Flotation-circuit upgrade at Gregory Coal

Bateman Engineering N.V. (BATEMAN) has been awarded a contract by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) to undertake an AU$24 million upgrade of the coal-processing plant’s flotation circuit at the Gregory Crinum Coal Mine, located in central Queensland, Australia.

BMA is Australia’s largest coal producer and a leader in the international coal industry.

The yield of coking coal at the Gregory mine’s coal-processing plant will be increased by more than 6 % by replacing the existing conventional circuit with new flotation technology. This will result in a higher-density wash in the main processing plant, leading to an increased tonnage of the coking coal produced.

A clean-coal thickener will also be installed to assist with dewatering and control the feed density to the existing belt-filter units. The latter were previously designed, installed and commissioned by BATEMAN.

The design philosophy is aimed at delivering a plant that is cost effective both in terms of initial CAPEX and ongoing operational expenses. The focus will therefore be on the ease of operation and maintenance, the use of available plant where possible and the maximised use of standard equipment components to facilitate supply.

Work on this lump-sum turnkey project commenced in November 2005 on the basis of a purchase order for basic engineering which has been embodied into the contract award. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2006 and is being undertaken from BATEMAN’s Brisbane office, the centre of BATEMAN’s coal expertise. BATEMAN was an Engineers Australia Engineering Excellence Award’ winner in 2005.

Enquiries about this project can be directed to

John Hope, BATEMAN General Manager, Industrial Minerals
on +27-11-899-9111

or to Duncan Brebnor, BATEMAN Project Manager
on +61-7-3320-3333.

Both can also be reached by emailing specialprojects@BatemanEngineering.com.

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