Modern Mining April 2024

MINING EQUIPMENT (INCL PUMPS AND VALVES)

World class SA base for screen design, engineering Leveraging South Africa’s strong history of technological innovation in mineral process ing practice and technology, Sandvik Rock Processing’s specialised in-house capabilities in the country are delivering tailored and sustainable screening solutions for its mining customers.

Engineering Manager at Sandvik Rock Processing, Gideon de Villiers.

W ith its heritage extending back many decades, the local design and manufac turing capability has been developed with extensive mechanical and metallurgical expertise. Engineering Manager at Sandvik Rock Processing, Gideon de Villiers, highlights the depth of skills at the company’s 21,000 m 2 facilities in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Attracting and developing quality professional and artisan expertise has made us a local leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance vibrating equipment for demanding mining con ditions,” says De Villiers. “Specialising in custom engineered solutions, our range covers a wide spec trum of vibrating equipment, including screens and feeders for all types of applications.” The company’s success in the marketplace has allowed it to work closely with customers in the field, applying bespoke solutions and continuously improving performance and reliability. He highlights the design and engineering process, which involves close collaboration with customers to understand their specific needs. The company has seen grow ing demand for flexible solutions, he says, and it has focused on developing modular and customisable equipment designs so customers can more easily scale their operations in response to market shifts. “When customers need to make changes to their production targets, for instance, they often consult

Sandvik Rock Processing’s design and engineering process involves close collaboration with customers to understand their specific needs. us on how to adapt designs to achieve a different outcome – without risking the reliability of the equip ment,” he says. “Our mechanical and metallurgical engineers are able to consider the new demands and find solutions that take into account perfor mance limits and other factors.” He highlights the technical complexity of making meaningful adaptations while still safeguarding the structural integrity of the equipment and its compo nents. Addressing these possible future changes starts with a flexible initial design, he explains, which will give customers the opportunity to opti mise equipment for different results. This design philosophy provides the mine with more agility in production, allowing certain modifications to be made rather than replacing entire machines. The design process – whether on new or existing equip ment – is enhanced by using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to validate designs before finalisation. “This customer-centric approach ensures that the final products align with industry requirements and exceed expectations,” he says. A recent example was a scalping application for an iron ore mine in the Northern Cape province, where the customer was looking for longer wear life on the screen panels, as well as higher throughput tonnages. The target was to extend the screen deck life from six weeks to 10 weeks or longer, and to avoid tripping conditions at full load. Investigations revealed that the panels were flexing excessively under load, which changes the size of the apertures and exacerbates wear and damage to the rubber coating.

Sandvik Rock Processing’s specialised in-house capabilities in the country are delivering tailored and sustainable screening solutions for its mining customers.

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32  MODERN MINING  April 2024