Modern Mining May 2017

CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING

Composite deck systems take screening to a new level

While the concept of composite decks, which comprise panels of various materials, apertures and configurations, is not new, screening media specialist Multotec has, for over a decade, developed the added value that this approach can bring to a customer’s bottom line.

M ultotec Manufacturing's Pro­ duct Manager Screening, Shawn Faba, believes that Multotec’s composite deck systems have taken screening technology to another level. “By applying the science of stratification, we ensure we can de- sign a screen that produces the size and speci- fication of output required by the customer; we then also engage in ‘the art of screening’ by meticulously fine tuning the process through monitoring and iteration that leverages our market-leading Hawkeye technology,” he says. “We differentiate ourselves by the in-depth way we use our Deck Map methodology to design and optimise solutions, based on the characteristics of the material being treated. This also allows us to adapt our solution to the dynamic nature of orebodies, which leads to constant changes in the material to be treated, even in the same orebodies.” The ‘deck map’ is the guide to the planning, design and fine tuning of the composite deck, allowing the best combination of panels to be placed to suit the conditions, the material and the output targets. With decades of experience in screen panel manufacture, Multotec pro- duces a wide variety of purpose specific panel types, from materials including rubber, poly- urethane, steel, woven-wire, ceramics, Hardox, fibreglass and combinations of these materials. “The deck map allows us to specify, for instance, a set of panels comprising highly impact resistant material at the feed end of the screen, where the impact of material from the feed box or chute is highest,” says Roy Roche, Vice President Screening Media at Multotec. Choices might include Multotec’s RubCer wear product manufactured with both rub- ber and ceramic elements; the extremely hard ceramic surface provides exceptional resistance to wear and cutting, while the rub- ber’s elastic properties dampen the impact

forces and protect the ceramic pieces. Alternatively, the

commodity and application may be best suited by the RubMet product, in which Hardox 500 sections are embedded in rubber. Plates designed with small Hardox blocks are more suitable for medium to large particles, while those with strips of Hardox work best for large ore particle applications. “One deck might comprise over a dozen dif- ferent types of panels, and each one is there for a very specific reason,” says Roche. “The apertures will be chosen according to the screen’s purpose and factors like the feed ton- nage required, the average particle size and the particle shape; we cater for the full range of screening applications such as scalping, des- liming, dewatering and sizing.” To cater for all these demands, in just about every commodity mined globally, Multotec’s panel offerings include solid feed-end panels, slope change panels, slotted aperture panels for high velocity zones, and square aperture panels for low velocity zones depending on bed depth and cut size. A key requirement in screening is also to

Seen here in discussion are Shawn Faba (left) , Product Manager Screening at Multotec Manufacturing, and Roy Roche, Vice President Screening Media at Multotec.

Shawn Faba examines a Losiplast panel, which is suitable for heavy duty applications.

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May 2017  MODERN MINING  47