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Johan Engelbrecht, managing director
Multotec Process Equipment. |
Opportunity To Improve Efficiencies In Heavy Minerals Sector
The heavy minerals sector did not
participate in the recent commodities boom, but is
still affected by the current economic crisis via
reductions in demand for certain commodities
including illiminite, rutile and lauxocene. This
will definitely affect the timing of greenfields
plants as well as put pressure on operating cost
reductions.
If demand keeps falling some of the higher operating
cost mines may close. Certainly the slow down in
greenfields plants will affect capital sales,
however at the same time an opportunity will be
created to improve efficiency and reduce costs,
Johan Engelbrecht, managing director Multotec
Process Equipment, tells Mining Weekly.
Multotec is entering its 35th year in
business and has a vast reference base of successful
installations both from a capex perspective as well as where
solutions have been implemented that have improved
efficiencies and reduced costs. |
Multotec has extended its experience with trommel screens
for mills to the mineral sands industry with self driven,
large diameter trommels. Both its extensive knowledge of
screen panels and the engineering competence surrounding
trommels has resulted in an improved product to this sector.
“One opportunity which has become apparent is in proper
desliming of the ore in the primary concentrator. Test work
has shown that if the slime content is higher than 5% it
starts affecting recovery. This will become increasingly
important as a large number of the newer deposits have
higher slimes content,” Engelbrecht says.
ISO 9001:2000 accredited Multotec is recognised as a major
global supplier of cyclones and has not only concentrated on
the equipment, but on the total system to satisfy the needs
of the end user. “Working together with our customers, we
strive to produce workable and customised solutions that
will lead to increased productivity and profitability for
the customer,” Engelbrecht adds.
Engelbrecht cites two techniques which are used to
consistently produce efficient desliming, namely single or
multi-stage inclined cyclones and water injection.
“Another method we employ to produce a reduction in the cost
of treatment is through the use of pre concentrators which
consist mainly of high capacity, large diameter spirals. A
substantial reduction in costs can be achieved through the
use of these units and this is also pertinent when treating
economically low grade deposits.”
Multotec has developed the HX5, HX 6 and HX 9 spirals with
multiple repulping stages to simulate both a rougher and
scavenger operation in one piece of equipment. “In
conjunction with the fact that four starts can be fitted per
spiral, this reduces the capital cost by combining two
stages of treatment in one which equates to less than half
the volume when compared to conventional smaller diameter
spirals,” Engelbrecht explains.
“Since the majority of plants operate in a corrosive
environment, there is a definite tendency to use materials
that do not corrode and which offer abrasion resistance at
the same time,” Engelbrecht says. One example is the pipe
launder system where PVC or polypropylene is lined with
polyurethane, satisfying both the objectives of corrosion
and abrasion protection. “This has been so successful that a
number of our major users have now standardised on this
equipment.”
Further downstream in the minerals separation process (MSP),
new developments in wet, high intensity separators offer
higher capacity and higher intensities at lower capital
cost. “An example is the new HIW 4 WHIMS machine which can
treat up to 120 tons in a single machine.”
In a falling demand environment, end users become more
quality conscious and the need for correct sampling
equipment increases. With this in mind, Multotec has
developed unique sampling equipment specifically for the
minerals sand industry.
An innovative approach to technology and ongoing commitment
to customer satisfaction has seen the Multotec Group grow
from strength to strength. “South Africa has produced a
number of leading technological solutions for the mining
industry and by harnessing our locally acquired experience
in the minerals market, we are able to transfer this
expertise to the rugged and demanding conditions throughout
the rest of Africa as well as globally,” Engelbrecht says.
“Through our ongoing product development initiatives we will
continue to supply cost efficient minerals processing and
materials handling solutions and find increasingly creative
ways of harnessing the diverse skills and knowledge of both
our employees and those of our clients, to achieve high
levels of performance and ensure customers are offered the
best technical solutions,” Engelbrecht concludes. |
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