The first SDLG wheel loader sold in southern Africa by regional
dealer Babcock International — an LG958L — has
amassed 5 000 operating hours in extreme conditions at
South African Bulk Terminals (SABT) in Durban,
where 2.4 million tonnes of dry bulk is loaded and off-loaded
annually. With Babcock’s support, SABT extended the bucket to
a capacity of 4.9m 3 , allowing the SDLG machine to match the
productivity of two alternative 9.5-tonne loaders, according to
Wentzel Nel, workshop foreman at the SABT Diesel Workshop.
At SABT’s round-the-clock port operations, the SDLG LG958L
and its two supporting 9.5-tonne wheel loaders can load
18 000 tonnes of fluorspar onto a vessel in just three days,
or 55 to 60 trucks for road transport from the port in a single
12-hour shift. SABT has also invested in a six-tonne class
LG918 to shunt freight wagons at its nine-line rail yard.
Shaw Controls , a Zest WEG Group company, has
supplied a containerised electrical solution to supply
power to drive a mill on a new gold mine in West Africa.
The custom-engineered substation comprises a medium
voltage (MV) WEG MVW01 variable speed drive (VSD) and
a dry type phase shift transformer driving a 2 000kW, six-
pole, 6.6kV squirrel cage WEG electric motor. The VSD is
housed in the container while the oil-cooled transformer is
housed outside of it to facilitate heat dissipation. According
to Kirk Moss, medium voltage manager at Shaw Controls,
specialised software interfaces with the VSD, allowing for
objective detection of a frozen charge condition, while the
encoder fitted to the electric motor allows monitoring of the
mill angle and torque, and angle measurements make it
possible to detect cascading within the mill.
Metso is investing in a second melting
furnace at its Isithebe foundry in South
Africa, increasing its manufacturing
capacity for large crusher wear parts
castings used in minerals processing.
The EUR3.5-million investment will
ensure the availability of Metso’s heavy
crusher wear parts globally.
“The demand for large crusher wear
parts is growing in the mining industry.
With this investment, we ensure
we can meet our customers’ needs.
Through the renewal of the foundry,
we will improve our capabilities to
deliver high-quality heavy-wear parts,”
says Joni Meronen, director of Mining
Crusher Wears at Metso.
The Isithebe plant is part of
Metso’s global foundry network,
consisting of foundries located
in Ahmedabad, India; Přerov,
the Czech Republic; Quzhou,
China; and Sorocaba, Brazil. The
renewed foundry will be built to
follow Metso’s strict sustainability
and quality principles as well as
international standards.
“Sustainability is of utmost
importance to Metso. We are
developing our operations in a safe
and sustainable manner, in close
dialogue with local communities,” says
Thando Makhoba, director of the
Isithebe foundry.
The renewed foundry will be able
to manufacture wear parts for the
Nordberg MP2500 cone crusher,
as well as for Metso and third-party
primary gyratory wear parts, with
full use of the latest manufacturing
technologies.
The first product deliveries from
the new furnace are scheduled for May
2019. During the renovation project,
production of castings will continue as
usual in the existing facilities.
Metso investing EUR3.5-million at Isithebe foundry
Through the renewal of the Isithebe foundry, Metso will improve
capabilities to deliver high-quality heavy-wear parts.
SEPTEMBER 2017
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