Background
Exxaro Resources Limited (Exxaro) is among the top five coal producers in South Africa. The group is listed on JSE Limited (JSE) Top 40 Index and among the top 30 in the FTSE/JSE Socially Responsible Investment Index.
Exxaro is more than a mining business: we strongly believe in making a positive impact in the world. Coal is the core commodity of our business, with assets including Grootegeluk – the only coal-producing mine in the Waterberg region and one of the largest integrated mining and beneficiation operations, globally. However, we understand the importance of fossil fuel opportunities and changing global imperatives, and are determined to adapt and redefine our strategic direction as we enter a new decade to 2030.
To live up to our promise of serving all our stakeholders – shareholders, employees, communities, partners, and society at large – we will also continue to work together to drive sustainable development and value creation.
Challenge
Exxaro is looking for innovative ways to construct conveyors on areas subject to subsidence/settlement without affecting performance over time this could include solutions based around:
• Advancements in an effective soil compaction
• An innovative way to construct conveyors
Grootegeluk coal mine advances from east to west across the coal deposits by a process of drilling, blasting, loading, and hauling with truck and shovel fleets. Due to the interburden banded nature of the deposit, a significant portion of the mined material is discarded as waste. The non-coal products are currently discarded into the pit as part of ongoing backfilling operations, the backfill height can be up to 40m per lift and 120m in total.
As the backfill advances, key infrastructure is required to continue the advance. This includes conveyor belts as well as transfer stations. The backfill is placed in ~2m layers and infrastructure is required to be placed almost immediately after placement of the last layer. As a result, settlement is an ongoing concern, affecting the stability of the placed infrastructure. Therefore, Exxaro requires an effective settlement reduction technique/alleviation method or building practices to minimise impact of settlement on newly built infrastructure. Therefore, Exxaro requires an alleviation method or building practices to minimise impact of settlement on newly built infrastructure.
Techniques that are currently used includes:
• Dropping a weight hoisted via crane to compact soil
• Using thick foundations
Applicants can be at any stage of development.
All respondents are requested to refrain from submitting any commercial, confidential and/or proprietary information relating to themselves and/or their business, in response to Exxaro’s request for information (“RFI”). All respondents are solely responsible for any loss or damages which they may suffer as a consequence of disclosing their commercial, confidential and/or proprietary information in response to this RFI and Exxaro shall not in any way be liable for any damages that any respondent may suffer, as a result of their non-compliance with the requirements of this section.
What's in it for you?
Depending on the maturity and business case of the solution pitched, the innovator could benefit in one or more of the following ways:
- The opportunity to showcase and demonstrate the benefits of their solution to the biggest coal mine in South Africa
- Collaborate with industry leaders and create the opportunity to grow/expand their knowledge base