PRESS RELEASE: “Kwatani was involved from an early stage in this project, so we were able to custom design this equipment at the study phase, allowing the EPC to readily integrate the design into the plant design,” said Kim Schoepflin, CEO of Kwatani. “Our focus here was to deliver a cost effective, fit-for-purpose solution to the customer that is technically appropriate to their needs; which is to retreat 1Mt per month of gold tailings.”

Cognisant of the price pressures on all stakeholders, Kwatani was able to hold the price from the original quote date through to final agreement. Making the customer’s purchasing decision easier was also Kwatani’s substantial reference base in the gold sector, as well as at the Evander operations.

“We also helped the EPC with designs for ancillary equipment, assisting in holding down costs for the overall plant structure,” added Schoepflin.

Four of the six screens – the two trash screens and two carbon safety screens – are in excess of 3m wide, feeding 1,500t/h. The remaining units comprise one regenerated carbon screen and one loaded carbon screen, through which some 2,000m³ of slurry will pass per hour.

“We designed these six large screens to facilitate a commonality of spares in the plant, so that parts will be easily interchangeable. This will reduce the necessity for a holding a large inventory of these items,” Schoepflin explained.

She emphasised the low margins inherent to gold retreatment operations, highlighting the importance of reliability in the way that Kwatani equipment is designed, tested and maintained. She concluded: “Uptime of the plant is a key factor in sustaining a profitable operation in this sector, so we place high priority on both the process duty that our units must achieve and their mechanical durability to achieve low cost of ownership over their life-times.”