When Sandfire Resources produces the first ore from its new Motheo copper mine in Botswana, southern Africa, later this year, the company will officially be on its way to developing a long-life copper production hub in the central portion of the Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana and Namibia.
That first ore from Motheo is just the beginning of the company’s long-term growth plans in the region. Before the development of the mine was even completed, Sandfire had already announced plans to enlarge the operation by exploiting an additional deposit and building an expanded processing plant to handle production.
Recognising the potential of the Kalahari Copper Belt, Sandfire and its chosen operations partner for Motheo — Perenti Group’s African Mining Services (AMS) — made a commitment to the highest standards of productivity, safety, responsibility and sustainability.
A critical contributor to meeting that commitment will be the use of mining technology. And key partners in that effort will be Caterpillar and Cat® dealer Barloworld Equipment, who are working with Perenti/AMS to provide a suite of technology solutions that will deliver innovation to the mining operation.
Crew with mining truck
“We know that Sandfire Resources, our customer Perenti, and the entire team at Motheo is committed to using technology to build the safest, most productive operation possible,” Nathan Wescombe, a Senior Account Manager at Caterpillar, said. “We’re proud that Perenti has chosen Cat technologies to help them become the operator of choice within the region and deliver innovation to their mining practices.”
To ensure the successful deployment of technology in an area of the world where mining technology is not the norm, Caterpillar conducted a three-day information-gathering and change management workshop to consult with key stakeholders to help ensure they are technology-ready.
“Change management is a key to the implementation of technology in any operation,” Leslie Fengu, a Senior Regional representative for Caterpillar’s Mining Technology Solutions division, said.
“And it’s even more critical in an area where it’s being introduced for the first time. Fortunately, Caterpillar has a team that has plenty of experience in helping our customers manage this change – understanding the challenges, developing possible solutions to address them, and providing ongoing support through implementation and beyond.”
Held in August 2022, the workshop was very well attended, met with positive feedback, provided critical knowledge of the operation, and identified opportunities moving forward to ensure success for all stakeholders, according to Caterpillar.
Greg Lawson, a General Manager at Perenti/AMS, said:
“Incorporating technology into our operations is an important piece of our global strategy. Having the support of Caterpillar and Barloworld as we implement these solutions in a new region is proving to be instrumental in helping us realise our goals.
We appreciate the value of their expertise not only in the technology itself but also in addressing the significant change management that goes along with its implementation.”
The Motheo copper mine
Motheo Copper Mine is located in the Kalahari Copper Belt, a major zone of strata-bound copper-silver deposits extending for 1,000 km along the northern margin of the Kalahari Craton in Namibia and Botswana.
The greenfield project is being developed by owner Sandfire Resources, an Australia-based mining and exploration company with a global presence. Open-pit mining services are provided by contractor AMS, the Africa-based surface mining arm of Perenti Group, a global mining services company also based in Australia.
Motheo represents the foundation for Sandfire’s long-term growth plans in Botswana and is expected to generate approximately 1,000 jobs during construction and 600 full-time jobs when fully operational.
After a positive feasibility study in December 2020, Sandfire’s board approved the development of Motheo. The feasibility study identified a robust initial 12.5-year operation with annual production of high-quality copper concentrate estimated at 3.2 Mt. Site construction commenced in 2021, with first production scheduled for mid-2023.
The Motheo Copper Mine will be based on an open-pit operation for the original deposit, identified as T3. The drill-and-blast operation will focus on 10-m benches, using suitable blasting methods to minimise dilution. Trucks will be loaded by 250-t excavators. Direct run-of-mine ore will be delivered directly to the crusher or placed on stockpiles for future rehandling.
AMS selected a fleet of Cat trucks to handle hauling duties, supported by a variety of other Cat machines. Barloworld recently delivered 20 139 t Cat 785 trucks, four D10T dozers, two 777 water trucks and two 18 motor graders to the mine.
Introducing technology in Botswana
Sandfire and Perenti are no strangers to mining technology. Sandfire’s DeGrussa copper-gold mine in Australia was an early adopter of autonomous mining, using Cat MineStar Command for underground to automate a fleet of underground loaders. The Perenti Group, too, recognises the value of technology in mining, and has added a dedicated services and products business to its portfolio to provide technology and consulting services to the mining industry.
But bringing a technology mindset to this region is not business as usual. For Caterpillar, this is just the third such implementation in southern Africa and the first in Botswana. Cross-departmental interconnectedness is paramount for Perenti and AMS to realise its return on investment as the Motheo team strives to deliver on business demands, Fengu, whose knowledge of the region and its history are extremely valuable to technology implementation in Botswana, said.
“Disruptive technologies, such as those chosen by AMS, require a site-wide approach to achieve successful implementation and sustainable operations,” he said.
“Supervisors and their teams are required to effectively manage the implementation and functional changes that will be required with technology, adapting staffed conventional mining techniques to get the most value out of the new mining system.”
To ensure the success of these systems in a country where they have not operated previously, Caterpillar identified an opportunity to leverage the knowledge and capability of its Cat Solutions & Services team, as well as other Cat and Barloworld technology experts. The initiative was led by Caterpillar Technology Change Enablement Manager, Brett Haskins, working with Joel Patterson and Jenny Krasny as key consultants.
“We organised a workshop to develop a deeper understanding of how we could assist in this change, walk through opportunities to help them become more comfortable with the technology and better appreciate how it can help support their roles in the operation,” Wescombe said.
For the complete article: https://im-mining.com/2023/03/13/caterpillar-barloworld-ams-and-sandfire-collaborate-at-motheo-in-botswana/
