AFRICA NEWS
Becker Mining South Africa’ s locally designed and manufactured winding rope attachments have been installed at a mine in the Bushveld Complex. The installation included four sets each of head and tail rope attachments for the 4.5m-diameter drum of a Koepe winder; a Becker Thimble-type capel, fitted to the ropes with a hydraulic adjusting linkage to ensure equal sharing of the load between the four head ropes; complete 30-ton rocket-type safety detaching hook sets for the man / material winder; fiveton rocket-type safety detaching hooks for the service winder; WRC clamps for installation; and a complete spare set of rope attachments and safety-critical hook sets. All equipment is proof-load tested to 2.5 times safe working loads and complies fully with all relevant legislation and regulations.
The 3rd annual Pint of Science festival will take place in Cape Town from 14 to 16 May 2018. According to International Pint of Science director, Elodie Chabrol, South Africa is the first African country to start the event, which aims to facilitate interaction between scientists and the public and foster conversation— over a pint— on the latest research and findings in science. Topics covered during the festival will include physics, chemistry, maths, geosciences, robotics, and computers.“ As South Africa moves to the forefront of research in a number of STEM arenas, it is important to get everyone involved in science, because the best ideas come from the most unlikely people,” said Dr Taime Sylvester, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, SA MRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research at Stellenbosch University.
Figures released by the Construction and Mining Equipment Suppliers’ Association( Conmesa) show that earthmoving and mining equipment sales moved strongly upwards during 2017 to break a three-year downward cycle. A total of 5 614 new units were sold in 2017— an increase of 18.3 % from 4 747 units sold in 2016, although still lower than the 7 250 units sold in 2013. Conmesa chairperson Lawrence Peters attributes the increased sales to several factors, including regional construction projects, a resurgent agricultural industry, and recovery in certain commodities. Figures across all four quarters of 2017 averaged approximately 1 400 units per quarter, compared to an average of 1 180 units in 2016.
Conmesa
Lawrence Peters, chairperson of Conmesa.
Refurbishment ideal to‘ sweat’ minerals-processing assets
MIP Process Technologies has adopted a refurbishment strategy designed to complement the trend in the minerals-processing industry to‘ sweat’ mining assets, according to managing director Philip Hoff.
The local mining industry’ s change in focus from greenfield to brownfield projects has left the company ideally positioned to modernise older thickeners and process equipment.
“ Many South African mineralsprocessing plants contain outdated equipment that can be revitalised at minimal cost,” says
All photos by MIP Process Technologies
Linear screens are a minerals-processing staple that lend themselves to refurbishment.
MIP Process Technologies managing director, Philip Hoff. |
Hoff.“ Better throughputs and higher efficiencies can be reliably achieved with newer technology.”
He adds that this refurbishment strategy has proved highly successful at a local phosphate mine, where modernisations of the thickeners resulted in much higher and more consistent underflow densities, as well as improving subsequent downstream process efficiencies such as filtration. As an added benefit, there has also been a substantial saving in water.
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MIP Process Technologies also refurbished two 45.7m-diameter thickener mechanisms for a gold operation, putting thickeners that have been dormant for years back in operation at minimal investment, resulting in increased productivity.
Linear screens also lend themselves to refurbishment rather than replacement.“ The design of our equipment meets all the requirements of reliability and higher throughput. We are able to
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supply products speedily and competitively.”
MIP Process Technologies has a large installed base of equipment globally, and services the mining industry via its own and its agents’ offices. Its proudly South African product range includes attrition scrubbers, agitators, bag filters, clarifiers, dry dust cyclones, flocculant plants, horizontal belt filters, reagent plants, slurry samplers, thickeners, and wet scrubbers for dust-extraction applications.
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MAY 2018