VLADIMIR GRIB COMPLEX The project implemented modular design aspects, with the plant designed for operation in the subarctic environment of Russia's far north
The completion of the commissioning of Russia’s Vladimir Grib diamond deposit’s mining and concentration complex according to schedule showcases engineering, procurement, and construction management services provider Tenova Bateman’s ability to execute projects on time and within budget, the company says.
The contract was awarded to Tenova Bateman in 2011 and covered the supply of a process equipment package for a 4.5-million-ton-a-year diamond treatment plant, says Tenova Bateman Commonwealth of Independent States modular plants sales head Anna Boriskina.
Part of the process equipment supply and supervision package contract included the electrical equipment and a state-of-the-art automatic monitoring and process control system, as well as the provision of one 1 t/h and two 60 t/h dense-media separation modular plants.
“The project implemented modular design aspects, with the plant designed for operation in the subarctic environment of Russia’s far north,” says Boriskina.
She states that the Grib diamond deposit, where exploration started in 1996, is among the largest diamond deposits in the world.
It is being developed by Russia-based exploration and minerals processing company OAO Arkhangelskgeoldobycha, a subsidiary of Russian oil and gas company OAO Lukoil.
Close cooperation among OAO Arkhangelskgeoldobycha, OAO Lukoil, mining and process facilities designer ZAO Mekhanobr Engineering and Tenova Bateman was essential in meeting the challenging schedule requirements, Boriskina says.
Construction started in mid-2012 and, in September of the same year, the first delivery of equipment was received. In January 2013, the major coarse crushing equipment was placed on the foundations.
Commissioning started in September 2013, with wet commissioning having taken place from late January to May in 2014, during which the plant gradually ramped up to its design throughput of 570 dry tons of feed ore an hour.
The design performance was successfully achieved on May 25, 2014, following 72 hours of testing of the facility, she adds.
Boriskina says the equipment for the project was sourced internationally from globally recognised manufacturers. Delivering the equipment to the remote diamond deposit site required careful planning, since the existing roads have load-size and weight limitations.
Out-of-gauge equipment was supplied as individual parts, with the weight of each piece not exceeding 37 t. All equipment was successfully delivered on time with the necessary paperwork and permits to conform to Russian regulations, she adds.
The plant is situated in a sensitive forest area and uses a closed-circuit water supply system. The combined pumpstation is equipped with slurry pumps for tailings transfer to the tailings storage facility. An automatic flocculent preparation and dosing station feeds flocculants into slurry pipelines, says Boriskina.
Tenova Bateman is a division of total technology solutions provider Tenova Mining & Minerals.