BATEMAN DMS technology for Catoca’s
Angolan operations
BATEMAN is to assist the Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, Lda, in the
Lunda Sul Province of Angola, with the introduction of modern dense-media
separation (DMS) technology for diamond processing into its Angolan
operation. BATEMAN will install several of its proven diamond-processing
plants which will be the first embodying DMS technology to be operated
by Catoca.
Catoca produces about 3M carats of diamonds annually.
This constitutes 41 % of the Angolan production, making it the largest
diamond producer in the country by a considerable margin. Catoca’s
shareholding is international, 32,8 % being held by ENDIAMA (an Angolan
public-capital company), 32,8 % by Almazi Rossii-Sakha, S.A. (a Russian
public-capital company), 18,0 % by Daumonty Financing Company BV (an
Israeli private-capital company) and 16,4 % by Odebrecht Mining Services
Inc. (a Brazilian private-capital company).
Catoca mines a kimberlite pipe which has been explored
down to 600 m. It is estimated to hold 165M carats of diamonds which
could yield the equivalent of US$11 billion over the 40-year life of
the mine. The mine currently uses traditional Russian technology comprising
milling, jigging and X-ray recovery.
Part of the contract awarded to BATEMAN covers the
design and supply of a 30 t/h diamond-processing plant which will be
housed in its own building alongside the existing treatment facility.
The second part covers two 40 t/h DMS plants for a new production facility
about 5 km away which is being engineered by Mekhanobr Engineering of
St Petersburg, Russia.
A BATEMAN engineering team under Robert Abate, BATEMAN
General Manager, Modular Plants, spent a week in Catoca before clinching
the deal. This multi-national team, comprising South Africans, an Australian,
a Briton and a Russian, established a good working relationship with
the client’s personnel which should facilitate the project’s
progress.
The contract was signed at the end of May 2003 and
the first plant is scheduled for delivery in Angola on 18 October 2003,
less than five months after the award of the contract. The other two
plants should be installed in Angola in the first months of 2004.
More information is available from
Robert Abate, General Manager,
Modular Plants, on +27-11-899-2238
or email modular@batemanengineering.com
.
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