Modern Mining August 2016

PRODUCT News

Slurry Blaster deployed at DRC mine

of the ponds. “Not all applications are the same and for this reason, and after assess- ing the specific requirements on site, we custom built a Slurry Blaster unit for this particular task,”Vine says. All stainless steel components including pumps were used for the pon- toon-mounted Slurry Blaster. The system comprises a 90 kW feed pump with float, two 30 kW slurry pumps for the removal of the slurry, a 200 m heavy duty hose and electric control panels for protection for the pumps . The two acid ponds are identical; each is 100 m by 50 m and 6 m deep. The unit operated at a 7 bar pressure and dis- charged material at 80 litres per second with a concentration by volume of 70 %. It took a month to clean each dam. Integrated Pump Rental has an exist- ing footprint of local partners in Africa and this ensures that the teams operat- ing the equipment are familiar with local conditions. Lee Vine, Integrated Pump Rental, tel (+27 72) 627-6350

Rapid sediment build-up in acid ponds can have dire results for mines as the res- ervoirs gradually lose their ability to store solution, impacting on both upstream and downstream processes. This is exactly what happened at a cop- per mine in the DRC when two of its acid ponds silted up completely resulting in no solution capacity whatsoever. Previous attempts at solving the issue were not successful due to the abrasive nature of the silt and solution that needed to be removed from the ponds. Integrated

Pump Rental was able to apply its latest technology and resolve the issue for the mine. Lee Vine, MD of Integrated Pump Rental, says that the company’s Slurry Blaster hydro mining equipment solution was deemed the most appropriate for this harsh application. This locally developed and manu- factured equipment offers optimum performance coupled with reliability, and this, according to Vine, was exactly what was required to hydro mine the slime out

The Slurry Blaster hydro mining equipment solution in operation at a copper mine in the DRC.

Afrimat Limited has established a strong foothold in contracting services through its Contracting International division operating from the Western Cape and Gauteng. Services include mobile crushing, screening, drilling and blasting, which offers mobility beyond fixed areas of operation. Afrimat offers blast designs for bulk blasting in quarry and opencast mining and specialised restricted blasting in built-up areas. The division operates internationally through a mobile hard rock crushing and screening service. Contracting International uses its expertise in fields such as drilling and blasting, load and haul, crushing and readymix concrete processing to prepare bids for major clients in the construction industry.

Charting a course to excellence with specialised services across Africa

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Tel +27 21 917 8840 Fax +27 21 914 1174 info@afrimat.co.za www.afrimat.co.za Contracting International

Contracting International is part of Afrimat Limited, a leading black empowered open pit mining company.

72  MODERN MINING  August 2016