Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR) has donated a R600 000 slurry pump to the Mandisa Shiceka School of Specialisation to promote South African mining skills upliftment.

The high school specialises in mathematics, physical science and information and communication technology, with a particular focus on the mining sector.

The donation also included a pump curve and capacity chart for the cyclone, incorporating various vortex finder options. In addition, MTR has made its technical team available for assistance and consultation should the school require further assistance.

“Having this technology readily available will provide students with invaluable hands-on experience, giving them a genuine advantage when they ultimately enter the industry as professional engineers,” says MTR mechanical foreman Obakeng Moroeng.

“The pump donated to Mandisa Shiceka will help learners gain practical knowledge about mining equipment and how it operates,” says MTR GM Oriel Shikwambane, adding that the pump is a critical piece of mining equipment used in the company’s operations to move tailings material from large tailings dams through the processing plant.

He believes that the donated slurry pump will provide learners with practical exposure to how mining equipment functions, as well as valuable hands-on learning opportunities to develop practical technical skills related to the mining sector.

“Pumps are really critical within the mining industry. The school will be able to learn how pumps operate and how this equipment works,” he says, pointing out that the learners will also have an opportunity to study the internal components of the pump, including impellers, liners and casing, allowing them to better understand the mechanics behind mining operations.

“This pump is quite critical in our operations because we re-mine tailings from the tailings dams. It is the initial pump in the re-mining process where we pump the material from the mining area through our process plant.”

Moroeng explains how slurry pumps offer a unique solution for slurry applications in the mining and mineral processing industry, having been designed to deliver maximum efficiency and capacity, while providing longer wear life than conventional designs.

These cyclones enhance dewatering and desliming efficiency, reduce product loss, improve product recovery and increase circuit capacity by minimising the quantity of material escaping to the underflow or overflow streams.

“Their distinctive design provides a natural flow path for slurry material. The unique shape has no sharp edges, no square corners and allows the feed stream to blend smoothly with the rotating slurry inside the unit, minimising localised wear on the feed chamber and vortex finder.”

Design improvements, which lower operating costs and ensure fewer cyclones are required for a given duty, reduce turbulence, thereby creating more even wear, longer life and more efficient classification.



The Mandisa Shiceka School of Specialisation was established in 1995 in Kagiso by the Kagiso Education Crises Committee and educators who were volunteering their services to accommodate learners who were unable to secure admission to local schools owing to overwhelming demand for placement.