Modern Mining December 2017

COVER STORY

The drives are part of an order that covers the supply of four thickeners in phases over a three-year period. Following commissioning of the first phase of the Boiler Emissions Abatement (BEA) plant project at Impala Platinum Refineries in Springs, east of Johannesburg, TAKRAF Africa expects to complete the second phase of this innovative project in early 2018. The BEA plant project will ensure compliance with the new requirements of the National Environment Management Air Quality Act. Two important new projects received from the power and mining sectors in 2017 were a fast-track contract for a tippler upgrade and conveyors for a power station and an order for a wagon tippler and dust extraction system for an iron ore port terminal. “Both projects draw on the global expertise of the TAKRAF group, a world leader in the supply of wagon unloading systems, with the TAKRAF global group currently also involved in a major tippler project in the Republic of Guinea,” says Späth. In other orders, TAKRAF Africa is designing an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) for a smelter in North West Province and is anticipating the project execution order early in 2018. “This is the first order for an ESP – a tried and tested workhorse in air pollution control – that we have received from this major client,” elabo- rates Späth. The last two quarters of 2017 also saw good orders from the energy coal and iron ore sec- tors for Tenova Client Support Services, which provides comprehensive aftermarket support for products supplied by TAKRAF Africa as well as other OEMs. Among the contracts com- pleted was the redesign and refurbishment of components of a bucket-wheel reclaimer for an iron ore mine which involved replacing the old bucket wheel and shaft with a new-design bucket wheel. “The most unique feature of this design is that it consists of three bolted segments to give the maintenance crew the option to replace only the worn parts of the bucket wheel,” com- ments Späth. Thinking big “In the last quarter of 2017, we saw a marked upturn in bids, but we are very much aware at TAKRAF Africa that we need to convert these bids into orders for such an upturn to be in anyway meaningful. The smaller indepen- dent mine operator in Sub-Saharan Africa is a particularly buoyant growth market, while we are also working on exciting mining project

prospects in the French-speaking African coun- tries,” notes Späth. Discussing new products, he says TAKRAF Africa believes the TAKRAF mineral sizer launched in Europe last year has potential for application in a copper project in the DRC. The unit offers a significantly smaller, less capital-intensive, alternative – with the same throughput – to the less effective and massive crushing technology which has historically been applied to the harder range of ores. Further afield, TAKRAF is aiming to expand its suite of air environmental technologies as part of the TAKRAF global group offering, particularly into copper prospects in South America. At the cutting edge TAKRAF Africa’s in-house expertise, which covers the mining value chain, is supported by its commitment to ongoing innovation and technology acquisition. “We have seen considerable success with our innovations in the past,” says Späth, “The semi-mobile Bradford Breaker is just one exam- ple, and in 2018 we intend to embark on a new technology acquisition drive, having allocated budget for R&D initiatives aimed at tailor- ing products for the African market. Such an approach enables us to offer the best of global technologies tailored to local conditions, based on our in-depth knowledge and experience of Africa’s mining industry.” 

Redesign and refurbishment of a bucket wheel reclaimer for an iron ore mine.

December 2017  MODERN MINING  17