Mechanical Technology November 2015

⎪ Local manufacturing and beneficiation ⎪

A range of vibrating feeders, designed in Germany and manufactured locally, feature feed capacities of 100 up to 3 000 tph. These feeders are suitable for all applications where controllable discharge of bulk materials is required. Replaceable bolt-on wear liners are fitted to the feeder troughs to prolong feeder life. Ongoing R&D Due to extremely wide variations of min- eral deposits and requirements for final products, MBE invests substantially in undertaking pilot scale test work at its fully equipped R&D centre in Cologne, Germany. The R&D Centre is able to simulate complete separation processes with its own crushers and mills, using wet as well as dry classification on screens, in cyclones or in air classifiers, and finally separating the minerals by gravity, magnetic properties or using specific chemical surface attributes for flotation. “A well-established product base, a team of experienced and knowledge- able engineers and technicians and a large and varied database of customers, provides MBE Minerals with the ability to customise efficient solutions for the iron ore beneficiation sector,” Kottmann concludes. q

ation, production efficiency, black economic empowerment (BEE), skills development as well as financial turnover – 20% higher than anticipated – subsequent to the suc- cessful implementation of a Firm Technol- ogy Assistance Package (FTAP). The FTAP is one of the solutions offered by the Technology Localisation Plan of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Fabrinox, as a supplier to state- owned companies, was selected to form part of government’s drive to improve the competitiveness of local original equipment manufacturers, and could benefit from the mechanism established for this purpose, the Technology Localisation Plan. “Fabrinox offers manufacturing solutions such as component manufacturing, sub- assemblies, under-licence manufacturing, project management and global installa- tions. Manufacturing processes include state of the art precision laser cutting, bend- ing, welding and surface treatment,” says MBE Minerals’ Pneuflot ® technology improves product quality and overall recovery. It is an attractive alternative to conventional agitator flotation due to its lower capex and opex, as well as reduced wear and higher levels of effi- ciency. Pneuflot systems are available in sizes ranging in diameter from 800 mm to 6.0 m and have been successfully installed in almost 150 industrial ap- plications worldwide. Slurry feed rates of 10 to 1 400 m 3 /h can be achieved in a single cell, depending on cell diameter. A large footprint of MBE Minerals’ vibrating screens in the African mining industry stand testament to the durabil- ity and effectiveness of the products. Options are available for wet and dry classification as well as for dewatering and depulping of coal, minerals and ores. Variants include RSL and RFS resonance screens and conveyors; type VSL and USL linear motion screens; type VSK and USK circular motion screens; type VRL micro screens; and type VMSL vibrating screens. with electromagnets. Because it is a per- manent magnetic separator, the PERMOS MIMS does not require electric power for generating the magnetic field, despite strong field intensities thereby guaran- tee high iron recoveries with minimum operating costs.

BATAC ® jig technology has excellent separation accuracy, is relatively small in footprint and has a comparatively low capital cost.

A view of the Batac jig plant at Khumani.

Metal manufacturer increases turnover, job creation and production efficiency F abrinox, a Western Cape metal manufacturing company, has reported increases in areas such as job cre- Masande Dlulisa, project manager at the Technology Localisation Implementation Unit, a DST-supported initiative hosted by the CSIR.

Fabrinox has also reported a significant increase in the number of permanent job opportunities of 120% more than originally planned. Andre Visser, managing director of Fabrinox, comments: “The most important component of the programme is that we are able to employ people best suited to the job and with the correct BEE profile. Our black employees as a percentage of total staff complement increased from 57% to 65%. The female component improved by more than 150%. The programme also assisted us in unlocking potential by leveraging our existing black employees to higher levels. This will result in a totally different BEE profile for Fabrinox.” An upgraded ERP system and increased confidence and skill levels also resulted in an increase in turnover of almost R10 mil- lion. “Improvements in efficiency contribute substantially to the improved bottom line. We fully expect these gains to increase significantly with the roll-out of the ERP system resulting in double digit growth for the next financial year,” Visser concludes. q

He continues: “To enhance its inter- national credibility, Fabrinox focused on increasing its competitiveness through continuous improvement of its operational systems and investment in technology and quality outputs. We started off with identifying a suitable skills development programme linked to a new machine purchased by Fabrinox. The intervention involved the development of high-end technical skills in Germany, to enhance the capability of the local workforce. Fabrinox also required an upgrade of their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to offer customers real time feedback.” Key employees received advanced pro- gramming and machine operator training at Trumpf Germany, enabling Fabrinox to improve operator capability, which resulted in improved confidence and motivation lev- els as well as improved operating efficiency of machinery.

Mechanical Technology — November 2015

29