Metso, leader in technologies, end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally, showcased to media and customers a 50-m-diameter high-rate thickener in fabrication for a mining client at its steel fabricator partner Betterect's premises in Krugersdorp, Gauteng.

Metso insists on trial assembly of equipment prior to shipping it to clients. This custom-designed thickener is an elevated bolted design, which enables rapid assembly on site, thereby reducing risks to the client, such as exposure to inclement weather, or scarcity of specialist skills and equipment on site, says Metso High Rate Thickening product manager Esmé Pelser.

The high-rate thickener, which is destined for a platinum mine, also incorporates Metso's latest feedwell technology Reactorwell™, which reduces the use of reagents in the process. This is Metso’s latest development in thickener feedwell technology, she points out

"The lifecycle costs of our thickeners are considerably lower than traditional larger concrete thickeners as our tank design is one of the lightest in the industry.  Our investment in research and development combined with continuous product improvement results in a direct saving for the customer in terms of costs related to concrete and civil works

The bolted tank design means that most of the work is done in the controlled environment of a workshop, meaning the installation needs no welding on site and no sandblasting or painting, says Metso Thickeners & Clarifiers front-end sales lead Jaco Hamman.

Further, as part of Metso's Planet Positive sustainability strategy, its products must exceed industry benchmarks in terms of performance and sustainability, and it has stringent key performance indicators (KPIs) that it tracks to measure its products' carbon footprint across a range of sustainability metrics, Pelser notes.

"Betterect is not just another fabricator, but rather a strategic partner for Metso. Metso’s Supply chain monitors the carbon footprint of all our products from cradle to grave and record these KPIs, starting with the origin of the raw materials and the carbon emissions from logistics when sourcing the steel," says Metso Africa Project Management director Cornel Zwart.

"Given the size, complexity, difficulty and exacting quality of this thickener project, it is important to note that Betterect is a supply chain partner, and that we and our partners have the skills and capabilities to do these types of projects locally," he adds.

It is important for Metso to have reliable supply chain partners to enable it to deliver on projects of this nature and scale while meeting all facets of its sustainability criteria.

"In today's project environment, a close partnership with our strategic suppliers is needed to address project and fabrication challenges. We have the process knowledge to design these types of equipment, but it is our fabricators who need to have the experience and know-how to fabricate them," he says.

Betterect has 50 years of experience in steel fabrication. In a 50-m-diameter thickener, there is a lot of steel and a lot of technique and good engineering practices needed to fabricate it to stringent European standards and codes, says Betterect MD Nicolette Skjoldhammer.

The relationship with Metso has been 15 years in the making and Metso takes a focused view on developing strategic partners and its supply chain.

"The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of strong supply chains, and Metso has been strategically developing regional supply chains to ensure continuity of service," she adds.

"This project especially highlights the collaborative effort between ourselves, the client and Betterect to get the right solution to the client and the right input from the supplier to deliver the solution," concurs Hamman.

Metso built its case for the thickener solution to the client based on the input Betterect provided, said Pelser.

"Optimised designs, enhanced by our suppliers' capabilities, enables optimization of raw materials needed and therefore reduces waste, which leads to a win-win situation for us, our fabricators and our clients," she notes.

Meanwhile, thickeners are not industry specific and are the workhorses in many industries. Therefore, improving their efficiency will contribute to broad improvements.

"Thickeners are typically used to recover water from industrial processes, reducing the reliance on natural water sources, thus improve overall water circularity in industries. Due to a global water scarcity, water efficiency and sustainability are key focus areas for all industries around the world," Pelser says.

Further, in terms of demand, many of its existing customers, including battery minerals miners, are investigating how they can increase the throughput of their plants; firstly, through optimisation of existing equipment, debottlenecking of plant flowsheets and using any spare capacity available.  Once there is no other option available, they will move to expansion of existing operations by adding some equipment, or finally building a completely new plant.

There is still demand in the market from all three these areas and Metso sees a positive outlook for demand during the second half of the year. It anticipates that customers who have been delaying projects owing to uncertainty prompted by elections in many countries will start moving into implementation during the third or fourth quarter.

"We have a massive pipeline of opportunities that we are working on, although it is a matter of timing before these will go into realization. Due to current market conditions, customers are hesitant to make decisions and are firstly focussing on improving their existing operations and processes before investing in new capital equipment," says Zwart.

Metso started with the high-rate thickener project at the beginning of the year and expects to deliver it to site by the end of the year, depending on the installation sequence of the client, says Metso senior project manager Hannes van Aswegen.

"I want to emphasise that this project could not have materialized without our strategic partner Betterect, which is a major strategic partner for the African market area.

"We wanted to showcase our technology in this high-rate thickener as an example of how we mitigate a range of safety, cost and installation risks for our clients through bespoke design," he says.