MechChem Africa July-August 2025

FLS partnerships in support of asset health and productivity Alistair McKay, FLS Vice President for Capital Sales in Europe, Arabia and Africa, explains why asset health is such a critical foundation of long-term performance and sustainable mining.

S trong partnerships between mines and their supply partners are based on optimising the health of their productive assets, which remain at the core of operational efficiency. This is ac cording to Alistair McKay, FLS Vice President for Capital Sales in Europe, Arabia and Africa. “Collaboration and partnership need to add value to both sides," McKay explains. “If there is insufficient value being created in the relationship, there can be very little collabora tion or partnership.” FLS’s strategy begins with a strong re gional footprint, ensuring that the company is close to its customer base to enable not only quick response times but also proactive maintenance strategies. McKay stresses that this approach enables regular visits to support asset health, rather than only being reactive to issues arising. “Our proactive stance means that min ing operations benefit from our ongoing

performance monitoring, training and skills transfer – all of which contribute to long-term productivity and asset performance,” he says. Following the capital acquisition stage, a productive partnership enhances the adapt ability of the operation to the changes in ore body characteristics that invariably occur over time. This affects key aspects of the feed parameters, while also influencing the consumption of water, power and reagents, for instance. McKay highlights that such a partnership is also based on a shared commitment to sustainability principles and to reducing the environmental impact of mining and pro cessing activity. This includes limiting carbon emissions through energy efficiency. “This means making the most of equipment capacity through technology that enhances efficient operation while increasing through put,” he says. “The use of LoadIQ, our mill scanner technology, is one example of how

we help customers to use mill capacity to the fullest extent – delivering more from the same asset and power draw.” It is also critical to have a research and de velopment component to drive sustainability efforts, he argues. Technological advance ment behind FLS’s next-generation polyure thane screen panels, for instance, is enabling wear life to be extended by up to four times. “This supports efficient operations by al lowing longer periods between replacement and maintenance, thereby boosting plant uptime and general efficiency,” says McKay. “Better production levels from the same asset base mean that capital investment delivers the best value, and operating costs are kept to a minimum.” He also points to the recycling of wear Alistair McKay, FLS Vice President for Capital Sales in Europe, Arabia and Africa.

FLS’s ARMOUR™ mill liners are designed for reliability and durability in the toughest wear conditions.

12 ¦ MechChem Africa • July-August 2025