AFRICA NEWS
Trust in equipment is an
essential ingredient in
the success of any mining
operation, especially when
it involves the purchase
of pieces of multimillion-
rand capital equipment to
achieve predetermined
production goals.
In 2017, an operator in
Zimbabwe bought three Metso
Lokotrack® ST2.8 scalpers
from its long-term supplier
and Metso southern Africa
distributor, Pilot Crushtec
International. The customer
was looking for a reliable
and cost-effective solution
for the mining of alluvial ore
under testing conditions and,
based on previous experience,
readily accepted its supplier’s
advice on product selection.
This proved to be a
fortuitous decision as the
Lokotracks’ performances
over the next few months
demonstrated that they
were indeed ideal for this
application. So much so that
the company decided to
purchase an additional three
units, swelling the size of the
fleet to six.
Pilot Crushtec International
CEO, Sandro Scherf, describes
the nature of the conditions
in which the scalpers operate
and how they are uniquely
equipped to cope in tough
working environments. “Ore
deposits are found in thick
clay above the bedrock, which
varies in depths of between
one and two metres beneath
the surface. Complete bush
clearing is not an option, so
surface and subsoil vegetation
provide their own challenges,
not to mention a rainy season
and flash floods.”
This is where this scalper
comes into its own. “An
aggressive screen box with
a 15mm throw (50% greater
than any other comparative
product) substantially reduces
the chances of blinding and
Pilot Crushtec International and Metso come up trumps in Zimbabwe
The Metso Lokotrack is ideal for Zim conditions.
of the machine as there is less
wear on the screen box.
“Current output is more
than 300 tonnes per hour,
well within expectations,
and is greatly assisted by
the tines (fingers) mounted
on the bottom deck which
serve to maintain production
levels, even under the wettest
conditions.” Considering the
material is abrasive, there has
been no need to change the
tines (bottom deck) or
bofar bars (top deck) after
12 months.
pegging,” says Scherf, adding
that the scalper can be fine-
tuned to suit a variety of
soil and surface conditions,
including sand applications.
He explains that the innate
strength and intelligence
of the design, deliver other
significant benefits to the
operator. “With such a
powerful throw, the box can
be run at a relatively low 750
revs per minute. This is not
only beneficial to the scalping
process, but has the capacity
to increase the operational life
Disputes over quality of sand
and stone delivered on site may
soon be a thing of the past, as
an Aspasa special task team is
moving rapidly to formalise
standards for the benefit of
both producers and their
customers.
Surface mining industry
association Aspasa established
the special technical committee
on quality management and
has made strides in addressing
quality issues internally among
its members. The association
is also assisting in the
formulation of new national
standards that will be used as a
measure of quality among users
of sand and aggregates.
Saartjie Duvenhage,
chairperson of Aspasa’s
technical committee on quality
management, describes the
strides already made to narrow
the gap between customers’
expectations and the actual
ability of producers to supply
the required materials:
“We have defined quality
and what it means to everyone
on the entire supply chain,
from extraction and processing
to delivery to the customer’s
site. In our case, we define
this as a product that meets a
certain measure of excellence
that is free from deficiencies
and significant variations. To
assist our members to achieve
this, we have introduced our
own quick guide to quality
management: The 123 of
Quality Management for
Material Producers guide is
designed to act as a guideline
to quality management and
explains the concept with eight
steps for members to implement
their own systems successfully.
6 _ QUARRY SA | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018
“Included in the guide we
walk members through getting
buy-in from all levels of
staff, determining customer
requirements, commissioning
of an appropriate laboratory,
sampling and testing,
reporting, dealing with
non-conformances, and
communication. If members
successfully implement the 123
system, they will be well on
their way to producing quality
products,” says Duvenhage.
She adds that the committee
is furthermore assisting in
the revision of South African
National Standards codes,
including SANS 1083, as well
as the South African National
Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
revisions of the G-materials
guides and the distribution
of guidance specification for
G-materials.
Aspasa acts on quality issues
Saartjie Duvenhage is the
chairperson of Aspasa’s technical
committee on quality management.
“We are working towards
introducing mandatory quality
audit systems among our
members, as well as awarding
meritorious achievements
among our members. These
and other new innovations will
also be discussed nationwide
as we take our quality solutions
to our members further afield
across South Africa,” concludes
Duvenhage.