After a break enforced by bad weather, work resumed on August 21 to recover around 3,300 t of zinc concentrates, originally produced at Outokumpu Oyj's Tara operation in Ireland, which were lost when the mini-bulk carrier Jambo was wrecked off the coast of northwest Scotland at the end of June. Speaking to Mining Journal this week, John Halfweeg, of the Dutch salvage company Smit Salvage BV, said that the recovery of the concentrates should be completed by the middle of September, weather permitting. Bound from Dublin to Outokumpu's Norzink smelter in Norway, the Jambo ran aground off one of the Summer Isles, 25 km from the small port of Ullapool, and sank shortly afterwards. Smit and its partner in the salvage operation, Klyne Tugs, were initially awarded a contract to recover the ship's stock of 83 t of bunker oil, which was completed successfully in mid-July. The salvage of the zinc concentrates began in mid-August, but was then continuously hampered both by technical problems relating to the density of the material, and by the deteriorating weather.
展开▼
