DRC-based Boss Mining SPRL, owned by Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC), has awarded FLSmidth four different orders for equipment at its copper operation in Kakanda in the Katanga Province of the DRC. The value of this bundled equipment package makes it one of the largest orders placed with FLSmidth in South Africa for minerals processing equipment since its acquisition of Dorr-Oliver Eimco in 2007. The package comprises a mill contract and a gyratory crusher contract, both awarded in June 2011, and two contracts – for thickeners and flotation equipment respectively – signed in September 2011. Most of the equipment is scheduled to be on site at Kakanda by the third quarter of 2012 with installation starting before the end of that year leading into commissioning in 2013.
ENRC has integrated mining, processing, energy, logistical and marketing operations. It operates in Kazakhstan, China, Russia, Brazil, the DRC, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. “ENRC came to know of our full solution offering through a product directors’ session that FLSmidth hosted in 2010 to showcase the latest developments in our technology,” said FLSmidth’s Terence Osborn. “We continued the dialogue with ENRC during a reference visit to Northern Zambia to visit two copper operations where our equipment is operating. This gave the company’s representatives a first-hand view of our capabilities in the copper sector. Konkola Copper Mines was the site of the first concentrator we built as a turnkey project, while at Lumwama Mine we installed and commissioned equipment at the largest operating copper concentrator in Africa. We also have a significant established footprint in the DRC copper belt, with equipment operating at Freeport-McMoRan’s Tenke Fungurume mine, Metorex’s Ruashi mine and Glencore’s Kamoto operation. Our 22 ft diameter ball mill at Tenke Fungurume is very similar to that required at Kakanda and a similar flow sheet comprising a gyratory crusher, grinding mills, flotation cells and thickeners is in operation at Lumwama. Effectively therefore, during the site visit ENRC was able to see all the equipment it was sourcing already in operation and clearly well-selected for the application.”
The Top Service gyratory crusher (Model TS1100) ordered for Kakanda features a 1,100 mm opening, with 450 kW of installed power and a throughput of 910 t/h, while the grinding mill is a 22 ft dual pinion run-of-mine ball mill harnessing 2 by 5,500 kW of power, with a throughput of 480 t/h. The flotation installation comprises 13 Wemco Smartcell self-aspirating flotation machines for oxide and sulphide rougher duty, with a volume of 130 m3 and a throughput of 480 t/h and 11 Dorr-Oliver RoundTank forced air flotation machines for cleaner/scavenger duty, with a 50 m3 volume and a throughput of 123 t/h. The thickener section comprises one Hi-Rate 35 m diameter bolted tank design thickener for tailings, with a throughput of 307 t/h, a Hi-Rate 24 m diameter bolted tank design thickener for the oxide concentrate, with a throughput of 86 t/h and a Hi-Rate 15 m diameter bolted tank design thickener for the sulphide concentrate, with a throughput of 30 t/h.
