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Equinox Minerals operates the biggest copper mine in Africa located
at Lumwana in North-Western Province Zambia. Open pit mining methods
are
used to access the ore which is hauled to the process plant where it
is crushed and processed into final concentrate. The mine operates a
large fleet of equipment, including 27 EH4500 dump
trucks, 5 shovels, 4 excavators and more than 100 light vehicles
to achieve it's voluminous through put of 20 million tons per year.
This fleet consumes in excess of 1.5 million liters of diesel and
15,000 liters oil per month. As a result, spillage and leakage of
diesel and oil at the site is inevitable during storage, refueling,
equipment breakdown and equipment servicing.
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"This kit has proven useful and we have used
it reliably for monitoring purposes. The TD-500D is easy to use and
analysis results are obtained in real time right there in the field
thus allowing numerous samples to be analyzed within a short period
of time and getting our results instantly. I really appreciate your
presence; it has made a difference in supporting us towards a
greener enviroment." Hamilton
Dovorogwa, Environmental Officer, Lumwana Mining Comany.
As an
environmentally aware company, it is a site rule that any
hydrocarbon spillage must be treated with importance whereby the
spilled product must be contained, the spill controlled and the
contaminated area cleaned up. All the waste generated during clean
up, which is mostly contaminated soil, is taken to an on-site
bioremediation treatment facility.
The
soil is treated using bioremediation techniques to reduce the
concentration of the TPH contaminants in the soil to internationally
acceptable levels of <1,000 ppm. TPH levels are measured before
treatment of the soil to estimate the amount of nutrients required
(nitrates & phosphates) for the process and thereafter weekly to
monitor progress of the remediation process.
To
monitor the progress, Sitelab's TD-500D analyzer and soil test
kits are used to measure the levels of TPH in soil under treatment. After concentrations are below the 1,000 ppm action level, the soil
is either used for rehabilitation of disturbed areas or is used for
pot filling and the nursery. To date 32 tons of 120 tons of
stockpiled contaminated soil have been treated and the soil has been
used at the
nursery and in rehabilitation programs. |
Sitelab test kits in use at
Lumwana |
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Contaminated soil before
treatment |
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Soil 4 months after treatment |
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Indigenous tree nursery at Lumwana |
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Bioremediated soil being used at
the nursery successfully |
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