Modern Mining April 2016

COMPANIES

always important in Africa,” says Späth. “The concrete segments can be produced on site in a small precast plant, thus opening up employ- ment opportunities and, in addition, delivering savings on transport costs.” Also ideal for the junior market is one of Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s ‘signature’ prod- ucts, the well-established Bradford breaker which has been enduringly popular since first being introduced to the South African mining industry in the 1980s and which falls under its specialised handling and comminution equip- ment product line. “We manufacture the Bradford breaker under licence to Terrasource Global in the US but in truth it is almost an entirely South African-designed machine as we have adapted it over the years to suit the particular character- istics of South African coal – which differ quite substantially from those of typical American coals,” says Späth. “The most recent develop- ment is a semi-mobile, skid-mounted version which is particularly aimed at those miners who are exploiting small coal resources and who need a machine that is economically priced and which can be moved from one block or resource to another.” Turning to the air environmental product line, Späth says demand for this equipment remains buoyant, reflecting in part the more stringent air quality regulations which have recently come into force in South Africa. “The demand is coming not just from the mining sec- tor but also general industry,” he notes. “We are well placed to meet this demand as we are able to offer the broadest range of air environmental products in the country – and can point to more than 2 700 air pollution control solutions sup- plied over the past 40 years by Tenova TAKRAF Africa and its predecessor, BET, across the Southern African region.” Examples of Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s capa- bility in this field are recent orders from Petra Diamonds for its Finsch and Koffiefontein mines, both in the Northern Cape. Placed in July last year, the orders comprise the replacement of a Tenova dynamic scrubber at Koffiefontein and the installation of a new, upgraded system at Finsch. The original dynamic scrubber sys- tems at these mines were installed decades ago by BET, with the system at Koffiefontein dat- ing back to the late 1970s. The systems, with capacities of 15 to 20 m 3 /s, are installed at the transfer points of the kimberlite materials han- dling systems at the two mines. Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s dynamic scrub- bers are simple to operate and enable low dust emissions to be achieved with relatively low

capital and operational costs. They are used for general dust collection of medium to heavy dust loads with an efficiency of 99 % for par- ticles in the 1 to 2 micron range. The smallest dynamic scrubber can handle 0,2 m 3 /s while twin arrangements of the largest scrubber han- dle up to 65 m 3 /s. The company has recently extended its air environmental range by acquiring the local dis- tributorship for US company Dust Solutions Inc (DSI), which manufactures dust suppression systems. These include dry fog agglomerative dust suppression systems, which use ultra- sonic, air atomising nozzles, compressed air and plain water to produce a dry fog that agglomerates to airborne dust particles. “This is a relatively new distributorship for us but we see huge scope for the DSI tech- nology in mining and quarrying,” says Späth. “The systems are ideal for transfer points, crushing and screening plants, truck tips and indeed anywhere where dust is being gener- ated. The technology offers the driest form of dust suppression available, which is big plus in a relatively water scarce country such as South Africa, and – as further benefit – does not involve the use of chemicals.” Looking ahead at the outlook for Tenova TAKRAF Africa, Späth says the company is well placed to take advantage of the upturn when it comes. “All the branding and organisational issues which inevitably stem frommergers such as the one between BET and TAKRAF are now behind us. We are already performing strongly relative to market conditions and see exciting growth ahead as we continue building on the nearly 100-year history we have in South Africa of meeting the needs of industry in general and the mining sector in particular.” 

The laboratory is a sophis- ticated facility which can handle sample preparation and testwork on behalf of clients.

Tenova TAKRAF Africa’s dynamic scrubbers are simple to operate and enable low dust emissions to be achieved with relatively low capital and operational costs

April 2016  MODERN MINING  43