Tag Archives: TLT-Turbo Africa

TLT-Turbo Africa finds mine ventilation growth at home and abroad

Mine ventilation, Mining equipment, Sustainable mining, , , ,

Following what it says is unprecedented resilience throughout the past 18 months, TLT-Turbo Africa is now accelerating its growth globally with the signing of six new major clients and the retention of 20 existing clients who have submitted new orders to be filled in the year ahead.

TLT-Turbo Africa has secured orders from six new major clients in the copper, platinum and gold sectors for the supply of mining ventilation equipment. These include clients based in Australia, the US and Kazakhstan. The contracts continue TLT-Turbo Africa’s successful track record of delivering advanced, efficient, and high-performance surface, underground and auxiliary mining ventilation solutions both in Africa and globally for almost two decades, it said.

Closer to home, TLT-Turbo Africa has retained 20 clients in mining, mineral processing and the automotive industry – pre-dominantly based in the sub-Saharan region.

Vusi Madlopha, TLT-Turbo Africa Head of Sales and Business Development, said: “These clients return to us based on the performance of our products and the ways in which they have enhanced their operations and reduced their operational costs. This coupled with our service delivery track record, continuous customer engagement and competitive pricing has helped us to secure returning revenue from clients who have become more like partners to us over the years.”

According to Madlopha, TLT-Turbo Africa has managed to maintain and expand their market share despite the challenges presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve focused on our strategy on increasing sales and maintaining the quality of our product offering,” Madlopha said. “Our strategy also included growth into new territories outside Africa using the global network of our parent company, TLT-Turbo GmbH. 2021 posed unique supply chain challenges that affected the whole world. Our internal processes allowed for efficient use of limited resources to produce quality products for our customers throughout the year.”

A major contributing factor to this success, adds Madlopha, was the leadership and vision of TLT-Turbo Africa Managing Director, Christo Gelderblom (pictured). Gelderblom’s vision is to position the company as a global supplier of air movement technology.

Gelderblom said: “Over the last few years, TLT-Turbo Africa has meaningfully scaled our core portfolio of mining ventilation solutions, invested in the research and development needed to advance our technology, and enhanced our customer consultation and care culture. We have listened to our clients and the faith they have in us is echoed in the respect we have for their expertise and input. The fact that our clients continue to come back to us proves their confidence in the next chapter for TLT-Turbo Africa.”

Looking at what’s next in the year ahead, Madlopha explains that, in addition to continuous enhancement of its existing mine ventilation offering, TLT-Turbo Africa will enhance the product offering to include Mechanical Vapor Recompression and expanding into new applications.

“As we enter 2022, we look forward to expanding our product offering to evaporation technologies and industrial process plants,” Gelderblom said. “Mining will always be our backbone, so we will also focus on strengthening our relationships with all our mining customers through our sales networks within the SSA region, and globally.”

TLT-Turbo customised ventilation solution hits the spot at South Africa mine

Environmental, Mine operation news, Mine ventilation, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

TLT-Turbo Africa says its customised and proactive approach to ventilation solutions, combined with a new range of auxiliary and booster fans, have provided substantial electrical cost savings to a major global gold and platinum producer.

The latest installation comes just three months after installing a customised pair of TLT-Turbo Africa’s fans at one of the miner’s South Africa sites.

TLT-Turbo Africa was approached by the ultra-deep mining operation, in Gauteng, requiring a recommendation for a suitable fan solution to be installed in a section of its mine.

“Following numerous engagements, our engineering and research and development teams set out to develop a customised solution utilising our high efficiency A&B fan range,” Vusi Madlopha, TLT-Turbo Africa Head of Sales & Business Development, said.

TLT-Turbo Africa’s solution was purpose-designed to meet the requirements of the mining operation. At the time, the operation was using multiple installations of auxiliary fans to deliver the required volume and pressure (these auxiliary fans were consuming circa-630 kWe). The mine was also operating three main surface fans, each consuming around 2 MW of power.

“The client’s main objective was to ensure that a sufficient volume of ventilating air was provided to the underground operations while reducing power consumption,” Madlopha explained. “To meet their needs, TLT-Turbo Africa was required to supply two fans, each capable of moving 71 cu.m/s of ventilating air at a pressure loss of 3,000 Pa.”

These requirements fell comfortably within the design ranges of TLT-Turbo Africa’s A&B fan offering, the company said.

Based on an assessment of the mine’s needs, the final recommendation made by TLT-Turbo Africa was for two MC1600AP-160 kW dual-stage fans from the newly launched A&B fan range (specifically 1,600 mm diameter, dual-stage fans, each fan driven by two 160 kW high-efficiency motors).

There was another challenge TLT-Turbo’s team was required to resolve; the selected fans (as per standard, off-the-shelf design) would be too large to pass freely through the shaft and horizontal infrastructure to reach their installation site.

To overcome this obstacle, TLT-Turbo Africa’s R&D team custom designed the fans to be modular thus allowing transport of the fan components through the shafts and access tunnels of the mine. Once on site, the fans were easily assembled, according to Madlopha.

The complete product offering also included broadband silencers, self-closing doors and other fan ancillaries. For this project, TLT-Turbo Africa also provided locally manufactured Direct On-line starter panels.

“TLT-Turbo Africa offered the mine a solution well suited to the tough underground mining environment,” Madlopha said. “This solution would ensure a reliable supply of ventilation within the section of the mine in which the fans were to be installed.”

Three months after the installation and commissioning of the supplied fans, conditions underground at the shaft have improved noticeably, according to Madlopha. This is particularly the case in the previously warmer upper levels.

The installation and commissioning of the TLT-Turbo Africa fans described above has allowed the mine to permanently stop and remove 14 other auxiliary fans (with a total rated power of 630 kW). In addition, the mine has also been able to permanently stop one of the main surface fans, resulting in a direct energy saving of more than 2 MW of power, providing an annual electrical cost saving of more than ZAR14 million ($921,504). The capital payback period on this project has been less than three months, according to TLT-Turbo Africa.

“With the lifespan of this project exceeding 10 years, the implied electrical cost savings of this solution are massive,” the company said.

According to Madlopha, the success of the ventilation equipment at this mine can be attributed to the innovative design of the company’s A&B fan range, and the ability of TLT-Turbo’s experts to customise these fans even further to meet client and site-specific requirements.

“The system supplied was customised and optimised for that particular operation,” Madlopha said. “The design point, layout and robust structure provided an overall fan system which is not only efficient, but also reliable.”

TLT-Turbo Africa to bring fresh air to Kamoa-Kakula copper project

Base metals, Environmental, Mine ventilation, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, , , , , , , , ,

TLT-Turbo Africa has been awarded the contract for the supply and installation of a turnkey solution for underground ventilation and fumes extraction at the Ivanhoe Mines’ majority-owned Kamoa-Kakula copper project, some 25 km outside of Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The contract was awarded by Kamoa Copper SA, which forms part of the project, a joint venture between Ivanhoe, Zijin Mining Group and the Government of the DRC.

TLT-Turbo Africa is designing, manufacturing and supplying a Bifurcated Axial Flow Fan Station for the extraction of mine fumes as well as auxiliary and booster fans for Kamoa’s underground operation, it said. The company will also oversee the installation of the fans and provide assistance with commissioning. The project is the first of many of strategic importance within the Sub Saharan Africa region that the company is involved in, TLT-Turbo said.

The contract was secured in October, with commissioning due to begin in July. TLT-Turbo Africa was appointed by DRA Projects, which is handling engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) on the project, the company said.

Kamoa Copper SA will develop the new copper mine, which is expected to yield an estimated 6 Mt/y in its first phase alone. The Kakula deposit has been independently ranked as the world’s largest, undeveloped, high-yield, high-grade copper discovery, according to DRA, with a resource measuring 174 Mt at an average grade of 5.62% Cu.

According to TLT-Turbo’s Madeleine Pretorius, the project presents unique challenges from a logistical point of view. The site is remote, and it involves multiple border crossings and often poor road conditions. “This means complicated logistic solutions. TLT-Turbo has the benefit of a broad suite of options to minimise the need for abnormal or complex loads,” she said.

The TLT-Turbo Africa offering and approach positions them as a preferred supplier for ventilation solutions in challenging locations, according to Pretorius. “We provide an energy-efficient solution where power costs are high, and availability can be erratic. Our product is designed for long-term reliability and durability, with simple maintenance requirements and minimal downtime, which is critical for our remote clients.”

Mike van Oerle, Sales Manager at TLT-Turbo Africa, said the company’s approach will provide several benefits to Kamoa’s operations. This includes standardised equipment designed for simple installation and maintenance, which means TLT-Turbo’s fans can be maintained by the client on site, without the need for costly expert inspections. “TLT-Turbo is providing highly-efficient products to meet Kamoa’s interim ventilation and power requirements, with flexibility for future redeployment at an alternative ventilation position.”

Both van Oerle and Pretorius assert TLT-Turbo Africa’s delivery of the scope of work on this specific project speaks to the company’s wider capabilities and expertise. The collaboration with DRA has paved the way for excellence in service delivery, according to them. Pretorius said: “Working with an experienced EPCM company, such as DRA, our project team is able to draw on their unparalleled knowledge of the Sub Saharan African mining environment. Both teams work together to provide solutions that address the challenges experienced by our customers.”

Oerle concluded: “Our ability to understand our customers’ requirements led to a cost-effective solution, focusing on total cost of ownership. Combining this solution with an experienced projects execution team, means that we can ensure Kamoa receives high-quality products and on-time delivery.”

Newly consolidated TLT-Turbo Africa looks for international opportunities

Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mine shafts and equipment, Mine ventilation, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , ,

Following the launch of the TLT-Turbo Africa, in the June quarter of 2018, Germany-based ventilation firm, TLT-Turbo, has concluded the consolidation of several South Africa-based operations to become, it says, the continent’s first and only complete, turnkey mining, energy and industrial ventilation solutions provider.

TLT-Turbo Africa Managing Director, Luther Erasmus, said: “Over the past two years, the TLT-Turbo Africa board, under the global leadership of TLT-Turbo, has worked towards the complete integration of product, service and project capabilities. Our objective was to provide our clients with an absolute turnkey approach to ventilation solutions.”

TLT-Turbo Africa will capitalise on TLT-Turbo’s global reputation as a leading provider of advanced ventilation and process fans on a global scale, it said. The company manufactures radial and axial flow fans for virtually any industrial application.

“One of our main objectives, following the complete consolidation of TLT-Turbo Africa’s operations, is to produce and distribute a full range of ventilation products for the mining, industrial and power markets for South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In future, our product lines will be based on the TLT Global group’s unique, proprietary ventilation solutions,” Erasmus said.

To enhance TLT-Turbo Africa’s service offering, LH Marthinusen (LHM), a division of ACTOM, has been appointed as the group’s authorised service partner. LHM will be responsible for the maintenance and refurbishment of the full range of TLT-Turbo fans, as well as the distribution of spare parts on an exclusive basis in South Africa and on a non-exclusive basis in 20 other sub-Saharan countries.

LHM will provide routine maintenance services on both new and installed TLT-Turbo products, such as the 36 large induced draft fans at Majuba, Medupi and Kusile power stations, other installed surface and process fans, as well as its range of auxiliary fans, axial flow and centrifugal fans. LHM has been given full access to the design expertise of TLT-Turbo’s engineering team allowing them to perform service and efficiency upgrades on third-party fans for TLT-Turbo clients as well.

TLT-Turbo Global Managing Director, Rainer Redinger, said consolidating the company’s Africa operations opened opportunities to service a broader local and international client base. “It will see us benefiting from a larger supply and services footprint with global support infrastructure from TLT-Turbo and its parent company PowerChina Corp,” he said.

In 2019, TLT-Turbo Africa will focus on the expansion of its SSA footprint, which will lead to future investment for the expansion of TLT-Turbo Africa’s projects offering and manufacturing facilities to support the expected growth in the SSA mining industry and industrial applications, Erasmus said.

“Our solutions have been field proven to provide holistic ventilation solutions that are able to meet the challenges of the African market. Our high efficiency designs are able to outperform other products on the market while achieving significant power savings and reducing CO2 emissions,” he explained. TLT-Turbo Africa will also deliver turnkey project installations, engineering and civil services to meet the most demanding customer requirements.

“This complete offering provides clients with a single source for design, development, distribution, product support, and customer service. Seamless integration of all the above elements means maximum client value and assures our clients that they are being supplied a quality product along with the highest level of long-term product support. This is also consistent with our TLT approach that offers our clients the best total life cycle cost solution,” Redinger concluded.