Pipe Center, the UK’s leading industrial and building services supplier, has won a contract to supply specialist pipework, valves and fittings for a £130m project to re-develop a Devon tungsten mine.
The Drakelands Mine project, at Hemerdon, near Plymouth, has one of the largest deposits of tungsten in the world, and is being re-opened by Australian company Wolf Minerals.
Contractor GR Engineering Services is building the new process plant for Wolf and, once commissioned in 2015, Drakelands Mine will be the first new metal mine to be opened in the UK for 45 years, providing jobs and an economic boost for the regional and national economies.
Following site visits by the client and contractor to see Pipe Center’s facilities, orders were placed for a wide range of customised valves and large carbon steel pipework up to 24in diameter.
Valvestock, Pipe Center’s valve and actuator arm, has joined forces with the company’s specialist steel Fabrication facility to deliver the project.
Valvestock, which is project managing the supply contract, liaised with the mine owner and contractor in the UK and Australia to confirm the project’s detailed technical requirements. The Fareham-based company is also providing engineering site support, and local support via external sales and the Pipe Center branch network in Devon.
It has already supplied initial orders for butterfly valves and diaphragm valves, in sizes from 25mm to 500mm in diameter. Current orders include manual and actuated butterfly valves, manual diaphragm valves, control valves, check valves as well as manual and actuated ball valves.
Engineered specials include positioning butterfly valves, extended spindles and chain-wheel operated diaphragm valves. Valvestock worked closely with GR Engineering Services on the specification of the valves, including recommending the use of soft rubber-lined valves to handle the abrasive ore particles being transported.
Due to the challenging nature of the mine environment, the Class One welded pipework built by Pipe Center’s Fabrication facility required 10per cent non-destructive testing and a special epoxy paint finish. Finished pipework was shot-blasted before being sealed with two coats of goose-wing grey epoxy coating.
Sections were then carefully wrapped to protect the finish during transport to the mine. Rock containing the tungsten ore wolframite will be crushed into fine particles before travelling along the pipes in various sections, with the heavier tungsten particles falling out of suspension for collection and export to specialist manufacturers overseas.
Tungsten’s primary use is as the wear-resistant material in cutting and drilling tools and for hardening steel, as well as for use in light-bulb filaments and for a range of commercial and military applications.
Tungsten is almost as hard as diamond and has one of the highest melting points of any mineral. Adding a small amount to steel makes it far harder and resistant to stress and heat, with big benefits for industry.
It was discovered at Hemerdon in 1867 and worked during the two World Wars. However, global demand has increased significantly, in large part due to growth in China, and is to forecast to continue rising, making mining at Hemerdon viable once again.
Marcus Sampson, Industrial Development Director of Pipe Center and Climate Center, said: “A key in our successful bid was Pipe Center’s ability to deliver a range of specialist engineering services in a co-ordinated way. Valvestock’s knowledge in its specialist field is second to none, while Fabrication is a leader in the design and construction of large scale pipework.”
He added: “When you bring these Value Added Services together with our national branch network, providing local support in the immediate vicinity of the project, it amounts to an unbeatable package - and offers a seamless service for the customer that simply cannot be matched.”
Ronald O’Neil, site project engineer for GR Engineering Services (UK) Limited, said: “Pipe Center has excellent facilities, technical knowledge and a positive approach. It has enabled us to source this important equipment from a single supplier, who understands our needs and what we want to achieve.
“Pipework and associated concrete, structural steel and mechanical equipment are now being installed on site, and we will continue to work closely with Pipe Center as the project progresses through construction and into commissioning.”
The Drakelands Mine project is due to commence production in the second half of 2015.
