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Mining
For thousands of years man has looked to
extract the planet’s minerals in one form or
another. South Africa has always been at the
forefront of this endeavour, starting with
ancient civilisations looking to access the
mystical powers of gold, to the famed gold
rush in the 1880s. In fact, it would be safe
to say that South Africa has led the world in
the last 150 years with the city of Johannesburg
or Egoli (Xhosa for City of Gold) –
Africa’s economic powerhouse – having risen
out of the original gold mines. All across the
northern reaches of the country there are
areas where mining is not only a way of life,
but a life line.
In one of the poorest provinces of South Africa,
with 22% unemployment and other major socioeconomic
issues, a job is what holds the key for
most. With mining being the dominant industry
and provider of jobs in the officially liquidated
Limpopo Province, it is no wonder that families
like Pompie Makgoba’s have been in the mining
business for generations. It also makes it easier
to understand why he and thousands of others
wake up at 3:30 am every day to start work on
the mines at 6 am. Pompie drives two hours just
to get to work each day and roughly the same to
get home to his wife and three children.
Modikwa Platinum Mine
Modikwa Platinum Mine has been in operation
since 2003 and lies in a lush, subtropical igneous
complex that spans hundreds of kilometres.
Deceptive appearance:
a green and sparsely
populated landscape on
the surface. But underground
there are loud
rumblings. The Modikwa
platinum mine is located
in an area in which
extensive natural resources
are hidden. Valuable
metals are extracted
from a total of 21 mines
in the region.
Entering the area of the mine, where a sprawl of
villages and a snaking commercial zone hugs the
main road from Burgersfort to Polokwane, is an
array of mid-sized hilltops and rocky outcrops.
Scores of car washes, fruit sellers, taverns and
makeshift auto mechanics line up to ply their
trade. There are 21 mines operating in the area,
and a further 16 being developed. It is no surprise
then that with this rich depository encased
below the surface, the area experiences the highest
density of lightning strikes in South Africa.
Going underground – Safety a priority
Pompie has worked at Modikwa Platinum Mine
since 2006 and has worked on mines for 32
years. He now finds himself in a good place and
is happy to spend his days servicing the vehicles
that do the hard work underground and on the
surface. When asked about the ups and downs of
the job, he quickly responds, “There is not much
stress, because the engines are easy to service,
but I don’t like going underground. It is too dangerous.”
Modikwa boasts proud testimony to its
emphasis on safety, with eight million fatality free
shifts. This is a record in the South African
Mining industry.
On average, Pompie and his team of boiler
mechanics will spend 20% of their time underground,
servicing machines that are unable to
come to the surface to be repaired at the workshop.
For the other employees who are not so
lucky, they will spend all of their time underground
in shifts of up to 12 hours at a time.
Modikwa is a decline mine, so there is no drop
shaft and miners enter either by catching a lift in
one of the vehicles descending the nine degree
slope, or they take a chair lift reminiscent of those
found in ski resorts, which comprises stool-like
devices placed ten metres apart on a cable that
loops to and from a central area below the surface.
“Make big rocks into little rocks”
There is a great deal happening at any one time
on the mine. Five thousand employees in total
and an arsenal of over 35 vehicles, performing a
range of extremely attritional tasks, make it a very
busy place. In a highly sophisticated engineering
environment, with some of the most impressive
power machinery available anywhere, the essence
of the game remains simple – “make big rocks
into little rocks”. Driving this overly simplistic
description of the process on both North and
South shafts at Modikwa is the MTU Series 904
and MTU Series 926. Both vehicles are key to the
reduction of bedrock to access the ore and eventually
the refined precious platinum.
Working at the face – well drilled
Powering the drill rig, a vehicle used in the development
of the stopes and tunnels underground,
is the MTU Series 904. The drill rig is a futuristic
construct which would look quite at home in the
movie Transformers. With its six metre long boom
reaching to the face, it pierces the solid earth,
punching holes approximately 5cm wide; just
enough to house and make way for the explosives.
If the drill rig goes down, production slows.
And in an operation that produces 240,000 tons
of platinum per year and loses on average ten
million rand for each day that production stops,
reliability and peak performance are non-negotiables.
It is one of the only machines on Modikwa
that stays underground, even as blasting takes
place. The three drill rigs on North and South
shaft stay underground for a full week, being
re-fuelled underground from containers delivered
to it, when required.
Botswana
South Africa
Zimbabwe
MAP
Mozambique
Burgersfort
Swaziland
Indian
Ocean
28 I MTU Report 01/12