PASTE & TAILINGS
85 % complete, we are firmly on track, on schedule and on budget to deliver the RP2.0 expansion safely and responsibly. In parallel, our exploration program is delivering encouraging results, reinforcing the strong growth potential of RPZ as we continue to build a larger, longer-life operation.”
Ignacio Bustamante, Head of Base Metals at Appian, added:“ The commissioning of the paste fill plant demonstrates RPZ’ s ability to execute on key milestones and deliver modern, sustainable infrastructure. This achievement further strengthens RPZ’ s operational foundation as we approach the final phases of construction. The ongoing exploration success highlights the upside potential beyond RP2.0, supporting longterm value creation for all stakeholders.”
Appian told IM that the key providers for the main components are Weir( piston pump and most of the auxiliary pumps), Bokela( tailings filter), Astec( mixer) and Techmatic( binder silos). DRA was the EPCM on the project.
Bokela’ s Jurgen Hahn, Senior Manager, Product & Business Development says the filter it provided for the Rosh Pinah project is a BoVac Disc L176, a high-performance vacuum disc filter with a filtration area of 176 m ². Hahn:“ Compared to conventional disc filters, the BoVac Disc series has a significantly higher immersion depth in the suspension, using far more of the filter surface for cake formation.” He says the filters are also characterised by high filtration speed and complete cake discharge. This results in high specific filtration performance( with up to 1,000 t of tailings per hour, depending on the filter size), particularly low residual moisture levels, fewer filters required and the recovery of large quantities of process water, all with reduced energy consumption. In terms of operating costs, he adds that in most cases the OPEX of the Bokela high-performance vacuum disc filters is typically only 35-45 % of the filter press OPEX( mainly driven by the consumables). The difference in CAPEX is only 20-30 % of the filter press CAPEX.
Erik Vlot, Weir Global Tailings Director, says it supplied one paste backfill pump, a hydraulic-driven piston GEHO ® DHC 21220- VZ, including a pulsation free system, to pump the backfill paste at a flow of max 104 m 3 / h and a pressure of max 150 bar to the underground stopes. The pumping system consists of a hydraulic power unit to supply oil at the required flow and pressure to the pump hydraulic piston, and a pump unit with two slurry pistons, two inlet and two outlet cone valves, to transport the slurry to the backfill reticulation system. The pulsation free system avoids pressure spikes in the reticulation system, which is crucial at these high pumping pressures.
In addition to the hydraulic piston pump, Weir has also supplied a range of WARMAN ® AH ® centrifugal pumps with WRT ® pump parts and WARMAN ® AHF horizontal froth pumps for the process plant as well as the paste backfill plant, for example to feed the tailings thickener. The WRT ® impeller and throatbush combination offers increased wear life and pumping efficiency, while AHF pumps allow for heavy froth and viscous slurry handling.
Paterson Cooke on paste pump selection for the UDS
A paper by Paterson & Cooke’ s Senior Engineers Leslie Correia and Justin Jacobs at Paste 2024 in Melbourne discussed the fundamentals of transient analysis and how the paste pump selection affects both the design and operation of the UDS. It provides the key criteria to be considered before procurement of the paste pump and design of the underground paste pipeline system.
The authors state:“ One of the most important aspects of any paste backfill system is the transport of paste from the paste plant to the underground stopes, referred to as the underground distribution system( UDS). The reliability of the UDS can directly affect both the mining sequencing and the binder consumption; two aspects which heavily influence operating cost. As an integral part of the UDS design, paste pumps are often required either due to the location of the paste plant relative to the orebody, or the geometry of the orebody.”
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