“Getting this opportunity was like a dream come true because I always wanted to get exposure in the mining industry, as part of my goal to attain a Government Certificate of Competency (GCC),” says Tiyani Prudence Hlungwane (30), who has been doing her Electrical Engineering internship at Khanye Colliery since June 2020. Tiyani who holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering is from Zithobeni, near Bronkhorstspruit.

She has acquired a substantial amount of knowledge during her internship including being introduced to a mine’s processing plant where the coal beneficiation process is carried out. “Hence, i’ve learned all the processes at the plant, including how and why the coal is washed, how the equipment operates, maintenance strategies, the importance of condition motor monitoring, how the pumps work and the different types of pumps that are used at the plant.”

Additionally, Tiyani gained experience in the operation and maintenance of the filter press plant, where the ultra-small fine particles are removed from the process water and the water is recovered for reuse as a way of conserving the water and minimising the makeup water needed to run the coal washing plant.

Tiyani has also learnt how to draft standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the implementation of Codes of Practice (cops) and how to correctly monitor workers performance through planned task observations (PTOs).

She has also worked at the maintenance workshop. “That’s where Trackless Mobile Machinery (TMMs) are maintained. I have developed an understanding of the role of TMMs on the mine, how to maintain them and the importance thereof. Learning how to service articulated dump trucks, excavators, and other mining machines has added greatly to my mechanical skills set especially considering that I am an Electrical academic major,” Tiyani states.

Learning about the different types of pumps such as slurry, dewatering and centrifugal has also been an eye-opener. On the electrical side, Tiyani notes that Khanye’s Coal Wash Plant is an automated programmable logic controller (PLC) controlled plant, where the plant operating parameters are monitored in real-time. This ensures that the plant is operating at its optimal settings to produce the desired high-quality coal consistently. Therefore, she has learnt the ins and outs of pneumatics and of the intricacies of the safety devices that are used on the conveyors and all other equipment in the plant. This is in addition to all that she has learnt about the mining industry and how it works “This is invaluable knowledge,” she enthuses.

“It has been fantastic learning all about opencast mining. Every moment that I have spent at Khanye has been really incredible. If I could do it over again I would. I’m grateful for being given this opportunity. Working with Khanye Engineer Tshepo Mokwele has been amazing. I’ve learnt a lot of things from him. Not just about engineering, but also about leadership skills,” Tiyani concludes.