Hawk Measurement has received an order for eight of its Orca Sonar bed level systems for use in the $2.9 billion Pueblo Viejo gold mine project in the Dominican Republic.
Pueblo Viejo is one of the largest undeveloped gold assets in the world, with an expected mine life of over 25 years. The ORCA Sonar system will be used to control the operation of all thickeners at the Pueblo Viejo gold mine project, Hawk says.
According to Hawk, using the ORCA Sonar system will optimise the thickeners by controlling bed level and monitoring the hindered/interface layer to maximise efficiency and performance by monitoring real-time settling conditions.
This reduces the overall chemical costs and will also reduce the electricity costs on returning water from tailings dams by pumping optimised tailings bed densities, according to the company.
The Orca Sonar systems are based on sonar technology. The transducers selected for the Pueblo Viejo application will be high-powered, three-crystal-array versions, and will require special materials for high temperature operation and chemical resistance, Hawk says.