Modern Mining December 2018

PRODUCT News

Steady demand for fibreglass grating

small radius. During construction, the bars are tapered towards the bottom and this prevents build-up of debris and makes cleaning simple. The product does not rust or need painting or coating, and is not affected by the sun. It is virtually maintenance free which can be a major long-term cost saving. By optimising the glass fibre con- tent not only is it corrosion-resistant but the load-bearing capacity is optimised. Quinlan says that the one piece moulded construction results in enhanced strength in both directions and eliminates loosen- ing of the product with repeat use. Fibreglass is non-conductive, has no resale value and is not affected by tem- perature fluctuations. It also provides electrical insulation, making it suitable for all applications. Andrew Mentis, website: www.mentis.co.za stone count values in real time,”says Taylor. “This makes a big difference to mining and plant operations, especially in segments like marine diamond mining where the first installation of this XRT technology was done some five years ago. “The quality of the X-ray images means that, if a diamond comes through the sys- tem, the user gets more than just a digital signal that an object was ejected,” he con- tinues. “Rather, from the digital image they can get a size measurement of the diamond. This can give the mining vessel manager an immediate online carat count and size frequency analysis, providing important information that would other- wise only be available after the samples are lifted off the ship and flown back to land to be sorted.” All diamond types can be recovered – from low luminescent Type II to yellow and boart – and at a yield significantly less than

Excellent corrosion-resistant properties coupled with increased strength and enhanced safety benefits are the primary reasons why the demand for fibreglass

floor grating has stayed steady, according to Lance Quinlan, national technical sales consultant at Andrew Mentis. “This composite material product offers end-users significant benefits and is prov- ing particularly popular in applications where it is necessary to provide protection against harsh environmental factors or cor- rosive chemicals,” he says. Among these benefits are ease of installation and low maintenance costs. Quinlan says fibreglass floor grating is easy to install and does not require weld- ing or end banding. The product is also lightweight making it easier to handle and larger sections can be installed. This is both a labour and cost saving. The structural integrity of the product is enhanced as the corners on the inside of the square opening are moulded to a causes plant bottlenecks further down the process. “High yielding DMS can overwhelm the next stage in the treatment process – the recovery plant,”says DebTech head Gordon Taylor. “A valuable role that the XRT sorter can play is to re-concentrate the coarse and the middles DMS product. The sig- nificantly lower yield from the XRT sorters allows these size fraction to bypass the tra- ditional recovery stage, thereby freeing up more capacity in the recovery plant to treat the finer size fraction.” Featuring a dual-energy XRT detector and a robust air ejector system, the XRT unit has a user-friendly, menu-driven con- trol interface and full maintenance support that employs remote diagnostics. “Not only is the XRT technology able to identify the diamonds, but the X-ray images captured also allow the machine to provide online carat estimates and

Mentis FRP Grating is easily tailored for specific applications.

XRT sorter commissioned at Venetia

Diamond processing technology specialist DebTech is assisting South Africa’s larg- est diamond mine to optimise its plant throughput by re-concentrating the prod- uct from the dense medium separation (DMS) stage, with the recent delivery of its X-Ray Transmission (XRT) sorter. The XRT Coarse Concentrator sorting unit was delivered earlier this year (2018) to De Beers’ Venetia mine in Limpopo Province, and commissioning took place during November. The unit’s modularised configuration, where all elements of the system are designed to fit into two 6-m containers, makes for optimal assembly and testing under factory conditions, efficient transportation, and quicker com- missioning on site. DebTech’s XRT technology has been specifically designed to provide an alter- native to a high yielding DMS plant. This is especially important where the high yield

conventional techniques. DebTech, website: www.debtech.com

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44  MODERN MINING  December 2018