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Bateman Engineering NV - Jigging Track Record

Rising demand for Bateman-APIC Jigs

Intensive global marketing of the Bateman-APIC jigging technology has resulted in contracts for three
jigging plants during 2005, two in India and one in Europe. These jigs all incorporate the Bateman-
APIC under-bed air-pulsed jigging technology.

The APIC Jig is an efficient gravity-separation process used to clean saleable material from waste /
raw material by separating particles of different densities in a homogenous bed of granular material.

In October 2005 a 300 t/h coarse-coal Bateman-APIC Jig was commissioned for ACB at the Dipka
Mine in Chhattisgarh State, India.

The coal washery at the mine is one of the largest in India, processing 10 million t/yr of coal using
gravity-separation techniques.

The run-of-mine coal comes from the nearby Gevra-Dipka open-cast mining complex, Asia's largest
mine of this type. It produces 110,000 t of coal per day, used primarily in thermal-power stations in and
around Korba, but also in other power stations around India.

The jigging facility supplied to the Dipka site comprises a Bateman-APIC Jig and bucket elevator which
has been installed at the core of a new expansion phase at the washery. It is the second 300 t/h APIC
Jig supplied to ACB in the past year.

The jig, designed by Bateman Engineering, was manufactured and assembled by Delkor Technik
India. Delkor India is Bateman Engineering's jigging-technology partner in India and also markets
the technology in that country. Some of the key components of the plant, mainly the control system,
were imported from South Africa. The modular nature of the facility enabled the washery personnel
to easily undertake the assembly.

Commissioning, by a team comprising engineers from Bateman Engineering, Mintek and Delkor India,
and plant operators from the mine, took only a few weeks.

Also in India, a mobile two-gate Bateman-APIC Jig was commissioned earlier in 2005 by Bateman
Engineering and Mintek engineers for Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Limited near Meramandali in Orissa.

The jig is being used for the recovery of marketable ferrochrome from furnace slag in size fractions of
minus 6 mm and plus 6 mm and a rate of between 25 and 40 t/h. BATEMAN was able to guarantee an
optimum recovery of metal with an efficiency surpassing that of any of its competitors.

Manufacture, pre-assembly and testing was done in South Africa before export to India. A team of
Australian, South African and Indian engineers supervised the erection and provided training for the
plant operators.

Towards the end of the year an order was received from a company in Europe for a similar jig with a
JigScan controller to facilitate operations. It is equipped with an integral pulse control system and
will be the first such installation in Europe. It is fully compliant with European safety and environmental
regulations.

This is the second APIC Jig to be ordered by this company, where 30 t/h of ferroalloys less than
30 mm in size is produced as well as sand for the aggregate industry.

A contract to supply APIC Jigs to process ferrous ore has also been received recently from a client in Asia.

BATEMAN's APIC Jig celebrates 10 years in SA

June 2005 marks 10 years since the first testwork on the applicability of jigging to South African iron
ore was carried out by BATEMAN in joint venture with Mintek, the South African metallurgical research
institute. The mark one version of BATEMAN's APIC Jig mobile plant was commissioned in June 1995,
based on technology from FCB of France, but specially adapted to jigging applications in South Africa,
and tested on iron ore (both lumpy and medium sized).

Since then jigging has found wide acceptance in South African industry, while ongoing development by
BATEMAN, in association with Mintek and the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) in
Australia, has ensured that it provides the leading-edge solution in the processing and upgrading of
ferrous ores using jigs. Having acquired the full property rights to the APIC Jig from FCB and to the
JigScan from JKMRC, BATEMAN now provides jigs that offer superior separating performance for a
wide range of materials with specific gravities from above 1 (e.g. coal) to as high as, but not limited to,
7 (e.g. ferroalloys).

Developments over the past 10 years to this underbed, air-pulsed gravity separator have included the
redesign of the jig body and air system for high pressures; and the adoption and redesign of the PLC-
based JigScan controller to provide improved control over product quality, consistency and higher yields
of on-specification product. With this fully-integrated automatic system, much of the operator attention
needed for efficient operation of a jig is reduced or eliminated and the operator can focus on other tasks.
The system maintains a stable stratification, automatically rectifies abnormal behaviour due to feed or
fluid dynamics and sequences start-ups and shut-downs to optimise production.

In addition, the development of a fines gate especially for iron ores has overcome the problem experienced
worldwide in the separation of fine ferrous ores by minimising the back mixing of fine concentrate with reject
before discharge. Cost-effective and proven concentrate-discharge systems are also now incorporated to
replace traditional bucket elevators, which were used for the extraction and dewatering of sinks material
after separation but are demanding in operation and maintenance.

With the modern jig units, high-tech modelling facilitates design as well as production monitoring, while
BATEMAN's significant operational expertise, acquired through its toll treatment services, is constantly utilised
to further enhance operational efficiency.

BATEMAN Apic jigs process coal in India

BATEMAN is actively expanding its jigging business in India and several orders for Bateman Apic coal-
processing jigs have been received during the past year from that part of the world.

While BATEMAN provides the technology, the bulk of the equipment which has to be imported and the
supervision for the erection and commissioning of the process plant on site, its partner in India, Delkor
Technik India, provides all equipment sourced locally, the site labour and any additional services which
may be necessary.

The most recent order is from ACB, the largest private coal-transport and beneficiation company in India.
This is for a 300 t/h Apic jig, to wash the final grades of medium-sized coal fractions at the Dipka washery.
This will be the second Bateman Apic jig to be supplied to ACB, which took delivery this year of a 300 t/h
jig to process the small coal fractions at the Chakabura washery.

Earlier this year, Nair Sons of Hyderabad placed an order for a 250 t/h Apic jig to prepare and wash coal
at its Mandamari washery. In respect of this project, BATEMAN will be providing its expertise in coal
processing and project engineering and, in the course of 2005, will assist in the erection and
commissioning of the jig, which will form the core of the washery.

According to Vincent Dieudonn, BATEMAN Manager, Jigging, the requirements of the Indian market are
demanding. However, because Bateman Apic jigs are capital effective and contain the most up-to-date
control technology for the effective processing of all size fractions of coal, there seems to be increasing
interest in our products.

"Besides this, BATEMAN was able to meet the tight delivery deadlines specified and, through its partner in
India, could provide the assurance of a local back-up service required by the clients," said Dieudonn.

BATEMAN jig for iron-ore processing

Tests conducted at the Sishen Iron Ore Mine in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa, have proved
that the incorporation of the enhanced technology of a new fines gate has overcome the problem
experienced worldwide in the separation of fine ferrous ores. The new jig gate minimises the back
mixing of fine concentrate with reject before discharge. BATEMAN can therefore offer a leading-edge
solution to the processing and upgrading of ferrous ores using jigs.

In addition, the PLC based JigScan controller offered with APIC jigs for beneficiation of ferrous ores
provides improved control over product quality, consistency and higher yields of "on-specification"
product.

The upgrading of ferrous ores by jigging has been a definite trend in recent years in South Africa, as well
as internationally in countries such as Australia, India and South America. In cases where the cut density
exceeds 4,0 g/ml or where test work has shown that jigs offer sufficient performance, jigs are now the
preferred route, as opposed to other density-separation techniques, due to their simplicity and low
running costs.

An ongoing development programme by BATEMAN, in association with Mintek and the Julius Kruttschnitt
Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) in Australia, has seen major improvements in the technological
components of these air-pulsed gravity separators, and has ensured that the BATEMAN jigs offer
superior separating performance for a wide range of materials with specific gravities from above 1
(coal) to as high as, but not limited to, 7 (ferroalloys).

The new BATEMAN fines gate system, designed by the BATEMAN jigging-group engineers from the
first test-work phase with the client, enables the APIC jig to beneficiate fine ore fractions to required
product specifications. Tests, using a long-profile, half industrial-scale APIC jig at Sishen, had shown
that beneficiation of lumpy ore (-25 mm +8 mm) was achieved easily. However, typical of conventional
fines jigs around the world, beneficiation of finer fractions to product specification could not be achieved
with an absolute consistency because of sometimes misplaced material at the gate discharge.
Chemical analysis of the layers of ores in the jig showed that, while the jig had stratified the coarse
sinter material very well, up-currents before the gate of the pilot jig were too strong, resulting in some
fine particles remixing during the releasing cycle.

However, further tests at Sishen using the new gate, reported on in a paper by Kumba Resources,
showed that after only a few trial runs the coarse sinter specification was not only exceeded, but was
achieved with absolute consistency. The percentage iron in the product varied between 65 and 66%
with an iron recovery above 85%.

For lumpy ore, the product specification was reached consistently throughout, with the percentage iron
in the product easily reaching 66%, with an iron recovery above 90%.

The JigScan control system is the result of an initial 10 years of development by JKMRC, and has been
used very successfully in industry, with one JigScan user crediting the system with an 8 % improvement
in yield of on-specification fine iron ore. With this fully-integrated automatic system, much of the operator
attention needed for efficient operation of a jig is reduced or eliminated and the operator can focus on
other tasks. The system maintains a stable stratification, automatically rectifies abnormal behaviour due
to feed or fluid dynamics and sequences start-ups and shut-downs to optimise production. JigScan is
now fitted with high-speed programmable logic controllers (PLC) offering well known advantages over
computer based systems.

Bucket elevators for the extraction and dewatering of sinks material after separation are standard
equipment on pneumatic jigs despite heavier maintenance costs. However, screen discharge systems
installed under the jig hutches are now used by BATEMAN in all APIC jigging plants to reduce operating
costs and plant price.

APIC jigging technology

BATEMAN has now added the APIC under-bed air- pulsed jig technology to its portfolio of wholly- owned
technologies, having completed the licence period with the French supplier, the Fives- Lille Group (FCB).

A PIC jig technology is one of the most efficient for gravity separation. BATEMAN, through Atoll, its joint
venture with Mintek, has installed 30 jigs since 1997 in South Africa, as well as internationally in France,
Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, India, the USA, Russia and Asia Pacific.

The APIC jig separates clean, saleable material from waste / raw material by separating particles of
different densities in a homogenous bed of granular material. With capacities ranging from 10 to 800 t/h,
it can recover alloys and metals from slag dumps, wash coals and upgrade non- metallics, such as
diamonds and garnets, as well as manganese and iron ores. Typically, in the metal-from-slag application,
the recovered metal has a purity greater than 97 %. Besides the clean product, demonstrated advantages
of this process are extremely high recoveries and an ability to effect separation at large sizes and high
densities. Recoveries greater than 95 % are obtained for coarse material (in the size range 5 mm to
150 mm) and greater than 90 % for fine material.

The largest modular APIC jig, the M9 model, is designed specifically for separating difficult products
that require longer residence times to effect efficient stratification and separation of materials of very
similar densities. This jig was developed from the growing need in the southern African industry for
larger modular units.

APIC jigs can also be equipped with JIGSCAN, a fully integrated and computerised automatic jig-control
system. It results in improved control over product quality and higher yields of ‘on-specification’ product.
Much of the operator’s attention needed for efficient operation of a jig is reduced or eliminated. The
system automatically raises an alarm if separation efficiency drops and sequences start-ups and
shut- downs to optimise production.

Large capacity APIC jig commissioned

The APIC jig unveiled by a BATEMAN-Mintek joint venture in November 2002 is the largest modular unit built
so far in South Africa. Called the M9 APIC jig, it is designed specifically for separating difficult products that
require longer residence times – a critical parameter for the efficient stratification and separation of
materials of very similar densities.

While larger jigs are used in coal industries abroad, the M9 APIC jig arose out of the need in the southern
African metals-from-slag industry for large modular units. Its design is flexible and there is little limit to the
size or capacity of the modular units that can now be supplied.

The M9 jigs can handle between 100 and 200 t/h of feed, depending on the application, with the particle
size of the jigged material typically greater than 0,5 mm and as large as 70 mm. A simple and reliable
heavy-product discharge mechanism has been engineered to enable the M9 jig to extract coarse material
without the need for bucket elevators. However, APIC jigs fitted with elevators can cope with sizes up
to 150 mm.

The M9 unit also incorporates the APIC air-distribution and control system developed by BATEMAN,
which is an advance in jigging technology. These features are well proven and were lastintegrated in
a 160 t/h plant used to recover ferrochrome from slag dumps at Middelburg Ferrochrome.

APIC underbed air-pulsed jigs are highly effective, gravity separators, used for the recovery of ferroalloys
from slag, upgrading of metallic and non-metallic ores, coal washing and the washing of wastes. Besides
southern Africa, they are operating in France, the USA, Belgium, Germany, Brazil, India, and Sweden.
They are supplied as permanent-fixture processing facilities and modular process plants, either under
turnkey (client owned and operated) or toll-treatment contracts. Pilot-scale units are available for
process-development testing.

Toll treating slags, wastes, coal and ores

Atoll offers technologies enabling the production of saleable products from natural or waste
products under a toll-treatment arrangement. Atoll (Apic Toll Treatment (Pty) Ltd) is a joint
venture between Bateman Titaco and Mintek.

Jigging, used to recover alloys and metals from slag and waste and upgrade coal and ores, is Atoll’s core
technology. This technology consistently produces an on-grade saleable metal product with recoveries
of greater than 95 % when processing material in the size range 1 mm to 40 mm. Below this size range,
product grades of 90 % are achieved with recoveries of up to
70 %.

Since it was formally established in 1998, Atoll has rapidly established an enviable track record of projects
throughout the world.

The first BOO (build, own and operate) arrangement, entered into by Atoll in 1999, enabled
Transalloys Pty Ltd to process a 7M t slag dump containing ferromanganese and silicomanganese.
After crushing and screening, the coarse and fine slag is passed through Apic jigs where about 95 %
of the metal particles are recovered. Plant operation is continuous and 150 t/h is being processed.

The most recent contract is from Middelburg Ferrochrome, in terms of which a major jigging plant is
being installed at Columbus, Middelburg, RSA. With a design life of 10 years, the plant will have a
capacity to treat at least 160 t/h of ferrochrome slag. It will take one year to complete and is scheduled
for commissioning at the end of 2002.

An Apic jig to beneficiate 105 t/h of manganese ore was commissioned recently for Burk Mining at Kathu
near Sishen in the Northern Cape, RSA.

In one of the first Apic jigs supplied overseas, Atoll is successfully treating 80 t/h of ferrochrome slag at
Varg on in Sweden. The jig supplied to Comilog in Boulogne, France, reached its full production capacity
recently, treating 60 t/h of ferromanganese slag. The feed to the Comilog plant is a blast-furnace slag, in
contrast to most other Atoll plants of this type which handle electric-arc- furnace slags.

Hernic Ferrochrome’s capacity to process both fine and coarse ferrochrome slag at Maroelabult near
Brtiz, RSA, was expanded by Atoll, in joint venture with a local slag-handling operator, and the plant is
now processing about 85 t/h of slag.

In contrast to the large-capacity plants described previously, Atoll also operates mobile Apic jigs, with
processing capacities of about 30 t/h, to treat slags to recover ferromolybdenum in USA and
ferromanganese and ferrochrome in Brazil and India. There are several good prospects for further
contracts in eastern and central Europe and Australia.

Used in conjunction with jigging, Atoll’s DC open-arc furnace technology has also created a unique
capability to process fine ores and dust, making it possible to remelt and refine fine material from
crushing plants and fine jigging plants. This Atoll service will be expanded actively during the current
year and will include the smelting of stainless- steel, carbon-steel and electric-arc- furnace dusts and
related wastes. This is both an environmentally friendly and economically viable service, as the high
value of the metals recovered exceeds the processing costs.

Clients may select any one or a combination of services from Atoll’s menu, ranging from feasibility
studies, process development and raising finances, to plant design, supply, construction, operation
and maintenance.

The BOO and BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) arrangements too are set up to suit client
requirements. They can range from situations where clients might wish to contract the plant’s whole
operation out to Atoll, to instances where finances are limited and Atoll might even own the plant
through a toll fee reimbursive arrangement.

BATEMAN technologies could help Thabazimbi 

The Apic Jig installed at the Thabazimbi iron-ore mine. Kumba Resources have conducted pilot-plant tests
at the Thabazimbi iron-ore mine in RSA’s North West Province aimed at extending the ore reserves needed
for the production of steel. The tests involved the use of a BATEMAN Apic jig and a BATEMAN Ultrasep to
beneficiate the banded iron stone which could not be treated previously. The mine has large amounts of
this material on its discard dumps and access to future high-grade resources also requires mining
through such banded-ore deposits.

The prime purpose of the pilot plant was to produce a beneficiated, banded iron stone which could be tested to
determine its pyrometallurgical properties as a feed stock for steel production.

The pilot Apic Jig, capable of a throughput of 20 to 40 t/h, was supplied by Bateman Titaco for the duration of the
test. Previously used on tests involving coal, it was specially reconfigured to separate the gangue material
associated with the banded iron ore and produce an iron concentrate with a size fraction of –8 to +1 mm. The
complete jig has a mass of 15 tonne and all the equipment was delivered to site in a few containers where
the jig and its ancillary equipment were re-assembled.

An Ultrasep was used essentially as a tailings thickener and was selected primarily because it is modular
and can be moved easily. Besides having a low capital cost compared to conventional thickeners, Ultraseps
are also process adaptable and have a proven scale-up capability. The unit supplied to the mine had a 3,5 m
diameter and was originally used on a diamond mine which had closed down and simply had to be moved
to Thabazimbi and installed there. It was supplied within weeks of the order being placed and, because of its
compact dimensions, could easily be fitted into the pilot-test site.

The results obtained during the six week pilot test were sufficiently promising to prompt the mine to initiate a
full feasibility study into a completely new processing route, from geology to mining, beneficiation and smelting.
If a process can be developed to treat, smelt and market steel originating in banded iron stone, the life of the
mine would be extended by several decades.

The APIC jig works for coal

Test work on South African coals, initiated by Bateman Titaco and its scientific partners, supports the
view that jigs are a most effective and efficient means of destoning coals. Significantly, underbed
pulsated jigs, which combine large capacities and advanced controls, were particularly effective
when processing minus 150 mm coal.

Destoning is an important step in coal beneficiation. Removing the high-density material adds value to steam
coal by providing a lower ash feed and greatly reducing the abrasiveness index of the combustible feed to
boilers. There is also less bulk to handle after washing, so that plant capacities can increase.

Destoning is also a cost-effective way to prepare coal in advance of a second beneficiation step, such as
dense- medium washing, in the production of low-ash coal for metallurgical or chemical purposes or for
export.

BATEMAN’s APIC jig with the JigScan control technology has been adapted progressively to more difficult
separation applications, including coal. JigScan is a product of JKMRC in Queensland, Australia, where
further development of simulation models is ongoing. JigScan is supplied exclusively with new APIC jigs
but may be retrofitted to any existing pneumatic jigs.

Proven advantages of these jigs are their large capacities and capability to handle fines and a wide range of
sizes. In contrast to dense-medium plants, there is no costly consumption of any medium and the system is
able to cope well with variations in the process parameters. Recent improvements in the jigs include a rapid
response to variations in the feed, the stabilisation of the stratification process and the development of new
discharge gates. Sensor-based and alarm-generating control software now make jigging a much smarter
operation with a higher availability and reduced startup and maintenance times.

Industrial-scale testing of APIC jigs is conducted by MINTEK in Randburg, RSA or can even be conducted
on site. The BATEMAN, MINTEK and JKMRC partnership cooperates closely in the development of jigging
technology aimed at fully meeting client requirements.

Ferro-alloy recovery at Transalloys

A plant for the recovery of ferro-alloys has been built near Witbank in Mpumulanga, RSA, by Titaco Projects
(Pty) Limited, a BATEMAN subsidiary, together with its associates Mintek and First National Bank (FNB). The
plant is being used to process a 7M tonne slag dump owned by Transalloys Pty Ltd.

In terms of a toll-treatment contract, Transalloys is paying for the amount of ferro-alloy slag treated. Titaco
and its associates provided the process technology, arranged for the funding of the project, built the recovery
plant on the site and will operate it until the dump is exhausted. The plant cost R37M and was built in the
record time of 9 months.

Slag containing between 3 and 4 % ferro-manganese and silicon-manganese is brought by truck to the plant
which operates continuously and processes 150 t/h. The slag is crushed and screened into size fractions
and passed through fine or coarse APIC jigs with underbed pulsation where about 95 % of the dense metal
particles are separated out. This process converts the remaining slag into an inert coarse tailings material
which is deposited by truck in the space vacated by the treated slag.

Although Titaco has considerable experience with the technology for recovering ferro-alloys from slag, having
to date supplied seven similar plants to clients in Southern Africa, this is the first ‘own-and-operate’
arrangement entered into by Titaco.

Titaco to toll-treat slag dump for Transalloys

Titaco Projects (Pty) Ltd, a BATEMAN subsidiary, together with its associates Mintek and First National Bank
(FNB), has been contracted by Transalloys Pty Ltd to recover the ferro-alloys contained in a 7M tonne slag
dump located near Witbank in Mpumulanga, RSA. This is the first ‘own-and-operate’ arrangement entered
into by Titaco.

In terms of this toll-treatment contract, Titaco and its associates will provide the process technology, build a
recovery plant on the site, operate it until the dump is exhausted and be paid by Transalloys for the amount
of ferro-alloy slag treated.

Titaco has considerable experience with the technology for recovering ferro-alloys from slag, having to date
supplied seven similar plants to clients in Southern Africa. The design of the plant is based on test-work
carried out by Mintek. Titaco will design, procure, construct and commission the plant under the turnkey
construction portion of the contract. The finances for the project have been provided by FNB.

The slag dump contains between 3 % and 4 % ferro-manganese and silicon-manganese, of which about
95 % will be recovered. In the process the slag will be converted into an inert coarse tailings material. In
addition to this environmental advantage, the non-metallic discards will be deposited in the space vacated
by the treated slag, obviating the need for a new dump.

The plant will have a nominal 150 t/h capacity and be designed to operate 24 h/day with an availability of 80 %.
It will comprise a crushing, screening and jigging process. The latter will be done using coarse and fine APIC
jigs with underbed air pulsation to provide sufficient energy to pulse the large dense metal particles to separate
them from the slag particles. The APIC jigs will be supplied by Bateman Materials Handling Limited under
Titaco’s exclusive licence agreement with the Fives-Lille Group, France.

APIC jig - leading jigging technology

The APIC jig is an air-pulsed gravity separator able to treat mineral and metal particles up to 80 mm in size,
depending on density, and coal up to 150 mm. This significant advance in the capability of jigging method to
separate particles of different densities is the result of a joint development by TITACO
(a BATEMAN subsidiary) and MINTEK

Jigs apply continuous pulses to homogenous suspension of particles as a result of which the more dense
particles tend to sink to the bottom of the bed and the less dense particles rise to the top, permitting the
separation of the density fractions. The pulses of standard jigs are formed either by rubber diaphragms or
by the whole jig bed being moved up or down within a filled container to produce a sinusoidal pattern which
is capable of separating particles between 0,6 and 10 mm in size.

In the APIC jig, air chambers are fitted under the bed. Alternate inlet and exhaust of the air in these chambers
induces pulses through the suspended bed of particles. This system has two main advantages over the
previous system. The first is that the pulses have sufficient energy to raise large dense particles. The second
is that airflow through the chamber can be computer controlled to produce specific pulse patterns. This control
permits a greater variety of operating conditions, which can be adjusted to separate more difficult feed
materials efficiently.

The discharge mechanisms of the jig permit a smooth and accurate evacuation of sinks (dense particles)
and floats (less dense particles). These mechanisms - and the pulse pattern required - are custom designed
to maximize performance for each application. The number of discharge gates per jig is dependent on the
number of products to be produced (metal, middlings, etc.).

APIC jigs can be used for coal washing, recovery of ferro-alloys from slag, upgrading metalic ores
(e.g. Cr, Mn, Fe, Pt) and non metalics (e.g. diamonds, garnet, corundum) and for washing of wastes.

The capacity of an APIC jig can be increased simply by increasing the width of the bed, while the number
of compartments are selected according to the required separation efficiency. With widths of between
0,5 and 4 m, the jigs

20 t/h to 400 t/h and produce product size ranges of 0,1 mm to 50 mm with recoveries of better than
95 % for the coarse material. Coal washing and ore upgrading jigs with widths of 1 m to 7 m handle feeds
of 50 t/h to 800 t/h and product sizes from 0,2 mm to 150 mm.

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