Coal analysis firm Umzamo Analytical Services (UAS) says high demand for on-site analysis laboratories persists, as these facilities provide companies with quicker and more effective coal analysis and processing, compared with off-site laboratories, which can take a working day to produce results, owing to logistics.

The company’s latest project, a containerised coal analysis laboratory commissioned in January at the Overlooked colliery, in Bethal, Mpumalanga, continues to operate according to specification, UAS CEO and founder Audrey Ndlovu tells Mining Weekly. It produces reports every two hours, reducing the costly transport expenses associated with sending samples to UAS’s main laboratory in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga.

The opening of the on-site laboratory at Overlooked complements UAS’s existing footprint of laboratories in Mpumalanga, “demonstrating our steadfast commitment to our clients in the province”, where the company has laboratories at State-owned power utility Eskom’s Camden power station and coal miner Madini’s Doornrug colliery.

Ndlovu says an on-site laboratory increases operational efficiency by eliminating multiple stages of stock handling and enables more effective production decisions, as these need to be made using available analytical results. She also emphasises that companies save costs as they do not suffer unnecessary logistical bottlenecks.

“Not having an on-site laboratory may lead to penalties being paid for not meeting product specification and having stock of unsaleable product.”

The compact on-site laboratory at Overlooked is equipped with the full scope of equipment and is operational 24/7, ensuring that the colliery has access to analytical services at any time, on site, facilitating urgent analysis.

Staffed by 16 technicians and client liaison personnel, the laboratory is considered unique, says Ndlovu, as staff can start analysing with great accuracy once mining equipment has been commissioned on-site.

Despite having to work over the festive season, it took UAS two weeks, from December 22 to January 3, to plan, source materials and construct the laboratory.

Sourcing the containers over this period was a challenge, as most suppliers had already closed for the year.

“The containers were delivered to site on December 23 and the company we contracted to do the partitioning agreed to work around the clock to meet the January 3 deadline. This entailed long working hours, including working on Christmas Day,” Ndlovu explains.

She further notes that the challenge of having to deliver the on-site containerised laboratory over the festive season was overcome by experienced staff and extensive planning. All the laboratory equipment was ready for commissioning as soon as the construction of the laboratory was complete.

“We have a lot of experience in setting up . . . on-site laboratories,” says Ndlovu, referring to the five on-site laboratories that have been set up in Mpumalanga; in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal; and in Lephalale, Limpopo.

On-site laboratories enable immediate access to the information necessary for sound day-to-day operations, she concludes.