Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG (STM) has been awarded an order for the delivery of one VPM10 vertical stirred grinding mill for the Navachab gold mine plant expansion in Namibia. The project was awarded in fourth quarter 2020. The successful Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) was carried out in Villach, Austria in the third quarter 2021.

Navachab is a low to medium grade gold mine, with its operations located in the Erongo region in Namibia and is operated by QKR Namibia Navachab Gold Mine (Pty) Ltd. The Navachab Gold Mine is an open-pit gold mine situated near Karibib about 190 km from the capital Windhoek. Navachab, the oldest gold mine in Namibia, takes its name from the Navachab farm where the mine is located on which the gold deposit was discovered.

STM’s scope includes the design and delivery of one Vertical Power Mill VPM10 grinding mill, vertical stirred mill using ceramic grinding media, complete with its user-friendly control system and 1,600 kW drive system. The duty of the VPM mill is to grind 140 t/h of gold concentrate from 2 mm to P70 of 75 µm. The VPM mill provides several unique advantages such as a low specific grinding energy (SGE) value combined with high power intensity, simple flow sheet with no recirculating loads, true flexibility in process variables and with focus on a safe and fast maintenance concept. Deliveries took place during the third quarter of 2021; start-up is planned for fourth quarter in 2022.