CASE STUDY

How Chamco Successfully Relocated a Barge at a Remote Mongolia Mine

A barge ready for relocation for a remote Mongolian mine.

Project Background

From 2009 to 2023, a major mining company in Mongolia successfully operated a Chamco-built floating pump house in its tailings pond.

However, as the company’s copper and gold mining operations continued to exceed production estimates, the tailings pond reached its maximum elevation far sooner than anticipated. The mine needed to relocate the barge from the first pond to a newly constructed second pond.

The Challenge

A barge on calm water in a remote Mongolian mine, with a crescent moon visible in the sky during the relocation project.

Chamco faced extraordinary challenges, making it one of the most unique barge relocation projects ever completed in the mining industry.

  • Strict Timeline Constraints

    The mine had a two-week shutdown window for the barge relocation, making precise planning essential. Over approximately nine months, Chamco collaborated closely with the customer to review site details, assess risks, and finalize costing. Chamco’s on-site team spent three weeks preparing the site, ensuring the relocation proceeded smoothly within the mine’s tight shutdown schedule.

  • Unknown Conditions After Years of Operation

    The barge had been operating continuously in the tailings pond for more than a decade in one of Earth’s harshest environments, the Gobi Desert. While surface inspections showed the barge was performing well, the condition of the hull and components below the waterline remained unknown until the system could be extracted from the water. There was significant concern about potential structural damage, silt accumulation in the wet well, and whether the barge could survive the move intact.

  • Moving a Fully Intact Barge System

    Unlike typical equipment relocations, where components are disassembled to reduce weight and complexity, this particular relocation job required transporting a 278,625-pound structure across rough terrain and down winding switchback roads.

Why the Mining Company Chose Chamco

The customer initially explored options with local Mongolian companies, but quickly determined that none had the specialized experience required for such a complex operation. When asked to provide examples of similar barge relocations they had completed, the local competitors came up empty.

Ultimately, the mining company chose Chamco because we had originally designed, engineered, and fabricated the barge at our Calgary facility, and the same team members who built it were still at Chamco, providing continuity and expertise.

The Solution

A barge in motion during a relocation project for a remote Mongolian mine.

Chamco successfully relocated the barge to its new home with a comprehensive approach.

  • Nine-Month Procedure Development

    Over approximately nine months, Chamco’s engineering team worked with the mining company and a Mongolian firm specializing in bridge construction to develop detailed step-by-step procedures for the barge relocation. The plan covered deballasting, disconnecting mooring cables and utilities, planning transport routes, and establishing the relaunch sequence. The on-site team worked around the clock to implement the procedure, ensuring minimal disruption to mining operations.

  • Comprehensive Condition Assessment and Targeted Repairs

    Once the barge was extracted, Chamco’s on-site technical advisor conducted a thorough assessment of the hull and submerged components. Build-up of silt in the wet well was removed, and minor coating touch-ups and small extraction-related repairs were completed. Despite over a decade in extreme conditions, the assessment confirmed the barge was in remarkable condition and could reliably operate for another 10+ years at its new location.

  • Custom Ramp and Transport System for Intact Relocation

    Chamco designed a specialized metal ramp to support the barge’s full weight while maintaining a safe extraction angle that wouldn’t stress the hull. Once secured on the skid, the barge was loaded onto flatbed trucks and carefully navigated the switchback roads to the second pond. At the destination, the process was reversed, sliding the barge off the skid onto the launch ramp and into its new home, fully intact and operational.

The Results

Chamco successfully executed the relocation in close coordination with the mine’s strict shutdown schedule. The barge returned to full operation in its new pond, avoiding the substantial expense and extended timeline that would have been required to manufacture and install a new barge.

With Chamco’s innovative approach and technical expertise, the mine preserved its original investment and ensured uninterrupted water management for its ongoing operations.

Quotation Mark
“To me, relocating this barge is a testament to Chamco’s capabilities. We designed, engineered, and built this barge to handle severe conditions for over a decade, and the same team is here to support the next stage of the project. It shows that Chamco is a true partner from cradle to grave, supporting our customers from their first concept all the way through to ongoing operations.”
Beau Zemp, Production Manager

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By |2025-11-06T08:55:43-07:00November 6th, 2025|Comments Off on How Chamco Successfully Relocated a Barge at a Remote Mongolia Mine
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