Tag Archives: Screening

Superior Industries strengthens SE Asia distribution with KeepMining agreement

Bulk handling, Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , , ,

Superior Industries has added KeepMining™ to its long list of distribution partners, with the Singapore-based company to represent Superior’s growing line of crushing, screening, washing and conveying equipment in several countries throughout Southeast Asia.

The pact will see KeepMining hold the distributor mantle in countries including India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Bhutan and Brunei.

“Together, the employees of KeepMining have a lot of experience in the Southeast Asian mining and quarrying markets,” Jeff Steiner, Superior’s Territory Manager in the region, said. “They have aggressive plans for supplying and servicing customers and we look forward to growing our businesses together.”

KeepMining already has ties to Caterpillar, Atlas Copco, Liebherr and Yokohama, which equip the company to sell and service earthmovers, dump haul trucks, loaders, scrapers, crushing and screening plants, grinding solutions, washing systems, automation packages, dry bulk storage and handling systems, plus environmental solutions, Superior said.

In addition to its HQ in Singapore, KeepMining operates from additional locations in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

Metso and Outotec establish business areas and leaders ahead of merger completion

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With Metso and Outotec having recently cleared one of the final remaining hurdles towards merging the two companies, the future Metso Outotec Board of Directors has laid out the planned company structure and related executive team appointments.

The nominations will become effective after the closing of the partial demerger of Metso and the combination of Metso’s Minerals business and Outotec, which is currently expected to take place on June 30, 2020, subject to receipt of all required regulatory and other approvals, including competition clearances – which the companies made significant headway on recently.

The companies said: “Combined, the future Metso Outotec will be a forerunner in sustainable technologies, end-to-end solutions and services for the minerals processing, aggregates, metals refining and recycling industries globally. The new organisation is designed to leverage the strengths and expertise of both companies.”

Metso Outotec will consist of the following six business areas:

  • Aggregates, providing crushing and screening equipment for the production of aggregates;
  • Minerals, providing equipment and full plant solutions for minerals processing, covering comminution, separation and pumps;
  • Metals, providing processing solutions and equipment for metals refining and chemical processing;
  • Recycling, providing equipment and services for metal and waste recycling;
  • Services, providing spare parts, refurbishments and professional services for mining, metals and aggregates customers; and
  • Consumables, providing a comprehensive offering of wear parts for mining, metals and aggregates processes.

The boards have also made some significant decisions on the key personnel that will lead these business units.

Markku Simula will become President of the Aggregates business unit. Simula currently serves as President, Aggregates Equipment at Metso.

Recently appointed Metso Mining Equipment President, Stephan Kirsch, will become President of the combined Minerals business area.

Jari Ålgars, currently CFO at Outotec, will become President of Metals.

Uffe Hansen, who is currently President of Recycling at Metso, will become President of Recycling at Metso Outotec.

Metso’s Sami Takaluoma will retain his President of the Consumables business area post at the new merged entity.

Markku Teräsvasara, who currently serves as the President and CEO at Outotec, will take on the President, Services and Deputy CEO role at Metso Outotec.

In addition to the business area president appointments, the following function heads and executive team members have been appointed:

  • Eeva Sipilä, CFO and Deputy CEO. Her appointment was announced on July 4, 2019. She currently serves as the CFO and Deputy CEO at Metso;
  • Nina Kiviranta, General Counsel. She currently serves as General Counsel at Outotec;
  • Piia Karhu, Senior Vice President, Business Development. She currently serves as Senior Vice President, Customer Experience at Finnair. She will join the company on July 1, 2020; and
  • Hannele Järvistö, Senior Vice President, Human Resources (interim). She currently serves as Senior Vice President, Human Resources (interim) at Metso. “This appointment is valid until a new position-holder has been selected and will start in this role,” the company said.

All the function heads and executive team members will report to Metso Outotec’s future President and CEO, Pekka Vauramo (pictured), the company said.

Reflecting on these changes, Vauramo said: “Above all, Metso Outotec will be strong in sustainability. Our extensive combined offering for minerals processing, from equipment to a broad range of services, will help our customers improve their profitability and lower their operating costs and risks, while at the same time reduce the consumption of energy and water.

“We at Metso Outotec understand our customer’s world and the daily challenges they face. Together, we will partner for positive change.”

Kwatani problem solving doubles diamond mine’s screening feed rate

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Kwatani says it has helped a South Africa diamond operation double the feed rate of its degrit screen through the use of one of its customised solutions.

The customer was operating several multi-slope screens to dewater product between 0.8 mm and 5 mm in size, before it was treated by dense medium separation (DMS). However, the screens were causing a severe carry-over of water onto the conveyor belt to the DMS, according to the South Africa-based OEM.

“The feed rate on each screen was being limited to about 250 t/h,” Kwatani CEO, Kim Schoepflin, said. “We tackled this by designing and manufacturing a customised multi-slope screening machine to fit the customer’s existing footprint.”

Schoepflin said Kwatani’s replacement was able to double the feed rate to about 500 t/h, with minimal water carry-over.

As a result of the success of this unit, the customer requested Kwatani to replace the whole bank of screens, it said.

In another contract, a customer asked for assistance with underperforming screens that could not deliver the original design parameters. They also wanted to increase the tonnage throughput by 17%, according to the company.

“We conducted a careful evaluation in collaboration with the customer, and came up with an innovative and economical solution,” Schoepflin said. “Simply replacing the existing screens with Kwatani’s new larger screens would have been costly and time consuming, so we decided instead to replace the screen’s existing gearboxes.”

The replacement gearboxes delivered greater vibration, but without exceeding the output torque the existing motors driving the gearboxes could provide.

“Drawing from our portfolio of locally designed and manufactured exciter gearboxes, we were able to implement this solution very quickly,” she said. “The two new exciter gearboxes were delivered to site and were in operation within two weeks – successfully and immediately increasing the screen’s throughput.”

The benefits to the customer did not stop there, according to Schoepflin. The newly optimised operating parameters meant the material bed depth was lower, so the drive motors drew a lower amperage and reduced the cost of power consumed.

“Our customised screening and feeding solutions – developed by our in-house team of experienced mechanical engineers and metallurgists – are based on consultation with each customer,” she explained. “The result is a design that delivers the optimal processing performance and tonnage at the lowest cost of ownership.”

Civmec mobilises personnel for Rio Tinto Mesa A contract work

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Civmec Ltd has added another work package on a major iron ore development to its books, with Rio Tinto awarding it a contract to help further develop its Mesa A operational hub in the Robe Valley of Western Australia.

The package comprises the supply, fabrication, modularisation, transportation to site, erection, modification, installation, and commissioning of structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation, and communication work for the Mesa A Wet Plant, it says. Components include screening, surge bin and scrubbing facilities and associated conveyor systems, transfer towers, sub stations and all piping and cabling, including trenching for underground services.

Rio Tinto’s Robe Valley Sustaining iron ore project, in the Pilbara region, includes the development of three new mining deposits and the construction of supporting infrastructure required to continue operations of the two existing operational hubs at Mesa A and Mesa J. The project is part of the company’s plans to sustain production capacity at its Robe River joint venture.

Civmec’s contract award follows similar agreements with Fortescue Metals Group on the Eliwana project and a contract to fabricate and modularise key components for BHP’s South Flank project, both of which are also in the Pilbara.

Civmec Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Tallon, said: “Rio Tinto has always been a good client for us and we have a long history of supporting the safe, high quality and timely delivery of their projects in Western Australia and Queensland, across construction, manufacturing and maintenance.”

Fabrication, to be undertaken at the group’s Henderson facility, will employ around 200 people and will commence in the coming weeks, Civmec said. The on-site structural, mechanical and piping component will require some 240 people to mobilise to site at the peak of the project in the latter part of this year, while the electrical discipline will require some 100 people in early 2021.

Civmec’s relationship with Rio Tinto is not limited to new development projects, the company says. It extends across other Rio Tinto sites, with the group’s maintenance division continually supplying services to its operations.

The award of this significant construction project, combined with recent work orders for the maintenance division from Rio Tinto, have a combined value of circa-A$165 million ($106 million), with the group’s order book now standing at around A$895 million, Civmec said.

BHP, Norton Gold Fields and Saracen join forces for screening and particle sorting study

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A collaborative study with Australia mining companies BHP, Norton Gold Fields and Saracen on the integration of screening and particle sorting techniques is set to deliver benefits across the resources sector, according to CRC ORE.

The Integrated Screening and Particle Sorting Collaborative (ISPS) study aims to develop a robust and scientifically rigorous framework for collecting, testing and reporting results for integrated screening and particle sorting techniques in a variety of ore domains.

The study, which began in August 2019, is currently underway at BHP’s Cliffs nickel mine, Norton Gold Fields’ Paddington gold site and Saracen’s Carosue Dam gold operation, all in Western Australia. It is expected the study will further expand during its 15-month tenure to include an additional two sites, according to CRC Ore.

CRC ORE ISPS Study Program Manager and Discipline Lead – Metallurgical Engineering at Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines, Dr Laurence Dyer, said the opportunity existed to use particle sorting to upgrade ores.

“Trials have recently been conducted at several gold mining operations in the Goldfields region of Western Australia,” Dr Dyer said. “What commonly fails to be taken into consideration is the benefit of first assessing the natural deportment of metal to a size fraction through grade-by-size screening test work, prior to undertaking particle sorting test work.”

He added: “Missing this step has two impacts. First, there is a risk that particle sorting test results will be misinterpreted as being representative of the full sample without considering the mass balance impact of high-grade material that might have been lost in the fine fraction. This fine fraction will not be detected through the particle sorter.

“Secondly, the opportunity may exist to upgrade feed first through determining if there is a concentration of high grade to the fine (or coarse) fraction which can be separated through screening. Undertaking screening in the preparation stage of the particle sorting process will enable analysis and separation of the fine or coarse fractions of a rock mass.”

Dr Dyer said the study outcome would be a blueprint for understanding the opportunity for upgrading ore feeds, including an assessment of operational impacts, economic valuation and implementation approaches.

The three mining companies would benefit from insights and improvements generated from other sites, while CRC ORE will benefit from developing a broader understanding of the application and opportunity for applying particle sorting on a range of deposit types, he said. In CRC ORE’s case, this will be integrated with natural deportment grade-by-size screening opportunities to maximise value for mining operations, he said.

The ISPS study forms part of the CRC ORE Grade Engineering® program, which is focused on extracting metal more efficiently by separating ore from waste before the comminution process commences.

“Current industry perception is that declining feed grade is an unavoidable consequence of ore deposit geology and mass mining technologies for increasingly mature mining operations,” the CRC ORE said.

In typical crush-grind-float operations, value recovery only takes place at around the 100-micron particle size involving three to four orders of magnitude size reduction compared with run of mine feed, according to the organisation.

“For increasingly low-grade deposits, the cost of energy and capital intensity required to process and reject worthless material at micron scale drives poor productivity,” it said. “An alternative is to deploy a range of coarse rejection technologies.”

Grade Engineering is an integrated approach to coarse rejection that matches separation technologies to ore specific characteristics and compares the net value of rejecting low value components in current feed streams with existing mine plans as part of a system view, according to CRC ORE.

Dr Dyer said the Grade Engineering program and the ISPS study would be conducted through CRC ORE’s Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mining Innovation Hub and Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines.

“Particle sorting is an important lever of Grade Engineering,” Dr Dyer said. “Through this project, CRC ORE is looking to develop a better understanding of the value of particle sorting to upgrade mill feed, particularly when combined with grade-by-size screening.”

A not for profit organisation funded by the Australia Federal Government and the global minerals industry, CRC ORE commenced in mid-2010 and, after its initial five-year funding term, was awarded a further six years of funding until July 2021.

Multotec makes an impact in the Pilbara with Ceradox screen panel

Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Multotec has combined Hardox blocks and alumina ceramic tiles to come up with a new high impact screen panel that, it says, cuts plant downtime and boosts mine productivity.

The Ceradox panel boasts more than double the wear life of traditional rubber panels, according to Multotec, with the innovation developed during 2019 in response to a request from an iron ore mining customer in Australia’s Pilbara region.

Three months of testing delivered results that exceeded expectations, according to Multotec Screening Product Manager, Shawn Faba.

“The customer needed a panel with an extended wear life, so that they only needed to conduct replacements during the regular maintenance shutdown every 12 weeks,” Faba said. “Our testing demonstrated that the panels were lasting 24 weeks and longer.”

Through a close collaboration between Multotec South Africa, Multotec Australia and the customer, a solution was developed and proved for a demanding application on scalper screens, it said.

Faba explained: “Designed for the impact area of the scalper screen, the Ceradox panel must withstand the impact of material up to 300 mm in size falling from a discharge height of up to 3 m. It must also resist high levels of abrasion from the ore.”

The resulting design leverages the impact strength of the Hardox blocks and the abrasion resistance of the ceramic tiles, embedded in Multotec’s proprietary rubber formulation, helping absorb the energy of the falling material, according to the company. The panels are manufactured locally at Multotec’s high-volume facilities in Gauteng, South Africa, which include a rubber mixing plant run by experienced specialists.

Faba noted that the 305 mm square Ceradox panels can be manufactured to different thicknesses from 50 mm to 100 mm.

“With our local manufacturing capability, we can achieve short lead times and deliver to anywhere in the world,” he said.

Multotec says it already supplies about 35% of the screening media to the iron ore mines in the Pilbara area.

Kwatani solves the screening equation at South Africa coal processing plant

Coal technology, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , ,

Kwatani has once again shown its mineral processing expertise in a retrofit project that saw one of the largest coal processing plants in South Africa boost screening throughput.

The South Africa-based company was brought in to consult on possible solutions to assist the plant in not only returning its screening throughput performance to the original design parameters but increasing it further.

Kwatani Chief Operating Officer, Kenny Mayhew-Ridgers, said: “Having evaluated the challenges on site and consulted extensively with the plant personnel, we determined that the suggestion to incorporate a bigger gearbox onto the screen would fail.”

The screen lifespan was in excess of six years and Kwatani determined it would not be able to accommodate substantially larger gearboxes offering 50% more output than the currently installed exciter gearboxes. “This would have resulted in irreplaceable damage to the screens,” Mayhew-Ridgers stated.

Because the customer was also looking for a quick and cost-effective solution, purchasing new screens with larger vibration capabilities was not an option, according to the company.

Kwatani came up with a simple solution, according to Mayhew-Ridgers.

“The plant was achieving 450 t/h on 480 t/h screens and was looking to increase this to about 525 t/h. This equated to roughly a 17% increase in performance. Replacing the screen’s existing gearboxes with those that could deliver greater vibration but would not exceed the output torque that the 37 kW drive motor could provide was the answer,” he said.

With a range of locally designed and manufactured exciters gearboxes in its portfolio, Kwatani was quickly able to provide the customer with two new exciter gearboxes delivered to site, installed and operational in the two-week timeframe the customer was looking for. “The increase in screen throughput was immediate,” Mayhew-Ridgers said.

The success of the retrofit saw Kwatani secure the order to replace three additional screens for the customer with new exciter gearboxes now currently operating at 550 t/h – 22% more than the original requirement. “Our success has proven our capabilities and screening knowledge and we have further secured all the screen repair work as well,” Mayhew-Ridgers added.

“We have positioned this business to offer expertise that extends beyond the supply of screening equipment. Our product knowledge enables us to correctly specify the right equipment and components for the application – in a case-by-case scenario,” he concluded.

MBE Minerals expanding vibrating screen sales in southern Africa

Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , ,

Leveraging decades of industry experience and in-house design expertise, MBE Minerals says it is strengthening its footprint of vibrating screens across a range of commodities.

Sales Manager, Graham Standers, says the company has recently supplied 15 new screens to mining customers in coal, diamonds, iron ore and manganese. These operations are based in South Africa, Botswana and Australia. MBE Minerals has also fully refurbished a further four screens to ‘as new’ condition as they approached the end of their planned lifecycle, the company said.

“We place high priority on design capacity, to ensure that every screen suits the application and material it must screen,” Standers said. “Five of the screens supplied were newly designed to suit changing customer needs and processes.”

Each screen is designed by the company’s design office, and the design is then confirmed by finite element analysis through highly specialised software using data from the drawing model, according to the company.

“We have also introduced a range of screens designed specifically for fine coal dewatering, using a design which has proven to be cost effective, efficient and reliable,” Standers says. “Focus was placed on the design of the screen deck support system and screen drive, with a view to reducing downtime by minimising maintenance and enhancing reliability.”

The design is efficient in terms of the required spares stockholding, further reducing the screen’s overall lifecycle costs, according to the company.

“Our unique T-Lock pinless panel fastening system for polyurethane screen panels also significantly reduces the need to hold spares in stock, while reducing the changeout time for screen panels,” he says.

Technical and sales staff conduct regular on-site visits to customers to carry out inspections of equipment in operation. The teams report on equipment condition and performance, and provide customers with value-adding feedback and advice.

MBE Minerals – previously known as Humboldt Wedag – has been designing, manufacturing, installing and servicing vibrating screens in southern Africa for over 40 years.

“Our record for reliability is well known, with some of our units having been in service for over 20 years,” Standers says.

Kwatani stresses importance of screen servicing

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining services, , , , , ,

To ensure uptime on critical equipment, maintenance contracts are becoming an ever-more popular choice, according to vibrating equipment OEM, Kwatani.

The South Africa-based company should know, as it has customised contracts in place to service over 500 of its machines in the Northern Cape alone.

“Vibrating screens are critical to a mine’s material flow, which is its lifeblood,” Kwatani CEO Kim Schoepflin, says. “This requires OEMs to be experts, not just in design and manufacture, but in service support and maintenance.”

As a leading local OEM, Kwatani has seen mines gradually embrace the value of maintenance contracts to avoid costly downtime. One of its contracts covers about 400 screens on a single mining operation.

The range of its contracts extends to various commodities, from hard materials like iron ore and manganese to soft material such as coal. In one coal operation in Limpopo, Kwatani has contracted to service 160 of its machines.

Schoepflin highlights how regular, expert maintenance is vital for mines to achieve the lowest cost per tonne in their production process. However, she warns these contracts can only be conducted responsibly and effectively with the right level of knowledge and experience.

“With our depth of know-how gathered over more than 40 years, we understand exactly what inspections and critical replacement need to be done and when,” she says. “As importantly, we know how to conduct this work cost effectively.”

Accurate costing of maintenance contracts can only be based on a firm foundation of expertise, especially when contracts invoke penalties due to breakdowns. Kwatani’s experience in the field ensures the requirements of its maintenance contracts are met. This allows the company to offer a range of financial models to customers when they consider such contracts.

“We are so confident of the quality and reliability of our vibrating screens and feeders that some customers pay us a cost-per-tonne rate to maintain them,” she says. “We design, manufacture, install and commission according to their requirements, and then we take financial responsibility for keeping them fully operational.”

Long-term contracts often also include a commitment to improve and enhance the performance of the screens over time. To do this work professionally requires qualified service teams who are supported by solid engineering teams. Kwatani has developed these resources locally over more than four decades, and continuously develops skills in-house, alongside the various management systems to ensure such skills are available timeously to the customer.

“In addition to training and employing local people for a service role at our branches, we also collaborate with mining customers to empower their locally-based suppliers where this is feasible,” Schoepflin says.

She highlights Kwatani’s solution-orientated approach, combining the company’s expertise in its screening technology with the customer’s specific needs and resources.

Weir Minerals Africa putting newly designed vibrating screens to the test

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

Weir Minerals Africa, having over the last 40 years proven the credentials of its Enduron® range of vibrating screens, is now locally designing and manufacturing new-generation linear motion vibrating screens.

One of these new, modern screen designs is part of a recent Weir Minerals Africa complete comminution plant contract for a South Africa mining project. The scope included two crushing stations, a screening station and all the related feed chutes, bins and conveyors.

According to Christian Stehle, Head of Engineering at Weir Minerals Africa, the company’s design capability provides the flexibility to produce vibrating screens to suit each customer’s plant layout. At the same time, the designs will optimise cost, efficiency and performance. South Africa also hosts Weir Minerals’ global screening and separation technology group.

“This expertise ensures that our robust Enduron vibrating screens provide exceptional classification and dewatering screening performance,” Stehle said. The screens are deployed in a wide range of minerals processing applications.

He noted that vibrating equipment is generally more challenging to design than static equipment due to the high frequency cyclic loading to which the machines are subjected.

“The final design must address key criteria like screening efficiency, throughput and loading, while still operating within the acceptable fatigue life limits of the materials of construction,” he said.

Stehle highlighted that the use of finite element analysis (FEA) tools allow engineers to optimise screen life by obtaining the stress and deflection levels in the equipment and applying the appropriate structural design and utilisation of materials in the areas experiencing high stresses.

“Traditionally, screen designs used to be heavier in an effort to extend the life of the equipment,” he said. “Using FEA tools during the design stage allows us to retain structural integrity while actually reducing the overall weight of the machine.”

While there are areas of high stress on the equipment that need more strength, technology tools indicate where lower stresses occur. In these areas, less steel can be used to make the structure lighter, according to Weir Minerals Africa. Leveraging this technology, the weight of some new-generation screens has been cut by up to 15%, the company said.

Stehle noted that Weir’s Synertrex™ IoT platform can also be applied to monitor and improve the performance of the company’s vibrating screens. Synertrex technology is an industrial internet of things system that allows operators to monitor every aspect of their equipment’s operation, to prevent problems and increase throughput.