Adding a partnership with technology group Andritz to its range of Trio® crushing equipment, Enduron® screens and other established brands, Weir Minerals Africa is further entrenching its position as a total solution provider to process plants. General Manager Comminution at Weir Minerals Africa, Vernon Steenbok, says: “Our offerings to mines now span all processes from the run-of-mine tip to the tailings dams including equipment such as crushers, conveyers, screens, feeders, pumps, cyclones, linings, hoses and valves.”
Steenbok emphasises that the company has been expanding into the comminution space as a vital part of its total integrated solution provided to customers across Africa and the Middle East, from the gold mines of West and East Africa to the copper mines of Central Africa. Infrastructure development in the Middle East has also been important driver of the aggregate business, with resultant demand for Weir Minerals’ crushers and screens.
As regulations governing the management of mine tailings become more onerous, the solutions available from Weir Minerals now includes a range of mechanical separation technologies such as thickeners, filter presses, centrifuges and vacuum belt filters.
“To ensure the effective application of our growing equipment range, we place experienced process engineers at the centre of our relationship with customers,” says Steenbok. “This is key to helping customers drive down their cost of ownership while raising efficiency, productivity and profitability.”
This involves building local capacity by actively developing mineral processing and other related skills in-country, nurturing young engineers in Weir Minerals Africa’s service-centred performance culture.
“Our team of process engineers brings years of experience from the mining sector, and through training and mentoring prepare the next generation of engineers for their role in supporting and building a sustainable mining sector,” he says.
Weir Minerals Africa’s talent pipeline includes 89 black learners – one third of them women – and this programme is set to grow to 115 learners participating in 2018. They are trained and prepared through a range of initiatives from bursary students and graduates to internships and apprenticeships.
“We are here for the long haul,” says Steenbok, “and our investment in developing and acquiring leading brands, alongside our commitment to world class expertise, shows our commitment to the future of our customers and the mining industry as a whole.”