MARINE MINING mineral deposit . Suitable for handling feed from dredgers and dry mining equipment , IHC offers land-based solutions for inland mining applications and floating plants for marine operations .
At the heart of these installations are the IHC high-recovery jigs , suitable for typical placer deposits including gold , tin , platinum and diamonds , and which can also be used in other commodities .
Soil Machine Dynamics ( SMD ) and Underwater Mining Solutions ( UMS ) are teaming up to offer customers the full scope of mining equipment required for underwater mining projects , both offshore and inland , and in all territories .
The companies said “ their combined expertise , and the strength of each of their parent companies , enable SMD and UMS to provide customers with proven , de-risked solutions to deep-sea , near-shore and inland underwater exploration , mining and processing .”
SMD has over 40 years of experience in subsea engineering and remote intervention , having delivered over 400 subsea systems to date . The company , which has unrivalled experience in the marinisation of earth moving equipment for use in deep water , recently delivered the world ’ s first three commercial deep-sea mining vehicles for Nautilus Minerals .
UMS has delivered commercial shallow water mining solutions and has the capability to provide a complete system including mining vehicles and corresponding launch & recovery systems , vessel conversion , ore processing , transportation , separation and ancillary ore handling equipment .
SMD and UMS ’ complementary product portfolio means customers can spread risk across the supply chain , and benefit from integration of this complementary equipment and services from an early stage and throughout the lifecycle of the mining projects .
Robert Denovan at UMS commented : “ The minerals industry is currently in a ‘ belttightening ’ period . We are now in the perfect position to offer larger mining houses the solutions they need to help them get through this period , and to help them emerge into the next growth phase with a competitive edge .”
Toby Lambooy at UMS stated : “ We can now offer our inland customers exactly what they want and need – a safely delivered mining and mineral processing solution at a price below that of conventional mining techniques , with a much smaller environmental footprint .”
Stef Kapusniak at SMD said : “ We ’ re delighted to be able to offer the emerging underwater mining market , both inland and offshore , an unrivalled capability from a group that provides the experience and ability to deliver marketleading solutions .”
Nautilus Minerals sees key equipment in place
February 2016 saw a significant milestone for SMD as the MV Happy Delta , loaded with the world ’ s first deep sea mining vehicles , left the Port of Tyne . In late 2007 , SMD was awarded with a contract to design and build the world ’ s first deep sea mining vehicles for Nautilus Minerals . Eight years on , having worked in close partnership with the customer , this massive feat of engineering is complete . The SPTs and associated equipment , totalling over 1,000 t , were loaded onto the vessel which sailed for Duqm Port in Oman where they are undergoing further testing .
As well as the three mining machines or Seafloor Production Tools ( SPTs ), SMD designed and manufactured the full spread equipment required to remotely operate , launch and recover the SPTs from the deck of the ship onto which they will be installed in 2017 .
SMD conducted rigorous commissioning and factory acceptance testing on the full spread of equipment in dry conditions on land at their production facility in Wallsend , North East England prior to shipping . The SPTs are now undergoing extensive wet testing at the port facility in Oman which is designed to provide a submerged demonstration of the fully assembled SPTs , prior to commencement of the first mining operations in 2018 . The load out operation took place at Swans , an advanced manufacturing site being developed next to SMD ’ s site on the banks of the River Tyne . It was the first operation of its kind to take place at Swans ’ recently dredged 9 m deep quay .
SMD CEO Andrew Hodgson commented “ It is a fantastic achievement for SMD to deliver another engineering world first project . Our engineers have taken proven technology which we have developed over 40 years , and adapted it for a new application to suit Nautilus ’ needs , and we ’ re very proud of that . We thrive on using our problem solving skills to help our customers make the impossible possible and we ’ re delighted to have been involved in what stands to be a game-changing project facilitating the birth of a new industry .”
Nautilus ’ CEO Mike Johnston commented : “ Nautilus ’ approach in building the world ’ s first seafloor mine was to seek out world class partners , leaders in their respective fields , and SMD ’ s unparalleled leadership in the design and manufacture of remotely operated vehicles operating in the earth ’ s harshest environments certainly reaffirms the validity of that strategy . SMD ’ s engineering design and manufacture of our seafloor production tools is simply second to none ; we thank them for their invaluable partnership and their determined leadership in building these impressive machines , and we
look forward to seeing them in action on the seafloor once our project at Solwara 1 is in production in 2018 .”
Damen Dredging Equipment is well known for its deliveries of standard dredging components . Usually , deliveries of items such as dredge pumps and dredge valves are for hopper dredgers or cutter suction dredgers . Recent deliveries were for a more exotic use : the Damen dredge pumps and valves have been fitted in remote operated deep sea mining vehicles .
SMD as stated designed and built three SPTs , each for a specific task . The first machine , the Auxiliary Cutter , is a preparatory machine that deals with rough terrain and creates benches for the other machines to work ; Damen delivered an electrically driven dredge pump type BP45-1100 for it , plus a number of dredge valves . The second machine , the Bulk Cutter , is more powerful and has higher cutting capacity . Damen delivered another dredge pump and dredge valve set for that . The third machine is the Collecting Machine which collects the cut material and pumps it to the next station . For this Collecting Machine , Damen delivered a customised cutter unit , three electrically driven dredge pumps of type E-BP2320 , as well as a number of dredge valves .
Damen said : “ The delivery crowns the cooperation between SMD and Damen which spans almost a decade . The engineering teams of both companies work closely together integrating Damen dredge pumps in the SMD trenchers . These high-tech trenchers are used for preparing the seabed before laying , for instance , a cable or gas pipe line . The Damen engineering team adds its dredge pump and dredge pipe routing knowledge to the impressive ROV knowledge of SMD , which results in specialist remotely operated trenching vehicles operating worldwide . Damen Dredging Equipment is proud that its standard components are a vital part of the world ’ s first state-of-the-art deep sea mining vehicles .”
Another key component in deep sea mining is the riser . GMC is the world leader in providing mechanically connected risers to the deepwater mineral mining industry . GMC ’ s riser and lifting system is designed to lift the mineralised material to the Production Support Vessel ( PSV ) using a Subsea Slurry Pump ( SSLP ) and a vertical riser system . The mineral cuttings are delivered into the SSLP at the base of the riser , and pumped to the surface via a gravity tensioned riser suspended from the PSV .
It comprises a large positive displacement pump and rigid rise pipe hanging from a vessel which delivers the slurry to the surface . The SSLP hangs from a solid vertical riser pipe suspended beneath the support vessel . The pipe is deployed to the seabed by a derrick and draw
SEPTEMBER 2016 | International Mining 157