Veolia Water Technologies South Africa (Veolia) has completed and handed over a three-part project for Shanta Gold in Tanzania at its New Luika Gold Mine located in the Lupa Goldfield of south west Tanzania.  Veolia’s scope of work incorporated fabrication, installation and commissioning of the RWTP and skid-mounted BWTP, as well as supplying equipment for, refurbishing and commissioning the existing STP.

The plants were commissioned and signed off at the beginning of April 2017. Equipment fabrication was collected from Veolia’s premises in Sebenza, Johannesburg by Shanta Gold. The plant arrived at New Luika Mine in Tanzania in late November, with installation starting in December 2016 and continuing into the first part of 2017.  

• River Water Treatment Package Plant (RWTP)

This 30 m³/h package plant treats water extracted from the nearby Luika river, ultimately for use as process water. The process of the plant uses clarification with appropriate chemical dosing to ensure the clarifier operates efficiently, as well as multimedia filtration, activated carbon filtration and pre- and post-chlorination. The water is pumped from the raw water tank to the lamella clarifier from where it is pumped to a clarified water tank. It is then pumped to the three multimedia filters which operate in parallel for iron removal before passing through the two carbon filters. These filters also operate in parallel, from which New Luika Gold Mine can access clarified water for process water purposes.

All filters and dosing equipment are housed in a 12 m-long container with the external clarifier positioned nearby.  

• Borehole Water Treatment Plant (BWTP) 

A 5 m³/h skid-mounted borehole water treatment plant is used as post-treatment for an existing water treatment plant to treat water to potable standards. Veolia’s engineered skid uses a chlorine dosing unit, carbon filter and softener to treat the water for the mine’s camp potable water needs.

This part of the contract required Veolia to refurbish the existing sewage treatment plant, including providing and installing new submersible trickling filter feed pumps, supplying and installing a new chlorine dosing system, replacing the old trickling filter header and distribution nozzles, as well as the associated piping and valves. The recent work conducted on this plant, which was originally installed in 2011, greatly increases the plants’ efficiency and functionality.

“As most of the plants are automated, operator training was minimal and took place simultaneously to commissioning,” says Sean Momberg, Project Engineer, Engineered Systems, Veolia Water Technologies South Africa. “All equipment was manufactured on time and to spec, and even with the short lead time we completed the manufacture of the plants within the specified timelines. It took a bit longer on site to install the plants than initially expected due to the rugged and isolated area that the New Luika Gold mine is situated in, but the Shanta Gold and Veolia site teams worked together admirably to get the plants up and running in the shortest possible time.”

“The phenomenal teamwork between the two companies not only ensured the project was completed on time,” Momberg concludes, “but has also contributed to the success of the plant, as evidenced one year down the line.”