Quarry Southern Africa May 2017 | Page 7

southern AFRICA news Johan Goosen has been appointed managing director of Osborn Engineered Products SA. Goosen joins Osborn from Atlas Copco, where he managed Drilling Solutions and, in his most recent role of regional business line manager, was responsible for Mining and Rock Excavation Services. During his time with the firm, Goosen exceeded financial targets despite the challenging market, and made significant contributions to increasing the business’s market share and improving customer relations. “Johan has a very good understanding of our industry and its challenges,” says Richard Patek, group president of Osborn’s parent company, Astec Aggregate & Mining. “We are delighted to welcome him to the Osborn family.” MSA Africa has launched its new ALTAIR 4XR multi-gas detector for use in markets including industrial, mining and oil and gas. The four-gas monitor with MSA XCell Sensors can sense gas two times faster than the industry average, according to the company, and provides real-time event notification using Bluetooth connectivity. Paired with the MSA ALTAIR Connect app, it can immediately text alarm notifications to specified users. A MotionAlert option informs others whenever a user has become immobile, while the user-activated InstantAlert notifies of a potentially dangerous situation. The detector comes with a four-year instrument and sensor warranty, and has a military-grade rating (MIL-STD-810G) and an IP68 dust and waterproof rating. Osborn supplies unique plant to Rossmin mine Osborn has supplied a R27-million turnkey crushing and screening plant to Rossmin opencast limestone mining operation in Port Shepstone. Equipment manufacturer Osborn has supplied a R27-million turnkey crushing and screening plant for Umzimkhulu Industrial Holdings’ Rossmin opencast limestone mining operation in Port Shepstone, on the KwaZulu- Natal South Coast. According to product sales manager Shane Beattie, this new plant features a unique process designed by Osborn to minimise fines generation in the production of calcite and lime. “The plant was designed and installed to produce only two sized products: 80mm+30mm and -30mm+10mm. The -10mm is a by-product,” Beattie explains. He reveals that the process is revolutionary in that a conventional crushing plant would be a jaw and cone configuration to crush down to a -80mm product from a run of mine (ROM) of 600mm. “We supplied an Osborn modular 3042 jaw plant feeding into an Osborn modular 2340 jaw plant, then over an Osborn modular 6 × 20 triple deck screen, splitting the product into -80mm+30mm, -30mm+10mm and a -10mm+0mm,” says Beattie. “The primary reason for the two-stage jaw crushing process is to minimise the generation of fines (-10mm).” According to Beattie, Osborn’s pioneering process is more effective than the conventional separation process where all ROM material is crushed to -1mm and smaller, and then flotation is used to remove the impurities. “This process requires lots of water and waste that is more difficult to manage,” he asserts. Umzimkhulu and Rossmin will only process the high-grade material, up to 99% calcite, says Beattie. “Since this stage is the most expensive part of the process, by only crushing the desired calcite, the operation will be able to dramatically reduce its cost per ton, and the capacity in this stage will be used to its fullest potential.” Osborn also supplied the mine’s next stage with its imported high-frequency screens. The equipment supplied was transported to KwaZulu-Natal in 22 loads, and the scope of Osborn’s contract included the supply, installation and commissioning of the primary plant. “This order has been some three years in the making. We devoted the necessary time to understanding our client’s requirements, and we are proud to have delivered a truly unique and optimal solution,” says Beattie. QUARRY SA | MAY 2017 _ 5