The BATEMAN modular diamond recovery plant being pre-erected at the quayside, awaiting the arrival of
the ship.

Above deck equipment, excluding the primary and secondary screening modules, being installed on the MV Kovambo in Cape Town harbour.

Diamond recovery plant completed at
sea - a SA first!

A BATEMAN construction crew aboard the MV Kovambo completed the structural, mechanical and electrical installation of a modular diamond recovery plant while the ship was under way to the United Kingdom. This reduced the time required to get the ship into production by four weeks and was the first time that BATEMAN undertook work on a ship sailing on the high seas.

NAMCO's MV Kovambo docked at 'A' berth in Cape Town harbour in July. At the quayside awaiting the vessel were the components of a BATEMAN modular diamond recovery plant supplied by the modular plant division of Bateman Minerals and Industrial Limited (BMI). The plant can handle about 4 000 t/hr of diamondiferous slurry.

"Our work on the ship commenced immediately the ship docked," said Mike Landey, BMI Project Manager. "The installation was 85 % complete in early September when the MV Kovambo sailed for the United Kingdom with the BATEMAN crew aboard. By the time the ship docked 25 days later the remaining 15 % of the installation had been completed.

The trip to the UK was necessary so that a mining tool, hose handling system and accessories could be fitted there. Sea trials in the North Sea are planned for November after which the MV Kovambo will mine the NAMCO concessions off the Luderitz coast.

"Most of the modules of the diamond recovery plant were trial erected at the factory before being stripped and transported by road to Cape Town. From our experience on many such plants, such pre-testing usually leads to commissioning with the minimum of difficulties," explained Mike. "We also started preparing the quayside site about four weeks before the vessel arrived and erected as much of the plant as possible to minimize the time and cost of docking the vessel.

"While work was in progress the entire BATEMAN erection crew - and the occasional BATEMAN visitors from head office - were accommodated aboard the MV Kovambo, where the quarters, food and hospitality were excellent," said Mike.

This is the second project undertaken by BATEMAN for NAMCO. The first one in 1995, supplied a 10 t/hr diamond prospecting plant and installed it on the same ship, then known as the 'Namco 1'. The ship was later rechartered by NAMCO and re-named the MV Kovambo. Its length was recently increased by 15 m in Bremerhaven, Germany, to accommodate the new plant.

Please contact Mike Landey, BMI Project Manager, on
+27-11-899- 3105 or
email modular@batemanengineering.com  for more details.

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