Technology and innovation
Converted crawler shows its strength
Throatbush wear rate has a major
impact on the overall efficiency of
slurry pumps. In many applications, the
pump’s throatbush is the component
that has the shortest life compared
to the impeller and liners, with
considerable variability.
To address this, Weir Minerals has
developed superior rotating and axial
adjustment technology. Adjusting the
gap between the throatbush and the
impeller front shroud reduces hydraulic
recirculation in the pump. This prevents
localised wear on the throatbush,
improves hydraulic efficiency, and
lowers the total ownership cost for the
operator. To avoid impacting the plant’s
production, these adjustments are often
performed while the pump is operating.
However, this can have safety
implications for individuals working at
the front of the pump unit.
Weir Minerals’ automated
adjustment systems speed up the
process, allowing for more frequent
adjustments with minimal effort. When
maintaining an alloy throatbush, all
four bolts are adjusted at the same time
to ensure even adjustment and accurate
positioning, improving the wear life of
the throatbush.
A new 22-tonne Doosan DX225LC-5 crawler excavator has been converted into an
all-terrain machine for contracts being carried out in the Wadden Sea in Germany, by
the company Sven Jacobs Tief-, Garten- und Landschaftsbau, who is based in Tating
(Schleswig-Holstein). The conversion of the Doosan excavator supplied by local Doosan
dealer, Atlas Hamburg GmbH, was completed by OLKO-Maschinentechnik GmbH
from Olfen (NRW).
The main application area for the new all-terrain excavator is the approximately
11.3km-long Hindenburgdamm embankment, which connects the island of Sylt with the
mainland in Germany. Around 8.1km of the Hindenburg embankment runs through the
Wadden Sea.
To prevent the standard Doosan 22-tonne crawler excavator from sinking into the
water, a particularly low-ground pressure is required. For this purpose, Jens Mewes, from
Sales at Atlas Hamburg, who has been working with the Jacobs company for four years,
contacted OLKO-Maschinentechnik to carry out the conversion needed. OLKO has
mounted the superstructure of the Doosan DX225LC-5 on an all-terrain undercarriage,
not a standard pontoon, to ensure that the full manoeuvrability of the excavator has been
maintained.
Pump maintenance
enhanced
The DX225LC-5 crawler excavator has been converted into an all-terrain machine.
Kwatani’s custom-engineered products are used in some of the world’s largest mines, and
many customers have standardised on their screens to ensure lowest cost of ownership
and high performance, according to general manager sales and service, Jan Schoepflin.
At a local brownfield diamond expansion project, the company’s multi-slope banana
screens were matched to the available plant footprint, raising throughput from 250 to 500
tonnes per hour and later breaking the mine’s tonnage record.
While screening in heavy minerals is Kwatani’s stronghold, the company has also
supplied various coal producers with 45 items of large screening equipment, including
outsized 4.3-metre-wide units. Other recent coal-related orders included run-of-mine
screens for a medium-sized coal mine in Mpumalanga.
At Africa’s largest iron ore mine, the company completed two projects, renewing
existing equipment with up-to-date solutions and replacing 24 items of competitor
equipment. A recent turnkey solution focused on the platinum by-product chromite,
where the company supplied a complete solution that included feeder, dryer, and screen to
treat chromite of 45-micron size at 15 tonnes per hour. .
[40] MINING MIRROR MARCH 2019
Screening across the industry
Weir Minerals enhances pump maintenance
with adjustment technology.
www.miningmirror.co.za