Mining equipment manufacturer Osborn Engineered Products last month secured a R12-million export order from a mine in Angola for robust machines that will enable the world’s fourth-largest diamond mine to process the more competent material which it is currently mining.

The diamond mine, called Catoca, will be supplied with a large vibrating grizzly feeder and a jaw crusher, according to Osborn Engineered Products marketing director Martin Botha. The mine, located near Saurimo, in the Lunda Sul province, is upgrading its primary tip to accommodate the harder material being mined.

He notes that an interesting aspect of the order is that it has arisen through complex global cooperation between Osborn’s Russia-based agent, a Russian engineering house with a design office in Germany, Osborn Engineered Products and a diamond mine in Angola. “Osborn netted this order through our agent in Russia, which is working with a Russian engineering firm that also has offices in Germany with which Osborn has worked in the past. It is a truly international undertaking that reflects Osborn’s widespread reputation for delivering robust, hardworking equipment,” says Botha.

The Osborn vibrating grizzly feeder is a gearbox-driven, three step, 2 m × 4.6 m machine, and the jaw crusher measures 50 m × 60 m. Both machines are being customised for the client, with electrical control panels included at the mine’s request. Osborn will be supplying the machines and commissioning them after installation.

“A second phase of the Catoca diamond mine’s upgrade to machines designed to process more competent material is in the pipeline, and may offer further opportunities for Osborn in Angola,” he says.

Catoca is an openpit mine that is owned and operated by Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, a joint venture of the State-run mining company Endiama, Russia-based diamond producer Alrosa, China Sonagol and Odebrecht Mining. The diamond mine accounts for about 6% of world diamond production and about 70% of Angola’s diamond output. Its proven and probable diamond reserves are estimated at 130-million carats.