The 10.4 by 6.1 metre SAG mill (the world’s second largest in the gold mining sector) and the 8.2 by 14 metre ball mill (the world’s largest in the gold mining sector) arrived at the port of Magadan, Russia on 14 April, where they were placed on mobile platforms for the ten-day, 406 kilometre road transfer to the Natalka site.
The total weight of the cargo was 977 tonnes including 60 non-standard items and 9 over-sized items of 9 metres in diameter and weighing approximately 100 tonnes each. The caravan consisting of 18 main and 10 support vehicles moved at a speed of 5-10 km/hour and had to cross 63 bridges and three mountain passes at altitudes ranging from 810 to 1150 metres above sea level. Along the route, the caravan has crossed 234 power lines and in more than 40 cases, the power lines had to be temporarily removed to ensure safe passage.
The two mills, with combined throughput of 1.228 thousand tonnes of ore per hour, have been built by CEMTEC, a leading European manufacturer of processing equipment for the materials and mining industries.
German Pikhoya, Chief Executive Officer of Polyus Gold, commented:
“It was an unprecedented logistics operation in a challenging environment, which has been delivered successfully and ahead of the plan. I would like to thank the Polyus Gold logistics team, the Natalka mine team, regional authorities and our local partners for their assistance and commitment to the success of the Natalka project.”
