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| Local shaft sinking company sinks 3 fatality-free shafts - 28 July 2006 |
Shaft Sinkers has further consolidated its position as the market leader with the company being awarded with a contract from Aquarius Platinum SA for the sinking and lining of two ventilation shafts at the Everest Platinum Mine, near Lydenburg, Mpumalanga.
Shaft Sinkers General Manager, Sinking, Tok Bester explains that the one shaft is 4 m in diameter, 43 m deep and is concrete lined. The second shaft being sunk by Shaft Sinkers is 5,6 m in diameter, 163 m deep and is concrete lined to 35 m, with the remainder of the shaft receiving a wetcrete lining. Work on the project began in June this year, and the expected completion date is set for the fourth quarter of 2006. At peak Bester says that the project will employ 160 people.
The main challenge that Shaft Sinkers has been faced with on the project is that the first 30 metres of the shaft is made up of soft soil and ground water, so the initial sinking phase will take place very slowly and carefully, ensuring that the project is completed as safely as possible.
In other developments, Shaft Sinkers is currently sinking the ventilation and main shaft at Impala 16. The company is also involved in the table D development, which includes all waste, reef passes, tips and rail construction to establish the infrastructure at the shaft. Bester maintains that Shaft Sinkers is currently 630 metres down on the ventilation shaft and, at completion of the project, the shaft will be 1 451 metres deep and the Main shaft will be 1658 metres deep. Work on the project began on 17 November 2004, and the project completion date is set for some time around March 2010.
Shaft Sinkers will have a build up of close to 518 employees working on the project, which is mostly made up of specialised sinking labour. Bester says that the company uses local labour for mining-related work, but for specialised sinking operations, it is vital that they make use of personnel with extensive shaft sinking experience.
"Safety is Shaft Sinkers' number one priority and, as such, the company adopted a Zero Harm policy," says Bester. Notwithstanding the adverse ground conditions and water related problems that Shaft Sinkers has been faced on the project, the Ventilation shaft is approximately 34 days ahead of the contractual program, and the Main shaft is 8 days ahead of schedule. Bester says that Shaft Sinkers has set itself a goal of completing the project not only without any fatalities, but also without any lost time injury.
Shaft Sinkers has yet again confirmed its position as leaders in safety by sinking three fatality-free shafts - namely Saffy, Hossy at Lonmin and Impala 11C. At one point in the project, the Hossy shaft ran for 800 days without any lost time or even small injuries.
"This was achieved through good team effort, by getting everyone involved in the safety aspects of the project - called behavioural based safety (BBS) - which encourages members of staff to take control of their own safety underground and look out for one another," maintains Bester.
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