Track record

The BATEMAN track record over the past decade in the base-metals field includes projects such as Sepon Copper, George Fisher (lead / zinc), Skorpion pilot, demonstration and main plant (zinc), Kasese Cobalt, Mt Gordon (formerly Gunpowder Copper), Bulong Nickel, Empress Nickel, Sanyati Copper, Stillwater (PGM / nickel / copper) and Chambishi Cobalt refurbishment.

Besides the major projects during this period, BATEMAN has also been involved in many feasibility and project-development studies. In addition BATEMAN has undertaken several platinum-group metal (PGM) concentrator, smelter and refinery projects, which in all cases also involved the recovery of nickel, cobalt and copper as well as the PGMs.

A few project profiles are provided:
(Click the headings for more information)

Outstanding Safety Achievement for 2007

Bateman Engineering achieved outstanding safety results during 2007 with two major projects achieving more than 1 million man hours worked without a lost time injury (LTI) by the calendar year end, one project achieving more than 2 million man hours and the Moma Mineral Sands project recording nearly 7 million man hours free from lost time injuries.

Bateman JV passes critical mark in Lumwana Copper Project

The 20 million t/yr Lumwana copper concentrator being constructed by Bateman Engineering in a joint venture with Ausenco International of Australia for Equinox Minerals in Northwest Zambia is nearing completion.

Sepon Copper Expansion Project Awarded

Bateman Engineering has been notified by Oxiana Limited of its intent to award the Company’s joint venture with Ausenco Limited, known as KDG JV, the EPCM contract for the planned US$178 million expansion of the Sepon Copper Project in Laos. Bateman Engineering’s interest in the joint venture is 30 %.

Hindustan Zinc expansion nears completion

The 1.25 million t/yr zinc concentrator expansion of Hindustan Zinc Limited’s zinc and lead beneficiation plant at Rampur Agucha Mines Bilwara, in Rajasthan State, India is at an advanced stage of completion.

Sulphuric acid production plant for Ambatovy Nickel

Bateman Engineering has been awarded an EP contract by Dynatec Madagascar SA (DMSA) worth approximately US$100 million to provide a 5,500 t/day sulphur-burning sulphuric acid facility for the utilities section of the Ambatovy Nickel project.

US$50m EPCM copper contract

Bateman Engineering has been awarded an order for the execution of reimbursable EPCM services (engineering, procurement & construction management) worth US$46 million for the Luanshya Copper Mines’ Muliashi Copper Project located in North-West Zambia. An additional US$4 million contract for a feasibility study related to the project was also awarded.

New copper leach technology initiatives by Bateman Engineering

Bateman Engineering has acquired the exclusive rights to two complementary, novel copper-leaching technologies with the potential to significantly enhance the company’s position in winning major copper processing projects globally.

Vedanta awards Bateman Engineering USD35 million Indian contract

Bateman Engineering has been awarded, by Hindustan Zinc Limited (a Vedanta unit), its first major project in India to a value of approximately USD35 million. The lump sum turnkey (LSTK) contract covers the 1 million t/yr zinc concentrator expansion at Rampur Agucha Mines Bilwara, in Rajasthan State, India.

DCP copper/cobalt refinery contract at Kolwezi awarded

The refinery portion of the DCP (KOV) Project has been awarded to Bateman Engineering N.V. under a contract covering the front-end engineering design of a new copper / cobalt refinery to be established near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The project is a 75 / 25 % venture between Nikanor, recently listed on London’s AIM stock exchange and Gecamines, the DRC state company that operated the original mines.

New lining technology upgrades the flash furnace at Olympic Dam

Bateman Engineering has successfully upgraded the copper flash smelter at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam operation, where mining, smelting and refining produces 200,000 t of copper annually, with by-products such as uranium, gold and silver. The furnace produces blister copper from a feed of copper concentrate.

Signing of USD408 million Lumwana Copper Contract

Bateman Engineering, in a joint venture (JV) with Ausenco Limited, has been awarded the final engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts by Equinox Minerals Limited for the Lumwana Project in north-western Zambia.

Modular MeTRIX^® technology demonstration plant commissioned

Bateman Engineering and Mintek have commissioned a modular demonstration plant under their collaborative agreement to develop and implement the MeTRIX^® (MeTal Recovery Through Ion-eXchange) technology, commonly known as resin-in-pulp (RIP) for the metallurgical sector.

Equinox Lumwana Copper Project awarded to JV team

BATEMAN, in a joint venture with Ausenco International Pty Ltd, has been awarded the implementation phase of the Lumwana Copper Project in Zambia by Equinox Minerals Limited. The engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) contract is estimated to be worth in excess of US$200 million and is expected to run over 16 months.

Aflease uranium plant to utilise pressure leaching

BATEMAN has been contracted to carry out the metallurgical process design for the new uranium plant for Aflease Gold and Uranium Resources (previously Afrikander Lease Limited) to be located next to the company's existing Bonanza gold-mining operation in the Klerksdorp area of South Africa.

First copper at Sepon two weeks ahead of schedule

The first copper cathodes were stripped at the Sepon copper plant in Laos in mid-March 2005, two weeks ahead of schedule. The ramp-up to full production is on target and is expected to meet the planned production for 2005 of 30 000 t of copper, increasing to 60 000 t/yr of LME grade A cathodes in 2006.

Sepon Copper project on track for first metal production

Despite the many logistical challenges, the fast-track Sepon Copper project in Laos is on target to meet its tight schedule. Water commissioning of the plant is nearing completion, after which the plant will be handed over for commissioning of ore processing to a combined contractor/operations team to meet the deadline for the production of the first copper metal.

More praise for Skorpion dome

The dome-enclosed circular stacker/reclaimer at AngloBase's Skorpion Zinc Mine in Namibia was once again a winner when it was presented with a top 2004 global award at MINExpo in Las Vegas, USA by the international mining monthly, Mining Magazine.

PolyMet Mining awards BATEMAN international metals feasibility study

BATEMAN has been appointed by PolyMet Mining Corp. as its coordinating consultant for its fast-track NorthMet study in north-eastern Minnesota, USA. The US$2M study concerns the feasibility of establishing a facility to produce 33 000 t/yr of copper cathode at NorthMet, a low-grade base- and precious-metals deposit which contains valuable quantities of copper, nickel, cobalt, palladium, platinum and gold.

Large autoclave delivered to remote Sepon site

The joint venture between BATEMAN and Ausenco Limited, known as KDG, has completed one of the most difficult logistic and transportation tasks attempted in South East Asia: the transportation and installation of a 167 t autoclave.

Process options evaluated for Eritrean copper deposit

BATEMAN is undertaking a conceptual study for a joint venture between Sub-Sahara Resources NL and Sunridge Gold Corp. for the development of the copper-gold Debarwa project, located some 30 km south of the capital, Asmara, in Eritrea. The study, worth Aus$60 000, is examining various processing options for the project's polymetallic resource which contains predominately copper but also significant zinc, gold and silver values.

Sepon Copper Project on schedule for commissioning in 2005

Construction of the copper hydrometallurgical-process plant for Lane Xang Minerals Limited (LXML) in Laos is well underway and on schedule to enable commissioning and start-up for the production of the first batch of copper in the first quarter of 2005. This contract, worth in excess of US$160M, is being executed by a joint venture between Bateman BV and Ausenco Limited of Australia.

BATEMAN and MINTEK form ion-exchange alliance

BATEMAN and MINTEK have entered into a co-operation and joint development agreement in the field of ion exchange for metallurgical applications.

Angouran zinc demonstration plant

A demonstration plant, designed, constructed and operated by BATEMAN for the Iran Zinc Mines Development Corporation (IZMDC), confirmed the process route selected for the feasibility study on a proposed refinery for the Angouran Mine, which could produce 100 000 t/yr of zinc from an ore feed of 473 000 t/yr. The plant was located at IZMDC's research centre, about 20 km from Zanjan in north west Iran.

Bringing power to Skorpion

The commissioning of Anglo Base Metals' US$450M Skorpion Zinc plant in Namibia, which has an installed power capacity of 120 MVA, has increased the country's total power consumption by some 25 %.

Feasibility of SHG zinc refinery for Angouran mine

A feasibility study has been completed on behalf of the Iran Zinc Mines Development Co. (IZMDC) to establish a new refinery, utilising whole-ore leaching and state-of-the-art hydrometallurgical processing, at Zanjan in the north-west of Iran. The refinery will receive run-of- mine ore from the Angouran Mine which is located about 110 km south west of the city of Zanjan, and has been designed to process 473 000 t/yr of blended Angouran ores to produce some 100 000 t/yr of metal at a mimimum grade of 23 % zinc.

Feasibility of zinc cell/ casthouse for MRM explored

BATEMAN has completed a feasibility study to a ±15 % accuracy for the construction of a new cell- and casthouse to produce special high-grade (SHG) zinc at McArthur River Mine (MRM) in Australia. With a capacity of 456 000 t/yr, this would be the largest such facility built to date.

Sepon Copper Project in Laos

Lane Xang Minerals Limited (LXML), a Lao based company jointly owned by Oxiana Resources NL (80 %) and Rio Tinto (20 %), has awarded a US$161M contract to a joint venture between Bateman BV and Ausenco Limited of Australia.

The contract concerns a copper hydrometallurgical process plant and associated infrastructure for the Sepon Copper Project in the Vilabouly District of Savannakhet province of Lao PDR

BATEMAN JV awarded Coega aluminium-smelter project

BATEMAN, in 50/50 Joint Venture with Technip-Coflexip of France, has been appointed by Pechiney of France as the general-construction manager for the construction of their new PAS 2005 aluminium smelter to be built at Coega, an industrial zone and harbour being developed 20 km north east of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

Skorpion Zinc’s training facility

The first zinc cathode was pulled from the electrowinning cells in the tank house at Skorpion Zinc’s training facility site near Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia recently. Anglo Base Metals included this facility in the project to ensure the technical skills required to operate the process could be developed and learned by plant management and supervisory staff. It will be used by Skorpion’s operational personnel to train Namibian recruits and other operators in all aspects of the novel, zinc refining, flow sheet.

UMMC explores developing the Udokan copper deposit

BATEMAN is providing assistance to the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC) in the proposed development of the Udokan copper deposit in the Chita region, Russia.

Chambishi cobalt- purification plant

BATEMAN was involved in the expansion of the cobalt- purification plant for Chambishi Metals PLC, a division of AngloVaal Mining (AVMIN), at the Chambishi site, 30 km north west of Kitwe, Zambia. Two process plants, a belt-filter and a zinc solvent-extraction (SX) plant, as well as new utilities and reagents sections, were added to the existing facilities. The existing purification areas were upgraded with the installation of extra tanks and improved agitation in existing tanks.

The Chambishi plant processes copper concentrate from mines on Zambia’s Copperbelt.

Peñoles bio-leach demonstration plant

On 18 September 2001, the first copper cathode was pulled from the electrowinning tankhouse at the base metal, bioleaching demonstration plant at Servicios Industriales Peñoles’ research facility in Monterrey, Mexico. BATEMAN undertook the detailed engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the plant.

BATEMAN completes nickel study for Norilsk

BATEMAN (Bateman Project Holdings Limited) recently completed a US$1,7 million contract for a study, or 'Technical Project', of a new nickel refining plant to be erected at the Nadezhda smelter complex near the city of Norilsk, in the Krasnoyarsk district of the Russian Federation.

The Skorpion zinc project makes a good start

Since the project was approved on 8 September 2000, good progress has been made on AngloBase Namibia (Proprietary) Ltd's project to develop the Skorpion zinc mine and refinery near Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia. The high-tech processing facilities will involve a unique and innovative combination of several existing technologies to be used or the first time on a primary ore. The capital cost of the project is more than US$450 million.

Copper refinery study

Gibraltar Mines Ltd and Cominco Engineering Services Ltd (CESL) have commissioned BATEMAN and HATCH in Vancouver, Canada to jointly conduct a feasibility study on a proposed copper refinery to produce copper cathode from copper concentrates at the existing Gibraltar mine. The Gibraltar mine is located near the City of Williams Lake in south central British Columbia, Canada.

Presentations on Copper Processing

BATEMAN personnel made presentations on copper processing at the recent Randol Copper Hydrometallury Workshop held in September 2000 in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

George Fisher project update

BATEMAN, in partnership with Brown and Root, has successfully commissioned the upgraded lead-zinc concentrator at Mount Isa as part of the Aus$270M George Fisher project. The overall project, consisting of the development of the new George Fisher Mine including Hilton (20 km to the north of Mount Isa), the upgrade of the existing lead-zinc concentrator and the rebuilding of the lead smelter at Mount Isa, is now more than 75 % complete.

The Kasese Cobalt Project

A cobalt recovery plant has been built for Kasese Cobalt Company Limited in south-western Uganda. The plant will process 10 t/h of a pyrite stockpile containing 1,4 % cobalt, to produce 1 000 t/yr of cobalt over the next 11 years.

Safety success at Kasese

An exemplary safety record was achieved with only one minor disabling injury occurring during the whole Kasese project. A total of 3 012 749 working hours was required to construct the cobalt process plant about 17 km north of the equator in Western Uganda. The disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR) was thus 0,33 per million man-hours.

The Skorpion zinc project

The feasibility study for the Skorpion zinc project about 75 km north-east of Oranjemund in south-western Namibia has been completed successfully. The principal conclusions confirm that Skorpion could rank as one of the largest integrated zinc mines and refineries in the world and that it has the potential to be one of the lowest cost producers in the industry.

Study on Zambian copper/cobalt project

Bateman Titaco has been appointed by Anglovaal Mining (Avmin) to work on a process package within the Chambishi Metals cobalt and copper project, known as Project Cosak.

Integrated team for the George Fisher project

The George Fisher project is being conducted by an integrated team of Mt Isa Mines (MIM) and Bateman Brown & Root (BB&R) personnel. Although this is for MIM a novel approach to project delivery, it is effectively a traditional EPCM contract with BB&R supplying engineering, procurement and construction management services under contract from within the team.

Pulsed column pilot plants in Australia

Bateman Brown & Root Asia Pacific (BB&R) in conjunction with Western Minerals Technology Pty Ltd and Ammtec Ltd is establishing two pulsed column pilot plant facilities in Perth, Western Australia.

Gunpowder Copper project successfully completed

Bateman Kinhill is in the final stages of the project to expand the existing copper cathode production capacity at the Gunpowder copper mine recently acquired by Western Metals Limited.

Kansanshi copper pre-feasibility study

The Kansanshi Joint Venture (KJV) between Bateman Project Holdings Limited and Kvaerner Metals, conducted a pre-feasibility study to develop a potential large scale mining operation at the former ZCCM’s Kansanshi copper mine north of Solwezi in Zambia’s north-western province on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The work was done for Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, Eaglewood, Colorado, USA

Study for Reunion’s Skorpion zinc project

BATEMAN has been appointed to carry out the feasibility study for the Skorpion zinc project in Namibia. The client is Reunion Mining PLC which is earning a 60 % interest in the deposit from Erongo Mining and Exploration Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa.

Good progress on the Bulong nickel project

The Bateman Kinhill-Kilborn (BKK) consortium is on schedule with the Aus$200M Bulong nickel project for Resolute Samantha Limited. The plant will process a major laterite nickel and cobalt deposit located 30 km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The primary objective of this EPCM project is to provide a plant which will be easy to operate and maintain and have a long life.

Gunpowder expansion project

Bateman Kinhill, the EPCM contractor, is making good progress expanding the existing copper cathode production capacity at Aberfoyle Limited’s Gunpowder copper mine from its present 8 000 t/yr to 45 000 t/yr .

WMC Olympic Dam installs more BATEMAN pulsed columns

The design and supply of a uranium solvent extraction facility at the Olympic Dam site has been completed under an Aus$12M lump sum contract for WMC’s Copper Uranium Division. The new facility is the largest pulsed column uranium extraction facility in the world and comprises ten BATEMAN pulsed columns and associated plant.

Kasese cobalt project

In early August 1997 Bateman Minerals & Industrial Limited (BMI) started work on the detailed design and construction of a cobalt process plant, infrastructure and a tailings dam close to the old Kilembe copper mine in south-western Uganda.

Expansion at Gunpowder Copper

Aberfoyle Resources Limited has awarded Bateman Kinhill an EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) contract to expand the processing capacity at the Gunpowder copper mine in north-west Queensland.

Feasibility studies on copper/cobalt tailings

Bateman Minerals & Industrial Limited (BMI) has completed a pre-feasibility study for International Panorama Resource Corp. (IPRC) on the economic viability of exploiting the cobalt/copper tailings at old existing mines at Kakande and Kambove in the Shaba region of Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).