NamSSol, the first-generation seabed crawler of marine diamond miner
NamSSol was operating in sediments 4 metres thick at a depth of 70 metres in the company’s Luderitz Bay grant. When it was hoisted to the deck of the support vessel, the upper chassis became separated from the undercarriage. It is believed that device’s tracks became lodged in the seabed sediments.
MV Kovambo returned to Cape Town with the upper chassis on-board. A preliminary inspection of the machine revealed that the crawler’s slew ring, which connects the upper structure to the undercarriage, was dislodged, allowing the two parts to separate. Two support beams on the upper chassis were sheared off, leaving the frame distorted and displacing the dredge pump and the suction boom connection.
The Kovambo, which was not damaged in the incident, was fitted with heavy recovery equipment and was preparing to depart from Cape Town at presstime. It was expected to be back in Luderitz, 880 km up the coast, by the weekend. The crawler undercarriage should be recovered by mid-January.
No employees were injured, and the company says the local marine environment was not adversely affected. The NamSSol had operated for three years without incident.
The company does not know how long mining operations will be disrupted. The current estimate is that the upper structure will take at least two months to repair. Once the undercarriage is retrieved, the damage will be assessed and a remedial plan will be reviewed.
Namco is covered for loss and damage to the unit, and has notified its insurers. The Namibian government was also advised. The company’s insurance coverage includes some indemnity against operating costs and expenses, and against forgone profits.
“This is a setback for our production and is only mitigated by the much larger capacity of our new Nam 2 system. Its daily mining capability has already exceeded that of the NamSSol,” says Alastair Holberton, Namco’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The commissioning of Namco’s new mining system, Nam 2, is progressing in mining licence 36. Nam 2 is expected to produce the principal part of the company’s 2001 diamond production. Two other units are also in operation.
In late December, Nam 2 recovered its first diamonds from a 4-sq.-km area off the coast of Namibia. The stones were recovered in relatively easy mining conditions in sediments about 3 metres deep during testing of the crawler in mining licence 36.
Nam 2 is expected to mine 1.5 million cubic metres of diamond-bearing material annually — twice the capacity of NamSSol. Production is pegged at 200,000 carats for 2002. Namco’s average realized diamond price so far this year is US$176 per carat. The new system cost US$27.5 million. Repayment is expected within 18 months of the start of commercial production.
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