Modern Mining December 2019

BULK MATERIALS HANDLING

The ability of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions South Africa to design, manufacture and install complex materials handling systems using mainly South African resources has been demonstrated by the recent commissioning of a 2 000 t/h stacker at a large open-pit coal mine in Limpopo Province. According to Jacques Steyn, the company’s General Manager for Materials Handling & Mining Systems for Sub-Sahara Africa, the stacker was almost entirely designed and manufactured locally. Stacker installation highlights

S teyn makes the point that many in South Africa are unaware of the depth of skills and exper- tise that still resides

depth of expertise, so much so that we often con- tribute to overseas projects being undertaken by our sister companies within the thyssenkrupp group.” He adds that another impressive aspect of the stacker project has been the ability of thyssenkrupp’s local sub-contractors to manufacture and fabricate the components of the stacker using South African materials and deliver them on schedule to the high standards required by thyssenkrupp and the client. “We did not have to go outside the country for any- thing other than the motors, the slew bearings and a few other specialist items,” he says. The stacker was installed at an existing stockyard and thyssenkrupp had to meet some demanding requirements in terms of the machine’s profile. In the event, it was constructed on site within a six-month

within South Africa’s engineering sector. “One often hears that there has been an erosion of skills in the country and that there is no local capacity to build complex machines such as stackers or reclaimers,” he says. “While it is true that there has been a loss of skills within certain organisations in South Africa, there is no question that this is a country which can still deliver world-class engineering as our installation at the coal mine illustrates. Certainly within thyssen- krupp’s South African office we have an impressive

Jacques Steyn.

The 2 000 t/h thyssenkrupp stacker which was recently commissioned at a coal mine in Limpopo Province.

feature

24  MODERN MINING  December 2019