Internship aids Nhlanhla in getting graduation certificate
Nhlanhla Jacob Sibiya - Electrical Engineering Intern at Khanye Colliery
“When I started working here at Khanye Colliery, in June 2020, I still had outstanding fees for my degree. Because of this, the university withheld my BTech certificate which I should have received on finishing the course in 2019. However, using the stipend I received from this internship I was able to pay off my student debt and receive my graduation certificate in October 2020,” says Nhlanhla Jacob Sibiya (27), who is from the village of Sokhulumi, in Bronkhorstspruit.
He is currently doing his Electrical Engineering internship in order to ultimately attain his Government Certificate of Competency (GCC) to become a qualified engineer. Nhlanhla studied Electrical Engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology with a focus on a high voltage and heavy current.
Nhlanhla notes that the Engineering Internship programme is overseen by Khanye Colliery Engineer Tshepo Mokwele. He is the one who guides the interns and mentors them. “I spent almost about four months at the plant, where I put my theoretical studies into practice by working on mechanical and electrical equipment. I learnt about the maintenance of transformers and how the mine gets its power from Eskom through the substation to the plant and then how the mine utilizes electricity and what kind of voltage we are getting from Eskom. I also learnt the importance of having backup power to continue running production during load shedding.”
Moreover, he highlights that the interns learnt about the mechanical side of the operation as well, such as how pumps and impellers operate. Part of this training includes learning how to dismantle pumps and putting them back together again, and how to connect components such as motors, and safety devices at the plant on the conveyor belt. “I was able to also acquire information about the type of coal that the mine produces which included learning about calorific values (CV), the sulphur content, etc…”
Nhlanhla says that he has learnt a lot about the mining industry. “We also attended the Safety Health and Environment (SHE) committee meetings, training session, along with the SHE representatives, which gave us an in-depth understanding of how seriously Canyon Coal takes SHE protocols and procedures.”
Nhlanhla says he has familiarised himself with the Mining Health and Safety Act because engineers must be able to interpret that Act. “You need to be able to interpret it and ensure that it is applicable and understandable to the people that you will be reporting to, as we are training to become engineers.
“Our training is aimed at providing us with an understanding of mining to understand every aspect of the mining process from production, engineering, logistics and procurement to management. This is because when you are an engineer, you have to fill that gap to ensure that everything works together as one coherent system. Understanding that how everything syncs together in a mine is crucial to improve the mine’s profitably by running effective and efficient systems,” Nhlanhla concludes.
