Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
Issue link: https://emj.epubxp.com/i/772779
2 E&MJ; • JANUARY 2017 FROM THE EDITOR Happy New Year! The big news this month is Sibanye Gold acquiring the Stillwater Mining Co., an iconic U.S. plati- num group metals (PGMs) miner based in Montana. In a little less than four years, Sibanye, which was spun out of Gold Fields in February 2013, has grown from a South Af- rican gold miner to a South African precious metals miner to a multinational precious metals miner. Readers might recall that the company also acquired several South African platinum mining operations. Besides being a bit ambitious, what makes this move a little different from previous acquisitions is that Sibanye is pursuing a healthy mining company on the other side of the world. With Stillwater producing substan- tially more palladium than platinum, Sibanye would control roughly 13% of global platinum and palladium production and become the third largest producer of both metals. Sibanye has placed a big bet on PGMs and a classic U.S. mining operation. Why not? This year could be a good one for the mining business—at least that's what E&MJ; is reporting in its 2017 Project Survey (See p. 18). The statistics for the report, which were compiled by Industrial Info Resources, indicate that North America will remain the No. 1 destination for investment in mining project devel- opment with $400 billion on the drawing boards. More than 80% of that invest- ment will take place in Canada. Probably the biggest change that is taking place compared to years' past is that many mining companies today have healthier books after several years of practicing conservative discipline when it comes to capital investment. Many of them postponed large greenfi eld projects in favor of brownfi eld expansions, while at the same time, they embarked on optimization programs for existing operations. Optimization and automation are currently the two most overused words in the mining engineering lexicon and that will not likely change any time soon. Engineers are, however, taking advantage of these programs especially in mineral processing plants by using smaller, less expensive sensors and advanced computing power (See Plant Engineering, p. 30). According to the experts, the mining industry is not yet using automation and machine learning to its full potential. Miners still have to drill rock and break it with explosives, loaders have to work the muck piles and trucks have to haul ore. This day-to-day grind takes its toll, but there is hope in that area as well. One of the biggest decisions miners face when an asset reaches its useful limit is whether to buy or rebuild. E&MJ; delves into that discussion (See Rebuilds, p. 24). A big development for underground miners last year was the advances with battery-powered equipment. E&MJ; reviews some of that emerging technology this month (See LHD Batteries, p. 36). Optimization and auto- mation are here to stay, but many tasks will still have to be handled in the plant and the pit. Fortunately, technology will play a role in making those jobs a little more effi cient, too. Enjoy this edition of E&MJ.; Embracing a Different Outlook and New Tools Happy New Year! The big news this month is Sibanye Gold acquiring the Stillwater Mining Co., an iconic U.S. plati- num group metals (PGMs) miner based in Montana. In a little less than four years, Sibanye, which was spun out of Gold Fields in February 2013, has grown from a South Af- rican gold miner to a South African precious metals miner Steve Fiscor Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Steve Fiscor, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief sfi scor@mining-media.com Mining Media International, Inc. 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306; Jacksonville, Florida 32224 USA Phone: +1.904.721.2925 / Fax: +1.904.721.2930 Editorial Publisher & Editor-in-Chief—Steve Fiscor, sfi scor@mining-media.com Associate Editor—Jennifer Jensen, jjensen@mining-media.com Technical Writer—Jesse Morton, jmorton@mining-media.com Contributing Editor—Russ Carter, rcarter@mining-media.com European Editor—Simon Walker, simon.emj@btinternet.com Latin American Editor—Oscar Martinez, omartinez@mining-media.com South African Editor—Gavin du Venage, gavinduvenage@gmail.com Graphic Designer—Tad Seabrook, tseabrook@mining-media.com Sales Midwest/Eastern U.S. & Canada, Sales—Victor Matteucci, vmatteucci@mining-media.com Western U.S. & Canada, Sales—Mary Lu Buse, mlbuse@mining-media.com Scandinavia, UK & European Sales—Colm Barry, colm.barry@telia.com Germany, Austria & Switzerland Sales—Gerd Strasmann, info@strasmann-media.de Japan Sales—Masao Ishiguro, ishiguro@irm.jp Production Manager—Dan Fitts, dfi tts@mining-media.com www.e-mj.com Engineering & Mining Journal, Volume 218, Issue 1, (ISSN 0095-8948) is published monthly by Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 (mining-media.com). Periodicals Postage paid at Jacksonville, FL, and additional mailing offi ces. Canada Post Publica- tions Mail Agreement No. 40845540. Canada return address: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5, Email: circulation@mining-media.com. Current and back issues and additional resources, including subscription request forms and an editorial calendar, are available on the World Wide Web at www.e-mj.com. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Free and controlled circulation to qualifi ed sub- scribers. Non-qualifi ed persons may subscribe at the following rates: USA and Canada, 1 year, $82.00, 2 year, $139.00. Outside the USA and Cana- da, 1 year, $134.00, 2 year, $249.00 surface mail (1 year, $191.00, 2 year, $352.00 airmail delivery). For subscriber services or to order single copies, write to E&MJ;, 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 USA; call +1.904.721.2925 (USA) or visit www.mining-media.com. ARCHIVES AND MICROFORM: This magazine is available for research and retrieval of selected archived articles from leading electronic databases and online search services, including Factiva, LexisNexis, and Proquest. For mi- croform availability, contact ProQuest at 800-521-0600 or +1.734.761.4700, or search the Serials in Microform listings at www.proquest.com. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to E&MJ;, P.O. Box 1337, Skokie, IL 60076 USA. REPRINTS: Mining Media International, Inc, 11655 Central Parkway, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 USA phone: +1.904.721.2925, fax: +1.904.721.2930, www.mining-media.com. PHOTOCOPIES: Authorization to photocopy articles for internal corporate, personal, or instructional use may be obtained from the Copyright Clear- ance Center (CCC) at +1.978.750.8400. Obtain further information at copyright.com. EXECUTIVE OFFICE: Mining Media International, Inc., 11655 Central Park- way, Suite 306, Jacksonville, FL 32224 USA phone: +1.904.721.2925, fax: +1.904.721.2930, www.mining-media.com. COPYRIGHT 2017: Engineering & Mining Journal, incorporating World Mining Equipment, World Min- ing and Mining Equipment International. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.