Significant investment in the quality and performance of their spare parts ensures that an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can stand behind its brand promise to customers – and it is this promise that allows mines to mitigate operational risk and to continuously improve productivity.
According to Marnus Koorts, General Manager Pumps at Weir Minerals Africa, there is still a temptation for mines’ procurement departments to ‘save’ on upfront costs for replicated spare parts, without realising the risks and disruption this can introduce into the mining workflow.
“In the context of today’s technological advances and mines’ growing focus on efficiency, the design and engineering investment that OEMs make in their spares often goes unnoticed to the untrained eye,” says Koorts. “The aim of replicators is generally to reverse engineer a part so that it looks the same and fits into the equipment – but that is where the similarity usually ends.”
He highlights that the whole philosophy of an OEM engineered part is an integral aspect of that OEM’s long-term relationship with its customer. The detailed design, materials of construction, extensive testing and field experience of an OEM part is geared to deliver certainty over time in its performance within the whole mining process.
“Because mines harness the power of the digital age in condition monitoring and optimised uptime, they rely on us to extend service intervals and achieve reliable service life,” he explains. “By doing this, we allow mines to streamline their operations with scheduled maintenance and less unplanned downtime.”
The wear parts of a pump – which require regular replacement – are vital contributors to the pump’s overall reliability and performance, he emphasises. This makes it essential that these parts must boast the same pedigree as the rest of the pump, as all these aspects have been designed to function as an interactive whole.
“It is precisely because Weir Minerals invests so heavily in its ongoing engineering excellence that we can promise customers better and better results,” says Koorts. “Our impeller designs, for instance, are designed for longer life and more efficient fluid transfer; by scientifically monitoring and measuring the results, we can then take these offerings and performance predictions to the market with confidence.”
Benefits to the customer accrue in various ways, from productivity and efficiency to sustainability and technical support. New generations of technology from Weir Minerals often bring improvements in energy consumption, for example. These regular step-ups can soon lead to double digit savings in energy costs.
“With the mining sector’s focus on controlling operational costs, many mines are working towards aligning the decisions of their procurement function with information on key operational expenditure like electricity,” he notes. “This allows a mine’s commercial strategy of reducing its energy costs to filter down into choosing the most energy efficient equipment.”
He points out that this helps overcome the possibility that ‘cost saving’ in spare parts could have the unintended effect of raising running and maintenance costs down the line. It could also cause disruption and lost production through unscheduled downtime.
“One of our main aims at Weir Minerals is to help our customers mitigate their operational risk, as this has long been a central strategic imperative within the sector,” he says. “An important way that we do this is through the integrity and technical advancement of our spare parts.”
With its 150-year heritage, Weir Minerals has based its success on long term partnerships with customers, which includes the ongoing optimisation of their pumping solutions. By walking the challenging journey of mining with customers, Weir Minerals is always there to back up its promises and assist customers in achieving new goals, he says.
“As sustainability has become a core principle for mining, we actively support customers with quality parts that allow reduced energy consumption and lower carbon emissions,” says Koorts. “We also contribute to reducing customers’ Scope 3 emissions, through our own sustainability initiatives. These include solar power on our facilities and optimising our foundries to become less energy intensive.”
Weir Minerals’ approach to its spare parts supply also supports other vital aspects of today’s mining industry such as social impact and governance. Security of parts supply is essential for mines to optimise uptime, so the company has built extensive in-country presence around Africa.
“Our global geographic footprint leverages our contribution to the local economy, where our entities will include local stakeholders among our directors, management and staff – developing skills, uplifting communities and conducting ourselves as a good corporate citizen,” he says. “As a leading industry player, the group also operates at the highest level of governance, which gives mines peace of mind in relation to their supply chain.”
Koorts reiterates that Weir Minerals’ partnership with customers focuses on achieving the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) of pumping solutions – and stresses the role of OEM parts in this equation. The company works with mines to achieve strategic mining production goals, and this demands streamlined operation to meet production targets.
“On the strength of the quality design and manufacture of our parts, enhanced by our research and development, we can confidently support customers to achieve predicted results,” he says. “This is central to our long-term commitment to the sector, and allows us to offer the support customers expect – often at no additional cost.”
