AST declares maiden quartz resource, celebrates with inaugural blast
AST Sand Mines’ Van Dykspruit quarry, on the border between Gauteng and Mpumalanga, on Friday declared its maiden quartzite-roadstone resource.
AST management also oversaw the inaugural blast that would provide access to the underlying high-grade quartzite rock.
The mine, which has been in operation since 2012, has, to date, been mining a surface-level resource of weathered sandstone to produce high-grade silica used in underground structural concrete.
The quartzite resource will be processed to supply roadstone to the nearby Moloto road corridor project, in KwaMhlanga.
AST MD Ian Ross noted that the company had developed the mine over seven years to become a fully operational quarry, “positioned to become a strategic supplier of roadstone and high-grade silica for the construction and infrastructure market in North and East Pretoria, [as well as] KwaMhlanga”.
The mine’s current production capacity is 30 000 t/m and it is delivering a 98% silica sand product.
An extensive drilling programme and high-resolution, low-frequency Loza ground-penetrating radar survey had been completed at the mine, Ross said, explaining, “we have been able to drill the quartzite resource with a high degree of accuracy”.
“This has allowed us to delineate the resource at a low cost. The recovered core has been confirmed as a high-grade roadstone and allowed us to optimise the design of the crushing circuits that will deliver the scope of material the market demands.”
The resource will meet East Pretoria and KwaMhlanga’s demand for roadstone for close to a decade, AST stated.
Ross noted that Van Dykspruit was now the closest operational quarry to Moloto and that the company was looking forward to working with its clients and partners to deliver value as the Moloto road development gets under way.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Leading condition monitoring specialists, WearCheck, help boost machinery lifespan and reduce catastrophic component failure through the scientific...
VISIT SHOWROOM
At John Ratcliffe, we are aftermarket specialists for heavy-duty on and off-road vehicles. We engineer and retrofit advanced safety systems, engine...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
