Bateman enhances Finsch Mine
production
BATEMAN has been awarded a R417M contract to enhance the current
diamond-concentration facility at De Beers' Finsch diamond mine, 165
km west of Kimberley, North West Cape, RSA. The mine was established
in 1961 on an important kimberlite pipe.
This is one of the largest diamond-project contracts ever to be awarded
to BATEMAN, and the company will be responsible for designing, constructing
and commissioning the upgraded facility which will increase the feed
rate from the various mining operations to the plant to a maximum
of 900 t/h.
The project commenced at the beginning of February 2005 and is due
for completion by the end of September 2006. The project will be handled
in the form of a partnership, shared risk with pain and gain clauses.
The existing concentrator facility, designed and constructed by BATEMAN,
was commissioned in 1967. From this time until 1980, the Finsch treatment
plant made use of diamond-liberation and extraction technology available
at the time of design. However, technology has significantly improved
since then and diamond liberation from the pre-1979 dumps has become
a viable economic option.
It has also been established that the existing process of rod milling
in a tertiary-crushing application is resulting in diamond breakage.
A more diamond-friendly process such as high-pressure roll crushing
(HPRC) is therefore to be installed. This is new technology to Finsch
mine but has been proven on Venetia and other mines.
The plant also requires that the dense-media separation (DMS) circuit
be upgraded to handle both coarse and fine material to improve efficiency.
As part of the plant upgrade, the existing diamond-recovery building
will be modified to cater for the additional and changed nature of
the feed. A spillage-reduction initiative will also be implemented
on the plant.
The Finsch plant will be equipped with a Bateman Pneumo-Drier system
to simultaneously convey and dry the particulate solids. This technology
has replaced traditional rotary, infrared and fluidised-bed driers
because of its capital, operating-cost and downtime advantages. It
is simple, robust and compact, requiring less headroom than conventional
drying systems.
One of the challenges facing the project team is building the plant
in and around the existing operating facilities without losing any
production time and ensuring that the safety standards of the production
and contract teams are integrated to maintain the highest standards.
BATEMAN has a long-standing relationship with De Beers which has
been strengthened by the OTO (organisation-to-organisation) charter
entered into between BATEMAN and the De Beers Group (Bateman Globe
39, January 2004). BATEMAN was recently awarded a R323M contract to
replace the primary crusher at Venetia Diamond Mine plant.
For further information please contact James Nieuwenhuys, General
Manager, Diamonds on +27-11-899-2262 or e-mail diamonds@batemanengineering.com.
