South African Open Pit Mine

The open-pit mine is located in the Republic of South Africa. The life of mine (LOM) is planned to the end of 2021. Two ore bodies will be mined at a combined rate of 5.9 Mtpa, using sub-level cave mining techniques. The resulting ground subsidence will affect operations at the surface.

Therefore, the customer required the installation of ground support and rockfall protection systems to improve the safety of people, of machines and equipment.

Based on attenuator 1:1 testing in 2017, a system was designed based on calculated impulse. The impulse decided on the chosen type of attenuator. The rotational component defined the mesh type.

Rockfall attenuators are an exciting new protection system, especially for open-pit mines. They are a protection solution combining rockfall drapes and flexible rockfall barriers. The system is a passive protection measure: The barrier intercepts the falling rocks, the drape guides them into the designated runout zone.

• Post height: 3 meters
• System width: 20 meters
• Mesh length: 50 meters