Mining

Sibanye-Stillwater advances mechanisation at Siphumelele platinum mine in Rustenburg with Epiroc low-profile equipment. (Image source: Epiroc)

Sibanye-Stillwater is advancing mechanisation at the Siphumelele shaft within its Rustenburg operations, using a fleet of low-profile underground equipment from Epiroc to support platinum mining in narrow-vein conditions

The equipment order includes Epiroc’s LHD 5.5 LP low-profile loader, UV42 utility vehicles and a large range of UV42 cassettes. The fleet is intended to support the ongoing mechanisation project at Siphumelele, with the aim of improving safety and productivity.

The low-profile equipment is designed for mining applications where narrow veins and restricted underground working conditions require compact machinery. The LHD 5.5 LP loader is designed for low-profile loading and hauling, while the UV42 utility vehicles support general underground operations, maintenance and logistics.

“We are proud to support the Siphumelele operation as it starts to use mechanized equipment,” says Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO. “It will strengthen Sibanye-Stillwater’s continuous efforts to be as safe and productive as possible.”

The UV42 vehicles can be fitted with interchangeable cassettes that provide different work decks for a range of underground transportation requirements. These include the movement of personnel, tools and explosives, allowing the same utility vehicle platform to support multiple operational functions.

Richard Cox, Chief Operating Officer, Southern Africa operations at Sibanye-Stillwater, says: “The investment in Siphumelele is an important example of our strategic focus on extending mine life and unlocking additional value from our existing ore reserves. Epiroc's low-profile fleet is well suited to the mining conditions at Siphumelele and will support the safe and efficient execution of this strategically important project.”

The low-profile underground equipment is derived from Epiroc’s acquisition of AARD Mining Equipment in 2023. The acquisition expanded Epiroc’s offering in underground mining, including equipment for critical support and service applications.

For Siphumelele, the equipment forms part of the operation’s broader move towards mechanised mining. Its low-profile design is particularly relevant to underground environments where equipment dimensions need to accommodate narrow-vein mining conditions while supporting loading, logistics, maintenance and other activities.

Delivery of the equipment will begin in the fourth quarter 2026.

Understanding post-closure water quality (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Mine closure is often discussed as something that happens at the end of a mine’s life — in reality, many of the most important closure decisions are made much earlier; while the mine is still being designed, financed, operated, and assessed. Water is one of the clearest examples, writes Shameer Hareeparsad, director: geochemistry, WSP in Africa

Once underground workings begin to flood after closure, groundwater starts interacting with the materials left behind. Those interactions can influence water quality for decades. They may determine whether closure plans are credible, whether regulators have confidence in the proposed management measures, and whether surrounding groundwater systems are protected over the long-term.

For underground mines that use paste backfill, this presents a specific question: how will the backfilled material behave once it is saturated after closure?

Paste backfill has an important role in modern underground mining. It can support excavations, improve ground stability, allow mined-out voids to be filled with mineralised residues, and reduce the amount of tailings placed on surface. These are significant benefits. However, backfill should not only be assessed for how well it can be placed underground or how it performs structurally during operations. It also needs to be understood as a geochemical material that may interact with groundwater once the mine has closed.

Understanding the geochemical source

That requires a different kind of prediction. One of the practical tools used in this kind of prediction is a geochemical source term. It refers to the estimated quality and loading of water that may be released from a material into the receiving environment. Put more simply, it helps answer a practical question: what could this material contribute to groundwater, and under what conditions?

Post-closure water quality must be predicted using the best available evidence, while still recognising the uncertainty involved in modelling systems that will evolve underground over long periods.

Underground nickel mine assessment

In a recent underground nickel mine assessment, the paste aggregate fill included sulphide-bearing tailings, crushed waste rock, process residues, and a slag-based cement binder with an additional binder aid. From a geochemical perspective, this is not an inert blend. The tailings contain sulphide minerals that could generate acidity under certain conditions. At the same time, the binder contributes alkalinity, which can help buffer that acidity once the system becomes saturated.

The question, therefore, was not whether the material was “safe” or “unsafe”. The more relevant question was how the material was likely to behave as groundwater returned to the stopes after mining ceased.

To answer this, the assessment considered two main mechanisms by which solutes could move from the backfill into groundwater. The first is advection, where water movement carries dissolved constituents through pore spaces. The second is diffusion, in which constituents move more slowly due to concentration differences between the backfill and the surrounding water.

During the early flooding period, advective movement can be more significant because hydraulic gradients remain, and more soluble constituents may be flushed from the material. As the system becomes fully saturated and those gradients weaken, diffusion is expected to become more important over the longer term.

Laboratory testing provided the basis for this assessment. Modified triaxial permeability testing was used to estimate advective porewater quality, while the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework method was used to derive diffusion coefficients. These results were then used to inform groundwater modelling and closure planning.

The results showed a material with low hydraulic conductivity, which limits bulk water movement through the backfill. The long-term porewater chemistry was predicted to remain strongly alkaline and dominated by calcium and chloride. Under those conditions, most metals are expected to remain at low concentrations in solution.

The early flushing period is different. The upper-case scenario, which represents a cautious view of what could happen during initial saturation, showed short-lived increases in certain constituents, including calcium, chloride, sodium, potassium, strontium, and copper. This is important because closure planning must account not only for the eventual stable condition, but also for the transitional period when a flooded underground system is still adjusting.

That does not mean the early-stage results should be treated as a forecast of permanent water quality. In the modelling, those upper-case conditions were deliberately conservative. The assessment applied cautious assumptions, including high mass-transfer rates and the exclusion of some secondary mineral reactions that could reduce dissolved concentrations.

Why conservative modelling matters

This approach is intended to avoid understating the potential loading to groundwater.

That precaution is essential. In mine closure, overconfidence is expensive. If predictions are overly optimistic, the consequences may not become visible for years, when treatment requirements, environmental impacts, or liability concerns are far harder to manage. A conservative model does not remove uncertainty, but it gives project teams, regulators, and other decision-makers a more defensible starting point.

This is also why site-specific testing matters. It is tempting to borrow assumptions from other operations or to rely on generic expectations about how paste backfill should behave. That is seldom good enough. The mineralogy, binder chemistry, groundwater setting, saturation rate, and underground geometry all influence how a backfilled stope may perform after closure.

Why site-specific testing matters

No laboratory programme can perfectly reproduce the underground environment over the course of decades. Temperature, groundwater chemistry, hydraulic gradients, mineral reactivity, and stope-scale flow paths will always introduce uncertainty. But a structured approach can narrow that uncertainty and make it easier to refine predictions as monitoring data becomes available during operations and after mining has ceased.

Planning for uncertainty

The scrutiny around closure plans is also changing. Regulators, financiers, communities, and internal governance teams increasingly expect mining companies to show not only that a closure plan exists, but that it is based on credible evidence and can be adapted as conditions change.

Paste backfill can play an important role in more responsible underground mining and closure design. But its value depends on understanding both its structural and geochemical performance. A material that works well operationally still needs to be assessed for how it may behave once the mine is no longer active and groundwater conditions begin to recover.

Bringing water quality into closure planning

The broader lesson is that post-closure water quality should not be treated as something to discover after flooding has occurred. It should be part of the design conversation from the outset.

Better prediction will not eliminate every closure risk. Mining systems are too complex for that. But it can help the industry make more informed decisions, identify where monitoring is needed, and demonstrate that long-term water protection has been considered before the mine reaches the end of its life.

That is where closure planning needs to move: not towards false certainty, but towards evidence strong enough to support responsible decisions in conditions that will always carry some uncertainty.

Read more:

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ESB adds its first Liebherr LICCON3 crane. (Image source: Liebherr)

ESB Kranverleih Transport u. Hebetechnik GmbH is continuing to modernise its crane fleet with the addition of a new Liebherr LTM 1055-3.3 equipped with the LICCON3 control system

The 55-tonne mobile crane is the first LICCON3 model in the Biberach-based company's fleet and has been selected to meet the demands of confined construction sites and regional lifting operations.

At the same time, ESB is preparing for its next phase of development with a generational change in its management team. Larissa Maurer, representing the third generation of the family-run business, joined the management team on 1 January 2026.

First LICCON3 crane joins ESB fleet

ESB ordered the three-axle LTM 1055-3.3 at the Bauma trade fair. Its compact dimensions, manoeuvrability and lifting performance made the crane particularly suitable for the company's operating area around Biberach and within a radius of approximately 40 kilometres.

“ In our operating area around Biberach and within a radius of around 40 kilometres, confined construction sites and limited space are daily challenges,” explains Managing Director Karl Engeser Jr. “The three-axle crane is highly manoeuvrable, quick to get to the job site as a ‘taxi crane’ and, thanks to flexible driving modes, offers maximum operational freedom – with or without a permit under Section 29, the road permits required for certain transport configurations in Germany.”

The LTM 1055-3.3 combines a compact three-axle configuration with a boom of approximately 40 metres. This enables the crane to operate effectively on urban construction sites, including applications where access is restricted and lifting operations need to take place around existing structures and obstacles.

Liebherr fleet supports regional lifting operations

The latest acquisition forms part of ESB's ongoing investment in modern lifting equipment. The company currently operates 11 Liebherr mobile cranes with lifting capacities ranging from 35 to 230 tonnes.

“We are regularly investing in our fleet so that we can offer our customers modern, high-performance technology at all times,” says Engeser. “This is the only way we can remain flexible and reliable in meeting a wide variety of requirements.”

ESB also highlighted its relationship with Liebherr and the availability of local service support as factors behind the investment.

“We benefit from the close proximity of Liebherr in Ehingen, the service works well, and we’re seeing a high level of satisfaction with the products in the region.”

The LTM 1055-3.3 entered service at the end of May and has since been used for a range of lifting operations. According to ESB, the new crane has already demonstrated its suitability for narrow access routes and uneven terrain.

“Our new 3-axle crane has been very well received by customers and stands out as a new model with modern design. It has also managed to get through easily so far, even on narrow access routes and uneven terrain,” reports Engeser.

The new 55-tonne crane replaces an older machine as part of ESB's fleet modernisation programme. The company is also planning a further fleet upgrade in the second half of the year, when an existing 130-tonne crane is scheduled to be replaced by a 150-tonne model.

“We will then replace our existing 130-tonne crane with a 150-tonne model and, at the same time, expand our fleet’s capacity range,” says Engesser.

Third generation joins ESB management

Fleet modernisation is being accompanied by a generational transition within the family-owned business. Company founder Karl Engeser Sr. has stepped back from day-to-day operations while continuing to support ESB with his experience and expertise.

Karl Engeser Jr. is responsible for the commercial side of the business, while Larissa Maurer joined the management team on 1 January 2026.

“Carrying on our family-run company into its third generation and helping to shape its future is something I am particularly proud of,” she says happily.

Founded in 1981, ESB Kranverleih Transport u. Hebetechnik GmbH currently employs 11 crane operators in addition to its management team. The company says its lean organisational structure and stable business situation provide a foundation for continued development.

“We have a lean organisational structure and are benefiting from a stable business situation,” reports Larissa Maurer, adding: “We are very satisfied and look to the future with confidence.”

Quarry operators are increasing adoption of PDS and CPS technologies to strengthen safety

Quarry operators are placing greater focus on workplace safety, driving increased interest in Proximity Detection Systems (PDS) and Collision Prevention Systems (CPS)

The shift reflects a growing recognition that safety technologies can support both regulatory compliance and the practical demands of quarry operations.

Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics, said demand for PDS/CPS technologies has increased notably over the past six months across the quarrying and mining sectors. The trend points to a wider move towards proactive approaches to managing operational risks, alongside continued attention to legislative requirements.

“Safety has become a strategic priority for many operations,” Lourens says. “Beyond meeting legislative requirements, quarry operators are investing in technologies that help mitigate risk and improve overall operational safety.”

Technology integration is also becoming easier as PDS solutions become more compatible with mobile equipment. Improvements in interface kits, alongside closer cooperation between original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), independent interface providers and technology suppliers, are helping operators deploy collision prevention systems across mixed fleets.

The adoption of the ISO 21815 standard has provided further support for interoperability. Its technology-neutral communication protocol enables different systems to communicate more effectively, helping streamline the implementation of collision prevention technologies across quarrying and mining operations.

However, technology deployment still needs to reflect the specific conditions of each quarry. Lourens said site-specific assessment is essential when determining how PDS/CPS solutions should be configured and implemented.

“No two operations are the same. Every implementation begins with a detailed assessment of the fleet, traffic patterns and operating practices to ensure the system delivers effective detection without compromising productivity,” he explains.

Financial considerations also influence technology decisions, particularly for quarry businesses that may operate with tighter margins than larger mining companies. Booyco Electronics maintains that access to safety technology should not be determined by the scale or financial resources of an operation.

“We do not believe there should be different levels of safety capability for different operations,” Lourens says. “Our focus is on improving our own development and manufacturing efficiencies so that advanced collision prevention technology remains accessible to both large mines and smaller quarrying businesses.”

Effective implementation also requires cooperation between technical and operational teams. Engineering personnel may concentrate on meeting regulatory requirements, while operational managers are often focused on production targets and equipment availability. Aligning these priorities through communication, training and user adoption is therefore an important part of achieving safety and operational goals.

Lourens expects collision prevention technology to develop further as multiple sensing methods are combined rather than relying on a single detection technology.

“The future lies in combining technologies such as low-frequency communication, GPS, radar and camera-based systems etc, to deliver more reliable and adaptable collision prevention solutions,” he says. “As these technologies continue to evolve, the industry will be better positioned to deliver sustainable, cost-effective safety solutions that support the goal of zero harm.”