Capital Equipment News October 2017

WASHING

Wayne Warren, Business Development Manager for sub- Saharan Africa at CDE, with Kobus Jv Rensburg of Cluster Holdings, one of the recent adopters of CDE technology in South Africa.

“By only removing the ultra-fines, the Evolution reduces the quantity of flocculent required and running costs, as well as optimising the efficiency of the plant.”

The CDE water recovery technology is suited to applications related to wet processing of materials.

AquaCycle in detail The CDE water recovery technology is suited to applications related to the wet processing of materials. Its compact footprint allows for installation on the smallest, as well as the largest quarries and mine sites. “After the raw material has been washed and classified, fine waste materi- al is sent to the AquaCycle thickener. In the AquaCycle, a small amount of polyelectro- lyte flocculent is added to the water from the automatic dosing station, which forces fine particles to settle at the bottom of the thickener tank,” says Warren. The clean water on the top overflows the weir and is stored in the AquaStore tank before being re-circulated around the plant, helping to reduce the amount of re- quired fresh water for top up down to 10%. Regarding the implementation process, Warren explains that when approaching a site, there are many factors taken into account to determine a bespoke solution. Test work is done on feed material to en- sure the most adapted solution is proposed and the right AquaCycle model is selected. Additional factors such as the availability of water, the volume of material required by the customer and space requirements are also taken into account. “Once we have commitment for the project, a CDE Project Manager (ProMan) takes responsibility for the successful completion of the project by their team. The ProMan is the primary contact for the customer and coordinates the develop- ment of the project from the design stage to the installation of the bespoke plant on a site prepared to CDE standards.”

Key benefits The AquaCycle can recycle up to 90% of the washing plant’s used water, significantly cutting back the need for fresh water top ups. With the addition of a CDE Filter Press, a custom-built fines management system, up to 95% of the water can be recycled and the need for settling ponds and tailing dams is eliminated. The conventional use of settling ponds has various drawbacks, according to Warren, such as increased downtime while the material settles, as well as the need for extra space on site to accommodate the ponds. “Crucially, we have witnessed on many occasions that high value fines end up as waste, trapped at the bottom of the ponds,” he says. The reality of a fast ROI becomes very tangible when an AquaCycle thickener combined with an EvoWash is added to a washing operation. It maximises the efficiency of the wet processing plant by increasing the settlement of solids. “The EvoWash, by only removing the ultra-fines, reduces the quantity of flocculent required and running costs, as well as optimising the efficiency of the plant.” Another key feature of the CDE AquaCycle is that its intelligent design maximises the settlement of solids within the smallest equipment footprint, making it a boon on space-restricted sites. Meanwhile, reduced turbulence at the centre of the unit and integrated FlocStation that doses pre-mixed flocculent allows for rapid settlement. Education is key Non-adoption of newer technologies, in

many circumstances, can be attributed to lack of awareness of potential benefits compared with conventional ways that are perceived as tried and tested. Educating end users about a solution is an important part of making them aware of particularly innovative or new products that have no current equivalent in the market. “With a team of experts based in South Africa, we are consistently in direct contact with existing and potential clients through- out sub-Saharan Africa. Site visits allow us to establish how the CDE solution can work best for each individual customer,” says Warren. “We also participate in key trade shows where we present our solutions and explain in detail how water saving technol- ogy benefits all operations,” he adds. “We are members of the Institute of Quarrying Southern Africa and keep abreast with the latest legislative devel- opments. We are very close to our market and can apply 25 years of expertise and constant innovation in water recycling to offer unparalleled solutions to our custom- ers,” says Warren. Looking ahead, Warren says that in light of increasing water restrictions in South Africa and a promising reboot of the mining and construction industries, CDE’s water management technology perfectly fits the conditions for faster ROI, maxi- mum production efficiency, minimum loss of fines and ultimate water savings. “The AquaCycle has given CDE a significant edge over its competition in many markets as it allows for the introduction of a single, compact and user-friendly unit on projects that process both low and high tonnages,” concludes Warren. b

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