A primary crusher discharge chute had been a headache for a large Botswana diamond producer for many years. The crunch came when, after considerable capital expenditure, the new conventional chute needed maintenance just six weeks after installation.
“This could not continue and the mine needed a long term solution which is why we believe they came to us for a proposal,” says Hilton Buys, regional manager at Weba Chute Systems.
Measuring the wear life of a transfer chute is no simple matter, as many different components need to be tracked. However, the benefits of doing this add directly to the bottom line through improved uptime.
Izak Potgieter, ISO systems manager at Weba Chute Systems, highlights how the company’s customised reliability model can capture key wear indicators for each chute – and calculate how much longer each liner, lip or other component will last.
Dust has long been a health hazard in mines where metals and metalloids are carried in atmospheric dust exposing workers to toxic contaminants.
Dust is often generated during the transportation of minerals on conveyors and through transfer chutes.
Based on its experience in manufacturing and maintaining transfer points, Weba Chute Systems has developed a reliability model that allows customers to improve uptime in their plants
Ensuring that every chute produced is to specification and to the highest quality, Weba Chute Systems gives customers peace-of-mind through its process effectiveness systems.
According to Izak Potgieter, ISO systems manager at Weba Chute Systems, process effectiveness assures customers that this leading transfer point manufacturer follows detailed protocols for each stage of the ordering, design and production process of its custom-engineered chute systems.
ENGINEERING KNOW-HOW PUTS WEBA UP FRONT
In-house engineering capability as well as capacity is a cornerstone of the global success of leading chute designer and manufacturer Weba Chute Systems.
“What has always set us apart, especially in the local market, is that transfer points are our dedicated focus,” says Alwin Nienaber, technical director at Weba Chute Systems.
Mines expect to see performance improvement from their newly installed Weba Chute Systems, but this needs to be measured. Fortunately Weba Chute Systems provides a scientific approach to measuring this which leaves no doubt in the customer’s mind, and provides assurance that their newly installed Weba Chute System will reduce total cost of ownership.
Momentum is picking up in demand levels from the commodities sector for companies like Weba Chute Systems, who has been able to quickly adapt to Covid-19 conditions.
According to Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems, the past financial year certainly had its challenges, but performance was better than expected and, more importantly, the outlook for the future looks robust.
While there are many ‘look-alike’ transfer chutes on the market, it is the demanding original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards of Weba Chute Systems that keep mined material as well as industrial materials moving smoothly.
“Through our focused dedication for many years, we have developed the design, engineering and manufacture of transfer chutes into a science,” says Weba Chute Systems technical manager and designer Dewald Tintinger.
The recent installation of custom-engineered transfer chutes at a sinter plant in Turkey has highlighted the value of Weba Chute Systems’ decades of experience in design engineering and manufacture.
According to Dewald Tintinger, technical manager and designer at South Africa-based Weba Chute Systems, the application had to deal with sinter material with temperatures up to 700⁰ C, while also reducing the level of material degradation which could undermine the furnace performance.
