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PRODUCT News
48
MODERN MINING
October 2016
Among the exhibitors at this year’s Electra
Mining Africa was Victaulic which show-
cased its pipe joining systems including
its new Series 795 knife gate valve, said
to be the industry’s first knife gate valve
designed to be maintained in-line without
having to remove the entire unit from the
pipeline.
Victaulic pipe joining solutions offer an
alternative to the use of flanges or weld-
ing to connect piping systems and are said
to drastically reduce the time necessary to
Victaulic systems can help mining industry reduce costs
install and maintain these connections.
“In the current environment of low
commodity prices, the mining industry is
under immense pressure to contain ris-
ing costs. At the same time there is still a
widely held perception that pipe coupling
technology can only be used on a tempo-
rary basis, but Victaulic offers a permanent
and much more cost-effective alternative,”
says Barry van Jaarsveld, Victaulic Regional
Manager for Africa.
Van Jaarsveld says Victaulic’s coupling
systems allow mines to install piping sys-
tems in 15 % of the time it would have
taken to install a flanged system.“You need
fewer people working on site for a shorter
period of time. This not only helps to dras-
tically reduce installation costs but also
reduces health and safety risks.”
AngloGold Ashanti has recently
installed two slurry lines at its Stilfontein
mine with a total length of 8 km of pipe.
Making use of the Victaulic system report-
edly allowed the company to save 30 %
on the total installation cost of the piping
system.
Impala Platinum also recently added
Shaft 16 to its platinum mining opera-
tions in the Rustenberg area. A traditional
flanged joining method would have
required extensive pipe end preparation
and longer installation times, while weld-
ing the galvanised pipe would have been
a long and tedious process that resulted
in toxic emissions. According to Van
Jaarsveld, the use of Victaulic couplings
and fittings led directly to installation time
being reduced by 60 % as compared to
welded or flanged methods.
Van Jaarsveld says mines need to think
about the cost of a project in a more holis-
tic way.“Mines should not only think about
the cost of the fittings they are installing
but also consider the cost of labour, poten-
tial health and safety risks and the cost of
transporting workers underground to
install pipelines,” he states. “It is also very
important to take into account the oppor-
tunity cost of dragging out expansion
projects longer than necessary. The sooner
a plant can begin operating, the sooner it
can start being profitable.”
However, the Victaulic system not only
reduces installation costs, but also the
cost of maintenance. Van Jaarsveld says
the impact of the reduced time necessary
to maintain Victaulic’s coupling systems
becomes especially evident in cases of
unplanned maintenance. “Mines lose
money during every minute production
has to stand still. For example, a mining
client recently told us that every hour
his plant stands still effectively costs him
R250 000 in lost production. This means
that reduced maintenance time when
replacing a Victaulic knife gate valve can
save him as much as R687 500 in just one
day. Over a year where several cases of
unplanned maintenance can occur this
number can be much larger.”
The Victaulic knife gate valve has been
designed to contain all the parts subject to
wear in a single cartridge kit. This cartridge
can be swapped out and replaced easily
and it is no longer necessary to replace
the entire valve. “It can take between two
and three hours to loosen and replace a
flange. The Victaulic knife gate valve can be
maintained by only replacing the cartridge
inside, instead of taking out and replacing
the entire valve. This cuts the time neces-
sary to maintain it to between 15 minutes
and half an hour,” explains Van Jaarsveld.
Barry van Jaarsveld, Victaulic, tel (+27 82) 963-3667
Barry van Jaarsveld pictured on the Victaulic
stand at Electra Mining Africa.
Solar energy solution from Barloworld Power
Barloworld has launched a new, high per-
formance photovoltaic (PV) solar energy
solution targeted at Southern Africa’s com-
mercial and industrial (C&I) power segment.
The Cat® Thin Film PV solar energy
system features Cat-branded PV module
technology, manufactured by First Solar,
that can deliver up to 4,3 per cent more
energy in South Africa than conventional
crystalline silicon panels.
The solution is the result of a strategic
alliance between Caterpillar and First Solar,
launched in 2015. First Solar, which has over
13 gigawatts of global experience, manu-
factures the solar panels and associated
components, which are Cat branded, and
sold and supported through Caterpillar’s
dealer network alongside its other power
generation offerings.
“This solution offers our customers the
opportunity to invest in reliable, affordable,
high performance PV modules backed by
multiple gigawatts of First Solar’s exper-
tise, combined with the familiarity and
trust that comes with the Cat brand,” said
Grant Kirchmann, Business Development
Manager: Solar at Barloworld Power.
“The technology is best suited to instal-
lation on rooftops or carports for businesses
wishing to reduce their energy costs and
improve their ‘green’ credentials. It is not
only cost efficient and environmentally-
friendly but can also be fully integrated with
other Cat power technologies renowned for
their superior engineering and reliability.”
The PV systems are available exclusively
through Barloworld Power – Cat power sys-
tems dealer for Southern Africa – for the
C&I segment in Southern Africa with sizes
ranging from 25 kW to 5 MW. Barloworld
Power provides installation, commission-
ing and after sales support for all deployed
systems. The company is currently install-
ing a 300 kW test site at sister company
Barloworld Equipment’s Isando campus,
which is expected to save about R500 000
per year on energy costs.
First Solar, which established a presence
in South Africa in 2012, will continue to
independently pursue utility-scale opportu-
nities of 5 MW and above in Southern Africa.
Barloworld Power, tel (+27 11) 323-2683