African buzz
DebTech is supplying its well-proven X-ray
diamond recovery technology to the Tongo
diamond mining project in Sierra Leone.
Working in collaboration with project house Paradigm Project
Management, diamond processing technology specialists DebTech
is supplying its X-ray diamond recovery technology to the Tongo
diamond mining project in Sierra Leone, currently being developed
by Newfield Resources.
DebTech’s mature sorting technology is a dependable solution
for high-efficiency recovery of diamonds from a wide variety of
kimberlite, marine, and alluvial sources and is capable of treating a
material size range from 1mm to 32mm.
In this case, the dry unit — the CDX118CD — was specified
for the West African project and features an eight-channel photo
multiplier detection system capable of identifying all types of
diamonds, including low luminescence, yellow and boart.
“The appeal of the technology is its efficient diamond recovery with
minimum gangue material, even at high feed rates,” says Gavin
Alexander, products manager at DebTech. “These rates can range from
825kg an hour with material sized between 1mm and 2mm, to 4–5
tonnes an hour with material of 16–32mm in size,” adds Alexander. b
Mozambique needs to diversify
According to the World Bank, Mozambique’s extractive industry
has given its economy a boost, but the country needs a broader
growth model. Mozambique is rich in minerals and it is especially
its coal, lithium, and graphite reserves that have been drawing the
attention. However, the occurrence of natural gas in the Rovuma
basin in the north of the country is expected to drive the economy
once production gets under way in 2023. This has given rise to
several groups jostling for influence in the north and has resulted in
a number of attacks on civilians by dissident groups.
The World Bank states in its latest economic update for
Mozambique that “changing the growth model to expand the
drivers of growth and increase productivity in the sectors with the
greatest employment potential is a major challenge that decision-
makers in Mozambique currently face.
“The extractive industries will not be enough. An intensive and
ambitious focus on achieving diversification, increasing rural
productivity, and providing more widespread access to services in
14 AFRICAN MINING MARCH - APRIL 2019
national development efforts, are essential for inclusive growth,” the
World Bank said in the report.
Mozambique is now beginning to “emerge from a period of high
macroeconomic volatility, two years after the disclosure of hidden
debts triggered a significant economic recession.” The current
period is characterised by metical stability, which helped reduce
inflation from 26% in its peak in November 2016 to just over 5%
by August 2018, while a rapid increase in coal exports throughout
2017, equivalent to 7% of GDP, supported an improvement in the
trade balance and the recovery of central bank reserves to seven
months of import coverage.
Economic growth has slowed to 3%, down from 8% on average
over the previous decade, with a decline in private demand,
especially for services, which was the biggest driver of growth in
the years before the economic crisis, reflecting a drop in consumer
purchasing power, especially for families whose incomes did not
follow the rise in prices. b
www.africanmining.co.za
Diamond tech headed to Sierra Leone