Tag Archives: feeder

Sandvik Rock Processing navigates choppy waters to deliver Africa’s first SmartPlant

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A fluorite mine some 100 km outside Pretoria, South Africa, has become the first recipient of Sandvik Rock Processing’s first locally-manufactured SmartPlant™ in Africa.

Following its recent commissioning, the 300 t/h plant has already met process guarantees and reached nameplate capacity, according to the OEM.

To improve efficiency and productivity, a South Africa-based fluorspar producer went into the market for a new processing plant in 2020. The SmartPlant concept from Sandvik Rock Processing appealed to the customer for several reasons, but mainly because of the fast delivery time, flexibility and substantial cost savings it would offer the operation.

SmartPlant is a range of pre-defined Sandvik SmartStations that can be mixed and matched to meet individual customer needs for maximum productivity and performance, thus reducing wait time, maximising uptime and increasing profitability, according to Sandvik. Delivery generally takes about 22-30 weeks ex-works. Where there are peripheral design changes to the pre-defined SmartStations, lead times may be shorter than the standard 22-30 weeks.

According to Jaco Benade, Project Manager– Crushing and Screening at Sandvik, the deal was negotiated midway through the COVID-19 hard lockdown of 2020. The order was placed during Level 5 of the lockdown, with manufacturing commencing during Level 4. Despite the challenges brought about by the travel restrictions, compounded by the global supply chain disruptions, the plant was still delivered on time and within budget.

“A major talking point of the project was the short delivery time of 22 weeks ex-works at a favourable capital cost for the customer,” Benade says. “The SmartPlant concept allowed the customer to choose from the pre-defined SmartStations, combine and configure them to meet specific site and operational needs, with no extra design and engineering costs.”

While the designs are very much pre-defined, the SmartPlant still offered a great deal of flexibility for the customer, according to Glen Schoeman, Vice President – Sub-Sahara Africa at Sandvik Rock Processing.

“The modular approach of the SmartPlant meant that the customer could tweak design parameters such as height, capacity and liner profiles, amongst others, without much concern about cost deviations and time implications,” Schoeman said.

Regarding flexibility, Sandvik’s approach to the project was also a major plus for the customer. For example, based on its understanding of the customer’s budget and time constraints, Sandvik opted for the mine to commission a conveyor supplier of its choice, purely to shorten the time to production and reduce costs for the customer.

In line with Sandvik’s ‘safety first’ culture, the project was delivered with no lost time injuries, all the way from project inception to commissioning.

“Despite the arduous conditions on site, ranging from excessive heat to wet weather conditions, the project was completed with an impeccable zero harm safety record,” Schoeman says.

The new plant comprises a full suite of Sandvik equipment, including jaw and cone crushers, screens and feeders. Informed by customer needs, Sandvik opted for a much bigger front end of the plant, comprising a large tip area and bigger jaw crusher. The Sandvik CJ412 primary jaw crusher, which takes a 750 mm top size, is fed by a box bin and a grizzly feeder.

The plant also employs two Sandvik CH840i cone crushers for secondary and tertiary crushing, the very first units of the company’s 800i series range of cone crushers in Africa. Another first in Africa is the rotary feeder on top of the cone used to distribute material into the crusher.

“This is a fantastic approach,” Benade says. “The rotary feeder turns slowly, evenly distributing material around the edges of the crusher. This reduces pressure peaks in the crusher caused by uneven feed, a common challenge in crushing plants. The rotary feeder has passed with flying colours in terms of its performance at this particular site.”

The CH840i cone crushers come with Sandvik’s Automation and Connectivity System as standard. The system continuously monitors and optimises crusher performance and controls the complete lubrication system, increasing uptime and reliability. It can automatically adjust crusher settings to compensate for crushing chamber wear, ensuring consistent product size, according to Sandvik.

In addition, the SAM by Sandvik digital service supports operational excellence in the plant.

Benade concluded: “SAM by Sandvik brings people, activities and data together in an easy-to-use, seamless and collaborative way. It allows both client and OEM remote access to the plant. The system itself provides a holistic view of the plant, enabling the customer to make informed decisions and the OEM to respond proactively to any equipment health and performance issues.”

Bonfiglioli drives Transmin feeder hopper forward at iron ore operation

Bulk handling, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

One of Transmin’s latest Bonfiglioli driven feeder hoppers is earning its worth at an iron ore operation where it is being fed by wheel loaders depositing 45 t bucket loads into the reclaimer hopper, after which it is transported at 2,500 t/h onto a stock yard conveyor.

The low-profile relocatable machines feature custom-engineered Bonfiglioli combination Trasmital planetary and HDO helical bevel drives that achieve high torque densities in a compact space, with a rugged capacity to cope with the shock and impact of intermittent loads, according to Bonfiglioli.

“Their reliability is further enhanced by alignment-free design and integrated heat protection,” the company said.

On the iron ore stockyard application, Phil Gilbert, Trasmin’s Director – Capital Sales and Business Development, said: “The whole reclaim hopper assembly in this instance weighed approximately 90 tons (82 t) when loaded onto the articulated heavy vehicle, mounted on a skid frame so the unit can be moved to other locations in the future if required.”

To facilitate the move and achieve compact performance, the system also incorporated a standalone electrical control system and an over-band tramp metal magnet located above the feeding conveyor belt to achieve a lower space requirement, according to Bonfiglioli.

To achieve 2,500 t/h, this particular machine is driven by a 150 kW electric motor driving a Bonfiglioli Trasmital 318L1 planetary and Australian-assembled HDO 130 helical bevel drive. This locally engineered unit – which drew on the expertise of Bonfiglioli’s Customer Application Engineering facility working with direction from Transmin’s specialist Engineering Division – achieves a final ratio of 186,357:1, delivering 193 kW at 1,500 rpm, with 188,790 Nm rated torque at 50°C (220 MW and 320,000 Nm maximum torque).

Bonfiglioli Western Australian Manager, Fred Whalley, said: “The helical and planetary drives are combined to extract the best performance characteristics of each type, so they can be integrated into a high performance, high torque density, optimum reliability compact unit that is further enhanced by forced cooling.”

Gilbert said the Bonfiglioli unit was selected for this job because of a combination of advantages, including competitive cost, good delivery times, reliability  ̶  “and an ongoing relationship we have with them, part of which is the excellent service we receive from sales through to back-up on site if required,” he said.