Capital Equipment News July 2019

Bisie tin project C4 commissioning complete Metso mulling closure of the Isithebe foundry in SA

C4 involves feeding the system with material.

The Isithebe foundry produces metallic wear part castings for the mining and aggregates industries.

Alphamin Resources Corp. (Alphamin) has completed the C4 commis- sioning of its Bisie tin project processing plant. C4 involves feeding the system with material, checking instrumentation calibration, process flows and individual equipment throughput and building up to instantaneous design throughput. A C4 certificate indicates that a unit or the entire system is complete and can operate with material. C5 is the final stage of the commissioning process. This is achieved when the facility has run at and held at full continuous production at nameplate capacity for a duration of 48 hours. Attaining C5 and the ramp up to nameplate capacity is taking longer than expected as aspects of the processing plant operations are refined and optimised. Concentrate produced during commissioning and the plant ramp up, is being delivered to Gerald Metals in Kampala. Gerald Metals has taken delivery of 96 t of concentrate. A further 192 t is on route to Kampala from Logu, Alphamin’s marshalling yard for tin exports where a further 240 t is being cleared for export prior to departing for Kampala. Total production to date is 528 t. b

As part of a global supply footprint development strategy in its Minerals Consumables business area, Metso is initiating consulta- tions to evaluate the potential closure or other alternatives for its foundry operation in Isithebe, South Africa. “Our strategy is to utilise synergies of the most efficient manu- facturing and sourcing opportunities globally. We are continuously developing our supply footprint to deliver the best value, availability and quality for our customers,” says Sami Takaluoma, President, Minerals Consumables business area at Metso. The Isithebe foundry produces metallic wear part castings for the mining and aggregates industries. The foundry has been part of Metso since 1998 and it has approximately 200 employees. In addition to Isithebe, Metso has five of its own foundries, located in Brazil, China, Czech Republic and India, and an extensive global network of external suppliers.. b

Bell wins Exporter of the Year awards

Bell Equipment won Exporter of the Year Award (Large category; turnover >R200-mil- lion) and was runner-up in the Exporter of the Year Africa Award (turnover >R100 million) at the inaugural Exporter of the Year Awards for capital equipment manufacturers held in Johannesburg at the end of May. A collaboration by the South African Cap- ital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) and Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, the awards formed part of the Southern African Local Manufacturing Expo. “It is fitting and certainly no mere coinci- dence, that the first-ever SACEEC Exporter of the Year Awards took place at the Local Southern African Manufacturing Expo. The Expo is the perfect showcase for the vast ar- ray of products available from local manufac- turers. There is a wealth of talent in southern African manufacturing and SACEEC is thrilled that the industry is being placed in the spot- light,” says SACEEC CEO, Eric Bruggeman. Charlene Hefer, portfolio director for Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, com- mended the award winners for their sterling efforts “in putting South African manufac- turing on the map”.

Bell Equipment took home Exporter of the Year awards.

Bell Equipment has achieved this by exporting its products to over 80 countries worldwide. “Exports account for about 40% of turnover and our exports increased year- on-year from 2017 to 2018 by 19%. We are also proud that our exports have 70% local content and we are always looking at ways to increase this,” says Stephen Jones, Bell Equipment director: Global Product Portfolio

and Marketing. “Manufacturing is one industry that has the single greatest potential to make a mas- sive difference to our economy and level of unemployment so we appreciate attention that the Expo and the Exporter of the Year Awards has focused on the sector and are proud to have received these awards for our role,” concludes Jones. b

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JULY 2019 37