Protecting mining infrastructure against severe environmental conditions:
South Africa’s mining industry is no stranger to extreme weather and other natural challenges. From the impacts of intense heat underground to the unpredictable onslaught of severe storms and floods, these environmental factors pose significant risks to mining company’s operations and worker’s safety.
In response, there is a clear and pressing need for more resilient infrastructure, properly designed and constructed with the necessary foresight and expertise.
Such infrastructure is key to mitigating environmental risks and ensuring the continued success of mining activities. Adaptable and durable infrastructure serves as a first line of defence against the harsh elements, making the use of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partners critical to the longevity of any underground mine.
To effectively navigate natural challenges, mining companies and their EPC partners must plan for specific environmental conditions and implement infrastructure that is designed to withstand and mitigate hazardous situations.
Flooding risk
Underground mining operations are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of flooding and water ingress, which can result from heavy rains, groundwater inflow, or even burst dams. When water infiltrates these environments, it can erode critical structural components, weaken foundations, and disrupt operations, leading to costly downtimes and placing workers at risk.
Conveyor systems are particularly vulnerable to corrosion and mechanical failures due to water exposure. Similarly, bulkhead steelwork, plate work chutes, and grizzles are susceptible to damage from both water ingress and the high humidity levels that often accompany underground mining. Continuous exposure to moisture can cause rust and degradation, compromising the structural integrity of these essential components.
EPCs employ state-of-the-art coatings and protective treatments to shield steelwork from corrosion when fabricating and installing conveyor systems and other steelwork.
Open pit mines with underground infrastructure are particularly susceptible to flooding, especially if these areas are linked with the pit. Special measures are required to mitigate this risk, such as installing water doors to isolate the pit area from the rest of the mine if the pit fills with water due to high rainfall. These water doors, or similar barriers, are challenging to design and build because of the high pressures that can occur when the door is located at a depth of 500m or more underground. Pressures equivalent to a 100m column of water can be expected.
Heat conditions
South Africa’s deep-level mines, particularly its gold mines, are renowned for their complexity and the extreme conditions they present. At such depths, where temperatures tend to soar to dangerous levels largely due to decreased natural airflow, heat stress becomes a critical concern.
Managing these conditions requires heat management and mitigation protocols, including the installation and optimisation of ventilation systems to help maintain air quality and acceptable temperature levels.
We recognise that the future of mining depends on our ability to balance operational efficiency with environmental responsibility. By prioritising resilient infrastructure, integrating technological innovations, and adopting a proactive approach to supply chain management, the mining industry can continue to thrive in the face of these challenges.
Erik de Jongh is the engineering lead at TDS Projects Group.
South Africa ‘torn apart’ by extortionists, MPs say during debate:
South Africa must declare war on the construction and extortion mafias that use violence to hold citizens and businesspeople hostage to their demands for cash in exchange for contracts and personal protection.
This was the unequivocal agreement across all political parties during a parliamentary debate on the construction mafia and rampant extortion after Police Minister Senzo Mchunu outlined the South African Police Services (SAPS) plan of action to deal with the criminals.
Mchunu said parts of the country face a “wave of extortion and other related crimes”, with Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape accounting for 73% of all reported crimes.
“Extortion [has] been emerging over time and it has now reached levels where all communities in our country beyond the four provinces have become very angry, bitter and agitated,” Mchunu said.
“The pain has gone very deep. The mood expressed in communities all around the country is also reflective of statements made in the house unanimously against these crimes in the short past. The current socio-economic conditions are militating against low crime levels in the country and need to be addressed urgently by this house and also by the executive.”
He said the modus operandi of the perpetrators of extortion was well known. “They are often armed, operating in groups and instilling fear and chaos. The relative silence of communities and low reporting is often due to these fears.”
Mchunu said police were “hard at work” fighting these crimes daily and had recently, following intelligence, clashed with extortionists during an operation in Milnerton, Cape Town. Four suspects were killed in the shootout with police and four were injured, while two fled the scene.
He said in the Eastern Cape police were focusing operations to fight extortion in Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay, as well as the illegal occupation of buildings and stock theft.
“We are seeing shocking incidents of lowest morality where church services and funerals and other family related functions get disrupted by these extortionists,” he said.
Police in Mpumalanga had arrested three suspects for extortion. In Gauteng, three people were arrested in Bronkhorstspruit for extortion and police were also aware of cases in Soweto.
“In the Free State, the target of extortionists include pensioners … generally, there’s more extortion going on in the communities than meets the eye. We have to improve intelligence. We have to find information on our own in terms of profiling these criminals, because communities do report, but not enough,” Mchnunu said.
He said his ministry and the SAPS had signed an operational plan with the City of Cape Town to tackle crime which involved working with community policing forums, city police and private security companies. This alignment would help in terms of resources.
His department will meet government leaders in Gauteng on Thursday and KwaZulu-Natal later this month.
“We’re also holding a series of meetings with the state department, with sister departments, on collaboration against crime,as per the National Integrated Crime Prevention Strategy,” Mchunu said.
MPs urged the minister to take a tough stance against extortion, which they said had left citizens fearing for their lives. They also raised concern that in some cases the police were complicit in the extortion, leaving citizens “truly helpless”.
Extortion is a “rapidly escalating threat that affects every single layer of society … from large corporations to smaller township businesses and even our schools”, Democratic Alliance MP Ian Cameron said.
“It is deeply rooted and it’s an issue that is jeopardising economic stability and tears at the social fabric of every single part of our country, and it has become a national crisis,” he added.
Economic Freedom Fighters MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi alleged that some police officers work with extortionists, which is why they claim they cannot identify suspects.
“The reason the police are claiming ignorance is because the police are embedded. It is because correctional services are embedded,” he said.
Build One South Africa MP Mmusi Maimane said citizens lived in fear and “when they call the police, sometimes police don’t show up, and when the police do show up, sometimes they are demanding bribes themselves”.
“I’m here to say to you, we cannot afford another talk. What we’ve got to be doing here today is making a declaration of war on crime,” he said.
South Africa’s infrastructure vandalism epidemic: A crisis demanding immediate action:
South Africa is confronting a rampant and insidious epidemic of infrastructure vandalism and theft, which has escalated from isolated incidents to a pervasive and debilitating menace.
Recently, the department of water and sanitation sounded the alarm on a disturbing surge in vandalism targeting water infrastructure nationwide.
In Gauteng, a crisis unfolded in January 2024 as the department of roads and transport issued a desperate plea to the public to report acts of vandalism, following a staggering surge in theft and destruction targeting traffic signals, which inflicted a R30 million blow to the province’s coffers.
In the Western Cape, Beverley van Reenen, the City of Cape Town’s energy mayoral committee member, sounded a dire warning in March 2024 about the relentless onslaught of attacks on the city’s electricity infrastructure, leaving local communities vulnerable and exposed. The city has recently noted that in just a few months, it has spent over R7 million to fix vandalised electricity infrastructure.
In KwaZulu Natal, the eThekwini metro municipality was forced to impose water restrictions across multiple areas just last month, after the oThongathi Water Treatment Works fell prey to theft and vandalism, imperilling the water supply and plunging residents into uncertainty.
Vandalism targeting public infrastructure exacts an astounding toll on the economy, with losses hovering around an estimated R187 billion a year. This figure eclipses the economic effects of other criminal elements in the infrastructure sector, including the construction mafia, which has become a focal point of the government’s anti-crime efforts. The latter is estimated to drain a significant R68 billion from the economy each year, primarily through extortion, project delays and cancellations.
Beyond the staggering financial losses, the consequences of vandalism reverberate deeply in the daily lives of citizens, who are frequently subjected to electricity outages, water cuts and restrictions, disrupted transportation services, prolonged communication blackouts, and diminished access to essential public services, ultimately eroding their quality of life and sense of security.
Despite the consequences, South Africa’s efforts to combat infrastructure vandalism remains inadequate, lacking a unified and forward-thinking strategy. The country’s response is characterised by a paradox: a reactive approach focused on investigations and prosecutions, rather than a proactive approach centred on prevention and pre-emption.
While the recent signing of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa, which introduces stringent penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment or R5 million in fines for electrical infrastructure vandalism, and the growing trend of perpetrators being brought to justice and handed severe sentences, such as the recent case of five Zimbabweans sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for theft of solar batteries and copper cables in the Northern Cape, are encouraging developments, they are piecemeal solutions that do not address the root causes of the problem, underscoring the government’s overall reactionary approach to combating infrastructure vandalism.
Effectively combating infrastructure vandalism necessitates a preventive approach, wherein the imposition of stringent penalties is complemented by a comprehensive proactive strategy that prioritises bolstering the state’s anti-vandalism enforcement capabilities.
This approach ought to incorporate cutting-edge solutions that amplify surveillance capabilities through advanced technologies, enhance intelligence gathering and analysis to identify potential threats, foster collaborative community engagement and participation, and enable targeted interventions to pre-empt and prevent attacks before they materialise, thereby fortifying our defences and safeguarding our critical infrastructure.
Additionally, the imperative for government departments to harmonise their efforts cannot be overstated. The recent call by minister of transport Barbara Creecy for “collective responsibility” in preventing public infrastructure vandalism resonates profoundly. To this end, the state must swiftly convene a synergistic partnership comprising departments driving infrastructure development (public works & infrastructure, transport), those stewarding our social and economic infrastructure (electricity, education, health, social development), and the investigative and prosecutorial divisions (Hawks, police, National Prosecuting Authority).
This multi-departmental unit ought to serve as a national nexus, convening civil society and private sector stakeholders to foster innovative solutions, forward-thinking policies, and robust enforcement protocols that fortify anti-vandalism efforts, ultimately creating a cohesive and resilient framework for safeguarding our nation’s assets.
By establishing such a collaborative unit that optimises scarce resources through efficient and effective allocation, we can shift away from fragmented approaches and toward a more cohesive understanding of the problem. This, in turn, will enable us to devise and implement comprehensive measures to mitigate the destruction of our public assets, ultimately safeguarding the very foundation of our shared infrastructure.
Siseko Maposa is director of Surgetower Associates, a management consultancy specialising in government, corporate and foreign affairs.
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