African mining industry employs continuous surface mining methods

Save to read list Published by Leah Jones, Digital Administrator Global Mining Review, Tuesday, 04 April 2023 00:00

The African mining industry is seeing the benefits of continuous surface mining. Many regions have adopted this method, and some have even set aside drill and blast. This is because continuous surface mining can help maximise productivity while minimising noise, vibrations, dust, and security concerns.

How continuous surfacing mining works

Continuous surface mining follows an ore body in three dimensions, keeping the ore separate from waste. This mining technique eliminates the need for a primary crusher and helps produce uniform material with a tight particle size distribution. It also results in fewer fines being generated than with drill and blast in the same material.

Continuous surface mining optimises African mining operations

Frank Beerthuis, managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa for Vermeer Equipment Suppliers, has served the African mining community since 2008. Ruben de Meijer, managing director for Vermeer West Africa, joined the community in 2013. The two shared their thoughts on continuous surface mining.

Continuous surface mining on a West Africa copper mineBeerthuis remembered the introduction of continuous surface mining to his region clearly.

Freeport McMoran had a majority ownership stake in the copper deposits of Tenke-Fungurumi in the South-Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo," he said. "Copper deposits generally were thin seams of high-grade ore."

It proved to be an opportunity to introduce continuous mining with the Vermeer Terrain Leveler® surface excavation machine (SEM).

Freeport McMoran crews used the Vermeer surface miner to level the site, remove overburden from the ore bodies and provide access to the copper seams.

Once the initial ore processing plant was operational and there was open access to the ore bodies, Vermeer trenchers were used to do a 23.5 in. (60 cm) deep sampling of the area. There was a clear visual difference in the colour of the ore, so high-grade and lower-grade areas could be mapped," said Beerthuis. "The Tenke mine then used the surface miners to mine the copper ore and selectively load and stockpile the lower grade ore seams. Between 2009 and 2012, the mine invested in a total of five Vermeer T1255III Terrain Leveler SEMs."

Continuous surface mining on a South Africa bauxite mine

De Meijer's first continuous surface mining customer was SMB-Winning's bauxite mine in Guinea, Africa. Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) was formed to extract, process and transport material from the mine.

Committed to optimising all aspects of its operations, the African mining consortium invited Vermeer West Africa to visit.

The group gathered rock samples for the Vermeer Rock Lab experts who conducted a series of tests to help determine how the material would respond when cut. The local dealer then helped SMB estimate production and service expenses associated with using a Vermeer surface miner.

SMB invested in two Vermeer surface miners and arranged to run the machines in conjunction with drill and blast to get a side-by-side comparison. The SMB consortium was impressed.

Overall, the consortium says using the surface miners is more cost efficient than drilling and blasting," de Meijer explained.

After these ‘early adopters’ began using continuous surface mining, others followed. Beerthuis reported more than a dozen mines and quarries now operate surface miners in sub-Saharan Africa. In de Meijer's territory, there are currently 10 to 15 mines using surface miners.

Continuous surface mining delivers measurable results

Removing explosives makes mines more secure, better neighbours and less impactful on the environment. Both de Meijer and Beerthuis reported the adoption of continuous surface mining resulted in complete replacement of drill and blast methods at many mines without compromising productivity.

Some of our customers are doing around 2.97 million t to 3.53 million tpy per machine using the Vermeer T1255III single-side direct drive model," de Meijer said.

Vermeer continuous surface miners set the standard

Vermeer is not the only source for surface miners, but their machines stand out.

Customers are sometimes incredulous when we tell them our machines are reaching close to 8000 engine hr/yr — and there are only 8760 hours in a year," said de Meijer.

Both men said the Vermeer track record of supplying and servicing continuous surface mining machines is the primary attraction for African mines.

The future of continuous surface mining for the African mining industry

Do continuous mining methods have a future in Africa's mining regions? Neither de Meijer nor Beerthuis had doubts.

There will be growing potential as a consequence of increased restrictions imposed on the use of explosives," said Beerthuis.

One thing is certain. Continuous surface mining is helping make African mines secure, sustainable and productive.

For more information about Vermeer continuous surfacing mining equipment, contact your local Vermeer dealer.

Vermeer Corp. reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design and specifications; add improvements; or discontinue manufacturing at any time without notice or obligation. Equipment shown is for illustrative purposes only and may display optional accessories or components specific to their global region. Please contact your local Vermeer dealer for more information on machine specifications. Vermeer, the Vermeer logo, and Terrain Leveler are trademarks of Vermeer Manufacturing Co. in the US and/or other countries. © 2023 Vermeer Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

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