“Some of my highlights of the internship have included getting involved in projects (0-50mm conveyor construction and filter press conveyor), installation and calibration of a speed switch on conveyors and installing of a solenoid valve at the Larcodem plant. Fault finding and replacing of a contactor at filter press for the hydraulic motor was also very interesting,” Lindokuhle Prince Mnisi (28) states.

Lindokuhle is from Zithobeni, in Bronkhorspruit and is an Electrical Engineering Intern at Khanye Colliery. He started his internship in July 2022.

He says that the internship has been very comprehensive and included a wide range of topics such as workplace readiness, real-life work experience, exposure to coal plant processing, highlighting of the importance of safety in the workplace, exposure to different working tools and exposure to programmable logic controller (PLC)  and instrumentation safety devices at the plant.

He says that he has also been involved in lighting plant inspections, fault finding and repairs, replacing of a conveyor electrical motor and separation of product and discard at the spiral and Larcodem plant using centrifugal forces.

“I have learnt that teamwork is critical for effective results. I want to push myself in order to learn and gain more experience. Self-discipline and learning to work under pressure are also crucial so that I can be more productive in the workplace,” Lindokuhle remarks.

His goals for the future are to become a specialist in electronics and instrumentation in order to support the industry to become a more safe and easy to operate environment. “I would like to thank my mentors for always guiding me namely Brian Gwaze – Engineering Foreman and Tshepho Mokwele – Engineering Manager,” he concludes.