BATEMAN technologies could help Thabazimbi 

The Apic Jig installed at the Thabazimbi iron-ore mine. Kumba Resources have conducted pilot-plant tests at the Thabazimbi iron-ore mine in RSA’s North West Province aimed at extending the ore reserves needed for the production of steel. The tests involved the use of a BATEMAN Apic jig and a Bateman Ultrasep to beneficiate the banded iron stone which could not be treated previously. The mine has large amounts of this material on its discard dumps and access to future high-grade resources also requires mining through such banded-ore deposits.

The prime purpose of the pilot plant was to produce a beneficiated, banded iron stone which could be tested to determine its pyrometallurgical properties as a feed stock for steel production.

The pilot Apic Jig, capable of a throughput of 20 to 40 t/h, was supplied by Bateman Titaco for the duration of the test. Previously used on tests involving coal, it was specially reconfigured to separate the gangue material associated with the banded iron ore and produce an iron concentrate with a size fraction of –8 to +1 mm. The complete jig has a mass of 15 tonne and all the equipment was delivered to site in a few containers where the jig and its ancillary equipment were re-assembled.

An Ultrasep was used essentially as a tailings thickener and was selected primarily because it is modular and can be moved easily. Besides having a low capital cost compared to conventional thickeners, Ultraseps are also process adaptable and have a proven scale-up capability. The unit supplied to the mine had a 3,5 m diameter and was originally used on a diamond mine which had closed down and simply had to be moved to Thabazimbi and installed there. It was supplied within weeks of the order being placed and, because of its compact dimensions, could easily be fitted into the pilot-test site.

The results obtained during the six week pilot test were sufficiently promising to prompt the mine to initiate a full feasibility study into a completely new processing route, from geology to mining, beneficiation and smelting. If a process can be developed to treat, smelt and market steel originating in banded iron stone, the life of the mine would be extended by several decades.

For more information on:

the Apic Jig, contact Vincent Dieudonné,
General Manager, Jigging, on
+27-11-899-2343 or email
jigging@batemanengineering.com, and

the Ultrasep, contact Zelt Smit,
Bateman Manager, Solid-Liquid
Separation, on +27-11-201-2300 or
email engtech@batemanengineering.com.

VIEW PDF