In line with global industrial equipment company Metso’s commitment to innovation, its Vereeniging operation is offering two solutions that are new to the African crushing and milling industries.

Metso Southern Africa sales and service VP Qasim Abrahams informed attendees during a customer day at Metso Vereeniging last month that Africa’s first Megaliner – “an innovative mill-lining concept” – had been manufactured at the facility this year.

The company introduced this first solution to reduce downtime and increase safety – two “very important” features emphasised by Abrahams.

The Megaliner facilitates mill availability, owing to quick liner replacement. A reduced number of liners and attachment points make the installation and change-out quicker, compared with conventional liners.

The unique attachment systems of the Megaliner provide a safer working environment for the installation crew, as the attachment parts are installed from outside the mill only, negating the need for the crew to be in the danger zone inside the mill.

The second solution noted by Abrahams was the Metso MX Multi-Action cone crusher, which the company is launching onto the African market in the next 12 months.

This crusher is based on Multi-Action crushing technology, which combines the piston and rotating bowl into one crusher. This crusher enhances profitability considerably, cutting operational costs by 10% and allowing for a 10% higher uptime, compared with that of traditional cone crushers.

It is designed for the most demanding rock conditions and, with a special focus on automated adjustment features, it allows for extremely cost-effective and safe operations. Owing to its robust design, this product is well suited to demanding mining applications.

As Metso does not employ a mass marketing strategy, the company will approach clients whose operations it believes will benefit from using these two solutions.

“We are not in the business of selling machines, but rather supplying our customers with the best solutions. We have to take into account the type of ore the customer is processing, the location of the site and the operator’s expectations in terms of output and efficiency,” explained Abrahams.

Vereeniging Operations
Metso’s customer day was held to provide its clients and media with enhanced insight into the company, across its entire spectrum of products and services, as well as enable attendees to experience the facility’s operations.

The 12.9 ha Metso Vereeniging facility, established in 1957, employs more than 290 people. The ISO 9001:2015-certified operation produces products and components for the crushing, milling and screening industries that boast high local content, while also capitalising on direct access to products designed by its Finnish parent company.

The Vereeniging company’s scope of work encompasses the manufacture of crushers, spare crusher parts, mill liners and screens, as well as crusher repairs, refurbishment and upgrades.

Metso Vereeniging GM Sean O’Connor informed visitors that the facility could handle any repairs, bar that of very large components. Although the company does not actively seek to promote the use of outdated crushers and screens, it manufactures such noncurrent equipment to meet customer demand, he added.

The crushers and mill liners manufactured at the facility are used mainly by copper, gold, platinum and coal producers, with Africa being its biggest market, followed by the US and Australia.

Notably, the first Nordberg MP2500 cone crusher, the world’s largest cone crusher, was assembled at Metso Vereeniging in 2014, extols Abrahams. It is capable of processing more ore than any other crusher on the market.

A landmark achievement of the Nordberg MP2500 was the installation of the crusher by Metso in Zambia, in 2015. This project has generated positive results, with the machine assisting in increasing the operation’s output of refined copper to an “exceptional” 1.3-million tonnes a year, said Abrahams, adding that, “in an industry where sheer volume equates to cost effectiveness, this constitutes a major advantage”.

International Case Studies
Metso entered into an ongoing three-year life cycle services agreement in 2015 with the Kevitsa copper/nickel mine, in Finland, which was struggling with excessive downtime, owing to long shutdowns. The agreement resulted in mill relining time being reduced by more than 50%, limiting the loss of production, Abrahams pointed out.

An in-pit project, in Russia, required the design of a compact plant to fit limited space on site and contend with the project’s Arctic operating conditions. Metso’s answer was to supply a complete crushing and conveying solution, fully compliant with customer requirements and government regulations, in 2012.

Abrahams stated that the environment- friendly and reliable system achieved the correct ore size, reduced hauling expenses and improved operational efficiency.

He further noted that this case reinforced Metso’s decision to refrain from taking a “one size fits all approach”, always offering a customised approach to address individual operating conditions and delivering the appropriate solution for a specific project.