When a trio of South African engineering pioneers started their own consultancy in Johannesburg in 1974, it was innovation that was their guide; half a century later, SRK Consulting is a 1700-strong global network of scientists and engineers that embraces digital and other technologies to further enhance its impact.

From its original South African base, SRK Consulting grew its footprint into the rest of Africa and abroad. This success was achieved despite the cycles and vagaries of the South African mining sector, both before and after the nation’s transition to democracy. The steady expansion into Africa was supported by SRK’s country practices across the globe, especially those in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Innovative culture

Vital to the energy within SRK Consulting is its innovative culture and its business model based on employee ownership – which were core to the founders’ vision. The success of Oskar Steffen, Andy Robertson and Hendrik Kirsten was based on their complementary talents as “a statesman, an entrepreneur and a scientific mind” respectively.

“They invited bright people to join SRK with these simple words: come and build your own practice within our company,” said SRK Consulting global chairman Alejo Sfriso. Their business model – which was employee-owned with flat reporting structures – drew in the best minds with a shared professional curiosity and commitment to engineering excellence.”

To support its full flowsheet technology capabilities, FLSmidth is continuously developing vital skills at its well-resourced Training Academy at the company’s Chloorkop Service Centre in Gauteng.

According to the FLSmidth Training Academy Head Steve Parkinson, the training underpins the ground-up succession strategy of ensuring long term competence within the business – with the depth to embrace evolving technologies that continuously improve its offerings.

“Our considerable investment in skills development nurtures local talent to provide us with a strong pipeline of relevant and quality expertise,” says Parkinson. “This knowledge base is shared within FLSmidth not only across the continent but globally. At the same time, we invariably train more people than we can absorb, so we provide a rich resource of trained individuals for other players in the local mining and engineering sectors – including our customers and competitors.”

FLSmidth

Through a rigorous selection process countrywide that targets unemployed youth under 26 years old, 10 apprentices are enrolled every year at the academy. They spend three years in formalized training towards their qualification and future role as an artisan. FLSmidth employs as many as it can accommodate within its resource planning and budgeting; the company also goes the extra mile in trying to find placements for the others, either among its customers or the broader industry.

Highlights

• Copper 360 has delivered the first copper concentrate from the Northern Cape Province in 21 years marking the start of a new era in copper production in South Africa.
• The achievement is remarkable in light of the fact that the record concentrate grades in excess of 30% were produced during the commissioning of the MFP 2 (the Nama Copper plant) that was recently acquired.
• The plant produced 136 tonnes of concentrate over a commissioning period of 3 weeks achieving our plan.
• The plant is forecast to produce in excess of 1,000 tonnes of concentrate per month within 3 months – 2 months ahead of planned production.
• The Company’s second concentrate plant MFP 1 is planned to start production at the end of July 2024, with a target capacity of 1,400 concentrate tonnes per month.
• The SX/EW plant that produces copper cathode, also delivered record performance in March 2024 producing some 60 tonnes of pure copper metal and is well on track to ramp up to 100 tonnes of copper per month within the next quarter.

Jan Nelson, CEO of Copper 360 commented: “Copper 360 is extremely proud of this achievement heralding not only the first copper concentrate production from the area in 21 years but also because it marks the start of a new era of copper production in South Africa. We have delivered on plan and at copper concentrate grades that are world-class. Copper 360 is also the only producer of copper cathode from the area.

Copper 360 is South Africa’s only listed pure copper producer and has made history in terms of being the first major copper producer in the Namaqualand region. We salute the tenacity and spirit of the people of Namaqualand who support us tremendously and the drive and passion of our team. We remain humble but we celebrate this historic success which marks South Africa’s return to being a major copper player. Our focus is now to bring our second concentrate plant into production and ramp up copper output. We look forward to reporting further production results in due course.”

Any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement have not been reviewed nor reported on by the Company’s auditors.

WEG Africa has become the first OEM to produce medium voltage (MV) softstarters in South Africa, reducing lead times for customers and supporting the drive for local manufacture.

The WEG SSW7000 units are produced at WEG Africa’s Robertsham facility south of Johannesburg to the high quality standards for which the company is well known. According to Pervin Gurie, Director of the Digital & Systems Division at WEG Africa, the popular SSW7000 range is well-regarded by the market. These softstarters, which are extensively used in pump and fan applications in Africa’s mining sector, have now also become more cost effective.

“As the demand for our MV softstarters has grown in recent years, we recognised that customers could benefit considerably from having these products manufactured locally,” says Gurie. “The immediate benefit is that we can almost halve the lead time from 20 to 24 weeks to 10 weeks, by removing the need for long distance shipping from WEG’s Brazil facilities.”

MV softstarters

He notes that the strategic value of softstarters has come to the fore as users look for ways to address the rising cost of electricity, as well as to protect their electric motors and extend their operational lifecycle. Softstarters allow a gentle ramp up of power as electric motors are started, reducing the peak energy demand during startup. Motors starting with a conventional direct-on-line (DOL) starting will draw up to 700% more than its rated current, while a softstarter can reduce this to just 300%.

Source:WearCheck

Lube tip: insights into oil additives

By simply including an additive, an inferior base oil cannot be converted into a premium product. It is illogical to use poor-quality oil on a continuing basis, and attempt to overcome its poor lubricating qualities with some special additive.

A far better approach is to determine the manufacturer’s recommendation as to the minimum API service rating required (API is a standard of quality grade for engine oil made by the American Petroleum Association), and then regularly use a blended lubricant of a higher-service classification than originally recommended, if an improvement in lubrication is the objective. Visit www.wearcheck.co.za for more condition monitoring information.

Lube tip: aftermarket oil additives can backfire

Increasing the percentage of a certain additive may improve one property of an oil, while at the same time degrading another. When the specified concentrations of additives become unbalanced, overall oil quality can be affected. Some additives compete with each other for the same space on a metal surface. For example, if a high concentration of an anti-wear agent is added to the oil, the corrosion inhibitor may become less effective. The result may be an increase in corrosion-related problems.

Lube tip: the evolution of oil filtration systems

Early automotive engines didn’t use any kind of filtration for the oil. It wasn’t until a patent was granted to Ernest Sweetland and George Greenhalgh in 1923 – for their product the “pure oil later” or “Purolator” – that you could buy an automobile with a full-pressure lubrication system.

A household name for shaft sinking in Africa’s mining sector, Murray & Roberts Cementation has over the decades developed a wide portfolio of mining services – some better known than others.

“Through our constant innovation across a range of fields, built on the expertise of our highly experienced staff, we keep developing very interesting responses to customer’s challenges,” says Pieter Oosthuysen, Senior Project Manager at Murray & Roberts Cementation.

Among the sector’s growing challenges has been the criminality associated with illegal mining activities. The company has developed solutions to prevent cable theft – including the encasing of cables in grout-filled pipes – and to seal off old areas using grout packs that create permanent barriers.

“Water management has also become a key issue for mines, especially in the mature deep-level gold mining sector,” says Oosthuysen. “Here, their issues are about ensuring responsible water management as well as reducing pumping costs from dormant or mined-out mining areas. This often requires that old underground areas be sealed off to contain the massive water pressures at depth.”

The community of Vosloorus in Gauteng played host to the country’s first-ever recognized auction recently when local bidders went head-to-head for a host of goods ranging from used appliances to equipment and collectables.

Incredibly it has taken thirty years since South Africa’s first democratic elections to hosting formal auctions and judging by the amount of interest it has garnered from the close-knit community it certainly will not be the last.

The icebreaking event was held by the aptly named, Lokshin Auctions, with the full support and encouragement of the South African Institute of Auctioneers (SAIA) and supported by some of the country’s best-known member auctioneers including Park Village Auctions, Auction Operation, Dynamic Auctions and Aucor.

Lokshin Auctions founder and SAIA head of the transformation committee, Tsitso Setai, has made it his passion to bring accredited professional auctions to the townships where the majority of dwellers have not been exposed to auctions and not benefitted from the many advantages of buying and selling assets on auction. Initial investigations by SAIA’s transformation committee had revealed that few people understood the auction process and were sceptical of its trustworthiness.

In the face of declining commodity prices, the mining industry has increasingly prioritised cost saving measures, often leading to the suspension of capital expenditure (CAPEX). While such strategies may yield short-term financial relief, the importance of implementing comprehensive maintenance programmes has never been more critical.

These programmes are essential for ensuring the reliability and performance of existing equipment, timely servicing, repairs and refurbishments, preventing failures that could severely impact operations downstream.

One of the more complex aspects of mining operations maintenance is measuring the wear life of transfer chutes, which involves tracking numerous components. The advantages of accurately gauging wear life are direct and substantial, contributing to enhanced operational uptime and, consequently, to the bottom line.

Customised models

Mark Baller, CEO of Weba Chute Systems, sheds light on how the company’s customised reliability model plays a pivotal role in capturing key wear indicators for each chute. This model, when supplied with the correct data—including regular wear measurements—provides plant operators with invaluable insights into wear patterns.

One of the most important missions of Cortec® Corporation, a global leader in the corrosion protection industry, is environmental responsibility. This commitment is especially demonstrated through the company’s expanding portfolio of sustainable products. Within this range of environmentally-responsible

preventative designed with sustainability and user safety in mind. This compact device consists of a space-saving pad made from more than 50% biobased content and packaged in a vented cardboard box for easy hanging. This allows Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors (VpCIs) in the BioEmitter® pad to emit while avoiding direct contact between the pad and metal surfaces.

The VpCIs of BioEmitter®

VpCIs migrate throughout surrounding spaces to form an invisible molecular shield on metal surfaces, inhibiting the corrosive effects of air and moisture. VpCI® molecules automatically protect any metal surfaces that air can reach. BioEmitter® is distinctive in offering a convenient application and delivery method for corrosion protection of valuable multi-metal components or parts within enclosed spaces of up to 1.4 m 3 (50 cubic feet). It attaches to a clean surface by using either the hanging hole on the package or the four removable adhesive patches provided.

The BioEmitter® will provide powerful protection of various assets for at least a year even in the presence of harsh conditions including salt, moisture, airborne contaminants, H 2 S, SO 2 , NH 3 , and others. The VpCIs of BioEmitter® do not contain nitrites, silicones, phosphates, or heavy metals. They have no negative

Starting out 1994 to serve the metropolitan area with a range of low voltage electric motors, WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch has grown in its size and its offerings, according to Branch Manager Marthinus Greeff.

Testament to this is the fact that it has again outgrown its premises, and last year relocated to larger, well-equipped facilities in Richmond Business Park – enhancing its service capability while making life easier for its customers.

“The branch had humble beginnings 30 years ago, with three staff members – the manager, an administrative assistant and a storeman,” says Greeff. “Our dedication and commitment to customers soon put us on a growth path which has continued to this day; the experienced staff complement at Richmond Park now stands at 35 people.”

Another sign of success is the geographical area that the branch now covers – from Cape Town upwards to the north as far as Upington and east to the town of George. Similarly, a wider range of industrial sectors reach out for solutions from WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch. These include mining, cement, petrochemical, water and wastewater as well as building, food processing, materials handling and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). He notes that a particularly exciting recent development has been in agriculture, where the branch serves farmers who want to use more renewable energy.