Modern Mining May 2020

CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING

SA-made solution for Australian iron ore screening

An innovative high-impact screen panel developed by Multotec has boosted the wear life of screens at almost a dozen iron ore mines in Australia’s Pilbara region.

S o successful was the Ceradox panel that after testing was concluded on one mine site, the solution has been rolled out to 10 more mines in recent months. The installation of the Multotec Ceradox panels is driving up production targets by improving operational efficiency and productivity. According to Multotec screening product man- ager Shawn Faba, the initial request was for a panel with a wear life that would align with the mine’s regular shutdown cycle of 12 weeks. “Mines are con- stantly looking for ways to reduce downtime,” says Faba, “and the planned maintenance shutdown is one vital element in this strategy.” It was therefore vital to lengthen the service life of the panels in the impact area of their scalper screens. These screens separate iron ore material less than 100 mm from oversize material, and oper- ate under conditions that are both aggressive and abrasive. Wet scrubbing plants discharge material

Shawn Faba, screening product manager, Multotec.

with a particle size of up to 300 mm from a discharge height of up to 3 m. Substantial improvement With standard rubber impact panels lasting only six to eight weeks, the plant was incurring signifi- cant unplanned downtime for unscheduled panel replacements. It was necessary to make a substan- tial improvement in the meantime between failure (MTBF) of the panels. “Through a research and development collabo- ration between Multotec South Africa and Multotec Australia, the Ceradox panel was developed for

Multotec’s strong supply capability allows the company to deliver batches of 100 Ceradox units per week to customers anywhere in the world, to meet their shutdown deadlines.

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32  MODERN MINING  May 2020