B&E International has commissioned a coal processing plant it designed and built for the African Exploration Mining and Finance Corporation at its Vlakfontein colliery. According to director of plant and engineering Ken Basson, the project took six months to complete from when B&E International was awarded the tender in the spring of last year “The contract included design work, manufacture and installation, and the commissioning aspect went flawlessly. AEMFC wanted a facility with a design capacity of 600 tonnes per hour, and the plant was ramped up to this level within a day,” says Basson.

The Vlakfontein project will deliver 800,000 tonnes of thermal coal to Eskom annually, and is seen by B&E International as a clear indication of its all round ability to provide a one-stop service. “There is a perception that we remain crushing specialists, but the reality is that we have a vast pool of intellectual and mechanical resources that has enabled us to diversify and widen our scope. We deliver custom-made solutions to small and medium-sized operators,” he says.

“By managing the entire process, from conception to commissioning and beyond, we can design and build a plant or carry out a turnkey project at extremely favorable rates in comparison to traditional project houses. The advantage of using B&E International lies in the fact that having designed and operated plant for our own use, this experience is incorporated into our design philosophy, which can only benefit potential clients. B&E International has the decided
advantage of being able to get it right first time, on time.”

A one-stop service

“What B&E International offers is a truly competitive proposition, the engineering, procurement, construction and management concept,” says Basson“Let’s take the case of a mining project. We can design, build and, if required, competitively source all the necessary plant and equipment. We have the ability to complete civils requirements like access roads, remove overburden, drill and blast, extract ore, process it and rehabilitate the ground. We oversee every aspect of the operation on the customer’s behalf, including the management of a skilled and experienced workforce.”

While operations like Vlakfontein use B&E International’s technical expertise but work with their own management and labour forces, Basson believes that EPCM is the logical way to go for small and medium-sized start-up companies and developers. “They get the best of both worlds. We have a competent team of professional engineers, including many graduates, so we don’t need to shop out for design and manufacture. If we do have to buy specific equipment, we ensure the client receives the most cost-efficient as we are not tied to a specific original equipment manufacturer.”

Not only is the ECPM concept cost-effective but, by working with a sole service provider, customers are saved the logistical challenges of having a multitude of different contractors on site. Basson is confident about future prospects, including a potentially exciting new market – the upgrading of existing crushing and screening plants as a result of spikes in demand for minerals. “Be it coal, platinum, diamonds or iron ore, the basic philosophy remains the same. We believe our holistic approach to projects will add enormous value.”

Current News – 2 May 2012

• Marble Hall is up and running.
• Our new CAT 390 excavators were delivered to E-Bay.
• 6 x New B40's were delivered to Oranjemund with a water truck and diesel bowzer.
• New Screen was installed at Three Sisters.
• We have received an extension at Venetia Mine.
• We were awarded the Khumani Crushing contract.