All photos by Nicola Theunissen
Afrimat has spent a substantial amount on capital projects and plant expansions since they acquired Glen Douglas six years ago . The sub-base plant has been one of these projects .
In the heart of the quaint Henley on Klip community lies the second biggest quarry operation in South Africa : Glen Douglas mine .
The dolomite quarry near Meyerton , approximately 50km south of Johannesburg , has been running for nearly 70 years . Afrimat took ownership thereof in January 2011 , taking it over from Exxaro Resources .
According to Willem Hattingh , mine manager for Glen Douglas , they have spent a substantial amount on capital projects and plant expansions since Afrimat acquired the mine six years ago .
“ On the plant side , we completely replaced the mining fleet and front-end loader fleet . We also upgraded the super sand section of the operation . With a spike in the demand for super sand , the R25-million capital expansion project was commissioned in 2015 ,” Hattingh informs .
One year later , Glen Douglas constructed a sub-base plant for road material . “ We were crushing base layer material through a mobile crusher with one of our sister companies , but we realised there was a stable , consistent market for sub-base materials , so we erected the fixed plant .”
Agility to respond to market demand
Product demand has been stable with no rapid spikes or decreases in demand over the past five years .
Since acquiring the quarry , the team at Glen Douglas has put strong emphasis on operations , maintenance , and production . Through thorough planning and maintenance work , the plant is producing the same volumes in a fraction of the time — presenting a more streamlined operation that has cut down on hours with 30 – 40 % over the past five years .
“ We are in the fortunate position where the operation is starting to perform at a higher level ,” says Hattingh . “ Going forward , there are a couple of plans that we have already worked on . Should the market change and the demand for our products increase over a short period , we would be ready to respond , with budgets and production plans already in place .”
According to Hattingh , this nimbleness gives Glen Douglas a competitive edge .
“ We are always looking for new markets , especially on the metallurgical side . Our biggest customer is ArcelorMittal , but we are also working with Samancor , and we are doing research on where we can capitalise on metallurgical offtake ,” says Hattingh .
The maintenance , plant upgrades , and production streamlining over the past five years have not only put Glen Douglas in a solid position to respond to market demand , but with the help of the team , Hattingh says improvements have also had a positive impact on profitability .
Move towards a mega mine
The current mining fleet comprises two 80-tonne excavators — one Hitachi and one Liebherr — as well as a smaller 45-tonne excavator used as a secondary machine for loading , secondary breaking , and overburden removal . In addition , there are four 40-tonne Western Star rigid dump trucks , four Bell B40 dumpers , and three Bell B30 dumpers on site . Drilling and blasting are conducted in-house .
The mine comprises three pits : A- , B- , and C-pit . Operations started at A-pit in the 1950s . The large hole , now filled up with water , is referred to as Bass Lake , an adventure hot spot offering scuba diving and 4 × 4 driving to visitors .
In the 1980s , the metallurgical quality of the materials in A-pit decreased , and the mine expanded southwards to B- and C-pits where it is currently operating . Eighty per cent of production comes from C-pit and 20 % from B-pit .
Being close to access roads and houses , C-pit is slowly reaching its maximum mine life on the western side , with the southern border also reaching its limit . The eastern side still contains reserves , but a lot of overburden would need to be stripped to access it , says Hattingh .
“ At the moment we are keeping C-pit dry and we are predominantly using B-pit for water storage and pumping . The five to eight-year objective is to move the majority of production to B-pit as it is closer to the processing plant ,” says Hattingh . “ Currently we are tidying up C-pit by adding benches . A dolerite dyke forms the border between B- and C-pits , coupled with a rock intrusion that is extracted and used as feedstock for the sub-base plant .”
Given the extensive life of mine , the three pits are likely to be one super opencast mine in the next 50 years , says Hattingh .
Producing metallurgical and aggregate material
Approximately 30 % of product mined at Glen Douglas is metallurgical , while 70 % is
20 _ QUARRY SA | March 2017