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SETP No. 14 The Economic Value of Incremental Employment in the ...

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7.13 <strong>The</strong> cost <strong>of</strong> equipment-based extraction is determ<strong>in</strong>ed by <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g factors:<br />

• Hourly hire rate<br />

• Bucket capacity<br />

• Load cycle time<br />

• Operator efficiency, and<br />

• Soil and o<strong>the</strong>r operat<strong>in</strong>g conditions.<br />

7.<strong>14</strong> Table 7.4 allows for <strong>the</strong>se factors and is divided <strong>in</strong>to three parts – s<strong>of</strong>t ground<br />

(easy work<strong>in</strong>g conditions), average ground with normal efficiency and hard<br />

ground where <strong>the</strong> go<strong>in</strong>g is heavy. Under <strong>the</strong>se conditions and assumptions <strong>the</strong><br />

cost <strong>of</strong> soil mov<strong>in</strong>g us<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> specified wheeled loaders will vary between R5m 3<br />

under good soil conditions with an efficient operator and R9m 3 when ground<br />

conditions are heavy go<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>the</strong> operator is less than efficient.This conclusion<br />

must be tempered by two caveats:<br />

• Cont<strong>in</strong>ued use <strong>of</strong> labour-based methods will boost labour productivity and<br />

management productivity. Phillips reports on labour productivity <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> railways <strong>in</strong> Brita<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century <strong>of</strong> 12 cubic<br />

metres per man-day for excavat<strong>in</strong>g and load<strong>in</strong>g (Phillips 1995 p85).<br />

• <strong>The</strong> wheeled loader rental rates are for use <strong>in</strong> and around Cape Town.<br />

Projects <strong>in</strong> rural and remote rural areas will face escalated transport cost.<br />

7.15 We suspect that both <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se factors are major contributors to <strong>the</strong> demonstrated<br />

f<strong>in</strong>ancial superiority <strong>of</strong> labour-based methods to equipment-based methods for<br />

earthwork excavation <strong>in</strong> Namibia (Table 7.2).<br />

7.16 We draw <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g conclusion from Tables 7.3 and 7.4. On a direct cost<br />

comparison <strong>the</strong> digg<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> earth us<strong>in</strong>g labour techniques is more expensive than<br />

us<strong>in</strong>g a wheeled loader. It is only with daily wages <strong>of</strong> R25 and where <strong>the</strong> ground<br />

is relatively s<strong>of</strong>t (or o<strong>the</strong>r factors boost labour productivity) that labour-based<br />

techniques compete on a cost basis. As work<strong>in</strong>g conditions deteriorate (harder<br />

ground, etc) so <strong>the</strong> cost <strong>of</strong> labour over equipment widens<br />

Repayment <strong>of</strong> capital costs<br />

7.17 One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> calculations that was made <strong>in</strong> this part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>vestigation was to<br />

estimate how long it will take to repay <strong>the</strong> capital cost <strong>of</strong> a wheeled loader that is<br />

fully employed at some normal rate. This is an exercise <strong>in</strong> calculat<strong>in</strong>g opportunity<br />

cost where <strong>the</strong> wheeled loader is imported or partially imported. <strong>The</strong> results to<br />

this exercise are presented <strong>in</strong> Tables 7.5 and 7.6 below.<br />

7.18 In order to make a comparative calculation <strong>the</strong> full period <strong>of</strong> capital amortisation<br />

we allow three factors to vary – <strong>the</strong> purchase price <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mach<strong>in</strong>e, <strong>the</strong> hourly hire<br />

rate and <strong>the</strong> hourly runn<strong>in</strong>g costs. Based on <strong>the</strong> values shown <strong>in</strong> Table 7.5 a<br />

Komatsu 470 can repay its capital <strong>in</strong> just under two years <strong>of</strong> full time operation<br />

(based on a s<strong>in</strong>gle daily shift and no overtime). <strong>The</strong> Caterpillar 988 takes <strong>the</strong><br />

longest period <strong>of</strong> little under four years. <strong>The</strong> three Bell wheeled loaders take<br />

between 2.5 and 3.7 years.<br />

53

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