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Rössing receives acid tankers

TransNamib handed over 15 acid tankers to Rössing Uranium this week, as part of a project which involved revamping the tankers in order to comply with international standards.
Twenty one tankers were given to the parastatal earlier this year in order to be revamped in line with local and international quality and safety standards.
According to Charles Funda, chief operations officer of TransNamib, it was decided last year that the tankers’ condition had become substandard.
Mpho Mothoa, Rössing’s chief operating officer, Derek Klazen, mayor of Walvis Bay; Hans Karon, chief: Delivery Service, Western Region, TransNamib and Charles Funda, chief operations officer at TransNamib, at the hand over of the acid tankers. (Photograph contributed)The upgrade project cost about N$8 million. The six remaining tankers are undergoing inspection before they are handed back to the mine.
Rössing uses the tankers to transport sulphuric acid from the Walvis Bay port for its ore processing. The mine is the largest user of sulphuric acid in the country and on any given day, between 24 and 36 acid rail tankers are taken to Rössing’s mine site.
“When we talk about importing sulphuric acid, transportation of acid and the use of acid in our processing plant, safety is our number one concern. I can assure you that between all the role players in the transportation of our sulphuric acid, adequate emergency plans are in place to absolutely minimise the impact in the event of spillage,” said Mpho Mothoa, chief operating officer at Rössing Uranium.
He added that although a couple of incidents occurred over the years, TransNamib and Rössing have been quick to handle the situation and no people have been injured and no damage was done to the environment over the past 35 years since the company started its operations.
“The acid storage tanks at the Port and at the Rössing mine site are well engineered designs, capable for the safe storage of the acid,” Mothoa said.
In November last year, an acid tanker derailed, however, no acid was spilled.

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