Modern Mining July 2020

natural fines in the ROM stockpiles than expected, but the concentration of iron within the ore was also proving lower than expected. This meant that many of the 170 t stockpiles produced would not be accepted by the smelter, meaning that all the crushing and screening being done on-site was not producing sellable product. The solution this time would be even harder to find; no amount of further crushing could make up for a lack of richness in the ore. Some other, more creative solutions would have to find their way to the minds of both Pilot Crushtec and the client FLRM. After a few days of consultation, proposals, internal meetings and site visits, a unique idea was

level of experience, planning and equipment stock holding, the full complement of machinery required; one mobile jaw crusher (Metso Lokotrack LT106), two mobile cones crushers (Metso Lokotrack LT200HP and LT200HP Short Head), and a triple deck mobile screen (Metso Lokotrack ST4.8) were deployed to site within a few weeks of the problem being identi- fied on-site. A crisis was swiftly averted, and FLRM got back to doing what they had to do, putting -8 mm crushed iron ore on the ground. However, mining in Africa is never predictable nor simple and it did not take long for the ghost of the initial assumptions to come back and challenge FLRM Mining once again. Not only were there fewer

The adaptability of Metso Lokotracks helped Franco Le Roux Mining navigate an array of obstacles seamlessly.

With its industry-unique two-way split, the Metso ST2.8 could be used to provide a consistent supply of iron-rich natural fines which could be blended into stockpiles wherever needed.

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