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Thickener upgrade under way in Tanzania, demand growing in Africa

7th October 2016

  

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Minerals processing equipment specialist Tenova Takraf Africa is upgrading a thickener at a gold mine in Tanzania, with the scope covering the complete under solution, which includes new rakes, a torque tube, a centre cage and a thickener drive.

The company had previously installed three Tenova Delkor thickeners at the mine covering 39-m-diameter preleach and tailings thickeners and a 10-m-diameter concentrate thickener - the first order received for Tenova Delkor equipment from an operation in Tanzania. The upgrade followed a complete audit on all the thickeners on the mine to identify areas where the efficiency of operation could be further improved.

“Tanzania is an area of growth for us as one of the most important mining countries in Africa,” comments regional sales manager Damian Redfearn, highlighting that increasing mining activity and exploration in the country is being fuelled by its liberalised mining regulations, vast resources and range of metals and minerals from precious stones to iron-ore, coal and, more recently, uranium.

Tanzania is the sole producer of tanzanite in the world and is one of the top producers of gold in Africa.

Currently contributing about 3% of the country’s gross domestic product with the ambition to increase this to 10%, mining is one of the major sectors responsible for Tanzania’s steady economic growth, says Tenova.

“The vast majority of the country’s mineral export revenue comes from gold, which is around 90% of the value of those exports, with gemstones such as diamonds and tanzanite making up the remaining 10%,” notes Redfearn.

Tanzania’s mining industry is also a catalyst for the growth of a viable and sustainable small-scale industry and a major source of employment. Mining laws were relaxed in the 80s and 90s to allow for private ownership of mining claims and the introduction of foreign companies, states Tenova, highlighting that the Tanzanian mining industry now employs an estimated one-million people in artisanal operations.

Advanced Technology
The Tenova Delkor high-rate thickener is a proven performer in several applications, including the minerals, industrial, chemicals, water treatment and wastewater industries.

“The specific benefits of the Tenova Delkor high-rate thickener include its low capital cost, smaller footprint, effective use of flocculant and advanced automation,” says Redfearn, noting that high-rate thickener units up to 100 m in diameter have been installed, not only in Africa but worldwide, and more than 1 000 Tenova Delkor thickeners, including high rate, paste and conventional, are in operation across the globe. “This record has given our technology a reputation for reliability.”

Such a wealth of experience and a large database of testwork and commissioning enable Tenova to provide accurate estimates for thickener sizing.

Tenova Delkor also specialises in retrofitting old thickeners and upgrading them using the company’s latest technology.

 

African Footprint
While the thickeners are the first order received for Tenova Delkor equipment from an operation in Tanzania, the demand for the equipment from countries throughout Africa has been growing steadily, says the company.

“While Africa’s extractive industries have not fully lived up to the optimism of recent years, owing largely to the slowing down of China’s economy, there are still many pockets of opportunities driving the demand for our equipment,” adds Redfearn.

 

Recent projects undertaken by Tenova include the supply of a high-rate thickener for mining company Golden Star’s Wassa gold mining operation, in Ghana, as well as a linear screen for Adansi Gold’s Asanko gold project, also in Ghana. In the past few years, Tenova has also supplied high-rate thickener mechanisms for Dynatec Madagascar SA’s mammoth Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar, Redfearn adds.

The Ambatovy project is among the largest mines and integrated metallurgical sites in the world, with a capacity of 60 000 t/y of nickel and 5 600 t/y of cobalt, says engineering and construction group SNC-Lavalin. The company provided full engineering, procurement and construction management services for Ambatovy’s ore preparation plant, slurry transfer pumping plant, 220 km slurry pipeline, process plant and refinery (including all associated utilities), tailings management facilities, access infrastructure, and port facility upgrades.

Further afield, Tenova has also supplied thickening, screening and flocculant equipment for BEA Mountain Mining Corporation’s New Liberty gold mine, in Liberia, and the largest belt filter to be installed in Africa to an operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Three orders from [ASX-listed Cape Lambert Resources’] Marampa iron-ore project, in Sierra Leone, covered the supply of an ore tailings thickener and two Delkor belt filters,” says Redfearn.

Marampa is an advanced hematite iron-ore project, which is in the feasibility assessment and permitting stage. The project consists of fourdeposits, with Joint Ore Reserve Committee-compliant mineral resources of 680-million tons, grading 28.2% iron, with a cutoff grade of 15%, notes Cape Lambert. This supports ten-million tons a year of high-quality hematite concentrate production for more than 20 years.
As part of the global Tenova group, Tenova Delkor services the African continent through Tenova Takraf Africa.

Having transitioned from Bateman Engineered Technologies, part of the Bateman group, “a household name in South Africa since the 1920s”, Tenova Takraf Africa says it combines an extensive record and in-depth understanding of the African market with the global expertise of the international Tenova Takraf group.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

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