Minerals processing solutions provider Weir Minerals Africa early this year established a dedicated manufacturing operation at its facility in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, to produce Aspir coal centrifuges, says company product manager Leon Toerien.

“This represents a strategic investment to service our key customers in the heartland of the coal mining and processing industry in South Africa,” he says, adding that the facility will supply machines, spare parts and aftermarket support as well as dispatch technical crews.

The Aspir range comprises coarse and fine centrifuges, with a new machine, with a throughput of 100 t/h, to be released at the end of the year.

The company will also be making sub-assemblies available on a service exchange basis for the different types of Aspir coal centrifuges, in keeping with the increasing trend by mining houses to outsource their equipment supply, service and maintenance requirements, says Toerien.

“Not only are we able to offer a complete solutions approach, but our strategic location in the Mpumalanga coalfields will reduce lead times and allow us to be pro- active in responding to our cus- tomers’ requirements.”

Toerien says Weir Minerals is committing to its solutions-focused approach by expanding its product portfolio for the coal mining and processing industry. Therefore, the centrifuges dovetail perfectly with the company’s current product range that includes pumps, cyclones, screens, washers and processing equipment.

Local Manufacturing
Following its acquisition of Aspir in Australia in 2013, Weir Minerals Africa has now taken the next step in manufacturing and assembling the centrifuges in South Africa. This has also given Weir the opportunity to introduce some of the latest innovations in the wet-end areas of the centrifuges, says Toerien, adding that “these developments mean that Weir Minerals’ Aspir centrifuges will be the most advanced products of their kind available locally”.

While the first units were imported fully from Australia, the next generation of units will be manufactured locally. The company will cast some components at the Weir heavy bay foundry, in Port Elizabeth, and will obtain the required rubber and polyurethane elements from its Linatex rubber lining technology, making it a completely integrated offering from Weir Minerals, says Toerien.

He says that, even though the global mining industry is in a downturn, establishing a new manufacturing operation at this time presents an ideal opportunity as the company will have sufficient time to establish the operation and ensure that it is up and running by the time the market turns.

The company is positive regarding the growth opportunities in the coal mining sector, particularly given the expansion of existing coal projects and the introduction of greenfield operations to feed State-owned power company Eskom’s future coal requirements for power generation, he says.

In addition to South Africa, Weir Minerals Africa will also be targeting the Aspir coal centrifuges at the broader coal sector in Africa, particularly in the burgeoning market of Mozambique. “We are definitely considering diversifying beyond coal in the near future and might introduce the Aspir centrifuges to target the copper mining sector in Africa as well.”

The Aspir coarse and fine coal centrifuges use the latest technology available in coal dewatering applications, combining high- quality wear-resistant components with an advanced drive mechanism, says Toerien, adding that the centrifuges provide outstanding service life with minimal maintenance costs.