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Namdeb mulls
production, Pocket beaches (Bogenfels licence), and
Elizabeth Bay. A fourth (Daberas) is located inland
within the Orange River licence.
O
The main dry-land deposits in MA1, conventionally
NSHORE mining by Namdeb Diamond mined by large-scale overburden stripping, loading
Corp (Namdeb) takes place in a mainly and hauling, and bedrock cleaning, are now nearing
coastal section of the geologically depletion, and as cost-effective onshore mining
and environmentally unique terrain of becomes increasingly challenging, Namdeb has
Diamond Area No.1, still known as the become a pioneer in introducing technically-
Sperrgebiet (prohibited area), the name first given BY ROGER innovative mining methods to exploit previously
to the locality a century ago by the German colonial MURRAY inaccessible or uneconomic resources.
administration, which imposed strictly-restricted Until 1990, diamonds were entirely recovered
access after the discovery of the first diamond in onland, but production of marine diamonds from the
1908 just inland from Luderitz. spreading the deposits northwards along the coast. Atlantic 1 offshore licence by Namdeb’s contractor, De
The restrictions have been maintained successive- But the juxtaposition of a mainly desert shoreline Beers Marine Namibia (DBMN) – using a fleet of deep-
ly by South Africa and since the country’s independ- and the cold the Atlantic Ocean, coastal mists and sea mining vessels – has steadily expanded. In 2005,
ence in 1990, by the Namibian government mainly often high winds, make for a climatically challenging offshore recoveries of 977,000 ct accounted for 55%
to reduce opportunities for diamond-theft. Entry mining environment. of Namdeb’s total output of 1,774,000 ct, up from a
permits have to be obtained in advance from the The Sperrgebeit covers 26,564 km2 – just 3% of 53% share in the previous year, with a corresponding
diamond security branch of the Namibian police and Namibia’s total land area – but is almost as large as decline in onshore’s share from 47% to 43%.
the main production area, Mining Area 1 (MA1), is Belgium. Namdeb’s five onshore mining licences An essentially two-fold strategy has been adopted
protected by a double cordon-fence and sole access cover 10,014 km2 or 37% of the Sperrgebiet, although to reverse this decline and to maintain and poten-
is through a personnel control centre from the south, no mining currently takes place in the most northerly tially expand onshore production into at least the
with a mandatory full-body low-dosage X-ray scan Douglas Bay licence. next decade: ‘sweating the assets’ – new processes
of all those exiting the area. Following the original Mining operations are conducted at four locations to extract payable diamonds from areas currently
fluvial deposition over thousands of years of large in the other licences, three along some 270 km of worked in MA1; the development of flexible mining
quantities of placer diamonds at the Orange river coastline – MA1 stretching 100 km north of the procedures and new-generation technology (marine
mouth, wind and sea action were the major factors Orange River mouth and accounting for the bulk of dredging, inshore mining) to recover diamonds from
Continued from page 11 initial shipments were mainly waste, but are now
Pocket beaches virtually all diamond product.
A mobile concept has been devised for the successive
mining of up to twelve sites located between Chameis Orange River mines
Bay and Bogenfels. Pocket beaches (PBs) are sedi- The diamonds mined along the north bank of the
ment-filled (marine and marine-reworked deflation Orange River – first at Auchas, currently at Daberas
gravels) embayments at different elevations which act and in future at Sendlingsdrif – are mainly located
as natural trap sites, typically bounded by rocky head- in ancient gravel terraces and fluvial trap sites. The
lands. After successful mining of Sites 2 and 3 during highest grades and largest stones are found in scours,
2004-05, a second phase at Sites 11 and 12 – some 60 and most mining involves preliminary blasting of the
km further north – is due to begin in 2007. rock. Production at Dabaras is currently due to end
Operations use a compact mobile treatment in 2010, when it would switch to processing material
plant, moveable accommodation camp and new trucked from Sendlingsdrif. Only Auchas and Daberas
work patterns based on a rotational shift working have been partially mined to date, with significant
arrangement- 14 days on/14 days off- with two resources still remaining at Arisdrift, Auchas Lower,
production and engineering teams. Site 2 was due Auchas (remnant mining), Obib and Sendlingsdrif.
to shut down at the end of 2006, with most of its Satellite image showing the Sperrgebiet area and types In 2005, Dabaras produced 128,889 carats, with 5.4
equipment moved to Sites 11 and 12. But as these of diamond placer deposition Mt treated at its and overburden stripping of 8.4 Mt.
lie some 20 metres below sea level an entirely This accounted for 7% of Namdeb carat recoveries
new mining process is to be deployed. A purpose- deflation grits on the surface. The current mine en- and 15% of its US$540 million sales revenue in 2005.
designed 200 t diesel-driven cutter-suction (CS) tered production in 1991 to treat unconsolidated ma- due to the large average size and quality of the
dredge will be used to remove sand overburden from terial, and since 2004 the harder, cemented material stones.
flooded areas behind a “cut-off ” sea wall, enabling under a US$61 million life-of-mine extension project
diamondiferous gravels to be recovered from the – providing for a doubling of production, prolonging MOVING TOWARDS THE FUTURE
drained, exposed bedrock. Under Namdeb’s 2006 mining by six to ten years. This involved construction Namdeb has devised a revolutionary approach to
capital spending programme, US$15 million, was of a new liberation treatment plant section. Ramp-up mining resources previously deemed unmineable
allocated for PB phase two, including the cost of the to full production has been hampered mainly to the – in both technical and economic terms – by
dredge, construction of which was completed in July premature wear of newly-installed primary crusher developing new-generation technology. These
2007 by Netherlands-based Vosta LMG. equipment caused by ore abrasiveness, and front- essentially involve Namdeb going to sea in the
The 50 m long dredge – with a 1,500 t/hr stripping end dewatering constraints. Innovative solutions search for additional diamond-bearing material, and
capacity – was due to be commissioned in November have been applied by the mine manager, Gert Nissen, involve the mining of hitherto untapped inshore
2006, with the treatment plant to be moved from and his team, with most of the problems now largely and marine resources for onshore treatment which
Site 2 in January 2007 and full operations set to start resolved. A new haulage fleet acquired in 2005 has could potentially enable the additional recovery of
three months or so later. improved mining utilisation and lowered costs. very large quantities of diamonds. The two main
However, because the dredge was damaged Production has approximately doubled to in initiatives are the Marine Dredging Project (MDP) and
and some components lost in transit from Durban to excess of 200,000 ct/y, around a quarter of Namdeb’s the Inshore Mining Project (IMP), currently at the pre-
Luderitz due to rough seas in September 2006, imple- total onshore recoveries, while remaining below feasibility, testing and development stages.
mentation has been delayed by about three months target. But performance improved in 2006, with ac-
to mid- 2007, Namdeb’s general manager, Chris tual output expected to be much closer the 348,000 Marine dredging project
Sivertsen has confirmed. The dredge components ct year target, and the mine recorded its best-ever If this proves successful it would be a huge step
that did arrive safely have been assembled on site monthly output in July. Although Elizabeth Bay towards prolonging onshore mining, by tapping a
and the lost components are currently being remanu- diamonds are mainly smaller sized stones, there is large proportion of the Atlantic 1 marine diamond
factured in Malaysia and are due to be delivered in strong demand for these categories from the Indian resource which is currently uneconomic or
February 2007. cutting industry. unmineable by deep-sea mining vessels. The aim is
Sites 11 and 12 contain a grade-rich resource, Continuous operations began in mid-2005, with to profitably access mainly lower-grade resources in
two-thirds in Block 11A right on the beach just above an increase in directly-employed workers to just both shallow and deep-water areas with a trailing
the high water mark, with recoveries of 580,000 ct under 300 (99% Namibians), plus another 100-150 suction hopper dredge (TSHD), effectively ‘using a
currently forecast during a two-year project life. The contract employees. Mining – by 100 x 100 m blocks sea resource to make it treatable on land’, according
wall is formed by cutting a slot in sections at a time – is progressively moving nearer to the shore, now to Namdeb assistant general manager for projects,
along the shoreline down to the bedrock and filling about 2 km away. At current extraction rates, produc- Tjaart Willemse.
it with a slurry of cement and stones which solidifies, tion from this area will continue for another four A 2005 initial trial using the Vasco da Gama at
forming an impermeable barrier. The cutter dredge years, with a further 3-5 years of mining the accreted Chameis Bay evaluated technical risks and proved
expands and deepens the initial flooded area to beach deposits. Drilling and blasting is needed to the practicality of mining diamond-bearing material
about 15 m depth by pumping out overburden over fragment cemented material into a manageable size offshore using a TSHD for pumping onshore via a
the wall. When mining of the initial area is completed for loading and hauling to plant. pipeline. Further trials in the deeper deposit areas
the dredge will cut its way to Site 12, where the Consolidated material enters wet gyratory primary of Atlantic 1 were conducted in the first half of 2006
process will be repeated. crusher, with secondary and tertiary crushing until to evaluate the technology’s economic viability. The
all material is 6 mm and below. In the recovery plant final TSHD design will be operate at between 18-135
Elizabeth Bay section, dense-media separation (DMS) is used to m water depths, mining at some 900 m2/hr, using
This is currently the largest placer diamond deposit concentrate high density material in the end product up to four drills plus possibly a crawler to penetrate
mined anywhere in the world, and is located just to of the liberation section. After recovery by a two- the 4-10 m of sediment covering the main seabed
the south of Luderitz, the mine’s service base. The stream X-ray circuit, concentrate goes to a Raven resource. Recovered gravels would be pumped
orebody lies within a north-south trending valley single particle sorter (SPS) using a laser as a source to ashore through a 1.2 m diameter flexible-ended
wind corridor some 7 km long (inland from the shore) seperate diamond and non-diamond particles. The steel pipeline. Dredged material will be taken to
and 3 km wide, and comprises a basal succession of final product is canned for weekly shipment to the a pipeline connection point near the coast, using
cemented grits and sandstones, an intermediate suc- Oranjemund sort house. Efficiency has dramatically hopper capacities of up to 33,000 m3. The material
cession of compacted grits and sands with superficial improved since commissioning, with only 5% waste; Continued on page 14
Continued from page 12 The project scope covers the complete inshore
will be pumped into old mined-out paddocks, which area along MA1 comprising two distinct areas – the
after de-watering will be hauled to an onshore inter-tidal corridor (ITC) and ultra-shallow water
treatment plant. Under the current project timescale (USW). The ITC are the linear beaches from west of
a commercial-scale marine dredging treatment the current limit of conventional mining operations
plant would be commissioned by 2009. Treating to the low water mark. The USW, also referred to as
wet clayish ore containing shells will be the main the surf zone area, extends west of the low water
design challenge, with a test plant currently under mark out to the 15 m isobath. The SBP business case
construction to process some 750,000 t of material for inshore mining is based on sufficient confidence
pumped ashore during the Atlantic 1 dredging in the potential resource for large-scale investment to
trial, due to be commissioned in the first quarter of investigate the feasibility of ‘economic and substan-
2007. Once evaluated, treatment information will be tive’ mining operations.
used for a feasibility study to be completed in the Two self-propelled and self-elevating machines,
first half of 2008, followed by detailed design and the Jet Rig and the Seawalker, have been constructed
construction of a larger, commercial-scale plant. for bulk sampling and trial mining in the ITC and
Namdeb’s SBP currently projects marine dredg- USW respectively, and are effectively prototypes for
ing output of 664,000 ct to the end of 2010, some The cutter-suction marine dredge designed for use in vertical attack mining systems (VAMS) to be designed
330,000 ct/y. But marine dredging could ultimately mining pocket beaches for commercial mining of both areas. Both can
produce far greater volumes over a period extending extract diamond-bearing gravel from bedrock gullies.
beyond 2020. Only a small portion of Atlantic 1 Inshore mining project Current VAMS design concepts include a mining
– 30 km2 or 0.5% of the 6,089 km2 licence area has The development of on-beach and off-beach new tool sliding support leg or sliding support tower to
been mined to date. T generation mining systems is currently at the which a jet pump mining tool would be attached,
he current estimated resource – of some 12 Mct pre-feasibility stage. The aim is to complete full- with umbilicals for electricals, sea water intake and
– covers 167 km2 or just under 3% of Atlantic 1 (which scale sampling programmes and critical systems for conveying mined material to shore (with pumps
is sectioned into 10 m2 blocks), but the provisional development by the end of 2007, followed by located inside the VAMS platform), where on-beach
‘global’ resource covers a much larger area of 1,400 feasibility studies to determine if inshore mining is dewatering and primary/secondary screening plants
km2, almost a quarter of the licence area, of which economically viable. If the present project schedule is would be located, with final recovery at existing MA1
586 km2 has been sampled. This could be mined by adhered to, mining operations could start in 2008/09 onshore plants. The Jet Rig is currently fitted with
marine dredging at a 0.1% cut-off, with potential and depending on the size of the identified resource a 250 mm diameter Mark 2 annular jet pump tool
recoveries of over 30 Mct. could continue beyond 2020. – 67% lighter than the Mark 1 – with design work in
progress for an even lighter Mark 3, while a wet gully
mining suction tool prototype is at the design stage.
The 160 t diesel/hydraulic-powered Seawalker was
procured in 2003 for USW sampling from Seacore of
STOPPING Power! the UK and was adapted from drilling platforms used
in the North Sea. It comprises an eight-legged WSEP,
which has been tested as a gully mining machine
The Twiflex GMR series, caliper disc brake, solves many
braking concerns on both Draglines and Shovels. prototype in the MA1 dredge pond. The Seawalker
is essentially a modular jacking platform, with 12 m
- Significantly less “down time” for repairs or maintenance long legs, enabling it to mine down to the USW
- Both light weight and modular in design. One caliper weighs just bedrock at 10 m. The 300 t electro-hydraulic Jet Rig
32kg is an eight-legged walking and turning self-elevating
- Designed for both emergency and non emergency stops
- Reduced risk of overheating platform developed which uses a 250 mm primary
- Spring applied – low pressure, air release “Namdeb mining tool and a 125 mm secondary clean-up tool,
has devised a with onboard screening by a 30 t/h DMS unit.
Key project objectives include completing bulk
revolutionary sampling and trial mining, obtaining an onshore indi-
approach cated resource estimate, and finalising VAMS design
by the third quarter of 2007, with an inshore mining
to mining feasibility study by the third quarter of 2008.
resources
previously Uubvlei engineering complex
One of Namdeb’s unique assets is the engineer-
deemed ing workshop complex at Uubvlei in MA1, which
unmineable” comprises a self-sufficient maintenance facility.
Uubvlei services Namdeb’s entire earth-moving and
mining fleet, along with all other vehicles, and also
has the capacity for the design of purpose-built or
specially-adapted equipment. Very little mainte-
Twiflex Limited
The Green, Twickenham, nance is currently out-sourced and there is a test
Middlesex TW2 5AQ, England facility to check repaired vehicles. The vehicle fleet
CUSTOMER ENQUIRIES: will diminish as bulk earth moving operations are
Telephone: +44 208 893 9622 cut-back, inevitably reducing economies of scale for
Facsimile: +44 208 894 6056 a stand-alone complex. Future options for Uubvlei
Website: www.twiflex.com are currently being assessed, ranging from providing
Email: sales@twiflex.co.uk
ADVANCED BRAKING TECHNOLOGY repair facilities to other mining operations or scaling
it back and moving progressively to outsourcing.