Kemess South Tailings and Reclaim System

This project was unique from the process / mechanical prospective. It required pumping a slurry of super gene and hyper gene material against a head of ~ 300 m over a length of 7.5 km. The technical challenge was to develop a cost-effective design to handle the potential surge pressures of up to 880 psi. Other technical challenges facing Bantrel were the extremely low mill effluent temperature (4° C) which necessitated a detailed thermal transient analysis to ensure the pipeline would not freeze during operation. The number of pumps and the location of pump houses along the course of the pipeline were critical. Furthermore, in an effort to maximize the return on investment, a 3.3 MW hydro-electric turbine was incorporated into the design as part of the reclaimed water system.