Improved advance per blast with Novatek drilling system

摘要

The South African mining industry is currently facing a number of challenges that threaten competitiveness, and particularly in the case of gold mines survival. These include higher working costs as a consequence of deeper mining, falling grades and rising employment costs. Safety and improvement of working conditions is another major challenge, as is the slow rate of productivity improvement.According to Novatek Drills (By) Ltd managing director, Julian Wills, it seems that the obvious approach should be to mechanise mining. "But many South African mines are deep, with steeply dipping narrow tabular deposits; working areas are scattered; mine labour is often poorly educated and unfamiliar with complex machinery; and mine cultures and infrastructures are unable to cope with a rapid change to mechanised technologies.