ALE has performed the unique installation of a new ball mill on the Mafuta Diamond Mining Vessel, the largest diamond vessel in the world, in De Beers, South Africa.

The mining vessel is being upgraded and a new ball mill, weighing 80t, needed to be installed from the quayside in to the vessel. ALE installed the ball mill by using a crane to lift it onto skid beams, where it was skidded into position in the vessel. ALE then jacked the ball mill to make sufficient clearance to remove the skidding beams from underneath the ball mill. The ball mill was then lowered into the final position.

Zayno Myburgh, Project Manager for ALE in South Africa, commented: “This was a really interested project to be involved with. It was the dimensional constraints that comes with working on a diamond mining vessel which made this project particularly unique and challenging.

“The client wanted to reduce the time spent in the dry dock and as a result removed as little as possible structural works for the installation of the mill. Subsequently, we devised a solution so that the ball mill had to be lowered into the vessel at a steep angle and then gently corrected as it cleared overhead obstructions. We managed to complete the installation in a bespoke and safe way, ensuring that we met our client’s schedule.”

ALE completed the overall project, including installation and execution, in seven days.