Alrode-based Weir Minerals Africa, part of the worldwide LSE-listed Weir Group, has one of the most complete ranges of minerals processing solutions available in Africa from a single supplier. The company has products and systems available from comminution through to water recovery and tailings management. Modern Mining’s Arthur Tassell recently spoke to JD Singleton, Process Director of Weir Minerals Africa, to learn more about the company’s comprehensive offering.
Although traditionally strongly identified with its market-leading range of Warman® slurry pumps, Weir Minerals Africa has extended its offering in recent years as its parent company, the Weir Group, has expanded through internal growth and a series of key acquisitions.
Preparation of moulds for casting at the foundry in Isando.
“Weir was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1871 and has had an active presence in South Africa for over a century, so we are not newcomers to the mining industry in Africa,” says Singleton. “Over the past 10 to 15 years, however, the offering has broadened significantly, as has the ‘footprint’ of Weir Minerals Africa, which now extends across the entire continent.”
Headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland, the Weir Group operates through three divisions, Weir Minerals, Weir ESCO and Weir Oil & Gas, with Weir Minerals ranking as a global leader in slurry handling equipment, mill circuit technology and services. Weir Minerals has an impressive footprint globally with service centres within 250 km of every major mine site.
“We have our head office in Alrode, Johannesburg, which is also our main manufacturing facility and our primary distribution hub, as well as a rubber moulding plant producing rubber pump and mill lining mouldings at our Isando premises, and two foundries,” says Singleton. “The smaller foundry, handling castings of up to 1 tonne, is located at the Isando premises, while in Port Elizabeth we have our Heavy Bay Foundry which can manufacture castings up to 18 tonnes – and soon 24 tonnes, as it is currently being upgraded.”
The Alrode site performs pump and vibrating screen assembly and is also home to the Linatex® rubber facility. The facility is also starting to manufacture Weir Minerals Africa’s first locally designed apron feeders.
Singleton notes that Weir Minerals Africa’s network of service centres is extensive. “We have 20 branches and service centres in Africa, just over half of them in South Africa,” he says. “We understand that customers cannot afford downtime and we place huge emphasis on providing a fast, efficient response – in terms of backup and parts supply – to all mine sites, no matter how remote they are. Our goal is to be there wherever and whenever our customers need us.”
To keep its customer base supplied with product and spares, Weir Minerals Africa operates a world-class supply chain across Africa with up to 5 000 items shipped each day from Alrode. The company has also recently upgraded its Kitwe, Zambia, distribution facility to enhance its service offering to customers in Central and East Africa.
Increasingly, Weir Minerals Africa is emphasising its ability to provide integrated solutions to its customers. “We see ourselves as more than just an equipment supplier,” Singleton explains. “With our wide range of equipment and expertise both in South Africa and internationally, we can offer customers end-to-end solutions for their minerals processing challenges. We have an integrated solutions team that is dedicated to serving customers. They will visit the customer’s site, take the time to thoroughly understand the problem and come up with an appropriate solution. It’s a customer-centric approach, which delivers real value to the customer.”
To underline his point, Singleton quotes the case of sand and aggregates producer CNC Crushers, which was experiencing problems at its site in Stilfontein in South Africa’s North-West Province with excessive wear experienced on a conventional hydrocyclone and an old-technology pump. The integrated solutions team developed a solution based on the installation of a new technology Warman WBH® 100 slurry pump, a Cavex® 400CVX10 hydrocyclone and two Trio® crushers.
“The results were astonishing. There was a 2 007 % decrease in pump maintenance, a 45 % increase in plant throughput and a doubling of plant output. After 1 900 hours the new Warman pump was still running without any parts needing to be replaced and – in addition – the closed side setting adjustment time of the crushers was reduced dramatically from 90 minutes to just five minutes. The project took just a couple of weeks and the customer is extremely happy with the result,” says Singleton.
Discussing the product line-up of Weir Minerals Africa, Singleton says that the Warman® pump range remains a best-seller for the company. “The Warman centrifugal pump has 80 years of history and it is the leading slurry pump in Africa with the largest installed base. It is available in a range of models – from horizontal and vertical slurry pumps designed for heavy-duty applications through to submersible pumps for dewatering applications – and has a reputation for longevity, with some pumps in Africa in service for up to three decades.”
Complementing the Warman® pump range in the African market, Weir Minerals Africa also offers GEHO® piston and piston diaphragm pumps that are built to handle the most abrasive, corrosive and high-temperature slurries, sludges and tailings.
When it comes to comminution, Weir Minerals Africa has a broad range of equipment available, largely as a result of its acquisition in 2014 of Trio Engineered Products, a manufacturer of crushing and separation equipment for the mining and aggregates market. Trio® crushers – the biggest of which has a capacity of 1 500 t/h – can be used in primary, secondary or tertiary roles. Jaw, cone and horizontal shaft and vertical shaft compactors are all available.
Weir Minerals Africa can also supply Enduron® High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGRs), which can replace conventional SAG, rod and ball mills in many applications. The Enduron® HPGR consumes up to 40 % less energy than traditional reduction methods and the wear components last significantly longer than those in ball and rod mills. In addition, the maintenance time required to replace worn-out parts is lower than the time to replace mill liners.
When it comes to classification and separation, a popular product from Weir Minerals Africa is the Cavex® hydrocyclone. The design features a laminar spiral inlet geometry, which allows the feed stream to blend smoothly with rotating slurry inside the chamber. This results in greatly reduced turbulence throughout the entire hydrocyclone, creating even wear, long life and efficient classification.
Valves are critical to any minerals processing operation and Weir Minerals Africa can supply slurry, industrial and process valves for most applications, with brands Delta Industrial™ and Isogate® knife gate valves. These have been installed at many African mines and are known for their ability to perform in the most arduous conditions.
Weir Minerals strengthened its tailings and water management offering in March 2018 when it concluded an agreement with international group Andritz to access its separation and dewatering technologies. These are marketed by Weir Minerals under the brand name IsoDry™ and include thickeners, filter presses, centrifuges and vacuum belt filters.
Summing up the product range, Singleton says it is very diverse, incorporating many brands and products across the entire field of mineral processing. “We provide all equipment in critical wear applications in every single area of the minerals processing flowsheet.”
Finally, on the subject of market conditions, Singleton says that there are relatively few greenfield projects in South Africa but points out that Weir Minerals Africa is well positioned to support existing operations with its aftermarket and service offering. “Even when there is less investment in greenfield projects, mines still operate and there is a constant demand for parts and for the upgrade of existing equipment, so we remain busy in South Africa,” he notes.
“In the rest of the continent, mining is quite buoyant – extremely so in West Africa, where we have supplied a number of new gold mines and secured a significant order for a new iron ore project in Nigeria. In short, we’re doing extremely well in Africa, with business having expanded for nine consecutive years. We see the continent as a growth market of exceptional potential.”
