Modern Mining April 2016

COMPANIES

This involved the design and installation (on an LSTK basis) of three conveyors totalling 3 km to convey coal at a rate of up to 4 800 t/h. The system comprises a 1 000 m long incline conveyor with a lift of 83 m, a 1 518 m over- land conveyor with a lift of minus 9,3 m and a 434 m tripper conveyor with a lift of 30,3 m. The scope included the bulk earthworks and civils foundations for the conveyors, as well as the transfer towers and the E&I system. Späth says that with the current dearth of large-scale mining projects, the demand for Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s ultra-heavy materials handling equipment – bucket wheel excavators, for example, or ship loading and unloading sys- tems – is limited. “This market will return but in the meantime we are putting additional focus on the junior mining market, where there is still a reasonable level of activity,” he observes. “We have developed a number of solutions for the juniors and are also offering some attractive financing packages.” One development Späth points to is an ingenious modular overland conveyor consist- ing of concrete modules precast at the project site and fitted with idler frames and brackets. The system – which reduces on-site work by as much as 80 % and is also relocatable – is easily and quickly installed after the conveyor line has been surveyed, with only a prepared terrace required and no concrete footings. “The beauty of the system is not only its cost effectiveness but also the fact that it can maxi- mise local community involvement – which is

material flow test work to determine the flow of solid material through chutes and into stor- age vessels. Commenting on the current business envi- ronment, Späth says conditions are extremely tight but notes that Tenova TAKRAF Africa still has considerable forward momentum from ongoing projects, one of them being Eskom’s Kusile Power Station. “Our work at Kusile comprises three separate materials handling work packages covering the terrace handling system, the stockyard handling system and the limestone handling facility,” he states. “The scope of the three packages is considerable and includes 79 conveyors adding up to distance of more than 16 km, as well as the supply and installation of stackers, reclaimers and feeders.” Other current contracts include a boiler emissions abatement plant at Impala Platinum’s Springs refinery – reportedly the first of its type in Africa – and also a load out station for a coal mine in Mozambique presently undergoing commissioning. This is the second installation of this type for the client and the order was secured on the basis of the excellent perfor- mance of the system supplied for the first phase of the project. Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s rapid rail loading systems feature a flask-loading design and can load particulate material into moving trains at rates of up to 8 000 t/h. A recently completed project of which Tenova TAKRAF Africa is particularly proud is the materials handling portion of Sasol Mining’s Tweedraai expansion near Secunda.

Tenova TAKRAF Africa has consolidated operations in these modern premises in Spartan.

42  MODERN MINING  April 2016