Weba Chutes Systems, a leading local manufacturer of custom engineered chute systems, has secured a contract to supply four chutes to Sibanye-Stillwater's Marikana operation in South Africa. These systems will replace existing conventional chutes that have been underperforming and failing to meet the required standards set by Sibanye-Stillwater.

Handling sticky material in mining and minerals processing plants can be a complex challenge. These materials can cause blockages, equipment wear and increased maintenance requirements, leading to reduced efficiency and increased operational costs.

This is according to Alwin Nienaber, Technical Director at Weba Chute Systems, who says that designing transfer points to effectively handle sticky materials is crucial for optimising material flow and minimizing downtime.

In the mining industry, the pressure to reduce operating costs has led to some plants cutting back on maintenance, even though this could lead to higher long-term costs. Mark Baller, MD of Weba Chute Systems, warns that this is particularly true when it comes to material transfer chutes systems.

Coal dust is a major problem for the operators of facilities such as coal processing plants and power stations as it not only reduces the efficiency of machinery and equipment but it can also impact on the health of workers and even the health of residents of neighboring communities.

Controlling coal dust in conveyor systems and transfer points is not just an issue of health and safety, but also has a significant impact on operational efficiency and cost of ownership. Transfer points are often the main source of coal dust generation, but process plant owners often overlook the potential to optimize the design and positioning of transfer chutes.

Visual inspection of a transfer chute underway.

The generation of coal dust around conveyer systems and transfer points is a problem for operators of coal mines, coal plants and similar facilities. Coal dust is a contributor to lung disease and it therefore poses a threat to not only workers in these facilities but even to residents of neighbouring communities.

When a new plant is being planned, considerable care needs to be taken in the design and placement of the transfer chutes, argues Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems.

“In our experience, there has been considerable disruption caused to plant operations by transfer chutes which are not optimally designed or properly located in the flowsheet,” says Baller.

The expansion of an underground crusher station at a platinum mine in Zimbabwe has required South Africa-based Weba Chute Systems to provide 10 more of its custom engineered transfer chutes.

Overseeing the contract for Weba Chute Systems is project manager Ted Cruikshank, who explains that the design, manufacture and delivery of the units is already 80% complete.

Ship loading represents major challenges, since the material must be delivered to the vessel’s hold from a boom conveyor, often at heights of 20 metres or more above the hold floor, causing high material velocity and hazardous dust.
Another challenge is achieving fast, high-capacity loading, while at the same time minimising dust pollution and preventing both material degradation and material segregation.

Many industrial facilities, mines and power stations rely too much on dust suppression and extraction systems, when the real answer is to improve the flow of material through well designed chutes.

This is the considered opinion of Weba Chute Systems technical director Alwin Nienaber, based on decades of experience in this field.