MINING SCREENS
protected from material and water ingress to ensure maximum equipment life . The bearings , which aren ’ t in close proximity or submerged in fluid like older dewatering technologies , are ‘ sealed for life ’, requiring minimal greasing , and with each B10 bearing ’ s lifecycle in excess of 10,000 hours .”
He says CDE is always innovating and expanding its screening technology . “ We ’ re currently developing to new screens to add to the range . Screening technology is central to every plant we commission , across all sectors , and no two projects are the same which is why we ’ re expanding the range , boosting the flexibility and adaptability of the range to be able to respond to the challenges facing customers .”
He also emphasised the modular design and adaptability of the Infinity screen range . “ It ’ s not an off the shelf solution , we work to adapt it to our customers ’ site-specific or material challenges . The modular design means we can even maintain a customer ’ s own preferred
CDE Infinity screens have a fully-bolted construction with patented trilogy side wall technology , reducing the risk of cyclic fatigue failure
screening media as part of our solution .” The key to improving and adapting CDE ’ s screening technology for each customer or project is its cocreation approach , he says . “ In a way every screen is new , or bespoke , or different in some capacity . Aperture size and shape are extremely important in ensuring maximum screen efficiency and every solution – every screen and its screening media – that we deliver is tailored to the customer ’ s own feed material after extensive sampling and lab testing to deliver the best possible solution to meet their objectives .”
Commenting on the applications of the range , he says its adaptability as result of its considered design and the three principles which underscore the CDE Infinity Screen range . “ Our Infinity Screens exemplify our commitment to engineering excellence , demonstrated through a range that offers superior plant performance to maximise tonnage per hour , durability to protect your investment and enable fast return , and achieving very tight product specifications .”
IM
Paul Moore caught up with Kwatani CEO , Kim Schoepflin to get some insights into screening trends in mining – the company is set to become part of Sandvik Group in Q4 2021
Q Connected screens : are mines actively using more of the sensor technology that is available to monitor things like vibration and wear ? A Mines are equipped with SCADA systems and typically record the power consumption of the screen drive units . This is normally directly proportional to the feed rate and an indication whether the unit is operating or not . This , however , doesn ’ t reflect the overall health of the screen . Vibration sensors are the most common type of sensor used for this purpose . Although the South African market is still slow to adopt this technology , it is becoming a typical requirement on international tenders . One of the main topics of discussion when it comes to condition monitoring is where the data is streamed . OEMs typically prefer the data to be hosted in a cloud environment facilitating quick access to data to provide a value-added service to their customers . On the other hand , some customers are concerned about the security of the data in which case it is better to stream the data directly to the SCADA system or host a local server on site that can integrate with other data recording systems . The wear on screens is a very complex parameter to measure and still very much in research phase .
Q For both screening and washing are applications like retreatment of tailings and waste becoming more important and can you give any examples ? A Ores that have already been extracted hold an extremely lucrative financial lure as the bulk of capital required in a typical mining and beneficiation operation is already complete . The development of new beneficiation technologies , such as ore sorting , more effective chemical processes and specialised fines beneficiation , have in recent years prompted metallurgists to re-look at tailings and waste , not only for additional product revenue , but also decreasing the environmental impact of processing plants . Kwatani actively takes part in development of screens to achieve the best suited feed particle size and condition for new beneficiation technologies . The most active examples at this stage are processing of gold ore dumps , reclamation- and rehabilitation of iron ore slimes dams and PGM tailings treatment .
Q With screens is the market now less about bigger and heavier units with higher throughput and more about innovations in terms of new more project specific designs ? A Regardless of the screen size , development of a project specific screen is always important . The demand for mega processing screens drives a large part of the innovations and development in customised screen design at Kwatani . It is the engineered solutions on customisation of large screens and the highly demanding production environment of these screens which has given Kwatani a markable competitive edge on customisation of equipment for smaller projects .
Q Is there a lot of focus on making washing systems more efficient to conserve water and how is this being done ? A There has been a shift towards ‘ lower water requirement ’ technologies to reduce the overall water demand on new processing plants . Monitoring and more efficient distribution of wash water over screens optimise the general consumption , but the most influential remains maintenance on water lines .
Q Are customers now seeing screening media as less of a commodity and factoring it more into TCO for the screen units ? A Customers have realised that not all screening media performs the same and thus have become more selective on specific brands and suppliers . In TCO evaluations screen media is typically only evaluated based on wear life . Adding efficiency performance to the TCO seldom happens even though it is highly beneficial .
Kwatani argues that regardless of the screen size , development of a project specific screen is always important
34 International Mining | OCTOBER 2021