SOUTH AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES
Pumping action is achieved by compression of a circular loop of elastomeric hose with two diametrically opposed rotating shoes. The rotational motion forces fluid in the hose to move ahead of each shoe. When each shoe reaches the end of the loop, the reinforced tube immediately returns to its immediate shape, thereby ensuring suction and priming. The pump housing is partially filled with lubricant, aiding in smooth running of the shoes on the hose. Because the inside of the hose and inserts are the only parts in contact with fluid, aggressive and contaminated fluids can be pumped. With the CIP technology these fluids can be successfully flushed.
The moment the shoes are reversed, they collapse, which opens up the entire hose. The hose stays in that position until it is reset.“ By opening the hose completely, air or water can pass through easily, making the hose easy to clean,” says Liebenberg.
On a standard pump, users would have to open the unit completely for cleaning, which takes about eight hours on a large pump.“ This new design saves time, since users do not need to open up, pull apart, or drain the pump as with the standard hose pump design.”
Despite this, some people have suggested that this concept presents difficulties because there are too many moving parts. However, this is not the case, says Liebenberg.“ This pump is purely for peristaltic purposes, and will never fail”.
Meanwhile, another Brubin innovation was a highlight at Electra Mining.“ The Brubin Magnetic Drive Pumps( Mag Drives) are the future of chemical pumping,” says Letaba Pumps MD, John Vass, who stressed the importance of this innovation within the global green movement.“ Our Brubin Mag Drives are being supplied to the likes of Denel and Sasol because of their reliability and international support,” says Liebenberg.
The Brubin range of Mag Drives is made in South Africa, and has an already impressive footprint in the industry.“ I believe these represent the future of pumping when it comes to clear acids. In the USA, over 50 % of clear acid applications use Mag Drives. Despite this, some industry players don’ t seem to appreciate the environmental issues faced with leakages,” says Vass.“ Mag Drives don’ t use mechanical seals or gland packing and there is no danger of a leak.”
The decision by FLSmidth’ s South African business to reshape the way it serves its customer base underpins its belief that greater end-user engagement with OEMs like itself will ensure improved operational performance at plants.
Terence Osborn, who recently assumed the role of Commercial Manager of Minerals Sub Saharan Africa at FLSmidth, says that the introduction of appropriate new technology through skilled applications consulting will facilitate a reduction in operating costs for customers.
Osborn, together with Deon de Kock, FLSmidth Country Manager and Vice President for Minerals Sub Saharan Africa, has been instrumental in identifying opportunities where the company’ s teams will be able to add value to customers across the African continent.
“ Customers in Africa have access to FLSmidth’ s vast portfolio of quality technology solutions, and with skilled people on the ground we are more than capable of effectively assessing individual application requirements,” Osborn says. This includes collaboration on greenfields as well as brownfields projects, and working with customers to optimise existing operations.
“ FLSmidth has the technologies and capabilities, and it is about leveraging the in-depth experience and expertise resident in our global organisation and applying appropriate technology solutions.”
Through the new initiative, access to FLSmidth global product experts will be easier, and a more cohesive customer experience will be provided. This will also allow interaction with highly proficient technical personnel and engineers, enabling a best practice technology solution to be provided for any given application.
In addition, the company intends making its presence felt across Africa through greater customer contact and interaction. De Kock says this will include FLSmidth personnel on the ground as well as local representation. The company will also focus on growing indirect distribution channels through the appointment of dealers and distributor networks, where applicable.
Roy Hazell recently joined FLSmidth as Head of Sales for Sub Saharan Africa. He says that it is most important that the company takes the time to actually listen to customers’ needs.“ Our focus must be external and driven by the customer application requirements,” he says.
FLSmidth ' s F900 HPGR unit with drive train during installation
Within a year of unveiling its innovative semimobile Bradford Breaker to the mining industry, comminution equipment specialist Tenova TAKRAF Africa is supplying two machines for junior miners operating open pits in South Africa’ s Mpumalanga Province. The coal mines, Overlooked Colliery and Black Wattle Colliery, ordered the semi-mobile Bradford Breakers in July / August 2016 with delivery scheduled for end January 2017.
The machines operate at 300 t / h, breaking coal lumps of a maximum size of 350 mm down to 80 mm, and were ordered based on both their low capital cost and ease of transport. These features are crucial to junior and small miners who are increasingly exploiting small coal resources.
The semi-mobile Bradford Breaker ordered by Black Wattle, part of the UK-based Bisichi Mining group, will be located adjacent to the washing plant. The breaker for ACC Coal’ s Overlooked Colliery will be used to service the mine for its remaining life-of-mine of some 10 to 15 years, with the option to then be moved to another application. TAKRAF Africa’ s scope of work covers design and manufacture with the mines responsible for installation at site. This is relatively simple as the semi-mobile Bradford Breaker comes complete with a civils template, which is then cast into a concrete slab at site. A further advantage of the use of a single concrete slab in place of the more traditional multiple plinths is that it ensures more accurate alignment of the machine, the performance of which is highly sensitive to misalignment.
TAKRAF Africa has marketed Bradford Breakers, under licence from TerraSource Global of the USA, to the South African mining industry since the 1970s, with the breaker having proved itself time
50 International Mining | JANUARY 2017