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is situated on a mountain, the
autoclaves were transferred
from the Goldhofer to an SPMT
trailer unit, as it can rotate
and manoeuvre tightly, using
hydraulics for better accuracy.
The autoclaves were transported
to the north bench area of the
project and negotiated into the
autoclave building, where a
jack-and-slide process was used
to lift the large items to be slid
sideways onto piers and lowered
down onto two six-metre bearing
plates and sixteen 70-millimetrediameter
anchor bolts. “The fit
was perfect,” Fraser says.
By August, the first two
autoclaves were on site, and the
remaining two were there by
mid-November.
Brick by brick
The autoclaves are constructed
of carbon steel, with the vessel
shell made of 100-millimetrethick
plate. A lead lining was put
in during fabrication to protect
the vessel shell from corrosion.
A team of 12 lead burners from
JL Goslar GmbH & Co. KG
welded approximately 60 tonnes
of lead into each autoclave.
Currently, at site, a refractory
brick lining is being put in the
autoclaves by Koch Knight LLC
to thermally insulate the process
and protect the vessel from the
challenging conditions. The
lining will be 300 millimetres
thick, comprising four layers of
brick. A team of 12 masons is
working on site laying 98,000
bricks in each autoclave.
“Bricking the autoclaves takes
talent – there are many nozzles,
openings for pipes, agitators,
internal structural components
and so on,” Fraser says, “all
with specific designs to ensure
they are protected thermally
and chemically and perfectly
fit. The brick work started at the
beginning of September 2010
and will finish at the end of
June 2011.”
Article from CIM Magazine,
March/April, 2011
Reprinted with the kind
permission of Canadian Institute of
Mining, Minerals and Petroleum
www.cim.org
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