Diamond projects – track record
Since the 1960s, BATEMAN has been involved in more than 400 diamond
projects throughout the world and has provided processing facilities
on most of the world’s largest diamond mines.
Some recent projects are outlined below:
(Click on the headings for more information)
New diamond-processing facility for Letšeng Mine, Lesotho
A second diamond-treatment plant has been established by Bateman Engineering at the Letšeng-la-Terae mine in the Mokhotlong District of northern Lesotho, about 100 km from the town of Buthe Buthe. The first ore was treated through the plant on 23 March 2008 and, with final commissioning in progress, full production from the gravity fed DMS plant is expected during the second quarter of 2008.
Diamond-treatment plant for De Beers’ marine vessel
In a R150 million (US$21 million) contract, Bateman Engineering designed the 250 t/h diamond-processing plant installed on board De Beers Marine (Pty) Ltd’s vessel mv Peace in Africa. The objective of the project was to establish a viable, sustainable marine mine producing 240,000 carats of diamonds in the South African Sea Areas (SASA) off the west coast of South Africa, based on De Beers’ new sub-sea mining technology and exploration data on the area.
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.
Namdeb’s No. 3 Plant diamond-treatment facility upgraded
Bateman Engineering has implemented a ZAR65 million (US$9 million) upgrade of the diamond-treatment facillity at Namdeb Diamond Corporation Pty Ltd’s No. 3 Plant in Oranjemund on the south-west coast of Namibia. The upgraded facility has met Namdeb’s expectations and was completed within budget.
Bateman scrubbers control dust emission on De Beers mining vessels
Bateman Engineering has installed Bateman Dynamic Wet Scrubbers on two of De Beers’s deep-sea diamond-mining vessels, the MV Debmar Atlantic and the MV Peace in Africa, to minimise dust emission during the processing of diamondiferous materials.
Modular diamond-prospecting plant supplied to Fenswood in Russia
Bateman Engineering has supplied a transportable, modular, dense-media separation (DMS) plant to a diamond-mining site between Chabarovsk and Vladivistok in the far east of Russia, alongside the border with Manchuria. The lump-sum turnkey contract was placed by Fenswood Consulting Ltd in the United Kingdom.
Trailer-mounted Diamond Recovery Plant for the DRC
Bateman Engineering has manufactured and is ready to ship a 5 t/h dense-media separation (DMS) plant to Jindal Minerals & Metals Africa Congo SPRL in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
New magnetic density tracers facilitate recovery from DMS circuits
A new range of Bateman Density Tracers has been specially developed to facilitate the recovery of the tracers after passage through DMS (dense-media separation) circuits processing the crushed ore, as their magnetic nature enables magnets to recover them easily and efficiently from the host material.
Consulting Services for Diamond Producers
Bateman Engineering provides a comprehensive range of services to processors of diamond-bearing ores to enable the effective recovery of diamonds. These services enable diamond producers to achieve their project objectives, optimise the performance of their diamond-processing facilities and maximise the value extracted from the diamond resource.
Diamond Core Resources relies on Bateman in fast-track projects
Bateman Engineering achieved the tight project schedules to deliver and commission Bateman DMS (dense-media separation) and grease-belt diamond-recovery plants for Diamond Core Resources Ltd’s fast-track projects to bring two diamond prospects into operation in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Largest order to date for Bateman Density Tracers
Debswana has placed an order for a R486,000 (USD70,000)
consignment of Bateman Density Tracers. This is the largest single order for tracers yet received by Bateman Engineering.
Diamond concentrator and recovery plants for Diamond Core Resources
Diamond Core Resources Ltd has placed an order with Bateman Engineering for diamond concentrator and recovery plants for its operations near Prieska in the Northern Cape, RSA.
Diamond-treatment plant for Letseng in Lesotho
Bateman Engineering N.V. is engaged on a R235 million (US$32 million) project for Letseng Diamonds Pty Ltd to provide a second diamond-treatment plant for the Lets’eng-la-Terae mine in the Leribe District of northern Lesotho, about 120 km from the town of Botha Bothe.
Innovative approach to Venetia travelling crane structure
In designing the girders carrying the rail beam of the travelling crane installed over the new primary crusher at De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited’s Venetia diamond mine near Musina, South Africa, the Bateman Engineering design team took an innovative approach aimed at avoiding fatigue failures commonly encountered between the individual elements of such heavy-duty structures.
Continued good demand for Bateman Grease Belts
Bateman Engineering was contracted by Promet, Cape Town,South Africa to supply a conventional Bateman Grease Belt to DiamondEx Botswana Limited’s mine near Martin’s Drift in Botswana, close to the South African border.
Second Bateman Mega DMS Module for Damtshaa diamond mine
A 150 t/h Bateman Mega Dense-Media Separation (DMS) Module was supplied to Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd’s project to double-up production at the Damtshaa mine near Orapa in Botswana.
Demonstration diamond-rock sorter
A demonstration facility, based on a revolutionary new technology for the detection, imaging and sorting of diamonds in kimberlite, is being commissioned at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, supported by Wits Commercial Enterprise (Pty) Ltd, the university’s commercialisation company, in partnership with Bateman Engineering.
Grease-belt diamond recovery plant for Diamond Core Resources
Bateman Engineering has reached the commissioning stage of a turnkey order from Diamond Core Resources Ltd for a containerised diamond-recovery plant to process 4 t/h of concentrate at its Paardeberg East Project, about 40 km west of Kimberley, Northern Cape, RSA. The plant has been supplied in modular format and is also ideal for sampling and exploration.
Demonstration diamond-rock sorter
A demonstration facility, based on a revolutionary new technology for the detection, imaging and sorting of diamonds in kimberlite, is being commissioned at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, supported by Wits Commercial Enterprise (Pty) Ltd, the university’s commercialisation company, in partnership with Bateman Engineering.
Second Bateman Mega DMS Module for Damtshaa
diamond mine
A 150 t/h Bateman Mega Dense-Media Separation (DMS) Module was supplied to Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd’s project to double-up production at the Damtshaa mine near Orapa in Botswana.
Continued good demand for Bateman Grease Belts
Bateman Engineering was contracted by Promet, Cape Town,South Africa to supply a conventional Bateman Grease Belt to DiamondEx Botswana Limited’s mine near Martin’s Drift in Botswana, close to the South African border.
Innovative approach to Venetia travelling crane structure
In designing the girders carrying the rail beam of the travelling crane installed over the new primary crusher at De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited’s Venetia diamond mine near Musina, South Africa, the Bateman Engineering design team took an innovative approach aimed at avoiding fatigue failures commonly encountered between the individual elements of such heavy-duty structures.
Damtshaa doubles up
Bateman Engineering has successfully completed the R84.3 million lump-sum turnkey expansion of the processing capacity at Damtshaa Diamond Mine in Botswana.
Safety Achievement for 2006
Bateman Engineering’s ongoing commitment to safety has yielded outstanding results over the past years. As of mid September 2006, approximately 2.5 million working hours had been achieved without a serious injury with the year end lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) being at 0.14 per 200,000 manhours worked. Bateman Engineering has also been recommended for OHSAS 18001 certification.
Large containerised final diamond-recovery plant
Bateman Engineering has received an order from a diamond producer in South Africa’s Northern Cape for a containerised, final diamond-recovery plant. Diamond recovery will be accomplished solely by grease-belt systems.
Grease-belt
system for HC van Wyk's diamond-recovery plant
A fully automated, hands-off final diamond-recovery plant comprising
two grease belts has been installed for HC van Wyk Diamante at Wouterspan,
about 180 km from Kimberley in the Northern Cape, RSA. A fines grease
belt treats concentrate less than 12 mm in size and a coarse grease
belt concentrate between 12 and 30 mm in size.
Venetia
diamond mine's primary crusher
The new primary crusher at the Venetia diamond mine near Musina in
the Limpopo Province, RSA was commissioned successfully on schedule
at the end of April 2006. This R232 million project to design, supply,
install and commission a replacement primary crusher commenced in
June 2004 and followed on earlier feasibility studies on the project
conducted by Bateman Engineering. The project also included conveyors,
a dust-extraction system, a workshop and an electrical substation
for the plant.
Cullinan
cones plant replaced by DMS circuit
Bateman Engineering has replaced the old cones plant at De Beers'
Cullinan Mine near Tswane (formerly Pretoria) with dense-media separation
(DMS) circuits to recover diamonds from kimberlite feed. Two new BATEMAN
Mega twin-stream DMS modules, each with a capacity of 200 t/h, were
supplied to the mine.
Expanding
Venetia diamond mine's infrastructure
Bateman Engineering was awarded an R82 million contract by De Beers
in July 2005 in terms of the established partnership model between
the companies. The project is expanding the infrastructure at the
Venetia diamond mine near Musina (formerly Messina) in the Limpopo
Province, RSA. Progress is good and it is likely that most of the
work will be completed ahead of the scheduled completion date in June
2006.
Study
on replacing Jwaneng's main diamond-treatment plant
Debswana Diamond Company (Pty) Ltd (DEBSWANA) has awarded Bateman
Engineering a fixed-price contract for a pre-feasibility study on
the replacement of the main treatment plant at their Jwaneng mine,
approximately 170 km west of Gaborone, in the Naledi river valley
of the Kalahari, Botswana.
Contract
to double the diamond processing capacity at Damtshaa
The Debswana Diamond Company has awarded BATEMAN a lump-sum turnkey
contract, valued at R84.3 million, to double the diamond-processing
capacity at the Damtshaa Mine near Orapa, Botswana from 200 t/h to
400 t/h of kimberlite ore.
Modular,
drill-chip sampling plant supplied to Venetia
A modular plant for processing drill-chip samples obtained in the
course of a resource-extension campaign has been supplied to the Venetia
Diamond Mine near Musina, Limpopo, RSA. This project was conducted
under the project-partnership model introduced between De Beers Consolidated
Mines Limited and BATEMAN at the end of 2003.
Special
mention for Bateman Modular Plants structural steel design
BATEMAN projects received special mention at Steel Awards 2005, the
prestigious presentations made annually by the South African Institute
of Steel Construction to recognise outstanding applications of steel
in the industrial field. This year saw a record number of entries.
Modular,
drill-chip sampling plant supplied to Venetia
A modular plant for processing drill-chip samples obtained in the
course of a resource-extension campaign has been supplied to the Venetia
Diamond Mine near Musina, Limpopo, RSA. This project was conducted
under the project-partnership model introduced between De Beers Consolidated
Mines Limited and BATEMAN at the end of 2003.
Diamond
recovery plant for HC Van Wyk Diamonds
BATEMAN has supplied a diamond-recovery plant to HC Van Wyk Diamonds,
the 2005 winner of the prestigious Golden Arrow Award as the highest-rated
small mining company in South Africa's Northern Cape Province. This
plant will incorporate the largest dense-media separation (DMS) plant
supplied to date to a small diamond-mining company in South Africa.
New
diamond-recovery plant installed at Miba in DRC
NLK2, the 400 t/h kimberlite-processing plant ordered by Miba, has
been successfully commissioned by BATEMAN in Mbuji Mayi in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC). The commissioning was completed in two-and-a-half
weeks by a BATEMAN team of process, equipment and electrical engineers.
Venetia
diamond project on schedule
Good progress is being made with the R232M project to design, supply,
install and commission a replacement primary crusher at the Venetia
diamond mine near Musina in the Limpopo Province, RSA. The new crusher
will enable the mine to maintain production when the existing crushing
plant, located at the edge of the pit, is demolished to permit the
expansion of the pit to extend the mine's life.
Bateman
enhances Finsch Mine production
BATEMAN has been awarded a R417M contract to enhance the current
diamond-concentration facility at De Beers' Finsch diamond mine, 165
km west of Kimberley, North West Cape, RSA. The mine was established
in 1961 on an important kimberlite pipe.
PERMROLL®
magnetic separator supplied to diamond mine
BATEMAN has supplied a laboratory-scale Bateman PERMROLL® high-intensity,
high-gradient, magnetic separator to the River Ranch Diamond Mine
in the Beit Bridge area, Zimbabwe. The new unit was delivered within
six weeks of the receipt of the order and will be used at a diamond
mine which is being upgraded to investigate the feasibility of removing
weakly-magnetic minerals from the diamondiferous gravel before being
sent to the gravity-separation circuit.
BATEMAN
partners revolutionary diamond rock sorter development
BATEMAN is partnering the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
South Africa, and its commercialisation company, Wits Commercial Enterprise
(Pty) Ltd, in the development of their revolutionary new technology
for the detection, imaging and sorting of diamonds in kimberlite.
Mobile
diamond-processing plant for Namibian Resources
A BATEMAN trailer-mounted, modular processing plant has been delivered
to Namibian Resources for use at their alluvial diamond-mining concession,
south of Luderitz.
Doubling
capacity at Damtshaa diamond mine
BATEMAN has been contracted by Debswana Diamond
Company's Damtshaa Mine to undertake a study on the feasibility of
doubling up the capacity of its diamond-processing plant to handle
400 t/h of run-of-mine kimberlite.
Primary-crusher
and recovery-plant projects at Venetia
BATEMAN has been awarded a R232M EPCM contract by De Beers to design,
supply, install and commission a replacement primary crusher at the
Venetia diamond mine plant, with conveyors, a workshop and an electrical
substation. This project, to maintain the existing ore-crushing capacity
at the mine, is the latest in a series of projects in which BATEMAN
has been involved at the mine, situated 80 km west of Musina (formerly
Messina) in the Limpopo Province, RSA.
DMS
replaces pan technology at Kimberley Mine
BATEMAN has been awarded a R53M contract by De Beers to supplement
the existing pan technology with dense-media separation (DMS) technology
to process diamondiferous material in an upgrade to their New Treatment
Plant (NTP) at Kimberley Mines, Northern Cape, RSA.
Commissioning
of primary crusher at E-Bay
Upgrading of the treatment plant at Namdeb's Elizabeth Bay Mine in
Namibia has reached an important milestone with the commencement of
the commissioning of the primary crusher. The gyratory crusher is
the first major piece of equipment to be installed and represents
the first phase of the project.
Super
Stone's diamond-recovery plant features grease-belt and X-ray circuits
A diamond-recovery module, comprising grease-belt and primary X-ray
circuits, has been supplied by BATEMAN to Super Stone Mining (Pty)
Ltd (a wholly-owned division of black-owned Ekapa Mining (Pty) Ltd)
at a site near the old De Beers Mine pit in Kimberley, Northern Cape,
RSA. A containerised module with grease- and X-ray-recovery circuits
is believed to be a first in the diamond-mining industry.
Largest
to-date DMS diamond-processing module for Miba.
The new 200 t/h dense-media separation (DMS) module to be delivered
to Miba in Mbuji Mayi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
will be the largest diamond-processing module supplied by BATEMAN
to date. It is an upgrade of BATEMAN's standard 150 t/h unit, which
is now well proven in the industry, six having been supplied since
the first one was delivered in 1998.
EBay
project featured on Namibian TV
The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation featured
a special screening of Namdeb's Elizabeth Bay (EBay) Liberation Project
near Lüderitz to showcase the country's potential to investors.
The Elizabeth Bay mine is an important part of Namibia's economy as
it contributes 8 % of the country's annual diamond output.
Modular
diamond plant for Tanzania
BATEMAN has supplied a complete 30 t/h alluvial treatment plant to
El Hillal Minerals – the first modular diamond processing plant
it has provided to a Tanzanian operation. The plant includes a 30
t/h run-of-mine front-end module, a 20 t/h dense medium separation
(DMS) module and a containerised x-ray recovery plant, plus all associated
conveyors and equipment.
Diamond
process plant for Russia’s Perm region
BATEMAN has supplied a modular diamond sampling plant to JSC "Permgeologodobycha",
a newly-formed company established specifically for geological prospecting,
discovery and exploitation of alluvial diamond deposits in the Perm
Region of Russia. JSC "Permgeologodobycha" is located in
the town of Krasnovishersk in Perm and is a subsidiary of JSC "Uralkaly"
- one of the world’s largest producers of potassium fertiliser.
Movable diamond-sampling
plant supplied to De Beers
A movable diamond-sampling plant has been supplied to De Beers’
Jagersfontein site some 120 km southwest of Bloemfontein in the Free
State, RSA. The intention is that it will be used to sample the Jagersfontein
tailings dump for about a year before being moved, first to Koffiefontein
Mine about 60 km away to the northwest and then to the Finsch Mine,
180 km northwest of Kimberley, where it will be used to sample the
pre-1980 tailings dump.
Increasing
Venetia Mine’s ROM production
BATEMAN has modified sections of the existing plant at the Venetia
Mine 80 km west of Messina, RSA, to increase the throughput of run-of-mine
(ROM) ore from 4,5M to 5,9M t/yr.
BATEMAN
plant for Sierra Leone diamond industry
BATEMAN recently welcomed a high-level governmental delegation from
Sierra Leone to its Boksburg campus where they viewed the company’s
engineering capabilities and facilities. The delegation comprised
the Minister of Mineral Resources, Minister MS Deen, the Deputy Director
of Mines, Mr UB Kamara, and Mr Sadig Silla of Branch Energy, a Sierra
Leone diamond mining concern. They were being hosted in Johannesburg
by Magma Resources, shareholders in a project BATEMAN is carrying
out for Koidu Diamond Mine in Sierra Leone.
Modular
DMS kimberlite process plant for Damtshaa
A modular dense-media separation (DMS) plant to process kimberlite,
which has been delivered to the Damtshaa mine, forms part of a BATEMAN
project to establish a diamond-processing plant and its associated
infrastructure for Debswana at the mine about 17 km east of Orapa
in northern Botswana.
The processing plant, rated at 200 t/h, has primary- and secondary
crushing, integrated DMS, load-out and waste-disposal circuits.
Exploration successes with
a BATEMAN DMS plant!
A year ago BATEMAN supplied one of its 1 t/h transportable modular
dense-media separation plants to Lakefield Research Limited, Ontario,
Canada. In the June 2001 issue of the newsletter Lakefield Research
Highlights, the plant is accorded a glowing recommendation. BATEMAN
Globe reprints an extract from the Lakefield newsletter.
Trans Hex modular
DMS plant
Two BATEMAN modular dense-media separation (DMS) plants to be supplied
to Trans Hex as part of the new central diamond-process recovery circuit
at the Baken Mine were trial-erected at the factory near Johannesburg,
RSA, prior to dispatch to the mine.
Movable diamond-sampling
plant supplied to De Beers
A movable diamond-sampling plant has been supplied to De Beers’
Jagersfontein site some 120 km southwest of Bloemfontein in the Free
State, RSA. The intention is that it will be used to sample the Jagersfontein
tailings dump for about a year before being moved, first to Koffiefontein
Mine about 60 km away to the northwest and then to the Finsch Mine,
180 km northwest of Kimberley, where it will be used to sample the
pre-1980 tailings dump.
Debswana's Damtshaa Project
BATEMAN has been awarded a US$17M contract to design, procure and
construction manage a greenfields project to establish a diamond-processing
plant and its associated infrastructure at DEBSWANA's Damtshaa mine,
some 17km east of Orapa, Botswana. The project was formerly known
as the BK9 project named after the 4 kimberlite pipes in the area.
Oryx Natural Resources
orders diamond-processing plants
The Chairman of the international mining company Oryx Natural Resources
(ORYX),visited Bateman Project Holdings Limited (BATEMAN) in Boksburg,
RSA, to sign a multi-million US dollar contract for the supply of
BATEMAN diamond-processing plants for two of its mining sites near
Mbuji-Mayi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Modular process
plants satisfy client needs
“The range of BATEMAN modular plants continues to be popular
amongst clients who process diamonds and other natural resources,”
claims Robert Abate, General Manager, Modular Plants. “This year
alone we have supplied or are busy supplying more than ten dense-media
separation (DMS) plants to clients around the globe. Besides Southern
Africa, we are exporting plants to Siberia, India, Australia, Greece,
Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).”
BATEMAN DMS plant
supplied to India
A 1 t/h BATEMAN dense media separation (DMS) plant has been commissioned
at the Panna Diamond Mine in Madhya Pradesh province in central India.
The mine can now treat prospecting samples taken from outlying areas
where there are extensive secondary alluvial deposits.
Trans Hex’s
Baken Diamond Mine optimisation
The Trans Hex Group has awarded BATEMAN the contract to supply materials
handling facilities and a central process recovery plant for its Baken
Mine located on the RSA side of the Orange River about 50 km from
Alexander Bay.
The BATEMAN BATCAT
Transporting Valuable or Friable Materials Securely
The first BATEMAN BATCAT system recently installed at the Venetia
Mine near Messina, Northern Province, RSA, is working very well and
negotiations are underway to install similar systems at several other
diamond mines.
Kovambo
diamond recovery plant completed at sea
A BATEMAN construction crew aboard the MV Kovambo completed the structural,
mechanical and electrical installation of a modular diamond recovery
plant while the ship was under way to the United Kingdom. This reduced
the time required to get the ship into production by four weeks and
was the first time that BATEMAN undertook work on a ship sailing on
the high seas.
Diamond process
plant for MIBA in the Congo
Bateman Minerals has supplied and commissioned a 400 t/h kimberlite
processing plant for MIBA at Mbujimayi in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. This is to date the largest plant supplied to MIBA by
BATEMAN and the largest capacity plant running at MIBA.
BATEMAN
DMS installed on ODM vessel
BATEMAN has designed, manufactured and installed a 40 t/h dense medium
separation (DMS) plant on the Ivan Prinsep, Ocean Diamond Mining (ODM)
of Cape Town’s newly procured vessel, previously named the Delta
Pride. Renamed after ODM’s chairman, it will supplement the company’s
existing mining vessel, the Namibian Gem. BATEMAN originally supplied
the DMS plant aboard the latter in 1995.
ALROSA
diamond projects in Yakutia, Siberia
ALROSA, the largest diamond exploration, mining and marketing company
in the Russian Federation has engaged BATEMAN’s mineral processing
and engineering expertise and the banking and financial expertise
of BOE Investment Bank to upgrade its Aykhal and Mirny plants and
to assist in the development of its Siberian resources.
Conveying systems
for the diamond industry
For the past decade BATEMAN has successfully applied its in-house
pneumatic conveying technology to diamondiferous materials and has
installed systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa and as far afield
as Canada. This in-house expertise covers both positive and negative
pressure pneumatic conveying as well as the patented Pneumo-drier;
more than ten of the latter installations are already operating successfully
in the diamond processing industry.
Containerised modular
diamond recovery plant
A containerised X-ray diamond recovery plant was supplied to DiamondWorks
Limited, Yetweni, Angola. The fully erected plant is 11,5 m high and
weighs 28 tonne, but it can be dismantled into transportable modules
only 2,4 m high with a maximum weight of 10 tonne. The plant was fully
tested at the works before being dismantled and transported 4 500
km by road to site.
Moonstar’s
diamond recovery plant
The diamond recovery plant aboard the Benguela / Moonstone joint
venture’s Moonstar consists of four modules - primary screening,
dense media separation (DMS), pre-X-ray treatment and final diamond
recovery. The plant addresses challenges unique to the marine diamond
industry. It accounts for the specific mining technique and pump transfer
system used on board and effectively recovers the diamonds from the
high-volume low-solids slurry taken from the seabed. The slurry comprises
a mixture of clay, boulders, large quantities of sand, gravel and
other heavy minerals, foam and diamonds.
Diamond recovery plant completed at sea - a SA first!
A BATEMAN construction crew aboard the MV Kovambo completed the structural,
mechanical and electrical installation of a modular diamond recovery
plant while the ship was under way to the United Kingdom. This reduced
the time required to get the ship into production by four weeks and
was the first time that BATEMAN undertook work on a ship sailing on
the high seas.
