Our Story
Established in the heart of South Africa, Blu Sky Mining has excelled in the field of innovative technologies in mineral extraction, applying proven technology in novel ways across commodity silos.
Over the years, we have evolved and grown, expanding our horizons to become a globally recognized name in the industry. Our journey has been marked by a relentless pursuit of innovation, a commitment to sustainable practices, and a passion for exceeding client expectations.
Company Overview
Blu Sky Mining is a process-focused company that, through experience and innovation, has created a shift change in the method by which minerals and metals are extracted. Industry-proven green technologies are applied in creative ways to dramatically increase recovery and grades, especially in historically difficult deposits and/or low-grade streams.
Blu Sky Mining has become an important role player in the commodity extraction space especially in the undervalued or marginal assets, creating value in previously unidentified opportunities.
Due to the lower costs and carbon footprints of our processes, we are able to create business cases where none existed at an increased scale.
Blu Sky is a South African engineering firm, specializing in comprehensive project development, project management, design, engineering, procurement, and construction services across the globe. With a strong reputation for process and plant designs, we bring innovation, expertise, and excellence to every project we undertake.
Added Value of Blu Sky Mining
Blu Sky is well qualified to deliver projects and, in particular, has the following key advantages:
- A team with vast and relevant project knowledge and experience, ensuring professional delivery
- Proven designs of process units
- Demonstrated experience in modular plant design often operating in remote locations
- Management of laboratory and pilot scale test work programs, including DMS, comminution, screening, bulk ore sorting, gravity separation technologies, including tables and spirals, wet low, medium, and high-intensity magnetic separation (LIMS, MIMS, WHIMS) as well as Enhanced gravity separation.
Addressing Key Issues
Blu Sky has identified a number of key issues, gained from working with multiple clients over a range of mineral commodities.
Process Optimisation
Most operations are running according to the process designed at startup. As the ore develops, the run of mine varies with respect to mineralogy (grades, liberation, particle size, ore hardness, etc.) Many plants were not designed to handle these variations and are therefore not able to adapt to changing feed characteristics.
We draw from our experience to design plants that are more robust to changing feed characteristics and variations in ROM. Blu Sky applies a 70+ years of combined experience in the operations, design, and processing fields to design safe and optimised processing facilities consistently performing as engineered, safely, and reliably using proven technology.
Re-treatment of lower grade materials
Many miners are faced with many of the high-grade resources nearing depletion and the lower-grade resources are the logical future of mining. Blu Sky has focussed on technologies that have the ability to profitably convert low-grade minerals deposits (ROM and stockpiled material) to saleable products.
Retreatment of Ultrafine Resources
Many orebodies require fine grinding or ultrafine grinding of the Run Of Mine (ROM) to enable sufficient liberation of the value-bearing minerals.
Blu Sky gives careful consideration when developing process flowsheets to ensure capex and opex efficiency. We are focused on optimizing the recovery of the value locked up in this ultra-fine material through the application of cutting-edge proven technology.
Several technologies can successfully recover value in ultra-fine grained minerals (particle size distribution (PSD) down to 5 µm), and Blu Sky has developed know-how on the application of these technologies to achieve optimum results.
Blu Sky has developed robust and effective processes in these applications:
- PGM fine chrome reduction in feed and tails
- Lithium recovery
- Chrome recovery from fresh feed
- Chrome recovery from spiral tailings
- Iron ore beneficiation on ore from the Northern Cape
- Iron ore beneficiation on ore from Congo
- Iron ore beneficiation on ore from Uruguay
Nature of Projects in a climate-conscious world
Mining in most areas is faced with challenges including:
- Water scarcity
- Lower Grade Ores
- Smaller Ore Bodies
Blu Sky focuses on deploying technologies that overcome these challenges in projects, which enables our clients to develop and commission previously unfeasible projects.
Technologies are selected that are water efficient and proven to be robust in terms of maintenance and operations. Designs are robust and simple, ensuring ease of erection as well as flexibility in operation from a range of operating skills.
Notable commodity experienceconscious world
Blu Sky experience includes:
Iron ore
- -3mm + 0mm product from slimes dams, magnetite and Banded Iron Formation (BIF) Deposits.
- Beneficiation of lumpy and fine Iron Ore
Chrome
- -23mm + 0mm product from tailings dams
- Beneficiation of lumpy and fine low-grade Chrome
- Ultrafine Chrome recovery
Coal
- Water-based processing plants
Nickel
- -75µm product from tailings dams.
Lithium
- Pre-concentration of milled ROM
Garnets
- Dense Medium Separation plants
PGM
- Reduction of chrome in PGM concentrates
Industries
Key Senior Executives
Graham Joyce
(BSC Mechanical Engineering)
Peet Kotze
(BSc Chemical Engineering) (BComm Hons and MBA )
Lasea van Niekerk
(BSC Hons Environmental Engineering)
Graham contributes significantly through active participation in developing the best technical solution for Projects, leveraging 25 years of EPC experience in Project Engineering, and plant layout optimisation.
Graham’s technical expertise and strategic focus, acquired through involvement at both the project and corporate executive levels, provides support and promotes continued alignment within Project teams.
Mobile +27 (0)82 330 2069
Email address gj@bluskymining.com
Peet actively strengthens the process management expertise in the company in providing continued support to the process team throughout the execution of the projects.
Peet has over 36 years of experience in the operations, execution of projects and general management in the mining industry, including 11 years of design, commissioning, debottlenecking and operational experience in Copper, Phosphate, Zirconium and Nickel and over 10 years in Iron Ore and Coal.
Mobile +27 (0)78 741 2338
Email address pk@bluskymining.com
Lasea leads the metallurgical engineering design of the company, contributing vast multi-disciplinary process experience and knowledge gained through the 15 years of process experience including design, operations and commissioning of various process plants.
Invaluable experience gained at Mintek and other companies in process flow development from bench and pilot scale rigs and 5 years in the EPC environment in process design and execution.
Mobile +27 (0)82 567 4824
Email address lvn@bluskymining.com
Advanced Processing Technology
Blu Sky Mining focuses on applying new and advanced technologies to all their flowsheet designs. By the application of such technology, the resource optimisation achieved adds value to the client’s business case. Typical areas where value is added:
- In-situ resource improvement
- Utilisation of lower grade feed to produce similar final products
- Utilisation of stockpiled materials previously considered unprofitable
- Utilisation of tailings dumps
- Utilisation of tailings dams
Get in touch
Lasea van Niekerk (Director) Mobile +27 (0)82 567 4824
Email address lvn@bluskymining.com
Graham Joyce (Director) Mobile +27 (0)82 330 2069
Email address gj@bluskymining.com
Peet Kotze (Director) Mobile +27 (0)78 741 2338
Email address pk@bluskymining.com
Lasea van Niekerk (Director)
Mobile +27 (0)82 567 4824
Email address lvn@bluskymining.com
Graham Joyce (Director)
Mobile +27 (0)82 330 2069
Email address gj@bluskymining.com
Peet Kotze (Director)
Mobile +27 (0)78 741 2338
Email address pk@bluskymining.com
Blu Sky Mining is a niche South African based engineering firm involved in project development, project management, design, engineering, procurement and construction of projects worldwide and is renowned for innovative process and plant designs.