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PRODUCT News
70
MODERN MINING
January 2015
An Adsorption, Desorption and Refining
(ADR) plant supplied by FLSmidth has
allowed Shanta Mining Company Limited
(SMCL) to boost its gold and silver recov-
ery at the New Luika Gold Mine (NLGM)
in south-west Tanzania. Dave Capstick,
Business Development Manager at
FLSmidth, says the 2-t ADR plant has
resulted in an increased carbon through-
put to the CIL circuit at NLGM from 20 t a
month to 80 t at present.
The ADR plant comprises an acid wash,
a Zadra strip circuit with an FLSmidth
designed heater skid, an electrowinning
circuit and a carbon regeneration kiln, in
addition to ancillary equipment such as
pumps, screens and tanks for carbon han-
dling. “All the equipment was designed
and manufactured by FLSmidth. It was
shipped, installed and commissioned
jointly by our South African and Salt Lake
offices,”Capstick says. Commissioning took
place in the second
quarter of 2014.
Initial results from
the new plant point
to an improvement in
gold recovery of two
percentage points,
while silver recovery
has tripled. The ben-
efits of the new ADR
plant were apparent
at an early stage, and
the plant represents
an important step
in the debottleneck-
ing of the gold/silver
recovery process.
The ADR p l an t
FLSmidth helps boost recoveries at New Luika
forms part of FLSmidth’s offering of gold
recovery equipment.The strip circuit in par-
ticular consistently delivers stripping times
of between eight to nine hours. “Given the
rise in energy costs, our improved heater
skid designs have resulted in significant
power savings for the end user compared
to competitor designs.” Capstick points to
a recent field case study that highlighted
heat recoveries of about 90 %.
“Our electrowinning cells with bas-
ketless cathodes carry a patented in-cell
washing design that reduces cathode
washing time and eliminates the need
to remove the cathodes from the cell
for washing,” says Capstick. He adds that
FLSmidth’s carbon regeneration kiln has a
patented sealing arrangement that avoids
air entering the kiln. “The kiln also features
a robust design to avoid warping, which
otherwise results in kiln misalignment and
operational inefficiencies.”
Wally Channon, Technical Manager at
SMCL, says: “The ADR plant at our New
Luika mine has already exceeded the
design performance target and removed
the previous bottleneck to increased pro-
cess plant throughput.”
FLSmidth, tel (+27 10) 210-4820
An ADR plant supplied by FLSmidth for Shanta’s New Luika Gold Mine in
Tanzania is exceeding the design performance target.
Growth for MSP despite the mining downturn
Despite a turbulent year with regards
to local labour unrest and pressure on
international commodity prices, Mine
Support Products (MSP) experienced
growth in 2014, thanks – it says – to its
proactive approach to business in a con-
stantly-changing environment.
Vereeniging-based MSP is a globally
recognised manufacturer of products and
solutions for underground mining applica-
tions, and is jointly owned by international
manufacturing and engineering company
DCD Group, and Robor.
A major contributor to MSP’s success
was the launch of the innovative new
Shredderbolt system – a unique under-
ground support system that acts as a
non-mechanical end anchored bolt that
can be used with cement or resin. The
patented wedge-shaped mixing cone at
the end of the bolt aids in cement or resin
mixing, acts as an end anchor and allows
for constant yielding of the bolt through
cement if required.
MSP General Manager Conrad Engel
brecht notes that after drilling a support
hole in the rock to the required diameter
and length, the cement or resin capsule
is inserted and the Shredderbolt is con-
nected via a spinning adapter to the drilling
machine and spun into the hole. “This rup-
tures the capsule and effectively mixes the
cement. Once the capsule contents are
mixed and cured, a tensile force can be
applied onto the bolt. The yielding force of
the bolt linearly increases to the maximum
strength of the material, and occurs over a
minimum elongation distance.”
Shredderbolt has already been imple-
mented at a number of gold mines in South
Africa, and Engelbrecht is confident that the
product will achieve measurable success in
the future. He does, however, indicate that
service delivery excellence is just as impor-
tant as new product innovations when it
comes to maintaining consistent success in
a highly competitive market.
“We are committed to constantly
improving our service and solutions
offering to our client base, by correctly
interpreting the clients’ requirements and
understanding the unique challenges that
they face. From there, we are able to cre-
ate a customised solution that is not simply
product-based, but tailor-made to meet
the expectations of our broad client base,”
he continues.
MSP also reports that it exports its
proprietary Rocprop all-steel elongated
support system to the Asian, North
American and Australasian mining mar-
kets. Engelbrecht admits that low coal
prices have placed pressure on the export
business, as mining operations continue to
reduce overhead costs.
“The United States coal market is a
major Rocprop client; however, an over-
supply of gas in that region has pushed
the coal prices down, which has supressed
the market considerably. We are in the pro-
cess of testing a new product called the
Combination Prop, in an effort to remain
competitive in a market that is becoming
increasingly cost conscious,” he explains.
DCD Group, tel (+27 16) 427-2850