GEMCO Manganese project

Two years’ collaboration with BHP Billiton Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) to develop a solution to reprocess manganese ore stored in tailings stockpiles has led to Sedgman’s appointment to undertake engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the PC-02 (premium concentrate) Project.

The project increased the existing 4.8Mt/a concentrator plant’s capacity by 0.5Mt/a. Following on from early feasibility study stage, Sedgman’s scope comprised detailed design, full supply including optimisation of as appropriate of preassembled modules, fabrication using onshore and offshore low cost centre production to the project specification, logistics including transhipping, barging and remote receival and storage, construction and commissioning of a sands beneficiation plant, port stockpile expansion and associated infrastructure.

The plant can be fed by either reprocessing reclaimed tailings through the dedicated new run-of-mine (ROM), or taking the current process plant tailings from the existing cyclone plant circuit through a new online feed, or a combination of the two. The product is dried using a horizontal vacuum belt filter, then loaded through a new automated facility and transported to a dedicated receiving station at the upgraded port and stored in a 143m long shed with final moisture content careful controlled to meet stringent total moisture limit requirements associated with bulk sea transport. PC-02 will be blended on the outbound shiploading product conveyor with GEMCO’s exiting MF-02 (metfines) product to achieve best price to market.

The processing of the tailings from both the existing concentrator discharge and tailings stockpiles will allow the following benefits:

• Reclaimed dam sand, through the new beneficiation plant, reducing waste, extending dam life, producing a premium product and generate additional revenue
• Achieves performance improvements by the utilisation by Sedgman of process technologies proven in other commodities including reflux classifiers being utilised for the first time in this commodity
• Maximisation of the use of offsite preassembly and modularisation – showing Sedgman’s track record of project delivery in remote locations