Modern Mining May 2020

CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING

The Multotec Ceradox panels increase wear life with their innovative high-impact design and can operate under aggressive and abrasive conditions. the specific conditions under which equipment must perform.

manufacturing facilities make for short lead times. Where components demand longer lead times, as is the case with alumina ceramic tiles, substantial stock is ordered in advance and held in readiness. The production facilities also include a rub- ber mixing plant, manned by in-house rubber specialists. Here, fit-for-purpose rubber com- pounds can be formulated and manufactured to meet specific customer requirements. The plant’s compression moulding technology, which involves a longer curing time, also con- tributes significantly to better wear resistance in the final product. “Our strong supply capability allows us to deliver batches of 100 Ceradox units in a week to our customers anywhere in the world – to meet their shutdown deadlines,” he says. “We can also manufacture different thicknesses of the Multotec Ceradox panels, from 50 mm to 100 mm.” Close to the customer Faba emphasises the importance of Multotec’s philosophy of being close to the customer’s operation. This, he says, is to properly under- stand both the performance requirements and

“We are unique in our service offering to cus- tomers, in that we offer a total solution which can address the optimisation of screening per- formance, as well as service and maintenance,” he says. “Alongside this expertise and product offering, we frequently visit our customer sites. This allows us to assess the various issues that hamper screening efficiencies, and we can gather the data we need when we formulate the necessary solutions.” Such has been the success of Multotec’s operations in Australia’s iron ore producing region that the company now supplies about 35% of the screening media to mines in the Pilbara area. He notes, however, that constantly changing mining conditions are always present- ing new demands that must be met. “Changing geology, for instance, is an ongo- ing challenge to mines and their technology providers,” says Faba. “This makes it vital that we partner closely with customers at all times to understand the particular ore bodies and their process requirements. We can then bring our R&D and manufacturing capability to bear on the challenges.” 

Key takeaways  Following the success testing of Multotec’s Ceradox panel on one mine site, the solution has been rolled out at 10 more mines in recent months in Australia’s Pilbara region  The initial request was for a panel with a wear life that would align with the mine’s regular shutdown cycle of 12 weeks  With standard rubber impact panels lasting only six to eight weeks, the plant was incurring significant unplanned downtime for unscheduled panel replacements  Through a research and development collaboration between Multotec South Africa and Multotec Australia, the Ceradox panel was developed for application on the scalper screens  The customer’s target was for the panels’ increased wear-life to allow mine production to improve to about 6-million tonnes per annum by the end of the 2019 financial year. As it turned out, the results exceeded expectations, with a wear life of 24 weeks being achieved

May 2020  MODERN MINING  35