Keeping Angolan diamonds flowing
Soc Miniera de Catoca (SMC) is the largest diamond producer in Angola from its Catoca kimberlite pipe, 35 km south of Saurimo, in northeast Angola. SMC was established as a joint venture of Endiama (32.8%), Russia’s Almazy Rossii-Sakha (Alrosa) (32.8%), Brazil’s Odebrecht Mining Services Inc. (18.4%), and Israel’s Daumonty (16%). Back in 2000, the USGS reported diamond reserves in the Catoca kimberlite estimated to be at least 40 Mct.
According to Volvo CE, the mine operates over 500 pieces of equipment, making it the biggest fleet in Angola. The mine is over 1,000 km from its main supply point (the capital Luanda) and the road network is almost impassable due to lack of maintenance during the civil war. Servicing this fleet is difficult.
In recent years the mine has acquired a large fleet of Volvo machines, supplied by Angolan dealer Auto-Maquinaria. It now has 17 A40D articulated haulers (ADTs) and two L330E wheel loaders, as well as two L120E and one L90E wheel loaders for road maintenance work. A similar amount again is also on order. The steep ramp haul out of the pit and the ground conditions at Catoca mean that the 37t A40D is about the largest hauler appropriate for the site, according to Volvo.
The mine operates efficient systems to keep the machines running. When the operators take their 30 minute breaks, Catocas’maintenance team swoops onto the machines and check, assess and administer any corrective measures. The ADTs have a Formula 1 type ‘pit stop’ where they drive through a workshop and a team of engineers rapidly conduct necessary maintenance.
Catoca keeps incredibly accurate records: each machine has its own ‘medical report’ with engine and transmission numbers recorded and any work that has been conducted throughout its life cycle. This information is collated and analysed to calculate how much each machine type costs to operate – and also to identify trends or patterns. For example if a component regularly fails at 8,000 hours, it can be replaced on the whole fleet of those machines before then and pre-empt potential downtime. In any event, machines are replaced after three years to keep performance levels up and maintenance costs low. A satellite system also monitors each machine in real time, and can identify bottlenecks in the system and see if the machines are performing as they should.