Diversified engineering group Metso will soon deliver a stationary crushing and screening solution to iron-ore miner Sedibeng Iron Ore, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, for its iron-ore mine in the Northern Cape, the company announced last week.

The solution consists of a 561-2V vibrating feeder, a C130 jaw crusher, a CVB 603 screen, an HP 500 cone crusher, conveyors, electrics and automation, together with the other auxi- liary equipment required for the crushing and screening plant.

The company notes that the five-year life- cycle services contract covers the supervision of the plant maintenance, including maintenance planning and training customer personnel, as well as spares and wears management.

Metso Southern Africa mining sales GM Charles Ntsele says this will bring Sedibeng increased production capacity and reliability while reducing production costs.

He notes that the cold commissioning of the solution is scheduled for late 2016 and says that the plant should be operating at the beginning of 2017.

“This complete solution covers services and equipment and thus ensures planned maintenance and better production reliability for Sedibeng. For Metso, the order represents a new way of operating in Southern Africa. It increases our installed base in the area and will surely open up new opportunities in a growing market,” states Ntsele.

The order was placed in the first quarter of this year and its value has not been disclosed.

Ntsele comments that Sedibeng previously used Metso mobile crushing and screening solution operated by a subcontractor. However, owing to a planned increase in capacity, Tata Steel wanted to investigate the possibility of using a stationary plant.

He remarks that the key targets for Sedibeng were to guarantee plant availability and lower its production costs.

“We worked with the customer in analysing their needs, such as operating costs and plant availability. For example, the design of the plant was carefully considered and the process design criteria reviewed. Based on the analysis, we came up with a high-end technical solution, which will increase plant availability from between 65% and 70% to 90% and increase plant capacity to 600 t/h.

“Partnering with the end-user also allows Metso to build on our understanding of our customers’ business drivers and offer tailored solutions,” Ntsele concludes.