Market News

The rise of the machines and the people behind them - How Anglo American’s Kumba Iron Ore is changing mining

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Created: Friday, 23 February 2018 09:58

Four years ago, Leigh Ann Booysen worked grueling shifts at Kumba’s Kolomela iron ore mine as a drill operator. That meant sitting on a truck-sized drilling machine in an iron ore pit for eight hours, drilling holes for explosives before blasting. Today, she proudly boasts to her family that she works an office job – and yet, she’s never drilled more, or better, holes in her life.

Leigh Ann is at the forefront of a technology revolution that is changing the face of Kumba’s operations – and indeed, the entire iron ore mining industry. She is now one of a team responsible for operating Kumba’s fleet of automated drilling machines from a safe, air-conditioned control centre next to the mine’s offices.

GMSG Announces New Incoming Chair, Michelle Ash

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Created: Wednesday, 21 February 2018 08:40

Appointment will help GMSG extend its reach in emerging global mining powerhouses

MONTREAL, QC (Feb. 20, 2018) – Global Mining Standards and Guidelines Group (GMSG) announced today that Michelle Ash, Barrick Gold Corporation’s Chief Innovation Officer, will become the new Chair of GMSG in May 2018.

“The success of the mining industry is dependent on continued collaboration and innovation,” says Ash. “So when I was asked to become Chair of GMSG, whose work on collaboration and alignment is absolutely vital to the mining industry, I was both honoured and delighted.”

Mining insights: Curbing protracted and violent strikes in 2018

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Created: Wednesday, 07 February 2018 13:48

By Johan Olivier, Partner at Webber Wentzel

In one of its most recent surveys, the Chamber of Mines estimated that the mining industry was responsible for creating approximately 450,000 direct jobs in South Africa. The most recently published Fraser Institutes research also reported that South Africa had Labour Regulations/Employment Agreements and Labour Militancy/Work Disruptions which could act as a relatively high deterrent to investment. One of the key contributors to this figure is likely to be strike actions. In a time where unemployment rates are escalating, the need to ensure growth and stability of the mining industry, including its labour relations, has never been more acute.

Call for participation in ISO Standards Development for Collision Avoidance and Emergency Remote Stop

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Created: Wednesday, 31 January 2018 09:31

We are requesting assistance regarding standards that are being developed for Collision Awareness and Avoidance, and Emergency Remote Stop.

These standards development projects are being developed through an established Joint Working Group under ISO TC 127 (i.e. TC127 Joint Working Group 22 (JWG22). This is a joint working group of TC127 Earth Moving Machinery (the international committee for mobile surface mining equipment and OEMs) and TC82 Mining (the international committee for mining).