Manitowoc crawler on $570 million mine in Senegal

A Manitowoc 2250 crawler crane is helping build one of the largest mineral sand mines in the world in the sand dunes of Senegal, Africa.

The main contractor and mine manager of the site, Grande Côte Operations, purchased the 450 tonne capacity crane to help install the dredge, surge bin and pontoons that will make up the mineral processing plant at the mine.

The pontoons weigh 120 tonnes and are 29 metres long, 5 m wide and 4.5 m high. For the installation of the surge bin, the 2250 lifted the unit in three sections. In total the unit weighs 225 tonnes. The largest section weighed 87 tonnes and had a 22 m radius.

Jason Eade, lifting services superintendent at the site, said, “We have been planning these lifts for two years, and it’s great to finally see the crane perform so well. It is working perfectly in demanding conditions and the project is progressing exactly as planned.”

For the lifts the crane was fitted with the Max-Er attachment to increase its standard 272 tonne capacity to 450 tonnes. With the addition of a Ringer attachment, the crane can lift 1,300 tonnes. The crane has been configured with a 91 m heavy lift boom, which can be extended to 184 m with a luffing jib extension.

The 400 square kilometre Grande Côte Mineral Sands Project, which is costing approximately $570 million, is on a mobile dune system. To deliver the crane to the site it was shipped from the USA to Dakar, before being transported 145 km north to the site in 29 truckloads. The crane arrived on site in December 2011 and will remain at the project until it is completed in the second half of 2013, a company spokesperson added.

The Grande Côte Mineral Sands Project will be used to separate heavy minerals from the lighter quartz sand. Over its forecast 20 year life, the mine will produce approximately 575,000 tonnes of limonite and 85,000 tonnes of zircon each year.