Innovative solutions at Kroondal
October 2004
News
Information Security
Products & Solutions
In-house expertise at B&W Instrumentation and Electrical has resulted in the design and manufacture of innovative, purpose-built equipment to streamline operations on the company's 18-month electrical contract at AQP (SA)'s Kroondal Platinum Mine near Rustenburg.
To surmount the challenges at Kroondal, veteran director, Tom Lombaard, designed an industry-first electric cable winch and also conceived specifications for the complete rebuilding of secondhand 4x4 vehicles for use underground.
The contract at Kroondal Platinum mine includes the underground installation of conveyors, ventilation fans, lighting, substations, gully rigs and a ring main feeder, and involves many hundreds of metres of electrical cabling. The new winch enables the lowering of cables down boreholes up to 250 m deep instead of the conventional time-consuming and often dangerous practice of raising cables from underneath using turfors.
The winch has been tested and certified by Acoustosonics as compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and capable of lowering up to 36 tons of cabling. It is fitted with two mechanical brakes on the drum and an hydraulic brake on the motor and gearbox.
Low-slung vehicles
B&W's new mine vehicles, formerly a Toyota Hilux 4x4 Diesel bakkie and a Toyota Land Cruiser, were rebuilt at the company's workshop in Alberton to a height of 1,2 m and 1,4 m respectively. The available height in the mine's decline shafts is about 1,7 m. The rebuilding of the vehicles included the removal and repositioning of the suspension, engine and driveshaft and fitting a new body, lower roll bar and mine-spec dead man's brakes. The vehicles are designed with a flat load bin for the transport of equipment and have been resprayed with mine-spec stonechip paint and rubberised inside. The pictures show the bakkie before and after the rebuild.
The Kroondal contract was awarded to B&W by Dowding, Reynard and Associates (DRA) and forms part of the Pooling & Sharing (PSA) Project at the mine.
For more information contact Ken Nel, B&W Instrumentation and Electrical, 011 907 1663, [email protected]
Further reading:
Drone flies in and swaps its own battery in 25 seconds
Editor's Choice News & Events Infrastructure Products & Solutions
Local enterprise-class drone consultants can now supply SA organisations that need remote aerial operations with in-house drone and dock solutions that enable 25-second automated battery swapping.
Read more...
Now barcode scanners pose a cyber risk for warehouses
Integrated Solutions Information Security Logistics (Industry)
Modern warehouses are more than simple storage spaces; they are complex ecosystems built on multiple technologies and devices. Kaspersky discovered a new cyberattack vector in a widely used barcode scanner that could expose supply chains.
Read more...
The US $1,5 million scam that never looked like a scam
News & Events Information Security
Attackers compromised a company’s Microsoft 365, quietly took control of the conversation and let the firm authorise fake payments itself. By the time anyone realised, a US$ 1,5 million cryptocurrency investment had already disappeared.
Read more...
Helping mines get results from water improvements
News
South African mines operate under constrained, water-scarce conditions where every investment must be justified. Xylem’s Chetan Mistry explains how the right water technology partner helps mines prioritise high-value water systems across the mining lifecycle.
Read more...
You can do everything right and still get breached
Editor's Choice Information Security AI & Data Analytics
A particularly nasty truth sits at the centre of cybersecurity in 2026. You can do everything right and still lose if the organisation holding your identity number, banking information, medical history, or biometric data gets breached.
Read more...
From solar to water, onsite plants are the next big industrial resilience shift
News
South African industrial operators who secured their energy supply with onsite solar generation now face the same imperative with water. Robert Erasmus of Sanitech argues that onsite water treatment is the next essential pillar of business continuity.
Read more...
From the editor's desk: Pushing engineering to the limit
Technews Publishing
News
Among the many things robots can do, it’s a lot of fun to follow how fast they are. They go from the Boston Dynamics cheetah, which first reached a record-breaking speed of 45,5 km/h, to the robot Charlie
...
Read more...
Schneider Electric concludes Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa
Schneider Electric South Africa
News
Schneider Electric's Innovation Summit Middle East and Africa, held in Abu Dhabi with more than 2500 attendees, explored the convergence of energy, AI and industrial software, launched an Industrial AI study and announced the NEST Accelerator Programme for energy and industrial tech startups.
Read more...
VEGA brings measurement expertise beyond mining to Electra Mining Africa 2026
VEGA Controls SA
News
VEGA used its Electra Mining Africa 2026 stand to demonstrate that its level and pressure measurement instruments extend well beyond mining, covering water, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and oil and gas applications across the continent.
Read more...
Sustainable solutions for sugar
Bearing Man Group t/a BMG
News
BMG received a Special Commendation Exhibition Stand Award at the South African Sugar Technologists’ Association Congress, where it showcased an integrated turnkey drive solution designed to simplify the upgrading of ageing crushing-mill drive systems.
Read more...
printer friendly version