Mining operations need to take into account the importance of material flow technologies when designing materials handling plants, says newly established advanced material flow services provider Greentechnical.

Director Stephan Roos tells Mining Weekly that this is the basis on which the company was founded in January this year.

“Material flow technologies impact signifi-cantly on the successful design of materials handling plants. “Recently, there has been a paradigm shift, as mines and project houses have started acknowledging the importance of material flow testwork and the benefits it introduces to plant design and its potential to enhance production and profits.

“For instance, when building a materials handling plant, it is crucially important to know how the material will react in terms of flow at various stages of the handling process in order to decide what equipment should be used or how certain components should be designed to ensure consistent flow of the material.

“Further, while Africa is endowed with most of the world’s richest minerals, there is currently a lack of investment in the devel- opment of new plants. “However, feasibility studies are ongoing in preparation for an upward swing in the economy,” he explains.

Roos adds that incorporating material flow testwork at the feasibility study stage is import- ant when it comes to ensuring that the tech-nology is implemented correctly and that it enhances a plant’s productivity once the project commences.

“Currently, most mining operations are focus- ing on maintenance, refurbishments and upgrades to extend the life of their plants as much as possible, which, in turn, leads to demand for reliable materials handling consul-tancies and experience,” elaborates Roos.

About the Company

Greentechnical specialises in advanced material flow technologies for the mining, agriculture and manufacturing industries. The company also provides material test results, consulting services and functional design requirements for materials handling systems.This includes the design of silos, bins, stockpiles, ore passes, storage facilities, conveyor belt feeders and transfer chutes.

Further, in partnership with total technology solutions provider Tenova Mining & Minerals South Africa’s Johannesburg-based laboratory, Greentechnical offers services that include wall-friction angle testing for liners, density/compressibility testing, chute-friction angle testing, and particle-size distribution analysis.

The company also provides services, such as discrete element modelling, calibration and simulations for transfer chutes, on-site troubleshooting and investigations, design audits, finite element analysis and the wear testing of liners, explains Roos.

Market Reception
Roos tells Mining Weekly that, despite being a new company, Greentechnical has found immediate demand for its services in South Africa and other African countries, based on its experience in dealing with free-flowing to sticky materials over a range of different commodities, from coal to mineral sands.

He adds that the company recently completed testwork for a mineral sands project with high clay content, and is currently busy with testwork on several iron-ore projects.

“There is significant potential for new plant developments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Botswana and Mozambique. The resources mined in these countries have different flow characteristics, compared with those mined in South Africa. For instance, in North Africa, some materials are stickier and more difficult to handle because of wet conditions, while South African resources, in general, do not contain high clay contents and are very abrasive, especially the manganese and iron-ores,” he concludes.