FERMEL
FERMEL
Making Mechanised
Mining A Reality PRODUCTION: Timothy Reeder
Fermel is a 50-year veteran of the mechanised manufacturing industry, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) headquartered in Gauteng specialising in underground mining machines. It is an established leader in facilitating complex underground hardrock and flameproof mining operations, and strives to develop machines to mechanise any mine. www.enterprise-africa.net / 3
INDUSTRY FOCUS: MINING
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“Our proficiencies include design innovation and product optimisation,” begins Fermel, “and we deploy continuous product development to increase machine life and reduce end-user operating costs.” Targeting excellence in workmanship across everything it does, Fermel is also committed to tailoring after-sales support exactly in line with the needs of the client and the service. “We understand a client’s operational challenges to provide reliable, productive, sustainable and safe technology,” the company puts in a nutshell. Fermel is a notable and proud level 1 Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) employer. It has undergone a positive transition to achieve its current status, which is reflective of the company’s commitment toward active participation and inclusion of historically disadvantaged South African (HDSA) groups.
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The Mining Charter required by 2014 that mining companies have 26% ownership by HDSAs, a figure raised to 30% in its latest iteration in 2018. It also outlines that a substantial proportion of procurement by mining companies is from BBBEE entities, meaning mining suppliers that have more than 26% HDSA ownership. Non-compliance with the Mining Charter places a company at risk of not being granted mining rights, and pressure in this respect is increasingly cascading down to mining suppliers in order to remain successful and profitable. Fermel boasts a 97.35% score for ownership, 84.72 % for enterprise and supplier development, 112.1% for skills development inclusive of bonus points and 100 % for social economic development. These are efforts it vows to continue to support and develop, in order to exceed government BBBEE criteria and to pass on the associated added value to clients.
CRUCIAL WORK Fermel strives to provide services covering every possible need in mechanised mining. Spares deliveries are made quickly from centralised distribution warehouses, or more provincial satellite stores, and regional management and support infrastructure pairs with specialised field technical support to keep things running smoothly. Onsite skills transfer, coaching and mentoring and comprehensive operator and maintenance training programmes also all form part of the Fermel standard. A huge chunk of economic activity in modern-day South Africa has centred around this crucial sector, with much of its prosperity having centred on mining activities and their ancillary
// THE SAFEST MINE IS ONE WITHOUT PEOPLE EXPOSED TO RISK//
INDUSTRY FOCUS: MINING
// WE DEPLOY CONTINUOUS PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT TO INCREASE MACHINE LIFE AND REDUCE END-USER OPERATING COST // services and supplies. The country’s stock exchange in Johannesburg was established in 1887, a decade after the first diamonds were discovered on the banks of the Orange River, and almost simultaneously with the gold rush on the world-famous Witwatersrand. In 2018 the mining sector contributed R351 billion to the South African gross domestic product (GDP), and it employed a total of 456,438 people. South Arica’s major mining sectors are well-known, and include platinum, gold, diamonds and coal at the top of the pile, but no matter the notoriety of the mineral, any ore body that lies a considerable distance below the surface presents a challenge when
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it comes to extracting it. The amount of waste that has to be removed in order to uncover the ore through surface mining becomes prohibitive, and in this event, underground techniques must be employed. While potentially more expensive and harder to achieve the same productivity as in the open pit, it does mean that only underground ore is mined, as opposed to in the open pit where there are often several tons of waste stripped for each ton of ore. It is highly technical, specialist work in which Fermel is engaged, which makes it imperative to know that the experts are on hand to help with the full range of products and machinery
to maximise productivity. There is nothing that Fermel cannot handle, boasting a product range spanning loading and hauling, transport systems and scaling and breaking. It has robotic chargers for lifting while road building is also accomplished by a variety of articulated graders. Personnel are transported via 26-30 man capacity ramp bus or 18 man shuttle, and coal is accounted for with everything from extractors to load haul dumpers and compactors. COMMITTED TO MECHANISATION “The South African mining industry is committed to mechanisation in its deep-level mining operations,” stated Mining Weekly in 2015, and its predictions have proven true to this day. Centre for Mechanised Mining Systems (CMMS) Director Dr Declan Vogt told Mining Weekly that the steps taken by the mining companies in mechanising
FERMEL
// THE SOUTH AFRICAN MINING INDUSTRY IS COMMIT TED TO MECHANISATION IN IN ITS DEEPLE VEL MINING OPER ATIONS // their operations are encouraging because “as mines get deeper, the environment becomes more difficult, the rock is hotter and the stresses are higher, leading to greater seismicity”. Mining safety remains a major concern in South Africa, and adv. Paul Mardon, Solidarity’s deputy General Secretary for occupational health and safety, remarked last year that there
is particular concern about seismic activities in deep-level mines in South Africa that cause ground falls leading to mining fatalities and injuries. A safer and healthier working environment is one of the major benefits the CMMS highlights when advocating mechanised mining, and Vogt agrees. Using people in deep-level operations is a challenge for mining companies because not only does making the underground environment suitable for workers become more costly, but the risk to mineworkers also increases, he explained. “However, mechanisation offers a solution – fewer people are exposed to risk and, potentially, if there are fewer people underground, they can be supplied with personal environmental zones, rather than the mine having to cool the entire mine.” Mechanisation is hugely beneficial; it removes people from risk, increases productivity
and potentially reduces costs, while opening up new orebodies that would otherwise not have been economical to extract. “South Africa has some valuable resources that are accessible only through deep-level mining, including the deeper Witwatersrand gold and future deep Bushveld platinum,” Vogt wrapped up. “The safest mine is one without people exposed to risk. Therefore, moving to mechanisation will improve safety significantly.”
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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR AFRICA’S INDUSTRY LEADERS
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December 2019
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