C O N V E YO R S Y S T E M S
said Philip Le Roux, Tenova TAKRAF
Africa's business development manager
and manager for the Lumwana project.
The construction team spent 10 months
on site in a tented camp. A local Zambian
company, Karlsons Consulting Engineers
and Project Managers, was responsible for
erection under Tenova TAKRAF's supervision, while the steel structures and most of
the mechanical equipment—pulleys, drives
and belts—was sourced in South Africa and
trucked to Zambia. Total project duration
was 15 months.
"The biggest challenges on this project
were the logistics and an aggressive project
program, specifically with construction taking place during the monsoon season in
Zambia," said Le Roux. "Transportation of
materials and equipment in a large number
of trucks from South Africa to Zambia
called for great management focus and
logistical control. Everyone worked together as a team, resulting in us overcoming
various logistical challenges, however, not
without some headaches and lessons
learned along the way.
"One of the biggest lessons you learn
when working in Africa, is that there is very
little tolerance for making mistakes," said
Le Roux. A small mistake can quickly
amount to a large impact on the cost and
schedule because of the remoteness of
sites, specifically when it comes to the
supply of steel and equipment."
Bateman Projects, now Tenova Bateman
Projects, in a joint venture with Ausenco,
was responsible for the original contract to
establish the Lumwana Copper processing
facilities, which were handed over to the
client at the end of 2008. When the
Malundwe pit approached the latter stage of
its life, work began on the Chimiwungo pit to
supplement ore feed to the processing plant.
Tenova TAKRAF, a global supplier of
equipment and systems for open cast mining and bulk handling, has provided hundreds of complete systems, as well as individual machines, to clients all over the
world in all climatic conditions.
The Chimiwungo conveyor system's transfer tower.
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DECEMBER 2012 • E&MJ; 65