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“ This gives us as the contractor much closer control of our projects , allowing us to reduce our subcontract-related risk ,” Widlake concluded .
Partnership sorted
A collaboration of another kind has resulted in a new entrant in the increasingly competitive sensor-based ore sorting market .
Acrux Sorting Technology Ltd a wholly-owned subsidiary of commodity trader and resource funding and investment specialist , Acrux Resources Ltd , and IMS Engineering Ltd ( IMS ), a crushing , screening and sorting equipment manufacturer , have entered into a strategic partnership to provide sensor-based sorting technology to mine owners on a “ fully-funded basis ”.
The partnership has the objective of creating value for miners by upgrading marginal or uneconomical material into valuable feed that can be fed into an existing processing plant or sold on a concentrated basis at no financial risk to the capital spend .
“ The uniqueness of the partnership offers innovative de-risked solutions to mineral resource owners , customised to the mineral commodity and operational environment , and provides a unique opportunity to engineer sorting solutions with a heightened focus on adding further value in operations ,” the companies said . “ The 360o solution will unlock opportunities to increase revenue and reduce costs for resource owners with no need to fund the capital solution .”
Acrux stated that with the current economic challenges in the mining sector , resource owners have had limited success in accessing this technology due to a lack of capital funding .
“ This partnership will not only provide a solution to the capital funding challenges and improve engineering and operational capacity , but will also add value to resource owners ’ environmental , sustainability and governance scorecards , as the technology does not require water , optimises operational costs and efficiency , and reduces the need for tailings treatment and overall environmental liability ,” it said .
Sean Browne , AST ’ s Executive Director , added : “ We are focused on providing mineral resource owners with fully funded turnkey solutions that will result in more saleable product and , in turn , reposition them on the cost curve .”
“ The accuracy of 3D scanning means that we can rapidly gather detailed measurements of large infrastructure on a customer ’ s site ,” Alwin Nienaber , Weba ’ s Technical Director , said . “ This data allows us to generate highly accurate 3D models of on-site conditions , which refines the accuracy of the equipment and componentry we develop and install in that environment .”
Greater accuracy keeps rework costs in design and manufacturing to a minimum and reduces any downtime during the installation phase , according to the company . Detailed 3D scan data allows all elements of the existing infrastructure to be considered during the preliminary design stage , so the customer is assured of a reliable costing in a project ’ s early feasibility stages .
There may be numerous deformations or undocumented alterations in the customer ’ s existing infrastructure that could complicate the design and execution of a project , according to Nienaber . Manual measurement of dimensions may also not deliver the levels of accuracy required .
“ Especially when we are replacing transfer points or chutes , we can significantly de-risk the process with our capacity to reverse-engineer the solution within the existing constraints ,” he said . “ The scanned data is superimposed on our design intent , alerting us to interference that will disrupt smooth installation .”
One of the key advantages of 3D scanning , therefore , is it contributes to the level of
Scanning the market
This joint ore sorting solution could soon be interacting with Weba Chute Systems & Solutions ’ products .
The transfer point specialist has been leveraging 3D scanning technology to ensure there are no surprises when designing and installing its products .
JANUARY 2021 | International Mining 41