An operation of distinction
Langer Heinrich is taking a unique approach to mining uranium from its site in the Namib Desert. With the environment in mind, it uses naturally occurring reagents in its processes, as Becky Done finds out.
Sitting in the shadow of the Langer Heinrich Mountain, the Langer Heinrich Uranium Mine can be found around 80 kilometres inland from the port of Walvis Bay in the Namib DesertÔÇÖs Namib Naukluft National Park. Having officially opened in March 2007 after a period of construction lasting around 12 months, the site is undergoing a series of expansions occurring in distinct stages.
ÔÇ£We started out in what we now refer to as Stage I, at a production rate of 2.6 Mlbs per annum,ÔÇØ explains Wyatt Buck, general manager of the mine and managing director of Langer Heinrich. ÔÇ£And Stage II is complete now, which gives us 3.7 Mlbs per annum.ÔÇØ
Costing between $80 million to $100 million, a Stage III expansion will facilitate production at a rate of 5.2 Mlbs per annum and is due to commence shortly, with completion scheduled for late 2010. There is also the possibility of a Stage IV expansion, which would lead to a production rate of around 9 Mlbs per annum as of 2014 and a mine life of about 15 years.
ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre enhancing the parts of the circuit that are currently bottlenecks,ÔÇØ explains Buck. ÔÇ£During the last two years of operating weÔÇÖve identified where our limiting factors are and Stage III will expand on those. Namely, those areas are crushing, where weÔÇÖll add a second crusher; scrubbing and attritioning, where we will require a larger scrubber; and expansion of our leaching capacity. However, probably the biggest factor will be increasing the capacity of ion exchange.ÔÇØ
Langer Heinrich was already aware when it carried out Stage II that there would be subsequent expansions, so it has removed many of the logistical headaches by factoring in for that. ÔÇ£A lot of the equipment that we installed at Stage II will help us at Stage III; for example, the leaching systems are very advanced, with the capacity already increased. And the drying area has already been designed, built and initiated for Stage III capacity.ÔÇØ
Prior to the mine opening, initial construction was mostly carried out by large contractors from South Africa; however, Langer Heinrich has been keen to encourage local participation in subsequent work. Construction on Stage II was primarily carried out by firms based nearby. ÔÇ£We have been in the community for a few years now and have got to know people better,ÔÇØ explains Buck. ÔÇ£People have been gearing up and have been able to service the mine. A very high percentage of the work we did on Stage II was given to local contracting firms.ÔÇØ
This has been made possible in part by Langer HeinrichÔÇÖs commitment to local skills development. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre involved in education in the area,ÔÇØ explains Buck, ÔÇ£and weÔÇÖre involved in artisan training programmes. We also provide development opportunities for employees through the University of Stellenbosch, for example.ÔÇØ
As a result of this commitment, Langer Heinrich is now able to employ a 500-strong workforce that is around 95 per cent Namibian. There are 250 permanent Langer Heinrich employees and around another 150 staff members contracted to the mining site (mining operations themselves are outsourced). A further 100 workers carry out contracted services such as engineering and shorter term projects.
With 500 employees on site, safe working practices are non-negotiable. ÔÇ£Our highest priority for sure is safety,ÔÇØ confirms Buck. ÔÇ£When we started out as a company we put together our procedures and hired some world-class safety personnel. WeÔÇÖve had what I would consider some successes on the safety side at Langer HeinrichÔÇöweÔÇÖve recently gone through one year without a lost-time incident, and we havenÔÇÖt had a serious accident since we started operating.ÔÇØ
Constant engagement and communication with the workforce makes such achievements possible. ÔÇ£Operating and producing on a consistent basis is tough,ÔÇØ admits Buck, ÔÇ£but weÔÇÖre happy with the way the workforce has responded to operational challenges. Being an Australian company, with a mixture of Namibian and North American management practices, Langer Heinrich brought that type of thinking into the project. People are treated as individualsÔÇöwe have a very open-door policy. We try and communicate with our employees as much as possible.ÔÇØ
This communication extends to health education and in particular, HIV/AIDS awareness through a programme run by the Chamber of Mines of Namibia. Langer Heinrich actively participates in this programme, with its engineering planner Myrna Lucas having recently won the Peer Educator of the Year Award from the ChamberÔÇÖs Occupational Health Education and Awareness Programme (OHEAP). ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖre very proud of her contribution to that,ÔÇØ says Buck. ÔÇ£As a result of her hard work we are more involved in the HIV/AIDS awareness programmes than we normally would have been, so weÔÇÖre very happy with what she has accomplished.ÔÇØ
The company also engages with the local community, especially on an environmental level. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve gone to great lengths to engage stakeholders and be as transparent as possible with the community. People there are very proud of their park and we intend to have as little impact on that park as we possibly can.ÔÇØ
In order to fulfil this commitment, Langer Heinrich achieved ISO 14001 accreditation through LloydÔÇÖs of London. ÔÇ£We are certainly kept to a high standard in the ISO programme; but ISO programmes are only as good as the managers that are using themÔÇöhowever, we are accomplishing our goals. And before we embarked on the Stage III expansion we spent significant hours doing a proper environmental impact assessment which we had reviewed by some very credible people in the environmental industry. I think weÔÇÖre in the position where weÔÇÖre not at all compromising on the environmental sideÔÇöwe want to make sure we do it right,ÔÇØ confirms Buck.
But Langer Heinrich is not simply working within the correct parameters; it is leading by example to demonstrate that mining can be undertaken without having the heavy environmental impact that is often associated with it. ÔÇ£At Langer Heinrich we have an opportunity to really showcase not just to Namibia but to the world that mining can be done without having a huge impact on the environment,ÔÇØ assets Buck. ÔÇ£The mining process at Langer Heinrich is fairly unique, as it uses alkaline leach. What is much more common in mining is to use sulphuric acid as the leach reagent, but we use soda ash and sodium bicarbonate.ÔÇØ Soda ash is really washing sodaÔÇöit occurs naturallyÔÇöand sodium bicarbonate is baking soda. ÔÇ£Those are very benign reagentsÔÇöwe donÔÇÖt use any reagents that arenÔÇÖt used in everyday life,ÔÇØ says Buck.
In addition to this, since the Langer Heinrich mine runs along the course of an old river, or paleochannel, rehabilitation is an ongoing and continual operation. ÔÇ£We put the tailings back into the pit, cover it with waste rock and ultimately, the topsoil that we scrape off and save for that purpose.
ÔÇ£This mine is using very benign reagent products and wonÔÇÖt result in an open pit at the end of its lifeÔÇöthatÔÇÖs what I think is unique about Langer Heinrich.ÔÇØ
