Rapid Underground Mine and Civil Access Conference 2017

Introduction

Rapid Underground Mine and Civil Access Conference 2017

7-8 August 2017 – Conference
9 August 2017 – Platreef 

EMPERORS PALACE, GAUTENG

This conference is in response to the industry being under immense pressure to sink shafts and develop tunnels in safer and more efficient ways. The global call for no harm has been taken very seriously.

The advance rates and daily production has come under immense pressure to improve and shorten the entire project period to make it financially viable. We can sink shafts and develop tunnels without hurting people, however to repeatedly achieve this while achieving the productivity targets has proven to be a challenge. We need to critically examine all aspects related to the sinking process. The way in which we conduct the entire project, right from mine concept study through to commissioning and handover all needs to be considered. Shaft sinking and tunnelling is not only about the sinking cycle.

There are many diverse factors that influence the sinking process including: business drivers in the concept phase, mining methodologies and technology alternatives in the pre-feasibility stages, cost and timing parameters in the feasibility as well as partner selection, technical criteria and management systems during the execution phase. Mechanisation attempts to remove people from the hazards of sinking and to provide a continuous consistent advance rate has made great strides in the past five years.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsorship Opportunities

Companies wishing to sponsor or exhibit should contact:

Camielah Jardine
Head of Conferencing
Tel: (011) 834-1273/7
Fax: (011) 833-8156 or (011) 838-5923
Email: camielah@saimm.co.za

Objectives

Objectives

The objective of this conference is to demonstrate and understanding from mining companies, sinking contractors, EPCM organizations and investors on their perception of the current process. The idea is to look at current best practice, Research and Development that is in process and to raise suggestions on how to improve the process using experiences collectively gained worldwide. At the very least the workshop must identify areas of action in order to plan for improvements going forward. Otherwise, deeper ore resources may remain beyond our reach for the foreseeable future (and mining of asteroids may become a reality).

Who should attend

Who should attend

The Conference will be of value to:

• All stakeholders involved in the shaft sinking arena for mine access and heavy underground civil projects
• Mine owners, executives and management
• Underground civil construction companies
• Engineering design and consulting companies
• Project management practitioners
• Mining entrepreneurs
• Hydropower experts and other underground civil experts
• Technology suppliers and consumers
• Health, safety and risk management, personnel and officials
• Governmental minerals and energy personnel
• Research and academic personnel
• Rock engineers
• All engineering disciplines
• Consultants
• Contractors
• Financiers

Topics

Topics

• Vertical excavation technologies
• Tunnel boring technology and raise boring technology
• Innovation in shaft sinking methodologies
• Mining related civil construction projects – new innovations, opportunities and challenges
• Mechanisation, Control and the internet of things
• Project team safety culture and motivation
• Case studies and specialised projects ; Deepening,
• Reconfiguring, Widening, Reaming
• Horizontal tunnelling
• Modelling
• Support systems
• Rock breaking systems
• Lashing/mucking/bogging systems
• Transport systems
• Rock support methods
• Equipping best practice
• Safe excavation of large chambers
• Safety systems
• Risk management
• Forms of contracting
• Projects’ feasibility studies
• Mine designs and access methods
• Shaft sinking capital costs
• Criteria for shaft positioning
• Geological block modelling
• Geotechnical consideration in sinking
• Rock engineering design and support recommendations
• Shaft infrastructure modelling
• Modern shaft sinking methods
• Optimal shaft size/diameters
• Civil design for shafts and large excavations
• Ventilation, Cooling and Freezing designs requirements for sinking and future operation
• Mining/excavation activity outsourcing
• Supplier involvement during design phase (vertical integration)
• Supply value chain and contract models
• JIT service to projects
• Materials’ inflation and impact on project costing

Prospective authors are invited to submit titles and abstracts of their papers, in English, and to indicate the topic under which the paper should be categorised. The abstracts should be no longer than 500 words and should be submitted to:

Camielah Jardine
Head of Conferencing
Tel: (011) 834-1273/7
Fax: (011) 833-8156 or (011) 838-5923
Email: camielah@saimm.co.za

Registration Fees

Registration Fees

Please note:

• Non-members are entitled to free membership of the SAIMM, up to 30 June 2018, for attending this event
• Registration fee does not include accommodation
• Prepayment is required for all Registration Fees on or before the date of the event.
• Delegates who have not paid will not be permitted to attend the event

Technical visits

Technical visits

Platreef

The Flatreef Deposit, with a strike length of six kilometres, predominantly lies within a flat to gently dipping portion of the Platreef mineralized belt at relatively shallow depths of approximately 700 to 1,100 metres below surface.

The Flatreef Deposit is characterized by its very large vertical thicknesses of high-grade mineralization and the platinum-to-palladium ratio of approximately 1:1, which is significantly higher than other PGMs discoveries on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld. The grade shells used to constrain mineralization in the Flatreef Indicated Resource area have average true thicknesses of approximately 24 metres at a 2 g/t 2PE+Au (platinum-palladium-gold) cut-off grade.

On May 11, 2016, Ivanhoe Mines announced a substantial increase in Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources at the Platreef Project. The updated estimate is for Mineral Resources amenable to underground mining methods within Platreef’s Flatreef Deposit. It is the first update of the overall resource estimate to be issued in more than three years. The new estimate includes the Turfspruit Cyclic Unit (TCU), which hosts the majority of the Flatreef Mineral Resources, and also two additional underground zones of mineralization – the Footwall (FW) and the Bikkuri (BIK) – that occur in close proximity to the TCU.

Indicated Mineral Resources now contain an estimated 42.0 million ounces of PGMs plus gold – a gain of 45% – with an additional 52.8 million ounces in Inferred Resources, at the base case cut-off grade of 2 grams/tonne. At a cut-off grade of 1 gram/tonne, Indicated Mineral Resources now contain an estimated 58.8 million ounces of PGMs plus gold, and an additional 94.3 million ounces in Inferred Resources.

The updated Mineral Resource estimate was prepared by Ivanhoe Mines under the direction of Dr. Harry Parker, RM SME of Amec Foster Wheeler E&C Services Inc (Amec Foster Wheeler). Dr. Parker and Mr. Timothy Kuhl RM SME, also of Amec Foster Wheeler, have independently confirmed the Mineral Resource estimate and are the Qualified Persons for the estimate, which has an effective date of April 22, 2016.

Following the successful commissioning and licencing of Shaft 1 in early July 2016, the permanent sinking phase has started. Ivanhoe expects that the subsequent main sinking phase will advance at a rate of approximately 45 metres per month until it reaches the planned, final depth at 1,025 metres below surface in 2018.

Included in the sinking contract is the development of four shaft stations at depths of 450 metres, 750 metres, 850 metres and 950 metres below surface. Shaft 1 is expected to reach the Flatreef Deposit at a depth of 777 metres below surface during early 2018.

Shaft 1 will provide early development access into the deposit and will be utilized to fast track the production during the first phase of the project.

The selected mining areas proposed in the current Platreef Project pre-feasibility study mine plan occur at depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 1,200 metres below the surface. Four vertical shafts are expected to provide the main access to the Flatreef Deposit and ventilation. Shaft 2 will host the main personnel transport cage, material and ore-handling systems, while Shafts 1, 3 and 4 are planned to be utilized for ventilation to the underground workings. Shaft 1, now under development, will be used for initial access to the deposit and early underground development.

The planned mining methods will use highly productive, mechanized methods, including long-hole stoping, drift-and-bench and drift-and-fill mining methods. The mined-out areas within the deposit will be backfilled with a paste mixture that utilizes tailings from the process plant and cement. The ore will be hauled from the stopes to a series of ore passes that will connect to a main haulage level connected to Shaft 2, where it will be hoisted to the surface for processing.

Shaft 2 will have an internal diameter of 10 metres and will have the capacity to hoist six million tonnes per year. The headgear design for the six-million-tonne-per-year permanent hoisting facility has been completed by South Africa-based Murray & Roberts Cementation. Ivanhoe expects to start Shaft 2 early works, including civil work for the box-cut and hitch-foundation, in 2017.

Limited to 30 delegates @ R500.00 per delegates

Key Dates

Key Dates

Submission of abstracts:           27 March 2017

Acceptance of abstracts            3 April 2017

Submission of papers:              3 May 2017

Conference:                             7–8 August 2017

Accommodation

Accommodation

Please see the Book and Settle Direct Accommodation Links below.  Guests need to click on the links for the required hotel below, in order to book their accommodation. Please see separate step by step instructions as well as frequently asked questions to assist you.

Please note the following when using the Book & Settle Direct Links: SAIMM 06 – 08 August 2017

• In order to qualify for these discounted rates, guests are required to book on line by clicking on the required hotel link below and either pay with a Credit Card or EFT. This discounted rate is between 30%-60% less than the rack rate.
• Rooms will not be booked via email or the phone at the discounted rate
• Rooms are not held on the Block and are booked on a first come, first served basis
• Should guests wish to book via email or telephone, (through centre reservations for example), rack rates will apply. Should the guest wish to do this, they can contact Central Reservations via
• Tel:  011 928 1000
• Email:  reservations@peermont.com
• Website:  www.emperorspalace.co.za/peermont/content/en/emperors/emperors-hotels

Peermont D’oreale Grande Hotel
5 star
Date:05 – 11 August 2017
Rate Code: SAI050817

Peermont Mondior Hotel
4 star
Date:05 – 11 August 2017
Rate Code: SAI050817_001

Peermont Metcourt Suites Hotel
3 star
Date:05 – 11 August 2017
Rate Code: SAI050817_003

Peermont Metcourt Hotel
3 star
Date:05 – 11 August 2017
Rate Code: SAI050817_002

Contact

Contact

Camielah Jardine
Head of Conferencing
Tel: (011) 834-1273/7
Fax: (011) 833-8156 or (011) 838-5923
Email: camielah@saimm.co.za