Weir Minerals has announced the global launch of its newest offering in the slurry transportation space: Linatex® ceramic hose. The ceramic hose combines its Linacure® rubber with high-quality, 92% alumina ceramic tiles, providing a robust option for operators dealing with abrasive minerals. Optimised through comprehensive trials in real mining applications – Linatex® ceramic hose is suitable for sites handling hard ores such as gold, coal, copper, lithium or iron ore.

“It’s the quality of our rubber that really sets us apart from the competition, providing superior penetration of the tile layer and preventing tiles from dislodging during operation. To maximise resistance, Linatex ceramic hose also utilises hexagonal tiles, which are more resistant to dislodgment and wear than traditional square patterns,” says Rod Dawson, Regional Rubber Applications Manager for Weir Minerals Australia. “For a new product to be able to fall under the Linatex brand, it must provide the very best in performance. We’ve put a lot of energy and resources into developing a hose that meets the demands facing miners around the world, and I can’t wait for more customers to see the results for themselves.”

Through exhaustive testing, the tile size has been optimised, ensuring they’re large enough to withstand severe abrasion but small enough to reduce cracking.
The tiles are available in 3 mm, 6 mm and 12 mm thick configurations to suit a wide variety of applications, with half-tile options to ensure optimal resistance in high-wear areas around the flange.

Both Linacure® 40 and Linacure® 60 rubber can be used with the new ceramic lining, which can be deployed to reinforce the high-wear outer edge of a bend. The Linatex® ceramic hose also supports the Linatex® Wear Indicator System, which can be connected wired or wirelessly, where it can transmit hose data up to 1.5 km by radio.

“We’ve been making hoses for 40 years. Over that time the Linatex range of hoses has grown to include a variety of solutions that meet the most demanding slurry transport applications. Linatex ceramic hose complements our industry-leading range of slurry hose liners, such as Linatex, Linagard OSR and bromobutyl,” says Mark Doyle, Global Product Manager – Rubber, Spool and Hose for Weir Minerals.

This new release kicks off the launch of Linatex® Mine Tested, a celebration of Linatex® rubber’s outstanding on-site performance in real mine applications, which will include new product and service announcements for the market-leading range.