Kimberley Smuts

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Kimberley Smuts

Kimberley Smuts is a Creamer Media Writer for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

Tel: +2711 622 3744

Responding to client demand

27th May 2016 Multidisciplinary professional services firm Hatch this year aims to enhance its service offering to its customers through the provision of Gateway Logistics. This system forms part of responding to the changing needs of clients and helping businesses adapt to unstable markets by launching a “new... →

Lift truck company appoints Namibian dealer

27th May 2016 Materials handling equipment solutions provider Goscor Lift Truck Company (GLTC) has signed a three-year contract with Windhoek-based equipment and machinery supplier Barex Equipment, appointing the company as its new dealer in Namibia. Namibia is home to gem-quality rough diamonds, uranium... →

NAMIBIAN OFFERING Barex Equipment will initially offer Doosan and Bendi forklifts, and will expand to include the Crown, Hubtex and Taylor Dunn product ranges

Monitoring technology facilitates live tracking of explosives supply

27th May 2016 Commercial explosives producer and supplier AEL Mining Services has developed advanced monitoring technology to provide a fully integrated system that ensures technologically advanced supply chain management. Launched last month, the technology will be deployed throughout the year to AEL sites in... →

CUSTOMER DEMANDS TRACKED AEL Miing Services' advanced monitoring technology provides a visual representation of the amount of emulsion stored on site at any time

Rough terrain forklift enters the Southern African market

27th May 2016 Materials handling partner and forklift supplier Masslift Africa expects to release the B50 MP 4WD Bomaq Badger, a 4x4 rough terrain forklift, offering greater manoeuvrability on dirt roads and uneven terrain than standard forklifts, in Africa before the end of this year. Masslift Africa sales... →

MEETING INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS The Bomaq Badger 4x4 forklift is tailor-made to suit the terrain typically found on mines

Importance of fire-safe conveyers emphasised

27th May 2016 Fire is a pervasive threat to conveyor belt systems at mines and can cause substantial damage to the conveyed material, electromechanical components of the conveyor system and the belt if the necessary fire-protection systems are not in place. This can result in costly damage and downtime,... →

FIRE-DETECTION ESSENTIAL ASP Fire designs, installs and maintains a range of fire-detection and -suppression equipment to suit customer needs

Working to stay ahead of competitors

27th May 2016 Crane and hoist manufacturer Condra intends to focus on continuing to supply high-quality, robust and reliable products and lowering the overall lifetime maintenance costs of these products to foster a sustainable competitive advantage while mitigating the major challenges currently faced by the... →

TAILORED PRODUCT Condra uses standard hoists as a platform to accommodate modifications needed to meet customer specifications

Promising better service delivery

27th May 2016 The operations division of German engineering company SEW-Eurodrive’s South African branch is eager to consolidate current successes and improve service delivery, with MD Raymond Obermeyer admitting that more needs to be done to maintain current clients in South Africa and gain new clients in the... →

BUDGETS BEING DIVERTED As a result of reduced overhead costs, customer service is more important than ever

Surveillance vessel visits CT on courtesy port call

13th May 2016 French surveillance frigate the Nivôse arrived in Cape Town in February for a courtesy port call from Reunion Island, a French island in the Indian Ocean, after patrolling French southern and Antarctic territories. The French Embassy in South Africa notes that during the courtesy call,... →

SURVEILLANCE FRIGATE VISITS SA The Nivôse fulfils a specific operational need, such as patrolling overseas maritime areas under French sovereignty

Australian opencast mine completes world’s largest blast

6th May 2016 The Daunia opencut coal mine, in the north-eastern state of Queensland, Australia, broke the world record for the largest-ever electronic detonator blast in December, firing 5 665 detonators in 2 683 blastholes using the South Africa-developed AXXIS digital initiation system from explosives firm... →

BLAST SETS RECORD The size and success of the blast at Daunia demonstrates the ease of use of the AXXIS system

Solar power solutions supplied to opencast mines

6th May 2016 Tailor-made energy solutions provider ZRW Mechanika’s supply of solar-powered masts last year to chrome mining company Samancor Western Chrome, which operates an opencast mine in Marikana, in the North West, has sparked interest from numerous municipalities in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana,... →

POWER SOLUTION The ZRW mobile solar-powered floodlighting system was supplied to Namibian iron-ore mine which requires electricity to run 24/7

Contract miner to restructure partnerships to enhance rewards

6th May 2016 The contract mining, plant leasing and rental division of Eqstra, MCC, is taking a new approach to contract mining to improve its partnerships with clients. The company has embarked on creating a contract model that works on a project-to-project basis to reduce costs, increase revenue and grow... →

RESTRUCTURED CONTRACTS REDUCE COSTS MCC will provide solutions based on each mine it services, enabling the alignment and adaption to clients' changing requirements

Optimisation process determines risk versus reward

6th May 2016 The use of multiparametric block models, which contain more than just geological data, to analyse the risks associated with the mining process, allow more informed business decisions to be made on the basis of risk and exposure to that risk. This is according to The MSA Group mine optimisation... →

Photo by Bloomberg
OPENPIT RISKS PREDETERMINED When working an openpit resource, The MSA Group uses an optimisation process to determine the net present value generated from a particular geological resource

Society aims to integrate more students into mining sector

29th April 2016 The University of Witwatersrand's Students Mining Engineering Society (SMES) aims to increase the integration of mining engineering graduates into the mining industry this year, as well as to encourage mining engineering students to have an opinion on mining-related issues in South Africa. SMES... →

FORTUNE MSIBI Mining engineering students face the challenge of a lack of available jobs in the sector, as a result of South Africa’s financial crisis

Still demand for education in mining

29th April 2016 There is still demand for mining education, the School of Mining Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) tells Mining Weekly, noting that this is demonstrated by the increase in first-year admissions from 103 students in 2005 to 234 students in 2015. Wits School of Mining... →

BEING TAUGHT EFFECTIVELY A range of simulated facilities have been installed at Wits School of Mining to keep abreast of the latest technological advancements

Companies on the hunt for mechanised mining skills

29th April 2016 The increasing use of mechanisation in mines, compounded by the resultant culture change, will affect the type of skills management required by the mining sector in future, University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems (CMMS) director Dr Declan Vogt tells Mining Weekly. He... →

DECLAN VOGT The Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems has received a positive response from students regarding the available courses

Need for ongoing skills development emphasised

29th April 2016 There is a need for continuous skills and training development in the mining industry, especially amid the current financial crisis, says skills and training network provider Alusani. Although the decline in commodities prices has caused companies in the mining industry to significantly decrease... →

TRAINING SUFFERING Despite demand for education, the decline in commodities prices has caused companies to decrease their training budgets

Mineworkers empowered

29th April 2016 If workers in the mining, energy and construction industries want to improve their financial situation, it is important that they take advantage of the financial literacy programmes currently being rolled out by financial assistance provider Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT), which supports... →

Photo by Bloomberg
INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE The Mineworkers Investment Trust's financial literacy training started in Mpumalanga as a pilot study in June 2015 with more training expected to take place this year

Wireless solution retrofitted for optimum plant efficiency

15th April 2016 Instrumentation and process automation company Endress+Hauser is recoding temperatures in the roll neck bearings – used in a rolling mill – by implementing its wireless solution, the WirelessHART, to optimise plant efficiency for a heavy plate manufacturer. By installing the WirelessHART, the... →

Company supplies regulator to meet markets’ operational demands

15th April 2016 Specialised oil and gas equipment supplier Energas Technologies aims to meet the increasing demand for operational quality in the local natural gas market through its RMG 5020 gas pressure regulator from Honeywell by April. Energas Technologies product engineer Laetitia Botha explains that, for... →

Monitoring system a first for firefighters in South Africa

15th April 2016 Safety products manufacturer MSA Africa notes that it is the first company to have developed and introduced the wireless Alpha Personal Network System with gas detector, to be used in tandem with telemetric systems, to the fire market in South Africa. MSA Africa respiratory and fire helmets... →

High-pressure heat exchangers becoming key in Africa

8th April 2016 Local manufacturer and maintenance service provider of utility-scale pulverised coal steam generators, Steinmüller Africa, is now offering turnkey solutions for both shell and tube heat exchangers; both the header-type and the tubesheet-type are offered. These heat exchangers are not only... →

INTEGRAL PLANT COMPONENTS Shell and tube heat exchangers are particularly prevalent in Rankine cycle power generation with regeneration, as used in most modern power stations

Modernisation and expansion programme in final phase

1st April 2016 Construction product supplier and subsidiary of the Chryso Southern Africa Group, a.b.e. Construction Chemicals, is in the final phase of completing its modernisation and expansion programme that involves the installation of new high-technology equipment at its Boksburg and Isipingo factories.... →

PRODUCTION RATE INCREASED First component of the a.b.e expansion programme at the bulk emulsion stainless steel tank in Boksburg

Remanufacturing combats plant maintenance challenges

1st April 2016 With more sophisticated components being used in diesel engines today, maintenance has become more of a challenge for plant operators and this has been exacerbated by the continued lack of available skills. Diesel engine component remanufacturer, Metric Automotive Engineering says this situation... →

ONGOING CHALLENGE There is a need for plant operators need to cater for all the different machines in terms of parts stockholding

Dual-purpose equipment aimed at reducing costs

1st April 2016 Welding and construction-related equipment supplier Renttech South Africa (SA) aims to provide cost-effective solutions for contractors by supplying high-quality, dual-purpose units. Renttech SA product manager Martiens Opperman explains that Renttech SA’s dual-purpose welder and generators are... →

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS The dual-purpose welder model offer the latest in engine technology

Spin filters reduce dust exposure underground

18th March 2016 Specialised engineering solutions provider RTS Africa Engineering is receiving an increasing number of enquiries from various markets, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and India, for its inertial spin filters used in small to medium-sized mining applications. This increase in interest can... →

IAN FRASER Inertial spin filters are an effective and practical solution for the challenges in the underground mining environment such as heavy dust loads generated by drilling and tunnelling

Mining deeper while maintaining value

18th March 2016 Multidisciplinary professional services firm Hatch Goba is continuously developing more cost-effective means of extracting ore, especially in South Africa, where mining is deeper and more difficult amid falling commodity prices, resulting in decreasing profit margins. Technologies that allow for... →

KEVIN SEYFRIED Hatch Goba works across various sectors, from infrastructure to metals and energy, providing clients with numerous services

APC technology cost efficient for industries

11th March 2016 Using advanced process control (APC) technology ensures relatively low costs for various industry applications, says specialists in process and operations management solutions BluESP. As an instrumentation and control technology, APC optimises the performance of process units to improve... →

Collective factors impact on state of I&C industry

11th March 2016 Micro and macroeconomic factors, and the unavailability of local skills in South Africa are key issues that contribute to the stifling of progress in various sectors within the instrumentation and control (I&C) industry, says the Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control... →

ORATILE SEMATLE The SAIMC facilitates continuing professional development accreditations and has collaborated with international bodies to provide training and development expertise in the I&C industry

GSM device suitable for remote monitoring

11th March 2016 Wear control company, Filter Focus, indicates that there are no competitors that implement the same logic control as the i-Commander— a global system for monitoring, automating and reporting events at remote sites, using mobile communication (GSM) — owing to its completely unique software, says... →

I-COMMANDER The i-Commander is a control and telemetry device configured to perform site specific functions and enables the client to remotely monitor and manage the operation

MCBs provide protection and safety solutions

11th March 2016 Electrical and digital building infrastructures company Legrand’s portfolio of miniature circuit breakers (MCBs) offers solutions for efficient protection, enhanced safety and continuity of service in commercial, industrial and domestic applications. New to the company’s MCBs is the TX³ series,... →

LEGRAND TX3 The TX³ series, designed for safe installation and maximum protection of people and property in modern commercial and residential installations

Exchange rate challenges impact on I&C sector

11th March 2016 The biggest challenge facing the instrumentation and control (I&C) sector, both in South Africa and on the continent, is the impact of the deteriorating rand to dollar exchange rate, indicates Actum Group director Kevin Klaff. “Owing to the deterioration in the exchange rate, the biggest... →

GL840 GRAPHTEC DATA LOGGER The data logger contains a highly-isolated input mechanism to ensure that signals are not corrupted by noise from other channels

Hackathon fast-tracks development

4th March 2016 Technology implementation costs time and money – two critical resources that the mining sector currently requires to reinvent itself, says Anglo American Technology and Innovation head Jeannette McGill. “The Unearthed hackathon is the perfect platform to fast-track innovation and short-circuit... →

PIETER HOLTZHAUSEN Team Middebosch took top honours for its visualisation of offshore diamond mining analytics for diamond miner De Beers

Solutions for energy efficient, productive mining showcased

4th March 2016 To further expand its mining and industrial solutions, global technologies and services supplier Bosch is now increasingly targeting markets in Africa and Oceania. “With positive economic development underpinned by a wealth of raw materials and an increasingly well-educated workforce and growing... →

Photo by Bloomberg
MINING SERVICES OFFERED TO AFRICA Bosch’s mining and industrial solutions are already well established in countries such as Peru, Panama, Brazil, Chile and Argentina and has been active in Africa since 1906

Delegates weigh up value of event

4th March 2016 In the current climate, participants at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba carefully balanced the investment they made in participating in the event with the value they derived from attending, say independent, international consulting engineers and scientists SRK Consulting. SRK South... →

PROSPECTS PONDERED Delegates of this year's Investing in African Mining Indaba were looking for insights into how long the commodity downturn was likely to last

Sustainable development a significant challenge faced by miners

4th March 2016 Local stakeholders view the mining sector, the way in which it is funded and engages with governments and communities in Africa as fundamentally unsustainable in terms of the future development of the industry. This is mainly owing to a build-up of unrealistic expectations as to what mining will... →

LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY NEEDED The industry must be prepared to explore for decades to replenish the geological inventory to ensure a pipeline of mining projects and long-term sustainability

Infrastructure investment key to economic development

4th March 2016 Addressing Africa’s infrastructure needs is the core aim of development finance institution Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which emphasises the need for shared infrastructure development. One of the corporation’s main points of interest in terms of infrastructure development is the natural... →

OSAM IYAHEN The AFC has a very strong appetite for investing in infrastructure that is part of the mining sector, which, in Africa, is the key enabler for the success of many projects

Earthmoving solutions to launch in 2016

4th March 2016 Several new Cat earthmoving products for the mining, construction and allied industries are scheduled to be released in South Africa during 2016 by Caterpillar’s Southern African dealer, Barloworld Equipment, a division of Barloworld. An example is the 22 t payload Cat 6020B hydraulic shovel,... →

THE CAT 6020B In the first phase of production, the Cat 6020B, with its 224 t operating weight, will be supplied only in backhoe configuration

Interactive lighting solution attracts interest from various projects

19th February 2016 Since the launch of its Shuffle one-pole lighting column in October, luminaires manufacturer Beka Schréder has received a number of enquiries for various projects at universities, playgrounds and fitness parks. Beka Schréder marketing manager Sibusiso Skosana tells Engineering News that the... →

SHUFFLE LIGHTING COLUMN The different features that the Shuffle incorporates is aimed at connecting people to their social environments

Installed lighting system reduces electricity consumption

19th February 2016 Branded electrical equipment and industrial instrumentation suppliers Magnet Group – sole distributors for Mars light-emitting diode (LED) Lighting System – were appointed technology suppliers for the installation of an energy efficient lighting management system for a Boxer Superstores... →

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION REDUCED Energy efficient lighting management system installed for Boxer Superstore in Cape Town at the end of 2015

Light-testing laboratory aims to obtain Sanas accreditation

19th February 2016 State-owned power utility Eskom’s Swan Edison Illumination Laboratory is in the process of obtaining accreditation from the South African National Accreditation System (Sanas) to enter the commercial and residential lighting market. Eskom opened the laboratory in 2014, at its Research and... →

Photo by Kimberley Smuts
SWAN EDISON ILLUMINATION LAB Eskom opened the laboratory at its Research and Innovation Centre in Rosherville to test and verify the performance of lamps and luminaires

Quality skills key to installing rubber flooring

12th February 2016 Despite the growing popularity of rubber flooring in South Africa over the past five years, one of the biggest challenges in the floor-fitting industry is the lack of fitter skills, and using the correct adhesive and tools, says vinyl flooring and protection solutions specialists Polyflor South... →

TANDY COLEMAN-SPOLANDER It is important that recycled granular rubber floors are installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions, with the correct adhesive to ensure a successful outcome

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