A 12-m-diameter gold concentrate thickener for an East Africa-focused gold producer, developer and explorer is currently undergoing a capacity- expansion upgrade by the plant’s original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) DELKOR, to double its output volumes following a request by the client to upscale their ore processing dimension of operations.

DELKOR, a part of mining equipment OEM TAKRAF Group, commissioned the thickener and flocculant plant for the Tanzanian gold miner over the past two years.

The upgrades are being undertaken on the pre-leach circuit of the plant before material enters the carbon-in- leach plant, with work necessitated including changes to the feed pipe, feed well and overflow launder.

TAKRAF sales manager George Jacob says that although the thickener and flocculant plant were initially commissioned with additional buffer capacity, components such as the feed well, overflow launder and plant piping require upgrades to handle a doubling in slurry flow into the thickener.

Expansion upgrades are also being implemented on the mine’s flocculant plant.

Specialist services and components, such as the thickener mechanism, were supplied out of DELKOR’s Centre of Excellence in India and shipped directly to the mine in Tanzania, through the Port of Dar es Salaam, while the other major components, such as tanks and hydraulics, were supplied out of South Africa and transported to the mine using road transport and trusted logistics providers.

In all, the upgrade project, awarded in 2024, is expected to be completed during the second quarter of this year, following a request by the miner to expedite the work while the gold price rises.

In addition, TAKRAF also assisted this client with process island design for the upgraded plant, thereby relieving the client of having to commission a third party to undertake such work.

Bulk Materials Handling

In terms of work undertaken by TAKRAF, Jacob informs Mining Weekly the company, in growing its offering towards eastern sub-Saharan Africa, undertook several materials handling projects for a major gold miner with a legacy operation in Tanzania, in 2023 and 2024.

This order saw the installation of a radial stacker, an apron feeder and five in-plant conveyor systems.

“This project saw us working closely with [another] OEM, who did the crushing and screening equipment, while TAKRAF did the conveying part and the apron feeder, which is for run-of-mine material,” he says.

As opposed to a bigger linear stacker, the radial stacker employed offers benefits for the smaller footprint of the mine and processing plant, with a reduced reliance on civils and building material during its installation.

Run-of-mine material flows from the crushing and screening circuit to the radial stacker where it is stockpiled and reclaimed by wheel loaders depending on concentrator throughput.

With a boom length of 52 m, the radial stacker operates at 975 t/h, depositing material in a circular-shaped pile. This equipment design relies on a central point of rotation on a circular pad.

Meanwhile, Jacob says interest from miners in Tanzania is increasing, with the company currently working on a few tenders for gold, graphite and even uranium projects in the country.

Also, in terms of growing its presence and offering into Tanzania, TAKRAF is constantly looking for new ways to source materials and components for its plant from suppliers in-country as a means to add value and grow localisation, he concludes.