporate, dealer, OEM, maintenance, planning and operations.”

But the most important feedback comes from Perenti. “We thought the workshop was very beneficial,” Farhand said. “It has helped us build a strong foundation on which to base our focus on innovation and technology.”

As the Caterpillar Manager for Perenti, Wescombe is quick to point out the teamwork and collaboration necessary for the success of the workshop – and the future of the technology in the years ahead.

“Without Greg Lawson and Sam Farhand from Perenti, this event would not have happened,” he said. “They helped us gain the traction we needed from internal stakeholders to get this off the ground. Plus, Sam and the on-site AMS Motheo team were instrumental in coordinating and supporting the workshop to ensure its success.”

“Our Caterpillar and dealer teams also deserve recognition. Leslie Fengu and Joel Patterson were key contributors to this effort, along with Pierre Hill and J.P. Briggs from our Cat dealer Barloworld. These folks worked closely with the Perenti team to build a preliminary understanding of the site challenges in order to optimise discussions during the site visit.”

The collaboration was a great example of the “three-legged stool” Caterpillar talks about when dealing with its customers in partnership with dealers. “When all three entities are working toward the same goal, we’re going to be so much more successful than when we go it alone,” Wescombe said. “We’re looking forward to a lot more opportunities to work together with Perenti/AMS and Barloworld in the years ahead.”

This is an edited version of a blog that first appeared here.

Perenti boosts Botswana portfolio with Sandfire Motheo copper project contract

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Perenti Global Ltd says its surface mining business in Africa, African Mining Services (AMS), has been awarded the contract for open-pit mining services at Sandfire Resources’ Motheo copper project in Ghanzi, Botswana.

The contract, which is yet to be finalised, has an estimated value of $496 million over an initial seven-year-and-three-month term with a provision for a one-year extension.

Under the terms of the Mining Services Contract, AMS will identify a suitable local Botswana company or companies as a joint venture partner for the project and transition to the joint venture before the commencement of mining in early 2022.

Finalisation of the contract is contingent on the satisfaction of two primary conditions, namely Sandfire being granted a mining licence for the project; and finalising the terms of the Mining Services Contract.

Perenti Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Norwell, said Motheo represented a game-changing growth opportunity for AMS and will substantially increase Perenti’s presence in Botswana.

“Growing our footprint in Botswana is aligned with our 2025 strategy, to further expand into stable mining jurisdictions and pursue quality projects. The benefit of adding Motheo to the Perenti project portfolio is the opportunity to leverage our existing in-region operational presence at Zone 5 (owned by Khoemacau Copper Mining) as well as partnering with Sandfire to develop Botswana’s next large-scale, highly productive, world-class copper mine.

“The Motheo project is another positive step in the ongoing transformation of our AMS business as we seek to create value and certainty for our client Sandfire and the Ghanzi community.”

Motheo is in the Kalahari Copper Belt, an emerging and relatively underexplored copper producing region. It is around 200 km to the southwest of the Khoemacau Zone 5 project, where Perenti, through its subsidiary Barminco, is currently engaged to undertake underground mine development works.

Motheo is held through Sandfire’s subsidiary, Tshukudu Metals, and was approved for development by Sandfire’s Board of Directors in December 2020 following completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on a base case of a 3.2 Mt/y operation with expansion potential.

The DFS outlined an initial 12.5-year operation, underpinned by an updated ore reserve of 39.9 Mt at 0.9% Cu and 12.2 g/t Ag for 360,000 t of contained copper and 15.6 Moz of contained silver, producing on average circa-30,000 t/y of contained copper and 1.2 Moz/y of contained silver over the first 10 years of operations.

Perenti Mining Chief Executive Officer, Paul Muller, said: “Through this commitment and the establishment of a local joint venture partnership, we expect that more than 95% of the workforce will be citizens of Botswana. Furthermore, and leveraging our existing Maun based state-of-the-art mining training centre, our workforce will have access to the latest mining techniques and technology to enable the creation of a safe, highly skilled and productive workforce to support economic growth and diversification within Botswana.”

Muller said the company was also excited by the opportunity to deploy “future-focused mining technology initiatives” on the project that not only provide expected productivity and safety benefits to Sandfire but are also aligned with the two firms’ sustainability goals.

Perenti anticipates pre-production work to commence in late 2021 with mining to commence in early 2022.

Concor Infrastructure closes in on Khoemacu copper-silver project milestones

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Concor Infrastructure says it is nearing completion of a 35 km access road for the Khoemacau Copper Silver Starter project in the Kalahari region of Botswana.

The company is at the same time also busy with constructing a parallel haul road, as well as conducting earthworks and concrete civils at the Khoemacau Boseto processing plant.

The Khoemacau copper project, in the central Kalahari copper belt, is developing underground operations at its flagship Zone 5 deposit. The mine plan involves three adjacent underground mines at Zone 5, each producing over 1.2 Mt/y in their first five years of production.

The haul road in question will allow mineralised material to be trucked 35 km from Zone 5 to the Boseto processing facility, while the access road will be used by light vehicles. After processing at Boseto, the mineral concentrate will be shipped out for smelting.

Good progress has been made on construction of the access road according to Jay Juganan, Contracts Director at Concor Infrastructure. The contract for both the access and haul roads was awarded in November 2018.

“The access road was little more than a sand track when we established on site and was accessible only by 4×4 vehicles,” Juganan says. “Essentially, we are creating a corridor for both roads in parallel, and for the powerlines to be installed by another contractor.”

The planning of the haul road also had to consider the large and ancient Baobab trees that are common in the area. Preservation of these trees is a vital imperative, requiring the haul road to be diverted on occasion to avoid about half a dozen Baobabs, which are hundreds of years old.

The access road is 90% complete and due for completion in the September quarter. The haul road is also expected to be completed next quarter, the company said.

Road construction comprises a 600 mm deep cut filled with pioneer crushed rock followed by a G3 sub base and base layer. In some areas, the crushed rock is replaced by a natural calcrete.

The wearing course is a 9/19 mm double seal, according to Concor, which had to crush all aggregate on site from the old mine waste rock stockpile at Boseto.

Concor Infrastructure Contracts Manager, Tiaan Krugel, said the remote location of the site and the dry conditions are among the key challenges encountered on this project.

“The sourcing and timing of the supply of equipment, parts and construction material required careful and detailed planning,” Krugel says. “The majority had to come from the capital Gaborone – 900 km away – with the other challenge being that most of our equipment OEMs are based in Johannesburg, which is more than 1,300 km from site.”

The scope of Concor’s work at the Boseto process plant, the contract of which was awarded in November 2019, includes earthworks and concrete civils to the existing and for the new process plant structures for the crushing, milling, flotation and concentrate handling circuits. The plant had previously treated material from an open-pit copper mining operation at Boseto, under the ownership of a different company.

Krugel highlighted the challenges of working with concrete on a remote site, especially where temperatures can reach over 40°C during working hours.

“A special concrete mix was designed to accommodate on-site conditions,” he said. “This includes the use of admixtures to prolong the concrete’s workability as well as having to chill the water we use before it is added to the cement and aggregates.”

In addition to the refurbishment and upgrading work at Boseto, Concor has also contributed to preparing the infrastructure at the Zone 5 mining site, where underground development is underway.

The work included all internal roads at the Zone 5 mine, terracing for the 650-person accommodation camp, the mine administration surface infrastructure area, the mine workshops and stores area and the explosives magazine together with construction of the ROM pads.

The Khoemacau Starter project expects to produce 62,000 t of copper and 1.9 Moz of silver each year over its planned life of more than 20 years, according to the company.

“Despite the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a reduction of staff numbers on site due to individual choices, we are working hard to ensure that program schedules will be met,” Juganan said.

MOD lays out plans for T3 copper-silver project in Botswana

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The feasibility study for MOD Resources’ majority-owned T3 copper-silver open-pit project in Botswana has delivered compelling mine economics, in addition to a fleet and flowsheet plan that will interest the major mining original equipment manufacturers.

T3, in the Kalahari Copper Belt, is expected to require $182 million in development capital and deliver a mine able to produce life of mine average production of 28,000 t/y of copper concentrate and 1.1 Moz/y of silver at all-in sustaining costs of $1.56/Ib after deducting silver credits.

The pre-tax net present value (8% discount) for the project came in at $368 million based on a long-term copper price of $3.08/Ib, or $6,791/t.

The current plan would see T3 produce first product in the March quarter of 2021, operating over an 11.5-year mine life.

In terms of the primary loading fleet, the company said this would be made up of a maximum of five hydraulic excavators in the 120-250 t class. This is considered the optimal option that could achieve the required productivity, maintain a degree of selectivity when required and minimise the number of units required for practical separation of loading and hauling units, according to the company.

The ore and waste haulage fleet is expected to consist of 140 t mechanical drive haul trucks capable of direct tipping to the primary crusher.

MOD said there is step change to a lower annualised total material movement (TMM) after year five of operations. A peak TMM of 39 Mt (annualised) is due to be maintained during the first four years of the schedule, requiring 24 trucks and five excavators to ensured continuous ore supply. TMM drops to 6 Mt/y after year six and is generally maintained for the remaining life of mine, it said.

“The mining schedule has been constrained by setting a maximum vertical advance rate of 120 m/y annum to allow sufficient time for dewatering, grade control, drill and blast and load and haul,” the company said, adding that the maximum vertical lag between benches is set at 50 m.

The production schedule achieves the target process plant throughput rates both during ramp-up and during steady state operations of 3.0 Mt/y to 3.2 Mt/y (peak), it said.

The copper recovery plant and associated service facilities will process run of mine (ROM) ore delivered to a single stage primary crusher. The crushed ore will be stockpiled from where it is fed to a two-stage grinding circuit using SAG and ball milling. Copper minerals in the ground ore will be concentrated in a conventional copper flotation circuit, made up of roughing, regrind and a single stage of cleaning. Concentrate from the cleaning stage will be thickened then filtered on site prior to transporting to Walvis Bay, in Namibia. From Walvis Bay, the concentrate will be shipped to third-party smelters.

Tailing from the roughing and cleaning stages will be pumped to the tailings storage facility located south of the proposed mine. The TSF is designed to store approximately 34.4 Mt of conventional thickened tailing – enough for the 11.5 years of the project life.

The process plant is forecast to produce a life of mine annual average copper in concentrate of 28,000 t, with average grades for Cu and Ag of 30.4% and 383g/t, respectively.

The key criteria selected for the plant design are:

  • The mill will process a total of 34.4 Mt of ROM ore for 11.5 years;
  • The annual ROM treatment is 3.0 Mt/y with a peak treatment rate of 3.2 Mt/y, at a primary grind size of 80% passing 180 μm;
  • Design availability of 91.5% with standby equipment in critical areas;
  • Design copper head grade of 1.3%. This head grade allows for grade variation from the life-of-mine average grade of 1.0% Cu;
  • Eighty-fifth percentile of comminution ore properties;
  • Ore specific gravity of 2.8 t/m³;
  • Laboratory rougher flotation residence of six minutes, and cleaner 1 and cleaner 1 scavenger residence time of two minutes and eight minutes, respectively, and;
  • Rougher concentrate mass recovery of 6.2% (w/w) for regrind circuit sizing and final concentrate mass recovery of 3.6% (w/w) for thickener and filter sizing.