Track record
The BATEMAN track record over the past decade in the base-metals field
includes projects such as Sepon Copper, George Fisher (lead / zinc),
Skorpion pilot, demonstration and main plant (zinc), Kasese Cobalt,
Mt Gordon (formerly Gunpowder Copper), Bulong Nickel, Empress Nickel,
Sanyati Copper, Stillwater (PGM / nickel / copper) and Chambishi Cobalt
refurbishment.
Besides the major projects during this period, BATEMAN has also been
involved in many feasibility and project-development studies. In addition
BATEMAN has undertaken several platinum-group metal (PGM) concentrator,
smelter and refinery projects, which in all cases also involved the
recovery of nickel, cobalt and copper as well as the PGMs.
A few project profiles are provided:
(Click the headings for more information)
Centre of excellence provides internationally acclaimed leaching solutions
Bateman Engineering’s Centre of Excellence for Leaching provides the minerals resources industry with access to technology packages and historical proven designs for both primary and secondary copper leaching, complemented by leading expertise in the complete range of non-ferrous metal recovery processes.
US$36 million construction contract for Ambatovy Project
Bateman Engineering has been awarded a contract for the construction of the sulphuric acid facilities at the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar. The US$36 million Fixed Price Lump Sum contract covers the erection and commissioning up to handover to the client for hot commissioning of two 2,750 t/day sulphur burning acid plants.
Second order for scrubbers from Tati
Bateman Engineered Technologies (part of the Bateman Engineering Group) has received a further order for the supply of Bateman Dynamic Wet Scrubbers for Tati Nickel Mine in Dukwe, Botswana, following the successful completion, in May 2006, of an order awarded in 2005.
Copper expertise highlighted at ALTA
Bateman Engineering’s expertise in copper processing was highlighted at the ALTA 2008 Nickel-Cobalt, Copper & Uranium Conference held in June, 2008 in Perth, Australia, with four technical papers being presented. Synopses of the papers are presented below, but copies of the full papers can be obtained from / technology / technical papers / base metals.
DMS copper ore separation project for Chemaf, DRC
Bateman Engineering has been contracted by Chemaf SPRL of Lubumbashi in the DRC to supply a modular plant to process 100 t/h of run-of-mine ore to produce a separated copper ore product by means of crushing, scrubbing, sizing and dense media separation (DMS) modules.
Centre of excellence provides internationally acclaimed leaching solutions
Bateman Engineering’s Centre of Excellence for Leaching provides the minerals resources industry with access to technology packages and historical proven designs for both primary and secondary copper leaching, complemented by leading expertise in the complete range of non-ferrous metal recovery processes.
DC furnace for Southern Urals Nickel
A US$31 million contract from Southern Urals Nickel Plant OAO has been awarded to Bateman Engineering subsidiary, Bateman International Projects B.V., for the design and supply of a 12 MW DC furnace to be erected at Southern Urals Nickel’s existing facility in the city of Orsk, Orenburg Region, Russian Federation. Southern Urals Nickel is a subsidiary of Mechel OAO.
Outstanding Safety Achievement for 2007
Bateman Engineering achieved outstanding safety results during 2007 with two major projects achieving more than 1 million man hours worked without a lost time injury (LTI) by the calendar year end, one project achieving more than 2 million man hours and the Moma Mineral Sands project recording nearly 7 million man hours free from lost time injuries.
Bateman JV passes critical mark in Lumwana Copper Project
The 20 million t/yr Lumwana copper concentrator being constructed by Bateman Engineering in a joint venture with Ausenco International of Australia for Equinox Minerals in Northwest Zambia is nearing completion.
Sepon Copper Expansion Project Awarded
Bateman Engineering has been notified by Oxiana Limited of its intent to award the Company’s joint venture with Ausenco Limited, known as KDG JV, the EPCM contract for the planned US$178 million expansion of the Sepon Copper Project in Laos. Bateman Engineering’s interest in the joint venture is 30 %.
Hindustan Zinc expansion nears completion
The 1.25 million t/yr zinc concentrator expansion of Hindustan Zinc Limited’s zinc and lead beneficiation plant at Rampur Agucha Mines Bilwara, in Rajasthan State, India is at an advanced stage of completion.
Sulphuric acid production plant for Ambatovy Nickel
Bateman Engineering has been awarded an EP contract by Dynatec Madagascar SA (DMSA) worth approximately US$100 million to provide a 5,500 t/day sulphur-burning sulphuric acid facility for the utilities section of the Ambatovy Nickel project.
US$50m EPCM copper contract
Bateman Engineering has been awarded an order for the execution of reimbursable EPCM services (engineering, procurement & construction management) worth US$46 million for the Luanshya Copper Mines’ Muliashi Copper Project located in North-West Zambia. An additional US$4 million contract for a feasibility study related to the project was also awarded.
New copper leach technology initiatives by Bateman Engineering
Bateman Engineering has acquired the exclusive rights to two complementary, novel copper-leaching technologies with the potential to significantly enhance the company’s position in winning major copper processing projects globally.
Vedanta awards Bateman Engineering USD35 million Indian contract
Bateman Engineering has been awarded, by Hindustan Zinc Limited (a Vedanta unit), its first major project in India to a value of approximately USD35 million. The lump sum turnkey (LSTK) contract covers the 1 million t/yr zinc concentrator expansion at Rampur Agucha Mines Bilwara, in Rajasthan State, India.
DCP copper/cobalt refinery contract at Kolwezi awarded
The refinery portion of the DCP (KOV) Project has been awarded to Bateman Engineering N.V. under a contract covering the front-end engineering design of a new copper / cobalt refinery to be established near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The project is a 75 / 25 % venture between Nikanor, recently listed on London’s AIM stock exchange and Gecamines, the DRC state company that operated the original mines.
New lining technology upgrades the flash furnace at Olympic Dam
Bateman Engineering has successfully upgraded the copper flash smelter at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam operation, where mining, smelting and refining produces 200,000 t of copper annually, with by-products such as uranium, gold and silver. The furnace produces blister copper from a feed of copper concentrate.
Signing of USD408 million Lumwana Copper Contract
Bateman Engineering, in a joint venture
(JV) with Ausenco Limited, has been awarded the final engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contracts by Equinox Minerals Limited
for the Lumwana Project in north-western Zambia.
Modular
MeTRIX® technology demonstration plant
commissioned
Bateman Engineering and Mintek have commissioned a modular demonstration
plant under their collaborative agreement to develop and implement
the MeTRIX® (MeTal Recovery Through Ion-eXchange) technology,
commonly known as resin-in-pulp (RIP) for the metallurgical sector.
Equinox
Lumwana Copper Project awarded to JV team
BATEMAN, in a joint venture with Ausenco International Pty Ltd, has
been awarded the implementation phase of the Lumwana Copper Project
in Zambia by Equinox Minerals Limited. The engineering, construction
and procurement (EPC) contract is estimated to be worth in excess
of US$200 million and is expected to run over 16 months.
Aflease
uranium plant to utilise pressure leaching
BATEMAN has been contracted to carry out the metallurgical process
design for the new uranium plant for Aflease Gold and Uranium Resources
(previously Afrikander Lease Limited) to be located next to the company's
existing Bonanza gold-mining operation in the Klerksdorp area of South
Africa.
First
copper at Sepon two weeks ahead of schedule
The first copper cathodes were stripped at the Sepon copper plant
in Laos in mid-March 2005, two weeks ahead of schedule. The ramp-up
to full production is on target and is expected to meet the planned
production for 2005 of 30 000 t of copper, increasing to 60 000 t/yr
of LME grade A cathodes in 2006.
Sepon
Copper project on track for first metal production
Despite the many logistical challenges, the fast-track Sepon Copper
project in Laos is on target to meet its tight schedule. Water commissioning
of the plant is nearing completion, after which the plant will be
handed over for commissioning of ore processing to a combined contractor/operations
team to meet the deadline for the production of the first copper metal.
More
praise for Skorpion dome
The dome-enclosed circular stacker/reclaimer at AngloBase's Skorpion
Zinc Mine in Namibia was once again a winner when it was presented
with a top 2004 global award at MINExpo in Las Vegas, USA by the international
mining monthly, Mining Magazine.
PolyMet
Mining awards BATEMAN international metals feasibility study
BATEMAN has been appointed by PolyMet Mining Corp. as its coordinating
consultant for its fast-track NorthMet study in north-eastern Minnesota,
USA. The US$2M study concerns the feasibility of establishing a facility
to produce 33 000 t/yr of copper cathode at NorthMet, a low-grade
base- and precious-metals deposit which contains valuable quantities
of copper, nickel, cobalt, palladium, platinum and gold.
Large
autoclave delivered to remote Sepon site
The joint venture between BATEMAN and Ausenco Limited, known as KDG,
has completed one of the most difficult logistic and transportation
tasks attempted in South East Asia: the transportation and installation
of a 167 t autoclave.
Process
options evaluated for Eritrean copper deposit
BATEMAN is undertaking a conceptual study for a joint venture between
Sub-Sahara Resources NL and Sunridge Gold Corp. for the development
of the copper-gold Debarwa project, located some 30 km south of the
capital, Asmara, in Eritrea. The study, worth Aus$60 000, is examining
various processing options for the project's polymetallic resource
which contains predominately copper but also significant zinc, gold
and silver values.
Sepon
Copper Project on schedule for commissioning in 2005
Construction of the copper hydrometallurgical-process plant for Lane
Xang Minerals Limited (LXML) in Laos is well underway and on schedule
to enable commissioning and start-up for the production of the first
batch of copper in the first quarter of 2005. This contract, worth
in excess of US$160M, is being executed by a joint venture between
Bateman BV and Ausenco Limited of Australia.
BATEMAN
and MINTEK form ion-exchange alliance
BATEMAN and MINTEK have entered into a co-operation and joint development
agreement in the field of ion exchange for metallurgical applications.
Angouran
zinc demonstration plant
A demonstration plant, designed, constructed and operated by BATEMAN
for the Iran Zinc Mines Development Corporation (IZMDC), confirmed
the process route selected for the feasibility study on a proposed
refinery for the Angouran Mine, which could produce 100 000 t/yr of
zinc from an ore feed of 473 000 t/yr. The plant was located at IZMDC's
research centre, about 20 km from Zanjan in north west Iran.
Bringing
power to Skorpion
The commissioning of Anglo Base Metals' US$450M Skorpion Zinc plant
in Namibia, which has an installed power capacity of 120 MVA, has
increased the country's total power consumption by some 25 %.
Feasibility
of SHG zinc refinery for Angouran mine
A feasibility study has been completed on behalf of the Iran Zinc
Mines Development Co. (IZMDC) to establish a new refinery, utilising
whole-ore leaching and state-of-the-art hydrometallurgical processing,
at Zanjan in the north-west of Iran. The refinery will receive run-of-
mine ore from the Angouran Mine which is located about 110 km south
west of the city of Zanjan, and has been designed to process 473 000
t/yr of blended Angouran ores to produce some 100 000 t/yr of metal
at a mimimum grade of 23 % zinc.
Feasibility
of zinc cell/ casthouse for MRM explored
BATEMAN has completed a feasibility study to a ±15 % accuracy
for the construction of a new cell- and casthouse to produce special
high-grade (SHG) zinc at McArthur River Mine (MRM) in Australia. With
a capacity of 456 000 t/yr, this would be the largest such facility
built to date.
Sepon
Copper Project in Laos
Lane Xang Minerals Limited (LXML), a Lao
based company jointly owned by Oxiana Resources NL (80 %) and Rio
Tinto (20 %), has awarded a US$161M contract to a joint venture between
Bateman BV and Ausenco Limited of Australia.
The contract concerns a copper hydrometallurgical
process plant and associated infrastructure for the Sepon Copper Project
in the Vilabouly District of Savannakhet province of Lao PDR
BATEMAN
JV awarded Coega aluminium-smelter project
BATEMAN, in 50/50 Joint Venture with Technip-Coflexip
of France, has been appointed by Pechiney of France as the general-construction
manager for the construction of their new PAS 2005 aluminium smelter
to be built at Coega, an industrial zone and harbour being developed
20 km north east of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province of
South Africa.
Skorpion
Zinc’s training facility
The first zinc cathode was pulled from
the electrowinning cells in the tank house at Skorpion Zinc’s
training facility site near Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia recently.
Anglo Base Metals included this facility in the project to ensure
the technical skills required to operate the process could be developed
and learned by plant management and supervisory staff. It will be
used by Skorpion’s operational personnel to train Namibian recruits
and other operators in all aspects of the novel, zinc refining, flow
sheet.
UMMC explores developing the Udokan copper deposit
BATEMAN is providing assistance to the Ural Mining and Metallurgical
Company (UMMC) in the proposed development of the Udokan copper deposit
in the Chita region, Russia.
Chambishi cobalt- purification plant
BATEMAN was involved in the expansion of the cobalt- purification
plant for Chambishi Metals PLC, a division of AngloVaal Mining (AVMIN),
at the Chambishi site, 30 km north west of Kitwe, Zambia. Two process
plants, a belt-filter and a zinc solvent-extraction (SX) plant, as
well as new utilities and reagents sections, were added to the existing
facilities. The existing purification areas were upgraded with the
installation of extra tanks and improved agitation in existing tanks.
The Chambishi plant processes copper concentrate from mines on Zambia’s
Copperbelt.
Peñoles bio-leach
demonstration plant
On 18 September 2001, the first copper cathode was
pulled from the electrowinning tankhouse at the base metal, bioleaching
demonstration plant at Servicios Industriales Peñoles’
research facility in Monterrey, Mexico. BATEMAN undertook the detailed
engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the plant.
BATEMAN completes nickel study
for Norilsk
BATEMAN (Bateman Project Holdings Limited) recently completed a US$1,7
million contract for a study, or 'Technical Project', of a new nickel
refining plant to be erected at the Nadezhda smelter complex near
the city of Norilsk, in the Krasnoyarsk district of the Russian Federation.
The
Skorpion zinc project makes a good start
Since the project was approved on 8 September
2000, good progress has been made on AngloBase Namibia (Proprietary)
Ltd's project to develop the Skorpion zinc mine and refinery near
Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia. The high-tech processing facilities
will involve a unique and innovative combination of several existing
technologies to be used or the first time on a primary ore. The capital
cost of the project is more than US$450 million.
Copper
refinery study
Gibraltar Mines Ltd and Cominco Engineering
Services Ltd (CESL) have commissioned BATEMAN and HATCH in Vancouver,
Canada to jointly conduct a feasibility study on a proposed copper
refinery to produce copper cathode from copper concentrates at the
existing Gibraltar mine. The Gibraltar mine is located near the City
of Williams Lake in south central British Columbia, Canada.
Presentations
on Copper Processing
BATEMAN personnel made presentations on copper
processing at the recent Randol Copper Hydrometallury Workshop held
in September 2000 in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
George
Fisher project update
BATEMAN, in partnership with Brown and Root,
has successfully commissioned the upgraded lead-zinc concentrator
at Mount Isa as part of the Aus$270M George Fisher project. The overall
project, consisting of the development of the new George Fisher Mine
including Hilton (20 km to the north of Mount Isa), the upgrade of
the existing lead-zinc concentrator and the rebuilding of the lead
smelter at Mount Isa, is now more than 75 % complete.
The
Kasese Cobalt Project
A cobalt recovery plant has been built for
Kasese Cobalt Company Limited in south-western Uganda. The plant will
process 10 t/h of a pyrite stockpile containing 1,4 % cobalt, to produce
1 000 t/yr of cobalt over the next 11 years.
Safety success at Kasese
An exemplary safety record was achieved with
only one minor disabling injury occurring during the whole Kasese
project. A total of 3 012 749 working hours was required to construct
the cobalt process plant about 17 km north of the equator in Western
Uganda. The disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR) was thus 0,33 per
million man-hours.
The
Skorpion zinc project
The feasibility study for the Skorpion zinc project about 75 km north-east
of Oranjemund in south-western Namibia has been completed successfully.
The principal conclusions confirm that Skorpion could rank as one
of the largest integrated zinc mines and refineries in the world and
that it has the potential to be one of the lowest cost producers in
the industry.
Study on Zambian copper/cobalt project
Bateman Titaco has been appointed by Anglovaal Mining (Avmin) to
work on a process package within the Chambishi Metals cobalt and copper
project, known as Project Cosak.
Integrated
team for the George Fisher project
The George Fisher project is being conducted by an integrated team
of Mt Isa Mines (MIM) and Bateman Brown & Root (BB&R) personnel.
Although this is for MIM a novel approach to project delivery, it
is effectively a traditional EPCM contract with BB&R supplying
engineering, procurement and construction management services under
contract from within the team.
Pulsed
column pilot plants in Australia
Bateman Brown & Root Asia Pacific (BB&R) in conjunction with
Western Minerals Technology Pty Ltd and Ammtec Ltd is establishing
two pulsed column pilot plant facilities in Perth, Western Australia.
Gunpowder Copper project successfully completed
Bateman Kinhill is in the final stages of the project to expand the
existing copper cathode production capacity at the Gunpowder copper
mine recently acquired by Western Metals Limited.
Kansanshi
copper pre-feasibility study
The Kansanshi Joint Venture (KJV) between
Bateman Project Holdings Limited and Kvaerner Metals, conducted a
pre-feasibility study to develop a potential large scale mining operation
at the former ZCCM’s Kansanshi copper mine north of Solwezi in
Zambia’s north-western province on the border of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. The work was done for Cyprus Amax Minerals
Company, Eaglewood, Colorado, USA
Study for
Reunion’s Skorpion zinc project
BATEMAN has been appointed to carry out the feasibility study for
the Skorpion zinc project in Namibia. The client is Reunion Mining
PLC which is earning a 60 % interest in the deposit from Erongo Mining
and Exploration Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Anglo American Corporation
of South Africa.
Good
progress on the Bulong nickel project
The Bateman Kinhill-Kilborn (BKK) consortium is on schedule with
the Aus$200M Bulong nickel project for Resolute Samantha Limited.
The plant will process a major laterite nickel and cobalt deposit
located 30 km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The primary
objective of this EPCM project is to provide a plant which will be
easy to operate and maintain and have a long life.
Gunpowder
expansion project
Bateman Kinhill, the EPCM contractor, is making good progress expanding
the existing copper cathode production capacity at Aberfoyle Limited’s
Gunpowder copper mine from its present 8 000 t/yr to 45 000 t/yr .
WMC
Olympic Dam installs more BATEMAN pulsed columns
The design and supply of a uranium solvent extraction facility at
the Olympic Dam site has been completed under an Aus$12M lump sum
contract for WMC’s Copper Uranium Division. The new facility
is the largest pulsed column uranium extraction facility in the world
and comprises ten BATEMAN pulsed columns and associated plant.
Kasese cobalt project
In early August 1997 Bateman Minerals & Industrial Limited (BMI)
started work on the detailed design and construction of a cobalt process
plant, infrastructure and a tailings dam close to the old Kilembe
copper mine in south-western Uganda.
Expansion
at Gunpowder Copper
Aberfoyle Resources Limited has awarded Bateman Kinhill an EPCM (engineering,
procurement and construction management) contract to expand the processing
capacity at the Gunpowder copper mine in north-west Queensland.
Feasibility
studies on copper/cobalt tailings
Bateman Minerals & Industrial Limited (BMI) has completed a pre-feasibility
study for International Panorama Resource Corp. (IPRC) on the economic
viability of exploiting the cobalt/copper tailings at old existing
mines at Kakande and Kambove in the Shaba region of Democratic Republic
of the Congo (formerly Zaire).
