Canadian-headquartered Trigon Metals has been able to advance plans to address a setback in its underground pumping progress by replacing the failed dewatering pump ahead of schedule at its Kombat mine in Namibia.
The replacement pump body, known as the wet end, was installed on July 26 and started pumping water from the mine the following day. The mine had been dewatered 25 metres from the shaft collar as at 7:00 a.m. local time July 29, down from the stabilized level of 227 metres it reported on July 18.
The new pump body, ordered from Yantai Xinhai Industry & Trade, was airfreighted from China on July 19 and arrived on-site via road from South Africa on July 24. The pump was assembled, tested and lowered into position in three days.
The pump is functioning as designed, Trigon said, and is currently dewatering at 2,860 cubic metres per hour. Officials confirmed, too, that it has taken measures to ensure that the previous failure issue was addressed through the implementation of the modifications to the new pump body, such as the installation of deflector plates and enhanced meshing and guarding on suction inlets of the pump, which will prevent foreign objects entering the pump.
“Although the loss of the wet end caused a temporary setback to the operations, we have demonstrated resilience and the ability to absorb this setback, where we would have struggled eight months ago. I thank everyone for their commitment and sacrifices over this period,” COO Rennie Morkel said.
CEO Jed Richardson added: “The pump replacement was managed effectively by the team and our redundancy systems prevented a flood like the one in 2007. The team has done exceptionally well in returning dewatering activities to previous levels. Our next key milestone is the installation and commissioning of the 11-level permanent pump station, which is one of four planned pump stations underground.”
Mining and processing have continued as normal from the underground operations throughout this period, with activities focused on mining above 120 metres from the shaft collar. The remaining original pump is being monitored continuously and does not show any sign of fatigue or potential failure.
The company said it remains focused on underground production from the Asis West underground complex. The pumping setbacks are not expected to impact plans and projections previously outlined in its guidance released in June.
After a 14-year hiatus, Trigon resumed production from the open pit in 2023. In 2024, underground mining commenced, with a focus on recovering higher-grade ore.
Source: Trigon Metals