Damtshaa doubles up
Bateman Engineering has successfully completed the R84.3 million lump-sum turnkey expansion of the processing capacity at Damtshaa Diamond Mine in Botswana.
Commissioning of the processing plant commenced in mid October 2006. The first ore was fed into the plant on October 29, 2006 and ramp up to full production of the plant was achieved on November 10, 2006, enabling the plant to be handed over to the client.
The upgrade began in November 2005 and has increased the diamond-processing capacity of kimberlite ore from 200 t/h to 400 t/h. The original fit-for-purpose plant, supplied by Bateman Engineering in 2002, was designed to be readily upgradeable through innovative design and layout, a factor which contributed to the seamless integration of the new and existing plant equipment and control systems and ancillary services.
Bateman Engineering was contracted by the Debswana Diamond Company for the design, procurement, supply, construction, commissioning and process guarantee to increase the throughput of the processing plant, which is situated some 17 km east of Orapa, Botswana. It has been associated with Damtshaa mine since the 1990s, when it conducted the feasibility estimates for the original greenfields plant.
“The support of the mine owner’s team and the good working relationship we have established with them throughout these project and studies certainly contributed to the success of the Damtshaa double-up project,” said James Nieuwenhuys, Managing Director, Diamonds, Bateman Engineering.
The requirement to meet Debswana’s stringent environmental and safety standards was also met with the project team achieving a commendable 169,330 manhours without serious injury. This was made more challenging by the fact that construction had to take place while the plant was in operation and therefore would have to be carried out with minimal interference to normal production.
Bateman Projects (Botswana) (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Bateman Engineering, worked in partnership with a locally based company, Geoflux (Pty) Ltd, to provide the civil and structural design, ensuring the transfer of skills to the Botswana citizens. In addition, all sub-contractors were Botswana companies and 90 % of the labour force was drawn from the local population.
As part of the upgrade, a new 200 t/h Mega Bateman Modular DMS plant was also installed. The full scope of the project comprised circuits for secondary crushing, stockpile belt feeders, thickening and dense-media separation (DMS), with conveyors to feed the DMS plant and remove the tailings. This unit features a two-stream system which enables it to continue to operate at 50 % capacity during maintenance of the other half.
For further information, please contact James Nieuwenhuys, Managing Director, Diamonds, Bateman Engineering on
+27-11-899-9111 or email Diamonds@BatemanEngineering.com.
