Elizabeth Bay liberation project

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IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

June 2005 News

The first modern diamond recovery plant in Namibia was commissioned by the then CDM at the Elizabeth Bay mine near Lüderitz in 1991. The primary aim of this plant was to process all available, treatable ore using a scrubbing method alone. Consequently it was not possible for the cemented, wet and clay rich material, prominently found in the Elizabeth Bay area, to be treated.

In October 2001, a feasibility study was launched, aimed at developing additions to the plant to enable treatment of cemented, wet and/or clay-rich ores. After a feasibility study and conceptual design work together with Batemans, Namdeb's partner in the project, Namdeb's Board gave final approval for the project in March 2003.

Construction on this world class project commenced immediately after approval, at a cost of over N$450 million, and is now in full production and includes the following major components:

* Primary crushing: Kawasaki gyratory water flush process.

* Secondary and tertiary crushing and milling.

* Latest technology final recovery plant.

* Upgraded seawater intake.

* Surface jet sump for disposal of fine tailings.

* New Central Control Room with scada control interfaces.

* New maintenance workshop.

* New change house for the increased staff complement due to continuous operation.

The Liberation Project gave the Elizabeth Bay mine a new lease of life. Mining operations at the mine had been expected to close down by the middle of 2004, but this investment has enabled a 70% increase in staff for the duration of the project. The current complement of staff is now 275, mining on continuous operations. This contributes hugely to the economic life of the Lüderitz and Karas regions.

The plant is rated at 800 tons per hour of headfeed and should extend the life of the Elizabeth Bay Mine by five to 10 years, depending largely on the exchange rate prevailing over the next few years.

Site safety and environmental aspects were well managed and the target of using at least 80% Namibians during construction was surpassed to 84%. The manpower on site peaked at 650 employees, with 90% of the sub-contracting companies used by the contracting companies during the construction phase being Namibian.

Citectscada Version 5.5 has been deployed to monitor and control the processes from the primary crushers and tipping to the diamond recovery plant. Citect installed two redundant servers and two display clients at the mine, which link seamlessly to a 45 000 tag system. The Citectscada project kicked off in November 2003 and the final commissioning was completed in April 2005. The Elizabeth Bay Liberation plant is now fully automated which reduces operating cost. CitectPlant2Business has also been deployed and connects to the production system allowing plant managers to improve production reporting.

The project management team from Namdeb would like to thank the Lüderitz business community for their support and assistance during the duration of the project.

For more information contact Niconette du Toit, Citect, 011 699 6600, [email protected], www.citect.com

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