AFRICA NEWS
‘Greening’ the coal mining industry
Mounting stress on South Africa’s water
resources, combined with growing
concerns about the environmental impact
of mining operations, makes Aury Africa’s
400 tonne per hour (t/h) dry sorting
technology ideal for environmentally
conscious mining houses.
Aury Africa aims to bring its first dry
separator to South Africa in 2019 for
trial at a coal mine, reveals business
development manager, George
Sturgeon. Aury Africa, a subsidiary of
design and construction coal group
DADI Engineering Development Group,
is in discussions with its sister company
Meiteng Technology Group to bring in its
telligent dry separator (TDS).
The TDS was developed by high-
technology company Tianjin Meiteng
Technology, another DADI subsidiary,
technology locally at the South African
Coal Processing Society’s biennial
conference in Secunda in September
2017. At that time, three operating mines
in China were using the equipment.
in 2015. Aury Africa launched the
Aury Africa aims to bring its first dry separator to South Africa for trial at a coal mine in 2019.
makes the TDS more efficient compared resources divided among different
to competitor dry sorter technology. Aury sectors. This technology is therefore
separation technology. Aury Africa Africa is continuously striving to improve a means of minimising water use
managing director Sydney Parkhouse the technology’s separation capabilities in the mining industry in particular.
explains that “basically coal is conveyed to achieve coal sizing down to 12mm. Major coal mining companies have
The TDS constitutes intelligent dry
on an enclosed conveying system, single
Sturgeon highlights that the technology
expressed interest in the TDS,
layered. The enclosed system, which is fully automated and modular, with a and Aury Africa is in subsequent
incorporates dual X-ray technology, is self-diagnostic system. “The longer the discussion with these companies to
simple to operate.” It can be retrofitted unit runs, the more accurate it becomes adopt the technology locally.
to an existing coal-processing plant in — the margin of reject material compared Parkhouse mentions that, in August
various configurations. to coal is reduced, as the TDS learns and last year, seven TDS systems had either
adapts continuously,” Parkhouse adds. been commissioned, or contracts
The system features image-
identification technology, with the
Aury Africa production and support
had been signed. Currently, 46
separator accurately identifying and manager John Wills points out that systems are either operational, being
separating coal without using water or the fact that the TDS does not use any commissioned, or contracts signed.
any other medium. There is also no slime water during operation, makes it a “The growth has been exponential,
generation, with the TDS subsequently fundamentally invaluable technology owing to its successes in the field,”
producing a higher yield of coarse coal for ‘greening’ the coal mining industry. he adds.
at low operational cost at an increased “There is increasing focus from mines to return-on-investment, compared to be environment-friendly, with significant applications for the TDS in the complete
conventional process systems. pressure on the coal industry to go mineral beneficiation chain. For example,
green — this technology is a push in a four-tonne sample from a manganese
that direction.” mine in the Northern Cape was sent to
The technology can process 300mm
to 50mm and 100mm to 25mm raw
coal, with an upper throughput of about
400t/h. The higher tonnage output
www.plantonline.co.za
South Africa is intrinsically a semi-
arid country, with available water
Aury Africa is considering different
Tianjin in China in July for separation trials
using the TDS.
FEBRUARY 2019
7