The Merlin diamond mine in the Northern Territory of Australia is set to double processing capacity thanks to the installation of a new scrubber.

Processing will go from 50 tonnes per hour to 100 t/h in the next few months with the arrival in late August of the new scrubber, plus accompanying screen and conveyor belts from China, Merlin Diamonds said.

In addition to boosting processing capacity, the new scrubber will “significantly” reduce the recirculation of oversize material and give Merlin the ability to feed damp ore directly from the pit.

Merlin has also purchased a jaw crusher to be introduced into the processing circuit to treat the trommel oversize material. This comes on top of a dense medium separation (DMS) circuit on order from South Africa. Once the DMS is installed, capacity will again increase to 150 t/h.

The company recommenced mining at Merlin recently via a contract mining agreement with Rusca Bros Services. JORC-compliant probable reserves stand at 11.1 million tonnes at 26 carats per hundred tonnes for a contained 2.9 million carats.

The company is one of a growing number of diamond producers using X-ray Transmission technology to reduce the amount of material processed and increase the grade of process plant feed. It signed an agreement with TOMRA to provide an XRT plant last year.