Multidisciplinary engineering company LogiMan has successfully completed its work on the Tschudi copper project, in Namibia, ahead of schedule and within budget.

LogiMan was the key engineering contractor for the project, which is the company’s largest standalone project to date.

The project achieved its first copper production on February 16, ahead of the April 22 deadline stipulated in the initial contractual agreement between LogiMan and miner Weatherly International.

All minor punch-listing items were also completed by April, LogiMan chairperson Sharadh Padayachi says.

He tells Mining Weekly that, with the introduction of previously underused technologies, LogiMan delivered on the project using only R643-million, or 60%, of the initial projected budget of R1.2-billion.

“The choice selection of equipment was a particularly effective way of cutting costs,” he says.

The various components that LogiMan engineered for the Tschudi project include the electrowinning plant; the solvent extraction, control and electrical systems; the bulk earthworks; building infrastructure; the heap leach plant; and all civil and structural components.

LogiMan’s contract started in November 2013, and the company managed to complete the project within 14 months, despite several challenges, including a
six-week steel industry strike, a two-week transportation strike, 44 days of lost production because of a rain delay and a four-week travel embargo for abnormal loads over the Christmas period.

“A clear understanding of our scope and constructability, strong commitment from the team and a healthy relationship with our client’s project manager, Jerry Burger, has made the timeous completion of the project possible,” says Padayachi.
LogiMan project director Eddie Ennis, construction and commissioning director Vincent Reiche and Padayachi headed the project and they were supported by LogiMan construction manager and associate director Anthony Jamieson.

Tschudi Copper Project
Located about 20 km west of the town of Tsumeb, Tschudi is a greenfield heap-leach copper project, which will produce 99.99% pure copper cathodes on site.

The openpit, low-cost mine extracts oxidised copper ore from the sub-Saharan Copperbelt, which is then treated using solvent extraction, heap-leach and electrowinning processes. It is believed that the mine has the potential to produce 17 000 t/y of copper.

Tschudi provides about 500 jobs for the local community; Weatherly estimates that the newly established copper mine could create up to several thousand indirect jobs in the years to come.

Padayachi says Weatherly International set a high standard for LogiMan. “Our client wanted a proven process to eliminate the technical risk of the project; however, we are always prepared to consider design and construction methods in new ways to achieve efficiency.”

In addition to Tschudi, Weatherly International owns the Otjihase and Matchless copper mines in the Oshikoto region, near Windhoek.