Trigon Metals Inc. (has executed its plans to address a temporary setback in its underground pumping progress by replacing the failed dewatering pump at the Company’s Kombat mine in Namibia.
The replacement pump body (known as the wet end) was installed on July 26, 2024 and started pumping water from the mine on July 27, 2024. The mine has been dewatered 25 metres from the shaft collar as at 7:00a.m. (GMT +2:00), down from the stabilized level of 227 metres reported on July 18, 2024.
The new pump body was ordered from Yantai Xinhai Industry & Trade Co., Ltd., and airfreighted from China on July 19, 2024. It arrived on site via road from South Africa on July 24, 2024. The pump was assembled, tested and lowered into position in three days.
The pump is functioning as designed and is currently dewatering at 2860 cubic metres per hour. Trigon has taken measures to ensure that the previous failure issue was addressed through the implementation of the modifications to the new pump body, such as the installation of deflector plates and enhanced meshing and guarding on suction inlets of the pump, which will prevent foreign objects entering the pump.
Rennie Morkel, COO of Trigon Metals, commented, “I’m proud of our team’s commitment and endurance during this period. The team banded together from the procurement and logistics, to the installation and recommissioning during this time. We expect to recover to our former levels quickly which is attested to by the water level reducing by 25m in less than two days. This reinforces what we have learned over the past ten months of dewatering, where we have seen quick gains after brief interruptions. Although the loss of the wet end caused a temporary setback to the operations, we have demonstrated resilience and the ability to absorb this setback, where we would have struggled 8 months ago. I thank everyone for their commitment and sacrifices over this period.”
Jed Richardson, CEO and Executive Chairman of Trigon Metals, commented, “The pump replacement was managed effectively by the team and our redundancy systems prevented a flood like the one in 2007. The team has done exceptionally well in returning dewatering activities to previous levels. Our next key milestone is the installation and commissioning of the 11 level permanent pumpstation which is one of four planned pump stations underground.”
Mining and processing have continued as normal from the underground operations throughout this period, with activities focused on mining above 120 metres from the shaft collar. The remaining original pump is being monitored continuously and does not show any sign of fatigue or potential failure.
The Company remains focused on underground production from the Asis West underground complex. The pumping setbacks are not expected to impact plans and projections previously outlined in the Company’s guidance (see press release issued June 13, 2024).