PROJECTS
Midwater Mining System
The project entails the development of a mid-water mining system, the mining tools and processing facility to enable vessel selection and to meet the operational requirements.
Technical
Requirements
|
Criteria |
Value |
Unit |
|
Operational Water Depth |
30 – 70 |
m |
|
Minimum Sediment thickness |
0 |
m |
|
Maximum Sediment thickness |
2 |
m |
|
Processing D.M.S. throughput |
50 |
tonnes/hour |
|
Mining Days per year |
300 |
Days |
|
Daily operational hours |
20 |
hours |
|
Utilization |
70 |
% |
|
Crew Change (28 day cycles) |
Offshore / In Port |
– |
|
Bunkering (2 – 3 months) |
In Port |
– |
mining system specification
|
Description |
Value |
Unit |
|
Indicative carats per month processed |
5 000 – 12 500 |
cts/month |
|
Grade |
0.2 – 0.5 |
cts/m² |
|
Average Sediment thickness |
3 |
m |
|
Mining Rate |
Approx 50 |
m²/hr |
|
Mining Area per Anchor Spread |
200 x 200 |
m |
Mining Tool (Crawler)
The underwater crawler is a remotely operated track driven vehicle that is lowered onto the sea bed from the vessel. The crawler aggressively entrains and pumps the diamond bearing gravels to the vessel. The crawler’s sub-systems are outlined below. Hydraulic hoses, power and control cables are fed to the underwater crawler via an umbilical. All systems and sub-systems required to enable the functioning of the crawler form an integrated part of the crawler system. This includes hydraulic systems as well as control systems.
The crawler is fitted with a knuckle boom arrangement, with an excavating head and suction nozzle. This allows the crawler to dig through the sea bed whilst collecting material.
Click image to enlarge
Crawler specification
|
Description |
Comment |
Value |
Unit |
|
Mass in air |
Estimate |
50 |
tonne |
|
Mass in water |
Estimate |
42 |
tonne |
|
Width |
Layout |
4400 |
mm |
|
Length (Stored) |
Layout |
11000 |
mm |
|
Height |
Layout |
3400 |
mm |
|
Track Gauge |
Layout |
3500 |
mm |
|
Sprocket Centres |
Selected |
5000 |
mm |
|
Growser Width |
Selected |
600 |
mm |
|
Track Power |
Estimated |
2×60 |
kW |
|
Crawler Speed |
Selected |
0 to 0.5 |
m/s |
|
Main Pump Size |
Selected |
12/10 |
inch |
|
Main pump power |
Estimated |
360 |
kW |
|
Jetting water pump size |
Selected |
4 |
inch |
|
Jetting water pump power |
Estimated |
60 |
kW |
|
Slew Speed @ nozzle |
Selected |
0.15 |
m/s |
|
Lane width |
Selected |
8 |
m |
|
HPU Power |
Selected |
700 |
kW |
Deck layout
Of mining equipment with bumper bars, main hoist winch, A-frame, compensation tower, crawler
