MINING FLEET AND EQUIPMENT
Through the merger with SGM, Mintails now owns one of the largest open cast mining fleets of trucks, dozers, excavators, cranes and earthmoving equipment in Africa. Replacement cost of these assets has been estimated at R665m (AUD 121m). Approximately 30% of the total fleet and 20% of the trucks are currently utilized at the HVH heap leach operation, leaving the remainder of the fleet available for use in Mintails' current and future operating strategies.
The fleet comprises 124 items of heavy duty earthmoving, mining, fabrication and construction equipment. The fleet includes:
- 50 Caterpillar, Terex and Euclid 85-ton off-highway dump trucks
- a fleet of hydraulic loading equipment comprising;
- O&K RH-120 shovels
- O&K RH-120 excavators
- Libherr 984 excavators
- Various smaller excavators
- equipment for demolishing, erecting and constructing processing plants
- a large fleet of cranes, low beds and related erection and construction equipment
- One 160-tonne Krupps Crane
- Various 20 tonne to 50 tonne hydraulic cranes
- minor cranes and tele-handlers
- general ancillary equipment including;
- dozers
- graders
- waterbowsers
- road trucks
- front-end loaders
In today's current mining environment the ownership and access to a fleet of this size represents a major barrier to entry for potential competitors. Apart from the prohibitive initial cash outlay, significant time lags now exist between ordering and delivery. In general, operators placing orders for delivery of new pieces of capital equipment in South Africa are experiencing waiting periods of between 6 and 24 months.
The fleet utilizes traditional mechanical technology rather than computer controlled systems. In the composition of the fleet, SGM focused on reliable equipment that does not depend on high technical maintenance skills, or computer assisted component parts. This election was purposely pursued by SGM as a consequence of the prevailing environment in South Africa which cannot guarantee sufficient turn-around times from external service providers in the maintenance of the fleet. SGM have the necessary in-house expertise and capabilities to service and refurbish their own equipment.
The newer computerized option necessitates expert external maintenance, advice and repair which is usually significantly more expensive and difficult to access in environments like Africa. As a result SGM has elected to rely on more robust mechanical equipment to minimize servicing costs and downtime.
The company continues an ongoing process of refurbishment and upgrade as and when required to achieve the best and most cost effective utilization of its fleet.