The nature of ore bodies in contemporary greenfield and brownfield mining projects in Africa necessitates mine planning with the short-term or medium-term in mind. The short life of mine (LOM) renders the use of conventional processing plants less feasible.
SGS Bateman’s Tailored Modular Plant Solutions
SGS Bateman meets this need through tailored modular processing plant solutions for both greenfield and brownfield mining operations. These solutions are particularly well-suited to addressing challenges such as short LOM in many modern projects, especially in the African context, where logistical, financial, and operational constraints can be significant.
A Vast Range of Options
Cognisant that every project has unique conditions, SGS Bateman has developed a vast range of options to suit the client’s specific needs. These standard Dense Media Separation (DMS) plants consist of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 70, 100, 150, and 200 tph modules, which can be incorporated into purpose-designed plants for large-capacity processing. Alternatively, they can be used as multiple modules in parallel to boost output and enable servicing while maintaining plant throughput.
A Broad Range of Applications
The broad range of applications for the modular plants includes:
- 1 tph plant suitable for prospecting
• 50 tph plant (one of the most popular)
• Modular plants in parallel for increased throughput
• Plants used for sampling campaigns with capacities from 10 tph to 60 tph of feed
• Ship and barge-mounted plants comprising floating modules to process material pumped from beds under the sea and rivers. These include liberation modules for scrubbing, screening, and sizing, DMS modules, and diamond-recovery modules.
Necessity: The Mother of Innovation
The evolution of the modular plant has been phenomenal. Interestingly, from pioneering Dense Media Separation (DMS), modularisation has since been adopted in other areas of mineral processing. Initially, the modular plants were built out of necessity for remote sites requiring top performance. As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of innovation.” SGS Bateman has since applied the modular concept to other commodity applications, such as a 14 tph modularised gold CIL (Carbon In Leach) plant. To date, modular plants have been successfully deployed in diamonds, coal, graphite, copper, magnesite, andalusite, chromite, PGMs, iron ore, and lithium/spodumene.
Benefits of Modular Plants
By choosing SGS Bateman’s modular plants, African mining operations are assured of the following benefits:
- Pre-engineered, pre-fabricated, and pre-tested before packing and shipping
• Include mechanical, piping, electrical, instrumentation, and control elements, allowing for quick installation and commissioning
• Allow for future expansion or relocation, ideal for deposits with limited LOM or phased development strategies
• Logistically optimised for remote African sites, with minimal civil requirements and simplified construction
• Faster design-to-production cycles allow quicker cash flow generation
• Can be integrated into existing infrastructure with minimal disruption
• Compact footprint, minimised earthworks, lower water and power consumption, and potential for full plant redeployment
• Process design can include recovery improvement and energy efficiency enhancements
• Modular units allow for phased implementation of upgrades or capacity increases
• Pre-assembly and testing are done off-site before delivery, reducing on-site construction and commissioning time
• Construction risks on-site (weather, labour, etc.) are reduced as modules are largely built off-site
• Dedicated commissioning teams ensure quick ramp-up to nameplate capacity
Why SGS Bateman Stands Out
“When you need to be sure” coupled with “process plants that workTM” that are associated with SGS and SGS Bateman brands, is an assurance that clients can be satisfied that they will get the value that they expect. This is guaranteed from the decades of experience that a more than 100 year old company will provide.
The key to SGS Bateman’s success lies in the approach employed to create self-contained plants. Each plant is carefully constructed, and can be fully trial-erected and pre-commissioned in South Africa, before being stripped down and packed into containers for despatch to the designated project site. This approach ensures streamlined installation and swift operation, minimising time on site and maximising efficiency.
Moreover, the modular plants’ compact nature means they can be incorporated easily into larger processing plants. The modules are standalone, so they can be moved to new operations or sold to new owners.
Unique Offering
More importantly, SGS Bateman’s unique offering combines strong process expertise, vertically integrated services, and a track record of delivery in challenging environments. In partnering with the company, African mining companies can be assured of the following:
- SGS is the world’s leading testing, inspection, and certification company. It can leverage this to integrate metallurgical testing seamlessly and transition from lab test work into plant design. Being part of the SGS Natural Resources group gives SGS Bateman the ability to offer a full suite of services should the customer want to work with SGS throughout initial test work and all project phases.
• With extensive process design capability, SGS Bateman can offer innovation in flowsheets.
• Unlike some modular providers that only deliver engineering or fabrication, SGS Bateman is also a full-scope EPCM provider, which allows integration of the modular plant into existing operations and the addition of bespoke reagent service utility areas as required. It provides complete EPCM services in-house – from test work supervision and concept studies, feasibility and design to construction management and commissioning. Being strong in process plant design, SGS Bateman can engineer its plants from a process-driven foundation using metallurgical test work to optimise recovery and minimise surprises during operation. A selection of pre-engineered, proven process modules allows for rapid configuration and fast procurement.
• SGS Bateman prioritises robust designs that can be adapted to client requirements and comply with international safety and environmental standards.
• As a pioneer of modular plants since the 1960s, SGS Bateman has an extensive track record of successful modular plant installations around the world and in African countries like South Africa, Angola, Ghana, DRC, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique.
• SGS Bateman’s modular plants can be adapted to cover a wide range of commodities.
Total Dedication
With new projects being unveiled across Africa, especially in the critical minerals sector, the team at SGS Bateman is totally dedicated to delivering premium, tailored modular processing plants. Drawing on their depth of experience, they aim to replicate previous successes, offering tailored solutions that have been tested in challenging environments and where SGS Bateman has excelled as a company that is Trusted, Independent, and Committed
