HEAVY ENGINEERING & WEAR PARTS
CR Chief Executive Officer , John Barbagallo , says the range has been specifically developed to assist mining customers to safely and more efficiently change GET on their excavating machines .
“ Through listening to our customers , we have understood the need to develop a range of safety equipment for GET maintenance changeout and have worked collaboratively to bring this industry-changing product to market ,” Barbagallo said . “ At CR , we bring the core value of zero harm into everything we do . The GRIPAssist promotes safe GET changeout and is a great equipment solution to provide genuine safe fitment and removal of all GET items .”
Quintin Nienaber , General Manager of Product Management , says GET changeout times halved in initial field tests of GRIPAssist .
“ While the aim of the GRIPAssist is to remove human interactions during GET changeouts , the fact that it can enhance productivity by reducing downtime is a significant associated benefit and is a game-changer in how GET maintenance will be managed and scheduled in the future ,” he said .
Having continued to grow market share since Weir acquired the company in 2018 , Weir ESCO has also recently launched a new GET changeout tool .
The ToolTek™ system is a boom crane mounted tool head that is remotely operated during replacement of worn Nemisys ® points and adapters . New parts are pre-staged on racks on the flatbed truck outfitted with the boom crane .
The system consists of three units : a hydraulically articulated three-axis adapter , the point tool head and the adapter tool head . The three-axis adapter is mounted on the end of the truck-mounted hydraulic crane , with easily changed tool heads to match the components to be replaced .
ToolTek ’ s advantages include enhanced worker safety , fewer workers to replace GET components , all required parts and tools are on one truck , and safer disposal of worn parts . It also locks and unlocks points and adapters during installation and removal , making this a ' no touch ' system , the company says .
The first orders for ToolTek were booked in 2020 , Weir stated recently in its annual report .
Longer-lasting lining
Weir ’ s Minerals business , meanwhile , recently registered impressive results from the installation of a lining solution at the Sentinel copper mine in Zambia .
On the lookout for a suitable liner for its mill discharge chutes that would last longer than the incumbent product , the Sentinel mine ’ s Section Engineer approached the Weir Minerals team for an alternative during one of its monthly site visits .
Sentinel had been using a competitor rubber product deemed unsuitable for the high impact and abrasive nature of the 4,500 t / h of slurry being fed to the mill discharge chute , according to the OEM .
Due to the remote area of the site , obtaining materials for repairs was a challenge . With the rubber lining failing after two months , the operation was experiencing excess downtime , along with associated equipment hire and specialised personnel costs .
The Weir Minerals team was tasked with specifying a rubber lining solution that would exceed the incumbent product ’ s two-month wear life .
The team came up with a double layered rubber lining solution . The bottom layer , Linatex ® 30 mm premium rubber , was selected to improve impact absorption due to its resilient properties . Linard ® 60 was selected for the top layer due to its cutting and tearing resistance to the product reporting to the discharge chute .
Weir Minerals Africa ’ s Technical Lining Manager ensured the order was delivered to the customer site on time , with the re-lining taking place during a planned plant shutdown .
“ The combination of Linatex 30 mm premium rubber and Linard 60 25 mm has lasted for one year with little to no signs of wear ,” the company said . “ This is a 250 % wear life improvement when compared to the competitor product .
“ Sentinel has experienced reduced downtime and costs , with increased plant availability and maintenance staff free to focus on other areas in the plant .”
Steel pipe protection
Kalenborn is celebrating its 100th year anniversary this year , and its industrial wear protection products and services continue to gain references across the mining sector , helping line loading buckets , stationary and mobile conveyors , feeder chutes , crushers , mills , cyclones and sorters .
The world ’ s largest producer of iron ore pellets recently turned to Kalenborn looking for a lining solution that could protect the piping with an average diameter of 0.4 mm that transports 2,500 cu . m / h of material under 3 bars of pressure .
With the iron ore pellet producer ’ s old solution , the pipework needed to be replaced after three years due to wear .
Kalenborn designed completely new steel pipes for the pellet producer in its production
Kalenborn designed completely new steel pipes for an iron pellet producer in Brazil and lined them with KALOCER , a high alumina ceramic composed of more than 90 % aluminium oxide
hall and lined them with KALOCER , a high alumina ceramic composed of more than 90 % aluminium oxide . Manufactured as plates , KALOCER can be specially shaped for components and cylinders , making it suitable for plant components subject to extreme amounts of abrasive wear .
All the adapter sections – whether concentric or eccentric – were reinforced with ABRESIST , fused cast basalt and KALCOR , and zirconium corundum , Kalenborn explained . The combination of these materials ensured high resistance to abrasion and , thanks to its properties , a flow of materials well suited to pipeline transport .
Kalenborn ’ s lined piping system can withstand the described environment at the site six times longer than the previous plastic-lined solution , according to the company .
Having , in 2011 , used this wear protection solution for the first time , the company has since installed over 280 t of ceramic lining in this way .
Getting the GoldLine
It is wet abrasive slurries that Trelleborg had in mind with the development of its GoldLine ® Premium 38 product .
This unique natural abrasion-resistant rubber sheeting product protects mine owners ’ investments in mineral processing plants from wear caused by such wet abrasive slurries , the company says .
This has been proven with a new test
00 International Mining | JUNE 2021