Trigon Metals stabilises water levels at Kombat mine
Trigon Metals Incorporated has executed a plan to address a temporary setback in underground pumping progress due to the failure of one of its two main dewatering pumps on the evening of 14 June at the company’s Kombat mine in Namibia.The mine had been dewatered down to 331 metres from the shaft collar at the time of the pump failure, and the water has since risen to 227 metres below surface and has remained at that level for the last two weeks.
A new pump body has been ordered from the supplier and is currently scheduled to arrive in neighbouring South Africa by air on 21 July. The pump will then be transported by road to Kombat for installation. Installation and repositioning of the completed pumping unit are estimated to be completed by 28 July.
The failure is localised to the pump body (known as the wet end) and does not extend to the pump motor or the installed variable speed drive. The causes of the failure have been identified and are being investigated further with the original manufacturer and supplier of the pump, Yantai Xinhai Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.
Recovery
Fanie Muller, vice president of operations, said mining activities will recover in no time.
“Despite the initial loss of progress in our dewatering, we expect to recover to our former levels quickly. Throughout the past ten months of dewatering, we have seen various brief interruptions in pumping. During those periods, we tend to experience an initial rapid increase in water levels that falls far more quickly than the initial drawdown when pumping is restored.”
Jed Richardson, CEO and executive chairman of Trigon Metals, said the company employs backup systems that help it deal with unexpected events.
“The pump failure was managed effectively by our redundancy and backup systems, preventing a flood like the one in 2007. The original design and contingency planning have been effectively implemented to ensure continuous and sustainable mine operations at Kombat mine.”
Mining activities continue as normal from the underground operations, with mining activities focused on mining above 120 metres from the shaft collar. The remaining pump is being monitored continuously and does not show any sign of fatigue or potential failure at this juncture.
The company remains focused on underground production from the Asis West underground complex.