Cradle to grave
South African coal operations are under
pressure to reduce capital expenditure
on infrastructure. With research and
technology as a key driver of most suppliers,
new technologies are continuously in the
pipeline to meet the changing needs of the
industry.
According to Ken Basson, director plant
and engineering at B&E International,
the company’s R&D focus has allowed
it to develop its own primary coal
crushing plant. The plant, currently under
construction, is track mounted and will
be launched soon. “The design is aimed
at further reducing unit costs that we can
achieve when conducting a contract for a
customer. Its high-volume capacity means
better efficiencies while being able to serve
multiple small deposits on the same mine
site,” says Basson.
Water conservation in the coal
beneficiation process is another element of
the company’s R&D. It is exploring practical
options for ‘dry separation’ technology for
coal plants, in collaboration with a local
university. Traditional water-based coal-
washing technology is a major consumer of
water in mine plants.
www.miningmirror.co.za
Easing coal mines’ risk
B&E International is developing a track-mounted mobile coal crushing solution.
“Whether a project is greenfield or
brownfield, we can assist in providing
solutions and addressing challenges,” says
Basson. “For existing plants, our engineering
team can identify and address constraints in
the process — whether the equipment
is ours or a competitor’s. We conduct
detailed studies on how customers can
remove bottlenecks from their plants,”
Basson adds.
APRIL 2019 MINING MIRROR [37]