Новости за 19.06.2020

Diversified miner Glencore’s 2019 Human Rights Report states that the company continued to make progress with its approach to human rights, focusing on four work programmes. Glencore group head of sustainability Anna Krutikov on June 19 said the company’s report detailed its approach to managing risks to human rights, key activities and learnings during the year.

The continued roll-out of new renewable energy capacity is key to the success of current and future mining projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), panellists have indicated during a session of the virtual DRC Mining Week webinar on June 18. The panel comprised Southern Africa-focused independent power producer (IPP) Tembo Power CEO Raphael Khalifa and IPP Geosolar grid main adviser Serge Tshitembu. Both companies have renewable energy plants commissioned in the DRC.

With a higher test rate at 3.01%, compared with the national and global average test rates of 2.07% and 1.57%, respectively, South Africa’s mining industry is proving to be handling the Covid-19 pandemic better than most sectors, the Minerals Council has said. Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter on June 19 shared some mining industry statistics and information related to how the industry has been responding to Covid-19 in a briefing with the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy.

Coal miner New Hope has lamented the Queensland government’s decision to delay approval of the New Acland Stage 3 expansion until legal action has been concluded. New Hope met with the state government to present a roadmap to final approvals for the Stage 3 project, after the High Court of Australia earlier this month granted community group Oakey Coal Action Alliance (OCAA) special leave to appeal an earlier ruling on the mine’s expansion.

Diversified major BHP have tapped Altera Infrastructure doing business as (dba) Teekay Shipping Norway AS, BW Offshore dba BW Offshore Singapore, and SBM Offshore dba Single Buoy Moorings to deliver an early engineering study for a floating storage and offloading unit (FSO) for the Trion field in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, offshore Mexico. The studies have been awarded following a competitive tender process, and the work is anticipated to be completed this calendar year.

Barrick Gold on Thursday said there is "absolutely no truth" in a news release circulated on social media in Zambia claiming the gold miner sold its Lumwana copper mine. The fake press release, dated June 15, claimed Barrick had sold its Zambian copper mine to Metalinvest Capital Corporation and Zambia's National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) for $895 million in cash.

Canadian diamond miner Mountain Province Diamonds has provided a new guidance for 2020, as CEO Stuart Brown says that demand for rough diamonds are starting to show signs of interest. The Toronto-headquartered company lowered the production forecast for Gahcho Kue, in Kennady Lake on the Canadian tundra on the edge of the Arctic Circle, by about 400 000 oz, while maintaining or slightly lowering its cost guidance for the full year.

Legislation has been introduced into the Queensland Parliament to further improve on its mine rehabilitation regulations and improve financial assurance outcomes for the state’s resources sector. Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment (EPOLA) Bill would ensure Queensland continues to lead the way in the resources sector and will encourage mine rehabilitation work in regional Queensland.

Major Rio Tinto has launched a board-led review of its heritage management processes within its iron-ore division following the events at Juukan Gorge, with a focus on recommending improvements to the effectiveness of its internal processes and governance. The company review comes after the Northern Australia Committee commenced an inquiry into the destruction of the Indigenous heritage site, to examine how the destruction of the caves came about, the processed that failed to protect the site, the impact on the Traditional Owners... Читать дальше...

– Diversified miner BHP has struck a deal with the Australian arm of major Norilsk Nickel to acquire the Honeymoon Well nickel project, in Western Australia. The Honeymoon Well nickel project comprises the Honeymoon Well development project and a 50% interest in the Albion Downs North and Jericho exploration joint ventures (JV).

Pumps manufacturer and supplier Australian Pumps Industries MD Warwick Lorenz says the company is continuously working on improving its products by enhancing seal quality, self-priming characteristics and impeller design.  This will enable the company to pump more water with more pressure using less power.  “That is part of our research and development programme and it is receiving a lot of attention.”

The mining sector is one of the toughest operating environments, driven by a constant need to maximise on yield for profitability while ensuring safety and meeting stakeholder expectations, says industrial equipment supplier Verder Pumps South Africa MD Darryl MacDougall.   He says the sector continues to face several challenges simultaneously, as the effects of existing challenges have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pump manufacturer and supplier Werner Pumps South Africa is able to assist municipalities and contractors to ensure essential services continue during the national lockdown. “At Werner Pumps, our offices and manufacturing facilities remain open to assist our customers working in essential services,” says Werner Pumps MD Sebastian Werner.

While mines are gradually ramping up to full production while adhering to Covid-19 protocols, it is safe to say that industry is experiencing the effects of the pandemic, says pumping equipment supplier Mechanical Rotating Solutions (MRS) MD Franscois Steenkamp. “Over the last couple of months, we have seen mining production upended with mining operations pushing back maintenance of existing infrastructure, closing down less profitable operations as well as investing in more modular, mobile and multipurpose... Читать дальше...

Compressor and generator supplier Rand-Air has acquired two Atlas Copco DrillAir Y1260 variable high pressure (21 bar to 35 bar) compressors. This new technology – from the world’s leading manufacturer of compressor and generator equipment – has been scientifically designed around pressure and flow for a wide range of high-capacity drilling applications.

Earthmoving equipment supplier HPE Africa’s McCloskey S250 screener – one of the largest tracked-mounted mobile vibratory screening plants available – has been designed for highly-efficient aggregate material screening.

Plant operators want to eliminate dust and spills on belts and transfers as well as minimise maintenance requirements of the conveyor system. Further, the ability of plants to efficiently cope with the challenges of moist and sticky materials related to quarrying is also desired.

Power transmission products distributor Bearings International (BI) is supplying bearings manufacturer Dodge ISN bearings to the quarrying sector to address contamination – the leading cause of premature bearing failure in the industry.

Pumps solutions supplier Integrated Pump Rental has continued as a secondary emergency supplier throughout the lockdown, including helping to dewater a coal mine in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The failure of one of the mine’s pumps under lockdown restrictions, which prevented pump repairs was aggravated by heavy downpours and the customer urgently needed fit-for-purpose dewatering equipment to prevent flooding in the openpit, says pump solutions specialists Integrated Pump Rental operations manager Henru Strydom.