Often there is more than one challenge that faces a plant in moving materials, and this is one of the advantages of the Weba Chute System: it addresses multiple bulk materials handling issues at once.

Among the key challenges that plants face, for instance, are spillages and blockages at the transfer point.

With the power of three-dimensional (3D) scanning technology, transfer point specialist Weba Chute Systems & Solutions ensures there are no surprises when designing and installing its solutions.

“The accuracy of 3D scanning means that we can rapidly gather detailed measurements of large infrastructure on a customer’s site,” says the company’s technical director, Alwin Nienaber.

Having the advice of chute experts at an early stage of developing a minerals processing plant will save costly downtime and unnecessary maintenance down the line, according to Alwin Nienaber, technical director at Weba Chute Systems.

“Despite the constantly improving technology that goes into modern process plants, there is still insufficient attention paid to chute design,” Nienaber says.

Using the latest dust measuring technology, Weba Chute Systems has been able to demonstrate to platinum mining customers how its custom-engineered chutes significantly reduce dust at transfer points.

“We conducted dust assessments at mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe,” says Izak Potgieter, systems manager at Weba Chute Systems.

Design, engineering and manufacturing supported by all other functions are up to speed at leading transfer point specialist Weba Chute Systems, thanks to its quick response to Covid-19 restrictions.

“With bespoke chute design being such a vital aspect of our value offering to customers, we have invested heavily over the years in sophisticated software and networks,” says Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems.

When mining operations have to cut their capital costs, it is vital that decisions are based on payback periods rather than simply the purchase price.

According to Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems, the trend toward reducing capital budgets in the mining sector is not necessarily going to pay in the long term.

Keeping a closer eye on performance of assets like transfer chutes – and carefully monitoring wear – can save not only the cost of unplanned downtime, but also the cost of potential over-maintenance.

“It is true that too little maintenance is usually what causes problems for transfer point equipment on mines, but over-maintenance is also a luxury that mines can no longer afford,” says Amanda Teessen, maintenance contracts manager at Weba Chute Systems.

Chute design is one of the most complex, and under-rated, aspects of materials handling – as a number of large equipment suppliers have discovered to their cost.

“As a company with 30 years of experience designing bespoke transfer chutes, it has been interesting to watch who enters – and exits – our market over the years,” says Mark Baller, managing director of Weba Chute Systems.

With its custom-designed transfer point solutions at mines across Africa, Weba Chute Systems has proved its chutes in commodities from platinum to diamonds to gold, coal and copper.

In addition to mining hotspots including Ghana, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, Weba Chute Systems have been installed in countries like Tanzania, Mauritania and Eritrea.

Media release – 28-02-2020
NICHE EXPERTISE IN CUSTOM CHUTE DESIGN PAYS OFF FOR MINES
While being a relatively minor cost component on a mining operation, a well-designed transfer chute punches well above its weight in sustaining uptime and productivity.