Photos: Check out the ‘superblimps’, the tool that could uncover Africa’s riches
– Could airships be poised to make a stunning comeback in Africa in the form of superblimps?
– Hi-tech designers believe that huge airships could represent the answer to Africa’s economic and transport woes.
– Airships are extremely fuel efficient and have low operating costs, which their designers say makes them perfect for Africa.
Best known for floating aimlessly above sports stadiums, and for their slightly comic, bloated shape, blimps are an unlikely subject for a 21st century revival.
However, after 20 years of development, Lockheed Martin and Hybrid Enterprises are poised to unleash a revolutionary new design that could unlock resources worth billions of dollars across the African continent.
The hybrid airship is the product of 20 years of research
The Hybrid Airship is a helium-powered craft that can cover thousands of kilometers in a single journey, with a top speed of 60 knots.
The craft can take off and land without a runway, and the cavernous interior can carry loads of 20 tons.
The airship can carry a load of up to 20 tons
At the recent African Mining Indaba event in Cape Town, the Airship was presented as a vital asset for mining companies across the continent.
Using the tag ‘no roads, no problem,’ promoters emphasized its ability to access remote but lucrative mineral sources.
The airship uses considerably less fuel than helicopters or planes
“It will land on water, sand, a field, even ice,” said a Hybrid Enterprises spokesperson.
Given the downturn in commodities prices across the continent, and the inaccessibility of key sites — Sundance’s Mbalam-Nabeda Mbalam-Nabeba project straddles the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo and required the building of a 510 kilomter railway line – the Airship could offer relief and opportunity to the beleaguered industry.
The ships could become available in 2018
Robert S. Stewart, head of mining firm Interop AG, has researched the ship’s potential impact on projects across the continent, including the largest — Rio Tinto’s putative $20 billion iron ore plant in Simandou, Guinea.
“The airship could save the project $7 billion by staging it in a completely different way,” he says.
Each ship will probably cost up to N2 billion
Stewart believes the new design could bypass many of the most expensive and time-consuming aspects of mining.
“When you build a project in a remote area, you always have to start with a road, a railway line, and a power line before you build the smelter,” says Stewart.
UK based Hybrid Air Vehicles is making the Airlander blimp too
“With an airship you can fly straight in, without even an airport, just an area the size of two or three football fields.”
The vast majority of “low-hanging fruit” have been extracted already, according to Stewart, who estimates that over 90% of existing mineral resources in Africa – including vast gold and diamond deposits – are in hidden or remote locations.
You get a sense of scale when you see blimps in their hangars
He believes the industry must innovate and adapt to these new circumstances.
Mining consultant Stan Sudol agrees the ship could be a game changer that will allow commodities to be fast-tracked to market.
US based company Aeros is working on this super-high-tech airship
“They can be used to set up initial mine site development for less cost in a faster time-frame as no local airstrip is necessary to start cargo delivery,” says Sudol.
Hybrid Enterprises hope the ships will be in operation by 2018.
Blimps could be the answer to Africa’s transport problems
The cost of each unit is expected to run to tens of millions of dollars, although the price has not yet been disclosed.
Neither is this the only airship preparing for launch. The Airlander 10 from Hybrid Air Vehicles, and the Stratobus from Thales, are just two of the new designs preparing to join the blimp revival.
READ ALSO: Nigerians can get 60 scholarships in the Netherlands
The post Photos: Check out the ‘superblimps’, the tool that could uncover Africa’s riches appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.