Project team powers mine development
The Canyon Coal project team is the engine that drives the company’s growth. The committed team develops the company’s projects into productive assets, relishing the opportunity to grow.
“As soon as I joined ‘projects’, they said, ‘Let’s go and build a mine’,” says Gerhard Cronje with his warm smile. “The benefit of working for the project team is that you get thrown into the deep end and gain a lot of exposure.”
Gerhard enjoys working on the project team because he is involved in every aspect of project development, from resource drilling to logistics. Before joining Canyon Coal, he worked as an environmental consultant, so he now appreciates the opportunity to do work of a different nature.
“When I became a member of the project team, infill drilling was under way at Khanye Colliery. It was fascinating to see how the reserve was delineated. From that point, we developed the mine project to the stage where we opened the box cut. This was a big milestone in the life of the company and I felt a personal sense of achievement.”
At Khanye, Gerhard worked closely with team member Melissa Pillay, who diligently managed the project’s environmental compliance. Melissa reminded the team of the specifications for carrying out the work every step of the way, ensuring that the company met the conditions for development.
“Watching over the activities on site and making sure that all conditions were met was very rewarding,” says Melissa.
Another interesting facet of Melissa’s compliance work on Khanye is stakeholder relations. Melissa represents Khanye at monthly meetings with the stakeholder where she shares Canyon’s monitoring results of potential issues like pollution. “We’ve had several meetings and all is going smoothly,” she says.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GREAT TEAMWORK
Revash Singh, the geologist on the project team, managed the most recent drilling programme at Khanye and is responsible for delineating the geology of all the company’s projects. “Every project has its own obstacles,” says Revash, “but the good interaction between the team members means that we tackle and overcome them together.”
The Canyon project team has not only developed the major Khanye Colliery, but has also built the project pipeline, which includes the Ukufisa, De Wittekrans and Witfontein mines.
Project manager Dawid Venter is proud of having been involved in the development of the Witfontein mine project from the start. “Applying for the prospecting right, drilling the mine and developing the mining works programme – that is my biggest accomplishment,” he says. “I would like to see the development of the mine through to the point where it is complete and running smoothly.” The team plans to start building the Witfontein mine at the end of 2019.
Dawid joined the company as an environmental officer five years ago and initially worked on applications for prospecting rights. When Canyon obtained the prospecting rights, he progressed to managing drilling programmes. In the course of his work, he has discovered that he particularly likes mine planning and design, so he has taken up mining engineering studies and is half-way to completing his degree.
THE REWARDS OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The youngest team member, Nthabiseng Mueti, has honed her skills in drafting social labour plans and interacting with local communities and municipalities. “I feel like I am becoming a bit of an expert when it comes to dealing with the communities,” she says enthusiastically. “I have learnt a lot about how to conduct myself with stakeholders and I am now able to communicate well too.”
Nthabiseng adds that she has grown to the point where she fully appreciates the views of other parties.
Working on the project team has also helped Liza Janse van Vuuren find her niche. “I enjoy the enviro-legal aspects of the projects,” she says. “Every team member is passionate about a particular area of the work.”
“We all have projects spanning the entire life cycle of a mine – from due diligence to closure. Every time a new project comes up, it’s a matter of assigning it to the person with the capacity to take it on. Each new project presents a new challenge and we learn from each other.”
Liza’s first mine development project, Phalanndwa extension, is nearing production. She led its development after gaining experience in licensing, drilling and environmental compliance. “We have progressed from environmental officers to project managers on some of the largest projects in the country,” she says passionately.
The project team recently welcomed Arjen Nell to its ranks. Arjen has a passion for the environment and protecting it. “The exposure and work experience that I am gaining is very broad,” he says. “I definitely cannot ask for more.”
The dedicated team’s work is overseen by group project manager Clifford Hallatt who reveals: “The team invests a lot of work in the various stages of projects, sometimes for as long as five years. And then they finally receive a piece of paper: for example, the mining rights for the Phalanndwa extension. That is extremely rewarding.”
