Custom-built vibrating screens manufacturer and supplier Joest is working on various projects that could result in the first installation of its new 4.3-m-wide banana screen that was introduced to the market in September last year.

Joest MD Kim Schoepflin tells Mining Weekly that the screen is designed to cater for the ongoing trend in the coal-processing sector of using larger equipment to increase throughput, boost efficiencies and improve ease of plant operation.

“We have paid close attention to customer needs by assessing the failure modes of existing 4.3-m-wide screens and have designed our screen, with the focus on reduced downtime and particularly ease of maintenance of the machines when required.”

She adds that the company applied its ‘engineered excellence’ approach to the development of the new screen and that the focus was on critical issues such as the life span and structural integrity of the machines. The screen can be designed for specific applications and can accommodate any existing footprint.

Joest has invested significantly in its ‘engineered excellence’ capabilities to offer customers this kind of intensive value-added benefit, Schoepflin states.

“It is the sum of our experience, combined with the specific expertise we bring to analysing customer problems and developing the most cost-effective, custom-built, high-quality and technologically relevant solutions.”

She further explains that Joest ensured that the mass of the screen was distributed correctly, as a screen that is sufficiently strong can still survive wear at certain points.

There will be more benefits for customers to follow, says Schoepflin, as Joest expanded its operations yet again last year, taking over a factory adjacent to its existing facility, thereby increasing its operational capacity and expanding its presence to a site area of about 17 000 m2, she says.

Product Installations
Schoepflin tells Mining Weekly that Joest in December last year supplied two 650 t/h double-deck exciter-driven run-of-mine sizing screens to a colliery in Delmas, Mpumalanga.

The company delivered and commissioned the screens in less than six weeks from the date of order.

“The customer is very pleased with the performance of the screens, as well as our fantastic lead times,” she says.

Schoepflin says Joest also installed vibrating feeders and screening machines at one of the plants at a colliery in Lephalale, Limpopo, which is on its way “to becoming the largest coal mine in the world”. The six screening machines which measure 3.6-m-wide by 8-m-long continue to provide good service to the colliery after 10 years of operation in desliming, drain and rinse and classification applications.

The success of the vibrating feeders and screens at the plant is attributed to their proven reliability and throughput capacity, she says, adding that Joest’s equipment has withstood the test of time and continues to be the preferred equipment for the mine’s planned expansion.

Joest also installed two of its largest single-deck banana screens, measuring 3.66 m in width and 10 m in length, at a colliery in Secunda, Mpumalanga.

The screens that were installed in the plant in a demanding application to size unwashed raw coal into a coarse drum-fed fraction and finer product to feed the cyclone plant, are still operational. Schoepflin adds that the screens “operate reliably and efficiently in a 24-hour production facility”.

She notes that the availability of original-equipment manufacturer spares is a critical success factor, combined with regular visits by Joest sales and service personnel to the plant. “Around-the-clock customer service is provided by our service centres and branch network.”

Joest supplies custom-built vibrating screens, grizzlies and feeders to the South African and African mining industry, Schoepflin points out, adding that the machines are custom- designed for durability and to withstand the harsh operating conditions that are typically part of mining in Africa.

“The impressive ability to reduce downtime and increase ease of maintenance makes the vibrating screens a must-have for any mining company,” she concludes.