Modern Mining April 2020

solutions

growth in the popularity of the con- cept, especially due to the speed at which the mine can go from concept to production. “There has definitely been an increased demand for modular plants in recent years, especially given the uncertainty in the market at the moment. Modular offers a quick, reliable solution, especially where favourable commodity prices can be taken advantage of. The param- eters are known and the aftermarket service is stable to limit downtime,” says Fernando Abelho – Africa Sales Manager at Pilot Crushtec. Pilot Crushtec has been con- stantly refining the modular plant

Key benefits The modular solution offers an array of benefits to the customer. From a design perspective, customers can select the components they need to suit their specific application. These components (units) are then interlinked with conveyors and a solution is tai- lored to their specific needs and site specifications. Once the design is defined, all the modules and indi- vidual components are sent to site, lifted into place and bolted together. A key benefit, Fernando says, is that modular plants are very quick to go from concept to pro- duction, with standard components mostly readily available. “No major infrastructure required for the Pilot Modular plants means that the solutions are more cost-effective than bespoke plants,” he adds. Surajlall agrees, saying that the short timeframe for manufacture and erection on site is a big ben- efit for customers. “In addition, modular plants allow for ease of plant extensions. Subject to the lifespan

concept since the early 2000’s, and now caters for throughputs of as low as 15 tonnes per hour (tph), all the way up to 500 tph, application dependent. “Pilot Modular equipment is designed to be flex- ible and interchangeable, in terms of ore types, hence its ability to process most ore types. Perhaps one exception would be ores with a high percentage of clay and moisture content. While we can sepa- rate the clays from ore, the range doesn’t extend to scrubbing or washing equipment needed to break down clay ores for further processing,” explains Jorge Abelho, Director – Technical Support at Pilot Crushtec. Osborn Engineered Products is another major name in the modular plant sector. Vinesh Surajlall, Director Sales and Marketing at Osborn, says the company has seen an increased demand of these solutions at a global level. Osborn has plants oper- ating globally across commodities, including gold, chrome and iron ore, among others.

DRA’s UCM900 modular plant at Botswana Coal.

Osborn has plants operating globally across commodities.

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April 2020  MODERN MINING  31