The Erongo Desalination Plant (EDP) is able to produce about 20 million
cubic metres of potable water each year (currently it is producing 12
million cubic metres of water).
In the distance is the Erongo Desalination Plant pumphouse. The photo
was taken from the front of the desalination plant.
www.miningmirror.co.za
JANUARY 2019 MINING MIRROR
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The Maxi Stock Integration Project was
completed in July 2015. All equipment
and parts stored in the logistics yard were
catalogued by data classification and
stock coding and stored in containers for
protection from the elements.
Trekkopje was going to use a heap leach
method to extract uranium, which requires
a lot of water, but which is not readily
available in the desert. The desalination
plant was built for one specific reason: to
ensure a continuous supply of good quality
water to the mine. The water produced
by the plant would be carried across the
desert to Trekkopje by a 48km-pipeline
measuring 800mm in diameter and being
equipped with three pumping stations. A
132kV power line was also built along the
pipeline to supply electricity to the plant.
At peak activity, the mine was expected
to use about 12 million cubic metres
of water, so there was always going to
be approximately eight million cubic
metres in surplus, which would have been
available to industrial and domestic users
in the Erongo region. So, when Trekkopje
never actually started producing uranium,
the town of Swakopmund, various mega
uranium mining operations, and most
of all, NamWater, were presented with
a very welcome surprise. At any time,
20 million cubic metres is available for
other users, and mines like Husab and
Rössing are major beneficiaries. In fact,
Husab’s fortunes are totally dependent
on the water provided by the desalination
plant. The mine started operating about
four years ago and has been using water
produced at the Erongo plant since day
one of operation. b
Lessons from the past