Wessels Manganese Mine
South Africa /
Northern Cape /
Kathu /
World
/ South Africa
/ Northern Cape
/ Kathu
mine
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This mine is owned and managed by BHP Billiton. Although drilling at Wessels as early as 1951 exposed manganese ore, the true extent of the ore was only proved in 1966, when deeper drilling was undertaken.
Production
Wessels mine is an underground operation situated 300 metres below the surface. Access to the workings is achieved by means of a vertical shaft and two incline shafts. The nature of the ore body lends itself to a mechanised room and pillar mining method.
The ore is broken by means of drill and blast methods. Mechanised electrically powered drill rigs drill horizontal holes into the face. These are then filled with either ammonium nitrate or a nitro glycerin explosive and blasted to minimise the generation of fines (-0.5mm).
Front end loaders, matched with 25 ton dump trucks, load and haul the ore from the faces to satellite crushers underground. The ore is then conveyed to underground storage silos where it is temporarily stored before a cable belt conveyor transports it to the surface for washing and screening.
Ore is screened into different size fractions in a wet screening plant on the surface. The different size fractions are sampled and stockpiled according to grade and size fraction. These stockpiles are loaded to the trains, either as a whole, or blended to meet customers’ requirements.
Reference for information:
www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/ourBusinesses/manganese/hotazelM...
Production
Wessels mine is an underground operation situated 300 metres below the surface. Access to the workings is achieved by means of a vertical shaft and two incline shafts. The nature of the ore body lends itself to a mechanised room and pillar mining method.
The ore is broken by means of drill and blast methods. Mechanised electrically powered drill rigs drill horizontal holes into the face. These are then filled with either ammonium nitrate or a nitro glycerin explosive and blasted to minimise the generation of fines (-0.5mm).
Front end loaders, matched with 25 ton dump trucks, load and haul the ore from the faces to satellite crushers underground. The ore is then conveyed to underground storage silos where it is temporarily stored before a cable belt conveyor transports it to the surface for washing and screening.
Ore is screened into different size fractions in a wet screening plant on the surface. The different size fractions are sampled and stockpiled according to grade and size fraction. These stockpiles are loaded to the trains, either as a whole, or blended to meet customers’ requirements.
Reference for information:
www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/ourBusinesses/manganese/hotazelM...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 27°6'37"S 22°50'55"E
- Kalagadi Manganese Mine 8.5 km
- Makulu Manganese mine 16 km
- Sishen Iron Ore Mine 65 km
- Anglo American Kolomela Mine 130 km
- Target Gold Mine 374 km
- Hilton Gold Project 382 km
- Welkom Gold Mine 388 km
- St. Helena Gold Mine 390 km
- Beatrix Gold Mine 395 km
- Virginia Operations - Merriespruit 1 405 km
- Makulu Manganese mine 12 km
- Sebilo Resources 24 km
- UMK 27 km
- Riries Project 31 km
- Mamatwan No. 331 Ptn 19 34 km
- Sishen Iron Ore Mine 73 km
- Khumani Mine 84 km
- Lohatlha Manganese Mine 104 km
- Lohatla Army Battle School 105 km
- Anglo American Kolomela Mine 140 km
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