Debswana builds P441m workshop at Orapa mine

442,Lebogang Mosikare,php369F.tmp.jpg, | Monday May 4, 2015 00:00

Briefing the media during a tour of the facility on Tuesday, Thatayaone Serojane said since the mine has been in operation from 1970, there is correlation between the deepening of the mine and the size of the earthmoving fleet at the operation.

“Cut 2 (the current operation) has a stripping ratio of waste and ore of 1:1. As the pit deepens, this ratio increases and so do the numbers and sizes of the earthmoving fleet,” said Serojane.

He stated that the mining plan indicates that the current fleet will grow by 50 percent in 2018.

In addition, Serojane said with plans already in place to expand the Orapa pit through Cut-3 project the fleet will then double in size again between 2019 and 2026.

He added that the purpose of the project was to provide the Orapa mine with an optimised earthmoving fleet workshop facility.

“The workshop is to be completed and handed over in the fourth quarter of 2015,” revealed Serojane.He said most companies engaged to implement the project are Batswana-owned, adding that only three South African companies are currently employed at the mine.

The companies, Serojane said, specialise in workshop doors, overhead electric cranes and tyres. He said the project will leave a legacy the nation can be proud of because it is 100 percent-led by a Debswana project team management. Serojane said the project was established before 2006 and was halted in 2008 due to the world economic crisis, but resurrected in 2011. Earlier, giving the overview of the Debswana group capital projects, leader of projects Johannes Rademan said as the pit expands there is need for a fit-for-purpose workshop facility to cater for an increase in the size and number of earthmoving vehicles. He said the facility is designed to support 30 300-tonne trucks on the mine.

He added that with the revised citizen economic policy, the company seeks to develop suppliers to reduce the procurement pipeline and costs.

To implement this strategy, Rademan said Debswana will facilitate joint ventures between local suppliers and foreign companies supplying the mine.

“Debswana has reserved certain percentages of categories of goods and services for citizen-owned companies although that is not enough, but there is scope for growth of that portion,” Rademan added. Meanwhile, giving an overview of the Letlhakane Mine Tailings Resource Treatment Project (LMTRTP), Debswana assured the public that there will be no job losses at the mine, instead more jobs would be created.

Kevin Mokotedi said the Letlhakane mine pits are reaching depths that limit the conventional open pit mining method, adding that various options are being explored such as slope steepening and underwater mining.

He added: “After thorough research, we discovered that the tailings have diamonds contrary to the information we had before”.

He said stockpiles of ore would only be available for treatment post conventional open pit mining adding that the plant faces closure by 2017. However, Mokotedi said the closure of the plant does not mean there is no ore that can be mined at Letlhakane.

Instead, he said mining would become expensive and dangerous to mine using conventional ways of mining.

“Debswana will never compromise the safety of its employees and assets for profit,” said Mokotedi, adding that LMTRTP will extend the lifespan of the mine by over 24 years. Major works at the project, Mokotedi said, include a treatment plant and 66 kV line with its accessories.

He said the project has engaged various local contractors including Kalcon, CCB, Prentec, Electrical Installations and Hoisting in the implementation phase.

“The construction management of the project is led by Debswana while Fluor provides technical support. Employees who were involved in the construction of Jwaneng Modular Plant have been transferred to the LMTRTP to leverage on their expertise,” said Mokotedi.

Further, Mokotedi said that entrepreneurs in the vicinity of the mine would benefit from the project since contractors will seek accommodation and services.