Mining project reaches design stage
Launching a safe, clean and low visibility method for the rehabilitation of underexploited European mineral deposits, The Viable Alternative Mining Operating System (¡VAMOS!) project has entered its design phase.
Featuring a total of 17 partners from nine EU countries, ¡VAMOS! aims to develop technology for the extraction of mineral deposits from flooded open pit mines.
To reach this aim the partners are developing an innovative system to launch a remotely operated mining vehicle from a waterborne carriage. The underwater mining equipment can then be operated without any adverse effects on groundwater levels.
The system architecture of the equipment for ¡VAMOS! has been further developed into designs for the equipment prototypes.
The build phase should be completed by the end of 2016, after which each component will undergo functional testing before being assembled.
However, due to lead times of certain parts, some components are being built already. The cutter boom and chassis of the mining vehicle is being constructed by Sandvik, Austria, and the high pressure slurry pump is ready for performance testing at Damen Dredging Equipment, Nijkerk, the Netherlands.
Damen Dredging Equipment is one of the 17 ¡VAMOS! partners, and has the responsibility of developing and supplying the slurry circuitry components and the launch and recovery system for the mining vehicle.
Background regulatory checks from a mining and environmental perspective across Europe have been completed. A ‘zero-state’ environmental and geo-hazard identification criteria template has been prepared, and the ethics requirements as imposed by the EU have been checked.
Jenny Rainbird from BMT Group Ltd, who co-ordinates the project, said: “Progress is on schedule, and we are looking forward to reporting shortly on the state of play to the H2020 commission.”
The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
