After two years of hard work, Pioneer Pump’s engineering department has launched its new 30 in (450mm) centrifugal, self-priming pump.
Mounted onto a Caterpillar C27 engine, the new 30 in twin vacuum pump is capable of producing a maximum flow of just under 10,000m³/hr and lifting a maximum suction lift of 5 m.
Pioneer Pump designs and manufactures vacuum-assisted, self-priming pumps, as well as wet self-priming pumps and end suction, centrifugal pumps. With these pumps, the company is capable of packaging pumpsets up to 575 kW (700 HP) in both engine-driven and electric motor packages.
The company has its own in-house design team that is led by a specialist chief engineer who has designed all Pioneer’s fluid ends along a common theme of high efficiency and low cost ownership.
Integrating its growing range of products into engineered-to-order (ETO) solutions is increasingly a way of life at Weir Minerals. The recent launch of its dredge-mounted Multiflo® Mudflo™ pump shows how effective this approach can be, and how much it can contribute to customers’ bottom lines.
Media release – 01-08-2022
WEIR MINERALS INTEGRATES KEY BRANDS IN MUDFLOW™ PUMP
Integrated solutions are what separates equipment suppliers from solution providers, argues Marnus Koorts, general manager pump products at Weir Minerals Africa – and the recently launched Multiflo® Mudflo™ pump shows how this is done.
This dredge/excavator-mounted, mud-pumping innovation was launched last year, after being developed in response to a challenge which a customer faced, says Koorts. It is a heavy duty hydraulic submersible slurry pump designed for abrasive applications and large particle handling. Its application is primarily in reprocessing and relocating tailings ponds, maintaining water retention dams and managing slimes and sludge ponds.
“The Multiflo Mudflo pump successfully combines elements of the Warman MGS submersible slurry pump-end, and a custom Multiflo designed bearing assembly coupled to a hydraulic motor,” he says. “Another key ingredient is the pairing of twin Multiflo CB33 hydraulic cutters with Weir ESCO excavation teeth.”
The cutters mechanically agitate the settled solids, allowing abrasive and highly charged slurries and mud to be efficiently pumped. He emphasises that the components making up the Multiflo® Mudflo™ pump are drawn from Weir Minerals proven brands, and are carefully combined to produce an integrated solution that saves customers time and money. It also reduces environmental impact, by avoiding the costly and energy-intensive process excavating and trucking the material off site.
“The pump design includes Weir Minerals’ Ultrachrome A05 chrome alloy casting for high wear resistance,” he says. “There is also a suction strainer to prevent excessively large particles clogging the pump.”
This ensures that the unit delivers optimal uptime alongside high performance levels: the Mudflo™ 200 pump is capable of pumping between 150 m3/h and 1,200 m3/h, up to a head of 82 metres. The pump can handle a maximum particle size of 80 mm, and a maximum liquid temperature of 35°C.
“While our integration of products has grown organically over the years, it has become more systematic and deliberate as our product range has grown and become more diverse,” says Koorts. “The way we have developed this solution shows the progress in recent years toward integrating our product lines to add value to our offerings.”
He notes that the process of ETO ensures that solutions developed by Weir Minerals’ engineering teams deliver more value than the sum of their component parts. In this case, the company’s dewatering experts were able to draw on the best technology from Weir Minerals’ Multiflo®, Warman® and Weir ESCO® brands – combining them with advanced hydraulics to create an innovative result.
“Our extensive footprint in the field and our close collaboration with customers on a daily basis gives us a detailed understanding of their specific requirements,” he says. “We can therefore ensure that our innovations are fit for purpose, being based on our considerable ETO capability and technical excellence.”
CAPTIONS
PIC 01 : Marnus Koorts, general manager pump products at Weir Minerals Africa.
PIC 02 : The Multiflo Mudflo TM pump and dredge unit.
PIC 03 : The Multiflo Mudflo pump has been engineered for abrasive applications.
IPR recently provided a pump dewatering solution to a repeat customer, and then undertook the complete rebuild of a damaged pump set. Henru Strydom, operations manager at IPR, says that dealing with a pump rental company that has the expertise and capability to undertake a complete pump overhaul was a major advantage for this manufacturing sector customer.
MEDIA RELEASE – 16-08-2022
IPR OVERHAULS PUMP FOR CUSTOMER IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR
Dealing with a pump rental company that has the expertise and capability to undertake a complete pump overhaul proved to be a major advantage for a customer in the manufacturing sector recently.
Having had previous pump rental experience with IPR, this customer requested urgent assistance when the pump it was using for water transfer at its operation became problematic.
“Not only were we able to provide a rapid pump dewatering rental solution to this customer,” says Henru Strydom operations manager at IPR, “we were also able to undertake the complete overhaul of the pump ensuring it was back in operation within a relatively short period of time.”
Years of operation transferring water from one dam to another had taken it toll on the pump that was in use at the customer facility, and such is its manufacturing operation that it could not be without a dewatering pump. IPR’s team were contacted for a rental pump set and were able to deliver more than just that to its customer.
Strydom says that the damaged pump was removed from site and replaced with a rental unit. On further inspection at the company’s comprehensively equipped facility, the IPR team found that the damage was both mechanical and electrical, and that a complete rebuild of the pump set would be essential to ensure reliable operation going forward.
The pump set was completely stripped, and individual components assessed prior to the final decision on what work would need to be done. The final overhaul saw all bearings replaced due to excessive wear and a new engine wiring harness replace the old one which was damaged after short-circuiting. Other damaged components replaced including the control panel.
Following this work, the pump set components were spray painted in IPR’s in-house spray booth, and then the pump was subjected to final quality control inspections prior to it being tested in the company’s test tank. “Doing this gives our customer full assurance that the rebuilt pump set is capable of meetings its rated flow of 90 litres per second at a maximum head of 25 metres,” Strydom says.
This is not the first full pump rebuild that IPR has done, and Strydom explains that having an in-depth understanding of pump applications and operations is an advantage especially when overhauling pump sets. “The level of trust that many of our customers have in IPR has seen this sector of our business expand exponentially and we anticipate that it will consider doing so.”
CAPTIONS
OVERHAUL PIC 01 : IPR recently undertook the complete rebuild of a damaged pump set for a repeat customer.
OVRHAUL PIC 02 : IPR maintains having an in-depth understanding of pump applications and operations is an advantage especially when overhauling pump sets.
OVERHAUL PIC 03 : A complete rebuild of the pump set ensured reliable operation going forward for this IPR customer.
OVERHAUL PIC 04 : The completely overhauled pump set which IPR undertook for a repeat customer in the manufacturing sector.
Dewatering and dredging specialist Integrated Pump Rental has come a long way since launching in 2015, so its rebranding as IPR is not a moment too soon. Managing director Lee Vine highlights how IPR now also sells new products and engineers custom solutions. The company’s flexibility and responsiveness, however, remains as its strategic focus.
MEDIA RELEASE – 12-09-2022
IPR RAISED REBRANDED FLAG AT ELECTRA MINING 2022
After seven successful years of growth and evolution, pumping specialist Integrated Pump Rental has rebranding as IPR.
Announcing the rebranding at the popular Electra Mining Africa 2022 show in Johannesburg, IPR managing director Lee Vine says the fresh new look reflects the company’s expanded range of offerings. It has made a solid name for itself as a rental operation in dewatering and dredging – having significantly grown its rental fleet over the years.
This rental success has led to a move towards selling pump solutions where this made sense to the customer’s particular operating conditions. By prioritising the total cost of ownership, IPR is able to offer the most cost effective choice between renting and purchasing.
“In responding to customer needs, we have also naturally evolved into the manufacture of custom pump sets for specific applications,” says Vine. “With our extensive experience and engineering expertise, this was a logical step which our new brand can now embrace.”
He emphasises that IPR boasts the same expert team that customers have relied upon, and continues to deliver their well-known standards of service excellence. As the sole agent in southern Africa for Sykes diesel-driven pump sets, IPR also deals with various global pump brands including Grindex, Flygt, Godwin and Atlas Copco.
“Among the products that we have developed locally – to great acclaim in the local market – are the SlurrySucker and SlurryBlaster,” he says. “These are designed for dredging silted-up ponds and for removing accumulation of slurry and sediments on dam walls and inside dams.”
He credits hard work from the IPR team as the force behind becoming synonymous with pump dewatering and dredging solutions across industries, especially in challenging conditions. Existing customers as well as the broader marketplace today recognise the company as IPR, so it was appropriate to update its branding and launch a new look.
The vision, he explains, continues to be aimed at becoming the leading pump dewatering and dredging specialist – with a focus on assisting customers to reduce their total cost of ownership.
“Our ability to be agile and flexible is underpinned by our in-depth understanding that these pumping applications need quick and dependable solutions,” says Vine. “This has always been what we are all about, and this remains IPR’s commitment to the market.”
CAPTIONS
IPR PIC 01 : After seven successful years of growth and evolution, pumping specialist Integrated Pump Rental has rebranding as IPR.
IPR PIC 02 : The rebranding from Integrated Pump Rental to IPR was announced at Electra Mining Africa 2022.
IPR PIC 03 : IPR launched its fresh new look at Electra Mining Africa 2022.
IPR PIC 04 : IPR showcased both its new logo and its products at Electra Mining Africa 2022.
IPR PIC 05 : The name IPR is synonymous with pump dewatering and dredging solutions across industries.
IPR PIC 06 : A view of the SlurrySucker with accessories including pump flotation devices.
IPR PIC 07 : IPR successfully launched its rebranding at Electra Mining Africa 2022.
The UN has declared 2022 the “International Year of Glass”. This puts even more focus on production conditions in the energy-intensive glass industry, and efficient technologies along the entire value chain are particularly in demand. Vacuum technology also has a major influence on sustainability in glass production – because stable vacuum is needed in many processes. Atlas Copco specializes in providing energy-efficient, intelligent, and sustainable vacuum solutions to manufacturers worldwide. They have supplied the German glass producer Noelle + von Campe with three GHS 4600 VSD+ screw vacuum pumps. The Atlas Copco GHS VSD+ series of vacuum pumps are a range of highly efficient, intelligent vacuum pumps with Variable Speed Drive (VSD) technology.
Individual glass packaging for bottling companies Noelle + von Campe produces individual glass packaging for bottling companies. The individualized bottles and jars are given their shape and the final touch using vacuum technology. The final touch includes adding a customer’s logo or name. When shaping the glass, better embossing of the logo or any lettering is achieved if the trapped air between the glass mold and the actual glass has been removed as best as possible. With an output of 650 million jars per year, the right vacuum system is an important element for the efficiency of the entire plant for Noelle + von Campe. Atlas Copco, with its application expertise and experience in supplying vacuum pumps to the glass industry, knows the exact requirements of the market. They have a long history in partnering with glass manufacturers. Their solutions and installations are made to measure for each individual customer. This was one of the reasons Noelle + von Campe chose Atlas Copco’s GHS VSD+ oil-injected screw vacuum pumps for their production facility.
Energy savings with Variable Speed Drive (VSD) technology The use of vacuum technology alone saves a lot of energy: the same production result could also be achieved with compressed air but would consume more energy. With its innovative motor concept for glass production, the Atlas Copco GHS VSD+ series is one of the most energy-efficient oil-lubricated vacuum pumps on the market: with the VSD variable speed control, the screw pumps can be adapted precisely and quickly to the respective vacuum requirement. Variable speed and the set point control offers optimum vacuum levels. The GHS VSD+ vacuum pumps installed at Noelle + von Campe have saved around 27% in energy costs.
Increased stability in the vacuum supply The reduced energy consumption isn’t the only advantage of the GHS VSD+ vacuum solution. The entire vacuum supply at Noelle + von Campe is now more stable than before. „When we change tools or adapt our processes, for example, the new central vacuum system continues to reliably supply our entire production“ reports Timo Scherf, the Head of Maintenance Plant 1 at Noelle + von Campe. „This was an important factor for us, because the reliable, uninterrupted vacuum supply in turn has a direct effect on the quality of our end products. And when it comes to the quality of our jars and bottles, neither we nor our customers make any compromises“, Timo Scherf emphasizes.
Significantly faster amortization According to Atlas Copco sales engineer Oliver Heitjohann, further cost reductions are generated by the ES central control: „The intelligent system coordinates the use of the vacuum pumps with each other – this saves even more costs, also for maintenance and electricity. A big advantage: the customers also achieve significantly faster amortization“. The ES16 central controller can monitor and control multiple GHS VSD+ vacuum pumps simultaneously. The smart control system balances and optimizes the performance of all machines, reducing the overall energy consumption. Compared to competitor products, the intervals between maintenance are also longer. Other note-worthy features of the GHS 4600 VSD+ vacuum pump is its low noise level, space-saving design and the fact that the pumps are supplied in a single, compact housing. The installation is plug & play and is correspondingly uncomplicated.
More for less The Atlas Copco GHS VSD+ oil-sealed screw vacuum pump series thus put the finishing touches not only to the products but also to the production process. This is where Atlas Copco’s extensive experience in working with glass manufacturers pays off. That is why Atlas Copco also customized the piping of the vacuum pumps. Atlas Copco is thus, as it were, a one-stop shop for glass manufacturers – from the pump to the connection systems. And so, on balance, Noelle + von Campe gets more for less: more vacuum, more control and more stability for less energy consumption and less effort.
Best regards
Oliver Schulz on behalf of Atlas Copco Vacuum Technique ————————————- PR Schulz Oliver Schulz Dipl.-Kfm. Neuenbaumer Str.34 41470 Neuss E-mail: info@pr-schulz.de www.pr-schulz.de
Mexico City, Mexico, September 22, 2022 – Manchester City’s global charity initiative, Cityzens Giving, and Official Water Technology Partner, Xylem, are delighted to announce the expansion of Xylem Water Heroes Academy, a global initiative in ten cities using the power of football to tackle local water challenges.
Since its launch in 2021, Xylem Water Heroes Academy has engaged over 75 young leaders and delivered vital water education to more than 6,000 young people in five cities: São Paulo, Mumbai, Cape Town, New York City and Shanghai. The expanded network, which now also comprises youth-led projects in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Cape Coast, Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, aims to positively impact 20,000 more young people over the next four years.
To mark the launch, Pablo Zabaleta and the Premier League Trophy visited the El Coyolito neighbourhood in Mexico City to meet Cityzens Giving Young Leaders who are using the power of football to solve local water issues.
Despite heavy flooding and rainfall, Mexico City is facing a water shortage. More than 20 million residents do not have enough water to drink for nearly half the yearand one in five people have access to only a few hours of running water from their taps a week.
This project will see Young Leaders from love.fútbol use specially adapted football games to educate young people in the community on responsible water consumption, as well as the importance of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
Zabaleta took part in a youth-led football and water festival and engaged in a Q&A session with young participants, before learning a traditional Mexican dance.
Reflecting on his visit, Zabaleta said: “Meeting the Young Leaders in Mexico City was an amazing experience. The way they are using football to teach children about the importance of water is creative and inspiring, and it’s great to see this unique initiative from Cityzens Giving and Xylem expanding to more cities. The Young Leaders are so engaged with supporting their community and to be able to contribute in a small way was a privilege.”
As part of the activity in the country, Young Leaders, Xylem employees and fans from Manchester City’s Official Supporters Club in Mexico City also joined forces to repaint the El Coyolito pitch and create a water-themed mural.
In addition, City in the Community coaches delivered training to 40 Young Leaders in Mexico City, sharing expertise and knowledge in leadership, community football and WASH. This was followed by a three-day digital Summit, connecting Young Leaders and Xylem experts from all ten cities to share ideas on tackling water challenges through football.
“Climate change continues to threaten water availability in communities across the globe,” said Austin Alexander, Vice President, Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem. “Xylem Water Heroes Academy harnesses the power of football and young leaders to address these water challenges and make our communities more resilient.”
Valeria, a Young Leader with love.fútbol said: “We want all the children here to be aware that responsible water consumption is very important, and they must take care of it. We received training from Man City coaches and learnt several games that teach kids about water conservation through football. We are really happy and thankful that Man City and Pablo Zabaleta visited our community.”
Later this season, City fans will have a chance to learn more about the five new Water Heroes Academy projects and vote for their favourite young water heroes.
ENDS
Caption: Pablo Zabaleta poses with Young Leaders and The Premier League Trophy at Deportivo El Coyolito in Mexico City (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
In the wake of the flooding and landslides that happened in KwaZulu-Natal in April and May 2022, 448 people were left dead and more than 40 000 displaced, with damage to roads, schools, water infrastructure and businesses.
On 18 April, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster. As repairs got underway, one of the first issues many flooded businesses faced was to get rid of the water and debris in their factories or warehouse premises. The Werner Pumps rental unit, a combination jetting and vacuum truck, was put to good use to help with the clean-up operations.
“We rented our unit to two companies for several weeks at a time to assist them in servicing their clients’ in Durban and the surrounding areas after the horrific flooding,” says Sebastian Werner, Managing Director at Werner Pumps. “It’s the first time that the unit has been used for disaster recovery efforts after flooding. It was good to be able to help in some way by sending the combination truck from our head offices in Springs down to our KwaZulu-Natal clients to help. It must have done a good job because one of the companies has now ordered one from us to assist with their ongoing pollution control and industrial clean-up operations.”
The rental unit is a combination truck that offers state-of-the-art hydraulically operated jetting and vacuum functionality. It’s available through Werner Water Recycling, the rental division (founded in 2013) of Werner Pumps, the leading manufacturer of high-pressure jetting equipment in South Africa.
Known as the Impi Unit, it offers a tilting 12.500 litre, 304 stainless steel tank, with a hydraulically-driven high-pressure pump capacity of 295L/Min at 135bar, and a vacuum pump with 1700 m3/hr suction capability. The high-pressure pump is fitted with a pneumatically operated regulating valve, making infinite pressure adjustment possible, thus increasing the safety of the operator during use.
“It’s ideal for everything from sewer and stormwater cleaning and maintenance, to sludge and slurry removal, separator cleaning, contaminated liquid recovery, recovering solids, and cleaning surfaces,” says Werner. “In the wake of a disaster, it can be used to clean up standing water or to clean smoke-damaged facilities. We’ve found there’s demand for the unit from municipalities and contractors to bridge a gap when they’re waiting on a unit, or for budget to become available, and for people who need it for a specific time-bound application.”
Ultimately, Werner says, the company would like to build up its rental fleet to service the growing demand. “When something happens and someone urgently needs a truck, as was the case with the flooding, we want to be able to send them one immediately,” he says. “Our aim has always to be a one-stop shop, and to ensure our customers are able keep operating at all times, so we’re finding ways to help them do that.”
Senegal’s domestic gas reserves will be mainly used to produce electricity. Authorities expect that domestic gas infrastructure projects will come online between 2025 and 2026, provided there is no delay. The monetization of these significant energy resources is at the basis of the government’s new gas-to-power ambitions.
In this context, the global technology group Wärtsilä conducted in-depth studies that analyse the economic impact of the various gas-to-power strategies available to Senegal. Two very different technologies are competing to meet the country’s gas-to-power ambitions: Combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and Gas engines (ICE).
These studies have revealed very significant system cost differences between the two main gas-to-power technologies the country is currently considering. Contrary to prevailing beliefs, gas engines are in fact much better suited than combined cycle gas turbines to harness power from Senegal’s new gas resources cost-effectively, the study reveals. Total cost differences between the two technologies could reach as much as 480 million USD until 2035 depending on scenarios.
Two competing and very different technologies The state-of-the-art energy mix models developed by Wärtsilä, which builds customised energy scenarios to identify the cost optimal way to deliver new generation capacity for a specific country, shows that ICE and CCGT technologies present significant cost differences for the gas-to-power newbuild program running to 2035.
Although these two technologies are equally proven and reliable, they are very different in terms of the profiles in which they can operate. CCGT is a technology that has been developed for the interconnected European electricity markets, where it can function at 90% load factor at all times. On the other hand, flexible ICE technology can operate efficiently in all operating profiles, and seamlessly adapt itself to any other generation technologies that will make up the country’s energy mix.
In particular our study reveals that when operating in an electricity network of limited size such as Senegal’s 1GW national grid, relying on CCGTs to significantly expand the network capacity would be extremely costly in all possible scenarios.
Cost differences between the technologies are explained by a number of factors. First of all, hot climates negatively impact the output of gas turbines more than it does that of gas engines.
Secondly, thanks to Senegal’s anticipated access to cheap domestic gas, the operating costs become less impactful than the investment costs. In other words, because low gas prices decrease operating costs, it is financially sound for the country to rely on ICE power plants, which are less expensive to build.
Technology modularity also plays a key role. Senegal is expected to require an extra 60-80 MW of generation capacity each year to be able to meet the increasing demand. This is much lower than the capacity of typical CCGTs plants which averages 300-400 MW that must be built in one go, leading to unnecessary expenditure. Engine power plants, on the other hand, are modular, which means they can be built exactly as and when the country needs them, and further extended when required.
The numbers at play are significant. The model shows that If Senegal chooses to favour CCGT plants at the expense of ICE-gas, it will lead to as much as 240 million dollars of extra cost for the system by 2035. The cost difference between the technologies can even increase to 350 million USD in favor of ICE technology if Senegal also chooses to build new renewable energy capacity within the next decade.
Risk-managing potential gas infrastructure delays The development of gas infrastructure is a complex and lengthy endeavour. Program delays are not uncommon, causing gas supply disruptions that will have a huge financial impact on the operation of CCGT plants.
Nigeria knows something about that. Only last year, significant gas supply issues have caused shutdowns at some of the country’s largest gas turbine power plants. Because Gas turbines operate on a continuous combustion process, they require a constant supply of gas and a stable dispatched load to generate consistent power output. If the supply is disrupted, shutdowns occur, putting a great strain on the overall system. ICE-Gas plants on the other hand, are designed to adjust their operational profile over time and increase system flexibility. Because of their flexible operating profile, they were able to maintain a much higher level of availability
The study took a deep dive to analyse the financial impact of 2 years delay in the gas infrastructure program. It demonstrates that if the country decides to invest into gas engines, the cost of gas delay would be 550 million dollars, whereas a system dominated by CCGTs would lead to a staggering 770 million dollars in extra cost.
Whichever way you look at it, new ICE-Gas generation capacity will minimize the total cost of electricity in Senegal in all possible scenarios. If Senegal is to meet electricity demand growth in a cost-optimal way, at least 300 MW of new ICE-Gas capacity will be required by 2026.
There was clear recognition in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Speech delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday of the extensive damage caused to state-owned entities during years of corruption and mismanagement, and which are now having severe negative consequences for the entire economy. He also announced progress in designing a framework for the evaluation of the continued existence of state-owned enterprises.
Strict conditions would apply to the future funding provided to Transnet, Eskom, Denel and other state-owned entities, a decision strongly endorsed by the Minerals Council, which has noted the enormous amounts of money injected into government companies with very little to show for it.
The gross tax revenue overrun for the 2022/23 financial year was revised upward by R83.5 billion, with the financial, manufacturing and mining sector royalties providing improved corporate income tax.
A R2.9 billion cash injection for Transnet to return idled locomotives to service and a further R2.9 billion to repair flood damage in eThekwini will address two areas of concern within the rail and ports state-owned company. Transnet has said it has a backlog in maintenance of 300 locomotives.
However, the Minerals Council remains concerned that there was no mention of Richards Bay, which is a major bottleneck for exports of chrome, ferrochrome and magnetite along with other exported and imported products. Transnet is lagging behind rail delivery targets for bulk minerals. The Minerals Council estimates an opportunity cost of R50 billion for the industry this year when actual deliveries are measured against target. In 2021, the industry lost R35 billion using the same metric.
The Minerals Council is disappointed that there is still no firm government decision to increase private-sector access to Transnet’s rail and port infrastructure, particularly on the bulk mineral export corridors, outside the limited access the Government has already earmarked. Private sector participation in rail and port infrastructure is key to unlocking an estimated R151 billion of mineral exports.
Minister Godongwana said the Government would take between a third and two thirds of electricity monopoly Eskom’s R400 billion debt under strict conditions and an independent review of Eskom’s coal-fired power plants. This will give Eskom increased flexibility to be unbundled into its three constituent parts and to focus on plant maintenance of its aged fleet of power plants and capital investment which is vital because of the continued disruptions to electricity supply for the country.
The R3.4 billion allocated to Denel, the state-owned military equipment maker, is important for the mining industry because the company supplies critical chemicals needed for security and explosives used in blasting. Its stabilisation is critical for sustainable mining operations.
A doubling of government infrastructure spending to R112.5 billion by 2025/26 to rehabilitate and build new roads, bridges, and other infrastructure is important for economic growth and should address the average annual contraction in gross fixed capital formation of 4% between 2016 and 2020 from the R796 billion peak in 2015.
It is disappointing that government is resolute to increase carbon taxes steeply after 2023, as announced earlier. However, a paper on tax-free allocations to be published in 2023 is eagerly awaited, as mining, which is a low carbon emitter, will simply experience higher tax costs without being able to cut emissions much further. Most self-generation projects will entail renewable energy sources though. Mining companies have a pipeline of 6.5GW of renewable energy projects worth more than R100 billion to reduce their reliance on Eskom’s carbon-heavy electricity supply.
Government’s strong resolve to fund increased policing and security to curb crime, is strongly supported. The mining sector suffers from the disruptions of public infrastructure theft, criminals attacking the transportation routes for exports and mining installations, as well as the prevalence of illegal mining.
Drilling to date has demonstrated the presence of mineralisation over a strike extent of at least 1.8km, trending northeast-southwest along the A1 Dome. Importantly, the mineralisation intersected in the approximately 200m spaced drilling completed to date remains open to the north-east, and up and down-dip.
The copper-silver mineralisation at A1 is interpreted to be hosted in a thrust-related vein system, located near-surface at the centre of a periclinal anticline within the D’Kar Formation, a similar geological setting to the T3 and A4 Deposits.
Richard Holmes Sandfire’s Executive, Growth said: “Our dominant land position in the Kalahari Copper-belt is beginning to demonstrate its pedigree with the discovery of the A1 mineral system. Our patient approach to exploration, with the collection of regional scale datasets and their integration into a holistic exploration model, is delivering positive results. While the A1 system is still emerging and more drilling is required to understand its potential, it’s pleasing to have success so close to our existing infrastructure, with the Motheo Copper Mine only 20km away. Our current project generation work is delivering a pipeline of targets within sight of the headframe, which we will be testing over the coming months.”
Highlights
Extensive structurally controlled copper-silver mineralisation outlined over a 1.8km strike length at the A1 Dome, 20km from the new Motheo Copper Mine.
The mineralisation has been drilled on ~200m spacings to date and remains open to the northeast along strike, as well as up- and down-dip.
The recent drilling success at A1 demonstrates the substantial exploration potential of Sandfire’s Kalahari Copper Belt landholding, where it is developing an extensive pipeline of exploration opportunities within haulage distance of the new Motheo Production Hub.
Further work expected at A1 following completion of the current program includes testing of a potential ~4km strike extension of the mineralised horizon to the north-east and drilling to test the potential for deeper NPF contact-style mineralisation.
Sandfire continues to collect high-quality geophysical data to further develop its understanding of the basin architecture in the Kalahari Copper Belt and incorporate these learnings into the Company’s regional exploration model.
A major Airborne Gravity/Gradiometry (AGG) survey across Sandfire’s 26,000km2 tenement holding in the Kalahari Copper Belt is set to commence during the December Quarter of FY2023.
