Last blast of new ventilation shaft celebrated

Underground mining contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation and its client Palabora Mining Company (PMC) completed the last blast in the development of the miner’s new ventilation shaft at PMC’s Lift II project, in Limpopo, which took its depth to a final 1 200 m below surface, in January. The 8.5-m-diameter upcast ventilation shaft – which holed through to an already developed return airway at depth – is vital to PMC’s Lift II project, which is intended to develop access to ore resources sufficient to extend the life of this copper mine beyond 2040.