Name and location
Seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant, Namibia.

Project description
The project will involve the construction of a 55 000-m³/d desalination plant, near Swakopmund.

The plant will supply water for Uramin's Trekkopje uranium project located about 65 km inland.

The plant is expected to provide 20-million cubic metres of water a year to the mine initially. An expansion project to the project could double the capacity to tackle the needs of nearby residents, as well as, possibly, other mines.

The seawater intake for the project will be located about 1 000 m beyond the surf zone, which will ensure that relatively clean water, low in suspended solids, is supplied to the process. However, as the coastline is renowned for its rich plankton growth and sulphur upwellings, which require superior treatment compared with conventional multimedia filtration, coarse and fine screening has been included upstream of the ultrafiltration plant.

The potable water will be pumped inland to the Trekkopje opencast uranium mine, where the heap-leach process will be used for the extraction and recovery of uranium.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
The construction of the plant is expected to start early in 2008, with initial production expected by 2008/9.

Breakdown of main contracts
Not stated.

Client
Uramin.

Latest developments
Keyplan has been awarded the contract to supply the SWRO plant to Uramin.

Participants
Keyplan (SWRO plant), Toray (SWRO membranes), Norit X-Flow (membranes, skids, engineering and commissioning), Composite Industries (pressure vessels), and Energy Recover (energy recovery system).

Construction materials
Not stated.

On budget and on time?
Not stated.

Contact details for project information
Keyplan MD Ralph Jones, tel +27 11 444 8120 or fax +27 11 444 8014.