Tag Archives: manganese

Sandvik cone crushers go circular with recycled wear parts

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Sandvik Group is encouraging circularity in the mining industry through the recycling of steel from used cone crusher parts to make new crushing equipment.

While extractive industries such as mining are responsible for 50% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, recycling steel from mining equipment could make all the difference, according to Anders Åkesson, QM EHS Manager, Crushing & Screening at Sandvik Mining & Rock Technology (SMRT).

Circularity is becoming vital in the reduction of CO2 emissions, and can help improve the environmental position of many industries. With the mining industry contributing a large percentage of global CO2 emissions, implementing circularity could help it make vital reductions, Åkesson says.

To produce equipment, the mining industry predominantly uses manganese steel, which is renowned for its work-hardening properties and resistance to abrasion. This means the material becomes harder with the more impact it receives, creating a low friction surface suited to crushing. For this reason, manganese steel has been used in high impact applications for over 100 years, making it an ideal material for cone crushers.

Cone crushers are used to grind down rocks, which are fed into the top of the crusher and pressed between the mantle and the cone. This breaks the rock down into smaller fragments, which are then passed through lower levels of the crusher where they are broken down further.

“It’s vital that cone crushers are made from a material that provides the necessary force to grind the rocks, while withstanding the abrasive nature of the process,” Åkesson said.

Using recycled steel from used cone crusher parts to make new cone crushers, Sandvik SMRT has demonstrated and improved circularity of steel production for mining equipment, he explained. The division was nominated for Sandvik’s first sustainability award in April 2020, which recognises sustainable innovations from its employees.

Sourcing manganese steel from one of the world’s most sustainable manganese foundries, based in Sweden, was the first step SMRT took towards its sustainable innovation. A total of 91% circular steel was used to manufacture wear parts, such as the cone and mantle of a cone crusher. These wear parts are reused to produce new wear parts for the cone crushers – creating a continuous cycle, Åkesson said.

Moving away from a linear model, Sandvik increased the circularity and sustainability of its products and eliminated 79% of production emissions, according to Åkesson. “In addition, Sandvik cone crushers help SMRT’s customers to lower their environmental impact as they are buying from the circular economy – contributing to their own sustainability goals,” he said.

Åkesson concluded: “With mining contributing towards CO2 emissions in more ways than one, it’s essential that the industry uses methods that reduce emissions. Reusing and recycling steel to manufacture mining equipment has demonstrated an opportunity that helps meet the sustainability goals of both equipment suppliers and their customers. If the industry wants to become circular, taking a look at equipment a good place to start.”

GFG Alliance to take over TEMCO manganese alloy smelter following South32 pact

Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , , ,

South32’s association with the Tasmanian Electro Metallurgical Company (TEMCO) is set to come to an end after it agreed to sell its stake in the manganese alloy smelter to an entity within the GFG Alliance.

The announcement from South32’s Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) said completion of the transaction was subject to approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board. Upon satisfaction of this condition, GFG will make a nominal payment to GEMCO to acquire 100% of the shares in TEMCO, it said, without naming an acquisition price.

As a condition to the completion of the transaction, the parties have entered into an ore supply agreement from GEMCO to TEMCO.

The smelter, in Tasmania, Australia, is run by the Samancor Manganese joint venture, owned 60% by South32 and 40% by Anglo American.

South32 says TEMCO uses ore shipped from its GEMCO operations in the Northern Territory of Australia and produces ferromanganese for steelmaking. Most of the alloy produced is exported to customers in Asia and North America, with the remaining sold to steel producers in Australia and New Zealand.

South32 CEO Graham Kerr said the agreement represented another milestone for South32 as it continues to reshape its portfolio.

“Today’s agreement follows an extensive review of options regarding the future of our manganese alloy business,” he said.

“The transaction and our ongoing supply of ore to TEMCO will see the smelter, first established in 1962, continue to operate into the future.

“Looking forward, we are confident that GFG, a current TEMCO customer, is well placed to operate the smelter, with the acquisition representing an opportunity to further vertically integrate its steel business.”

The transaction does not include the Samancor Manganese JV’s South African manganese alloy smelter, Metalloys, which has separately been placed under care and maintenance, South32 added.

B&E International to help miners consolidate supply chains amid COVID-19

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

As mining companies cut back in efforts to remain viable under COVID-19’s demanding conditions, crushing and screening specialist B&E International is proposing a bold new approach to streamline mines’ supply chains.

According to Ken Basson, Director of Plant and Engineering at B&E International, mining suppliers and service providers need to be proactive in helping mines find sustainable solutions to the current challenges.

“COVID-19 will undoubtedly reduce demand for certain commodities, and, with geopolitical uncertainty, we are likely to see increased commodity price volatility,” Basson says. “This is leading most mining companies – especially juniors – to try to strengthen their balance sheets.”

To do this, there are inevitable cuts in capital expenditure and even operating expenditure. He says the time has come for mining suppliers to streamline the delivery of their services and products, and even to assume more of the day-to-day risk facing mining operations.

“At a time when mines are demanding even higher efficiencies and more plant uptime due to tough trading conditions, the post-COVID environment is expected to present a number of logistical and supply chain constraints,” he said. “To cut through this double-whammy, suppliers need to be helping to consolidate supply chain networks. This is the only way of minimising procurement expenses while limiting process plant outages due to critical spares being unavailable in time.”

A range of other imperatives also need to be addressed at the same time, he says. These include the growing demand for mines to support in-country job creation and local skills development, as well as local manufacturing and procurement. This means less reliance on costly expatriate skills, whose movement around Africa may, in any event, be restricted by COVID-related regulations.

“To streamline the supply chain, B&E International is forming strategic partnerships with key suppliers, to integrate their respective service offerings with ours,” he says. “This gives the mine the advantage of dealing with fewer supplier interfaces. We also take over the responsibility of ensuring that our partners – and their products – perform to expectation.”

He highlights that B&E International – with a 40-year legacy in contract crushing, screening and mineral processing services – has expertise across the process supply chain. With experience across commodities including coal, copper, diamonds, gold, iron ore, manganese and aggregates, the company engineers cost effective solutions in various conditions around Africa, he added.

As one of the few companies in South Africa that both builds and operates its own equipment, B&E International is extending its level of vertical integration through this collaboration with strategic partners.

“Not only do we design, manufacture and install complete processing plants across various commodity sectors, but we also operate and finance these facilities,” Basson says. “This places us in a unique position to partner with mines to reduce their capex, opex and risk.”

The company offers a build, own, operate and transfer model of plant procurement, ensuring a mining company of its planned throughput while also fixing the exact cost of that production, he says.

As part of its market offering, it already conducts optimisation and debottlenecking studies for mineral process plant operators. It also provides plant maintenance contracts, in which it will operate and maintain a customer’s process plant on a toll basis, charging a fixed rate per tonne. Other current services include plant audits, optimisation studies, dust extraction, sampling and breaker systems for oversize run of mine treatment.

“A vertically integrated service offering to mines holds great value for both greenfield and brownfield sites,” Basson says. “As important is our experience in developing local skills wherever we operate – with both formal and hands-on training.”

He highlights that this approach empowers the customer to retain their future options in how they will operate their plants, depending on their internal success and broader economic conditions.

Kwatani screens and feeders tackle manganese ore in South Africa

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

As a vital aspect of a plant expansion at a manganese mine in the Northern Cape of South Africa, Kwatani says it is supplying four heavy duty vibrating screens and 10 feeders to help boost throughput.

According to Kwatani CEO, Kim Schoepflin, this large-scale equipment is custom-designed and engineered for tonnage to meet the mine’s challenging operational requirements.

“Manganese ore is very demanding on vibrating screens as it has a high specific gravity and is also very abrasive,” Schoepflin says. “Our machines are engineered to perform the application’s duty requirement while being robust enough to deliver maximum uptime.”

The units being supplied include a 3.6 m double-deck scalping screen, a 3 m double-deck screen, a 2.4 m screen and a 1.8 m dewatering screen. A local OEM that has designed and engineered vibrating screens for over four decades, Kwatani has built a reputation for world-class expertise and capability, it says.

“Customers choose us for our engineering track record – developing technology that can manage the tonnages they require,” Schoepflin says. “This means understanding each mine’s specific conditions, and then building a design to meet a range of complex mechanical and metallurgical factors.”

The order to the mine is being rolled out on time and on specification to the customer’s satisfaction, according to Kwatani COO, Kenny Mayhew-Ridgers.

“The efficiency and quality of our work process allows us to design, manufacture and deliver custom-designed screens in the same timeframes that other OEMs deliver standard models,” Mayhew-Ridgers said.

This is particularly demanding as custom-designed equipment undergo an intensive design process after being verified by rigorous finite element analysis in-house, Kwatani says. Prior to dispatch, all units endure intensive testing before being commissioned on a customer’s site. For this reason, Kwatani boasts its own in-house advanced testing facilities at its Kempton Park facility, in South Africa. Aligned to ISO 9001 standards, the testing protocols have been developed in-house with decades of experience. This allows full testing similar to cold commissioning, even before delivery to site.

SRK, Coffey and Royal IHC to work on Giyani’s K.Hill manganese feasibility study

Energy minerals, Mineral exploration, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Giyani Metals has completed the feasibility study tendering process for its K.Hill manganese project, in Botswana, selecting SRK Consulting and a joint bid by Coffey, a Tetra Tech Company, and Royal IHC to conduct the study.

The tendering process began in early November with six service providers invited to bid.

The scope of work in the request for proposal (RFP) was divided into two work packages to run in parallel.

Work Package 1 (WP1) encompasses all the technical mining disciplines but will exclude processing, infrastructure and environmental/social. Work Package 2 (WP2) mainly encompasses the processing, infrastructure, and project execution disciplines.

Bidders were given the option to bid for both work packages, but the RFP stated that work packages may be awarded individually.

SOURCE: Manganese Metal Company, South Africa

SRK, who completed the preliminary economic assessment for K.Hill earlier this year, was awarded WP1 while WP2 was awarded to the joint Coffey and Royal IHC bid. On the latter, the company said: “The joint bid provides Giyani with specialised experience from Tetra Tech in the process of making electrolytic manganese metal (EMM – pictured) in a solvent extraction/electrowinning plant and mining engineering and construction experience from Royal IHC.”

The environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was tendered separately and bids are currently being assessed by the company, Giyani said.

Giyani will now move to the contracting phase which commences with a site visit with SRK, Coffey, and Royal IHC during the week of December 16.

Robin Birchall, CEO of Giyani, said: “Commencing the FS for K.Hill, along with the ESIA which we will kick off shortly thereafter, is a very important step forward, one that will prepare the company for the next and most important phase of its development, becoming one of the leading independent producers of high purity manganese for the battery electric vehicle market.”

Mike Beare, Project Manager for SRK, said: “SRK is very much looking forward to building on the work of the PEA and applying its skills to further development of the K.Hill project. This will assist Giyani with their continued growth into the burgeoning battery metals sector which we see as an area of considerable investment in years to come.”

Jacques du Toit, Project Director for Coffey & Derk Hartman, Director EPC & Project Delivery for IHC Mining, part of the Royal IHC Group, said: “We recognise that Giyani’s K.Hill manganese project offers outstanding potential for investors and look forward to providing our combined services and solutions to Giyani for the development of the K.Hill manganese project.”

The PEA on K.Hill was based on the 1.1 Mt inferred resource and showed a nine-year potential life of mine producing 245,000 t of what the company called “high-purity electrolytic manganese metal” (HPEMM). Pre-production capital was estimated at $108.5 million and the post-tax net present value (10% discount) was estimated at $285 million based on a projected average price of $4,700/t for HPEMM of 99.9% Mn over the life.

Black Rock manganese mine chases efficiency gains with Epiroc’s Mobilaris solution

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Epiroc says its Mobilaris Mining Intelligence (MMI) is set to help improve decision making at Assmang’s Black Rock underground manganese mine in South Africa.

The mining original equipment manufacturer said this will be the first installation of the decision support solution in a room and pillar mine.

Pierre Becker, General Manager Black Rock mine, said MMI will help to increase production and utilisation at the mine. “The solution enables an unprecedented opportunity for mining personnel to make right decisions faster than ever before,” he said.

Through MMI, the Black Rock Mine control room will evolve to a source of real-time production data fully integrated with planning, task dispatch, machine telemetry data, mobile operator clients and a layer of analytics to collect and monitor insights and key performance indicators for the mine production, Epiroc said. “The project is expected to yield significant improvements in employee safety, process efficiency and overall production,” the company added.

MMI enables superior situational awareness and is designed to visualise and support mining operation in all its complexity, in real-time, according to Epiroc. It provides a 3D real-time information model where the position of machines, vehicles and personnel are recognised, and other vital information sources like shift planning, machine and production data are presented.

Andrew Main, Regional Business Line Manager, Underground Rock Excavation division for Southern Africa, Epiroc South Africa, said: “Epiroc will support Black Rock’s business improvement processes with the MMI solution. The globally acclaimed Situational Awareness together with Short Interval Control package will take their operations to the next level of performance gains.”

System installation is expected in June, Epiroc said.

Epiroc, Murray & Roberts Cementation set for South Africa manganese mine ramp up

Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , ,

Epiroc has won a significant mining equipment order from contractor Murray & Roberts Cementation, with multiple drill rigs and bolters set to be delivered to the Kalagadi manganese mine in the Northern Cape of South Africa.

The equipment, which includes Boomer 282 face drilling rigs and Boltec 235 bolting machines (one pictured), will be used for the underground production build up at Kalagadi, where Murray & Roberts Cementation is the contractor.

“The machines will ensure that the mine is operated with enhanced productivity, safety and cost efficiency,” Epiroc said.

The orders total more than ZAR160 million ($10.9 million), of which more than half was placed in the September quarter.

In addition to the drilling and bolting machines, Epiroc will supply rock drilling tools, spare parts and on-site service support to back up Murray & Roberts Cementation.

According to a Business Day report from earlier this year, the Kalagadi mine is expected to generate 3 Mt/y of ore to convert into 2.4 Mt/y of sinter at full capacity.