MechChem Africa September-October 2022

Enduron ® HPGR – the principal choice for iron ore Amid a growing acceptance of high pressure grinding roll technology (HPGR) in hard rock applications, Weir Minerals has moved ahead, particularly in iron ore, where its Enduron ® HPGR range has become the principal choice, as showcased by its largest installed base in the world.

Enduron ® Comminution products at Weir Minerals Africa. Testament to the growing appetite for HPGR technology in iron ore ap plications are two key flagship installations un derway inAustraliaandNigeria,WestAfrica, to process 90000 t/d of ore. TheNigerian project represents Africa’s biggest HPGR plant in an iron ore application to date. In2019,WeirMineralsreceiveda£100-mil lion order for 12 Enduron ® HPGR machines and GEHO ® Positive Displacement pumps for a magnetite iron ore application in Australia. Installationisunderwayand,oncecomplete, this will be theworld’s biggest HPGR installation in an iron ore application. Commenting on the growing uptake, Theo Hendricks,ProductManager–Comminutionat Weir Minerals Africa, says due to its abrasive nessanddensity, ironoreistoughtoprocess,but the Enduron ® HPGR technology is equal to the task. Thanks to itsuniquebearingarrangement whichenablesdurableskew–designedtoguard against premature failure and reduce the num ber of peak loads transferrable to the bearings – the technology delivers a long bearing life of well above10years intheserogueapplications. “With our unique bearing assembly that reducestheriskoffailure,coupledwiththewear

reductioncapabilitiesassociatedwithskewing, our Enduron ® HPGR is expertly engineered to last longerwhilstperformingeffectively, regard less of the feeding conditions,” says Hendricks. The longevity of roll life is critical to the overall performance of the processing plant – bothintermsofavailabilityandoperatingcosts. Weir Minerals has paid particular attention to the surface of the rolls, which incorporate tai lored tungsten carbide studs to ensure strong autogenous wear protection. As a result, the Enduron®HPGR technology offers up to 20% more roll life than the competition. Ononeof theEnduron ® HPGR installations inSouthAfrica, acustomerprocessingfluorspar oreisenjoyingmorethantheanticipated10000 hours of roll life. In fact, since commissioning in 2018, the first and only roll set change was done in July 2021. “With its ability to reduce grinding energy by as much as 40% without the need for pro cess water and extending its low impact ben efitswhen combinedwithdry air classification, Enduron ® HPGR technology revolutionises traditional iron ore processing towards an ef fective and sustainable fine grinding solution,” concludes Hendricks. www.minerals.weir

W eir Minerals’ high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technol ogy is fastbecoming thestaple for an increasingly diverse range of hard rock mining applications. Al though iron ore accounts for the majority of the Enduron ® installed base, HPGR technol ogy is also increasingly being adopted for copper and gold applications. Traditionally the preferred choice for ce mentgrindinganddiamondapplications,HPGR technology has, in recent decades, proved its mettle in hard rock applications such as cop per, gold and platinum processing. However, its strong presence in hematite and magnetite greenfield and brownfield projects has firmly established Enduron ® HPGR as part of the ‘blueprint’ flow sheet for sustainable iron ore processing. “We have seen a massive uptake of our Enduron ® HPGR range in iron ore, where we have the largest installed base,” says Nathi Mtsweni, Senior Process Engineer for Trio ® / Theo Hendricks, product manager comminution at Weir Minerals Africa.

Nathi Mtsweni inspects an Enduron HPGR installed at a customer site.

26 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2022