PROCESSING

DebTech supplies X-ray tech to Tongo project

Working in collaboration with project house Paradigm Project Management, diamond processing technology specialists De Beers Technologies (DebTech) is supplying its X-ray diamond recovery technology to the Tongo diamond mining project in Sierra Leone, which is currently being developed by Newfield Resources

Staff reporter
De Beers Technologies (DebTech) is primarily geared to acquire, adapt or develop innovative technologies that will improve the efficiency and productivity

De Beers Technologies (DebTech) is primarily geared to acquire, adapt or develop innovative technologies that will improve the efficiency and productivity

DebTech's mature sorting technology is a dependable solution for high efficiency recovery of diamonds from a wide variety of kimberlite, marine and alluvial sources, capable of treating a material size range from 1-32mm.

In this case, the dry unit - the CDX118CD - was specified for the West African project, featuring an eight-channel photo multiplier detection system capable of identifying all types of diamonds including low luminescence, yellow and boart.

Gavin Alexander, products manager at DebTech, said: "The appeal of the technology is its efficient diamond recovery with minimum gangue material, even at high feed rates. These rates can range from 825kg/h with material sized between 1-2mm, to 4.5t/h with material of 16-32mm in size."

Among the benefits of the system are its ‘dual wavelength' detection system and small installed footprint. It is capable of self-testing, while calibration can be conducted on-line.

Alexander explained: "Designed to be operator-friendly and straightforward to maintain, the unit offers complete operator safety due to its improved features. It is specifically designed to enhance diamond security, and the compact sorting modules can be configured for higher throughput or for a double-pass process, as required."

There are manual and automated inlet chute gate options available, with a robust air ejector system that ensures no loss of valuable stones. Design is modular, compact and ergonomic, with left and right-hand variants available to suit. The split cabinet design features a heat exchanger-cooled X-ray generator and power supply compartment with separate control and service panel configurations. There is a single network interface for control and information, and DebTech ensures there is full maintenance support for customers, wherever they are on the globe.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations using autonomous solutions in every region and sector, including analysis of the factors driving investment decisions

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2023 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of current exploration rates, trending exploration technologies, a ranking of top drill intercepts and a catalog of 2022 Initial Resource Estimates and recent discovery successes.