Modern Mining May 2015

CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING

competent ‘homegrown’ manufacturers of screens, an interesting point is whether Aury African can compete on delivery time. Houchin is in no doubt that it can. “We can fulfil an order within three months – from the time of receiv- ing a signed order through to delivery to site,” he maintains. “This is very fast and more than competitive – in fact, I doubt that any South African manufacturer can match this type of turnaround. “A major selling point for us incidentally is that we can provide a customised solution. For example, we can ensure that a screen fits an existing ‘footprint’, an important consideration given that the global recession in mining has led to a situation where new projects are scarce and most demand is for replacement screens at existing mines.” Houchin is quick to point out that the com- petitive price of the new vibrating screen range has not been achieved by compromising on quality. “The same side plates, huck bolting and 305 mm x 305 mm panels are being used during manufacture and guarantee a very reli- able and durable product. Economies have, however, been achieved by providing an out of balance drive motor as standard rather than the more expensive exciter drive – though this is available as an option – and by reducing the polyurethane coating on the cross beams from 6 mm to 2 mm.” Elaborating on this last point, he says the 6 mm coating is appropriate for the larger volumes handled by bigger screens but is an unnecessary ‘overkill’ on smaller screens. Moving on to crushers, Houchin says that Aury Africa is able to supply both jaw and cone crushers. “Aury in China does not yet have any crushers in its lineup so we are sourcing from other Chinese manufacturers, all of whom sup- ply Dadi Engineering,” he says. “We get a very competitive price because of our association with Dadi Engineering and we can, in turn, pass this on to our customers. Our turnaround time on orders is similar to what we are able to offer on our vibrating screens.” The PE jaw crusher range from Aury Africa offers feed size openings varying between 150 x 250 mm to 1 000 mm x 1 200 mm while the cone crusher range is available in diame- ters from 2 ft (610 mm) to 5,5 ft (1 676 mm). Other comminution equipment offered by Aury Africa includes vertical impact crushers and hammer mills. Aury Africa has already achieved some notable successes with its crushing equipment, particularly in Zimbabwe where it has deliv- ered cone and jaw crushers to – among others – Maranatha Ferrochrome in Kadoma. In South

Above: Centrifuge baskets are offered for all centrifuge makes and models (photo: Arthur Tassell). Left: A PE 600 x 900 jaw crusher from Aury Africa undergoing a routine inspection at a plant in Kadoma, Zimbabwe.

Africa it has supplied Samancor and – as this article was being written – was on the point of securing an order for a 3 ft cone crusher for a new project in South Africa. Summing up, Houchin says that since being founded Aury Africa’s turnover has shown con- sistent growth and is now in the region of R50 million a year. “We’ve done well considering the downturn in mining,” he says. “We’re not yet making significant profits but the opera- tion is pretty much paying its way, with the consumable sales alone covering the running costs of the business. We want to at least double this turnover over the next several years and increased sales of our capital equipment will be the key to achieving this goal.” Report by Arthur Tassell, photos courtesy of Aury Africa (unless otherwise acknowledged)

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May 2015  MODERN MINING  49