Cosira to export South African steelwork for Ghanaian gold mine upgrade
24 April 2009
The Cosira Group has supplied structural steel and plating equipment for the upgrade of Ghana’s Iduapriem Gold Mine. The open cast mine, which is situated in Tarkwa, about 300 kilometres south west of Accra, the Ghanaian capital, is owned by AngloGold Ashanti, with Group Five as the SMPP contractor.
Group managing director, John Da Silva, states: “Work began in February 2008, immediately after Cosira were awarded the contract. As with previous export projects of this nature, all components were fabricated to facilitate containerisation for onward transportation to Ghana. The project was completed by November 2008, and this tight deadline was one of the reasons Cosira were awarded the contract, as they have a solid reputation for timeous completion.”
“The contract involved the fabrication, corrosion protection and supply of structural steelwork for equipment such as the primary crusher and other milling structures, and plating equipment for conveyors and discharge chutes.
Close cooperation and coordination with the AngloGold Ashanti design office ensured that all detailing from design drawings was carried out according to requirements, and that potential problems were identified early, and so prevented before they could occur,” elaborates da Silva.
Project Manager Deon Ferreira notes “A major project goal was to ensure that all elements were completed, corrosion protected and containerised to meet shipping departure dates, in accordance with client logistical requirements. Roughly 1100 tons of locally produced steel is involved in the completion of the contract and, although detailing of fabricated work is subject to the complexity of break-bulk handling and shipping requirements, break-bulk detailing has been avoided wherever possible.”
According to Mining Review Africa article, issue 4 2006, the upgrade, which included an additional mill and a new crushing plant is planned to increase the capacity of the plant from 3.8 million tonnes per year to around 4.3 million tonnes per year, with the CIL plant operating at a 95% recovery rate. (Information sourced from MINING REVIEW AFRICA article, issue 4 2006)
“The upgrade will also be of considerable benefit to the local population, as most of the erection manpower were locally sourced and, the more the life of the mine is extended, the longer it can provide economic benefit to the local communities”.
“Cosira’s expertise in the design, fabrication, trial erection and export of structural steel and platework projects has earned them an excellent reputation on the international marketalthough in the case of Iduapriem, Group Five was responsible for final erection..
“Our skilled design office uses Tekla Structures design software, and has been responsible for the concept and final design of, among other projects, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Bridge in South Africa. The export of the Snap Lake modular diamond recovery plant in 2007 won Cosira a South African Steel Award. We offer a tried, tested, highly efficient and cost-effective service that is renowned for both product quality and service excellence,” concludes da Silva.