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May 2017
MODERN MINING
45
CRUSHING, SCREENING
AND MILLING
feature
A
solid reputation as the preferred
supplier for transfer points on dia-
mond operations has seen South Af-
rican OEM Weba Chute Systems service the
mines in Botswana for the last 15 years.
Werner Baller, founder and CEO of Weba
Chute Systems, says that the company does
not rest on its laurels and he attributes its
success to its philosophy of continuous
improvement as well as its in-depth under-
standing of material movement across the
full range of commodities.
“The ability to fully understand the com-
plexities of crushing systems enabled our
technical team to provide a fit-for-purpose
solution in a retrofit application on one of
the mines recently,” Baller states.
Explaining the application itself, Baller
says that the transfer point operates between
a crusher and material stockpiles and that
over the years various challenges had been
encountered including high impact on the
belt and excessive dust and spillage with
associated high maintenance costs.
In this section of the plant, some 3 500 t/h
of kimberlite is transferred from the open
pit to the stockpile. Although several modi-
fications were done over time, the plant
stoppages caused by the ineffective transfer
point had become a major problem.
“Due to our standing in this particular
industry and our close relationships, Weba
Chute Systems was called in to investigate
and provide a long-term solution,” says
Baller. The company’s team of skilled engi-
neers visited the site with mine personnel to
get a complete picture of the situation.
The solution provided was a custom
transfer point engineered to meet specific
application requirements.
Baller points out that the emphasis during
the design stage was on mitigating the major
issues of the past, one of which was the very
high drop of 15 m which the material has to
transverse before reaching the belt.
Weba Chut e Sys t ems ’ pr agma t i c
approach to the dynamics of bulk materials
handling not only eliminates the prob-
lems so often associated with conventional
transfer chutes but also results in signifi-
cant savings, Baller notes. He adds that it is
extremely important to understand how the
material flow will function in all conditions
including wet and dry.
“Uncontrolled drops such as this result
in high impact on the belt. It is through the abso-
lute control of the material flow that we are able to
reduce the impact of the product when it reaches
the conveyor. This not only reduces wear on the
belt but also reduces spillage and dust,” he says.
“Because each Weba Chute System is tailor
made for its specific application, we are confident
that the plant stoppages at this mine will become
a thing of the past,” Baller concludes.
An illustration of the Weba Chute System custom engineered
transfer point at a diamond mine.
Weba
solves plant stoppage problem