INTASOL Tailings is a leader in the international tailings industry. This is borne out of its management of operations such as the integrated hydro mining operation in the town of Welkom in the Free State province of South Africa.
We are hydro mining the 100-hectare Free State South 5 (FSS 5) tailings dam and operating and maintaining the pump station that connects the dam with the processing plant. Setting ourselves apart as a front-runner, we provide the full maintenance of the pump station that serves this hydro-mining project. The maintenance of pump stations is typically undertaken by the mines themselves.
INTASOL Tailings monitors the pump station digitally – another industry first. This gives us instant and continuous access to pump station data. Fitters and millwrights are permanently on site to perform both unscheduled and planned maintenance. The mine thus benefits from 24-hour access.
Being in charge of the pump station means we are also responsible for the maintenance of the 15 km slurry transfer line that runs from the pump station to the processing plant, as well as the 7 km water supply line extending from the return water dam to the tailings dam. The process necessitates a close working relationship with plant management which has resulted in INTASOL Tailings becoming an integral part of the mining team.
This project serves as a blueprint for managing a hydro mining operation as an integrated system and it goes a long way in helping us meet our daily production targets.