05 Aug 2013

Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines' general manager has said with the use of world class equipment, the diamond mining company will produce optimum results to satisfy customer demands and generate more income.

Speaking during the official handover and commissioning of two P&H 250XPC rotary blast hole drills valued at over P19 million each on Friday, Dr Adrian Gale said Debswana spent a great deal of money to acquire world class and technologically advanced equipment and therefore the machinery had to be well maintained to give the desired results. 

Dr Gale explained that Debswana planned to buy the equipment a while ago but was delayed by the economic recession, which crippled production in the diamond mining industry. The machines were bought from Joy Global Africa and would be used to drill blast holes of 20m depth and 250mm diameter.

Dr Gale said the machines would supplement other similar equipment already operational at Orapa Mine. He pointed out that the new machinery was specifically designed for heavy duty blast hole drilling for the toughest hard rock and high production mining in the world.

The general manager said the drills were expected to cover 40 000 hours each in their lifespan of about 10 years. He noted that through such commissioning events, the community was offered an opportunity to see and appreciate the equipment used inside the pit.

 Joy Global surface mining senior sales manager, Mr Ian Williams said their company had been providing mining equipment of high quality for over 130 years. “We are focused on serving mining operations with superior equipment,” he said.

Mr Williams said the parts used for making the two rotary blast hole drills were assembled in South Africa adding that no injuries were sustained during the process.

For his part, senior manager-mining, Mr Mogakolodi Maoketsa described the acquisition of the machinery as a giant step towards increased production.  He said there was need for an overhaul of their equipment as it was recommended by their engineers to replace the ailing equipment.  ENDS