Environmental and process tech- nology firm Enprotec aims to expand its footprint into the Mozambique coal mining sector and the rest of Southern Africa, owing to its comprehensive knowledge of Africa’s mining industry and technology needs.

“We are exploring opportunities in which we can install flotation and filtration plants to beneficiate the vast coal reserves in the Mozambique province of Tete,” says Enprotec sales and marketing head Jayson Jacobs.

“Through extensive testwork undertaken by Enprotec, we have determined that the application of our technology can yield the same positive advantages for coalfields in the rest of Southern Africa, as our clients in South Africa have experienced.”

With the initial aim of supplying its products only from South Africa, Enprotec’s strategy going forward is to open a branch in Africa that can service the needs of countries such as Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, Enprotec also aims to diversify its business from being purely a mining-service-related company to also applying its technology in other industries, specifically municipal waste- water treatment, recovery and purifi- cation.

“We are involved in conducting testwork on the suitability of our products in wastewater applications,” says Jacobs.

He adds that the company’s test facility at its Middleburg premises, in Mpuma- langa, enables it to undertake rigorous testwork on its technologies and the application thereof before releasing it to the market. “This enables us to easily venture into other commodities or process industries,” says Jacobs.

Mining-Related Offering
Enprotec’s product offering includes a high-pressure filter press that can dewater either beneficiated product or primary waste streams.

The high-pressure filter press is designed and manufactured in partner- ship with its Chinese partner.

Significant work has gone into con- figuring the filter for the Southern African market from an operational, safety and general manufacturing standard point of view.

“We have combined our technology with Chinese manufacturing capabilities, according to South African standards determined by Enprotec, and created a product for the market. The high-pressure filter-press product has boomed over the past two years to a point where we are exceeding South African standards,” notes Jacobs.

The filter-press technology can be used to either dewater already beneficiated material or dewater slurry to recover the slurry water.

“The Enprotec filtration plant eliminates the use of slimes dams by dewatering the ultrafine coal from the main plant. For the rate of water recovery to be as high as possible, the filter press comes standard with membrane squeeze and cake blow, which reduce the water in the cake by between 5% and 8%, thereby increasing water recovery,” explains Jacobs.

This filter-press technology is most commonly used in coal, but can also be used in iron-ore, magnetite, platinum and other commodities.

The simplicity of the high-pressure filter- press machine reduces the complexity of operating and maintaining the machine, while the low capital expenditure and operating expense are also beneficial to the client.

Meanwhile, the company has also developed its patented flotation plant technology, which beneficiates the ultra- fine minerals derived from coal waste streams.

The company has also introduced the three-product cyclone, which is used to beneficiate a high-quality (typically export quality) and a lower-quality (typically Eskom grade) coal from one run-of-mine source.

Plant Management
Besides its product and technology offering, Enprotec also offers flotation- and filtration-plant management on a contract basis. This entails the establishment of a full turnkey flotation and filtration process solution and a plant management service on behalf of the client.

“An advantage of using Enprotec’s services is its ability to execute complete turnkey projects from testwork, design and construction up to operation. “Our knowledge of our technology enables us to apply the best possible solution at our clients’ operations,” says Jacobs.

Filtration Projects
Some of the company’s current projects include the installation of a full fine-coal solution at coal producer Stuart Coal’s coal mining project outside Delmas, in Mpumalanga.

The project will entail the establish- ment of a full turnkey coal-processing solution, which includes the installation of a high-pressure filter press. The high- pressure filter press will dewater the slurry and, in turn, produce a dry cake for disposal. The water extracted from the slurry will be recovered and sent back to the process plant.

“The project will be commissioned at the end of this month,” says Jacobs.

Four high-pressure filter presses will be installed at coal producer Optimum Coal’s Koornfontein colliery, in Mpumalanga, to produce a dry cake for further processing or handling.

Enprotec also installed a turnkey flota- tion and filtration plant at Kangra Coal’s Savmore colliery, in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga. The flotation plant is being used to upgrade the ultrafine waste stream to export qualities of coal.

The Enprotec-managed plant processed a record tonnage of coal last month.

“In addition to the Savmore flotation plant, which we operate on behalf of the client, our flotation and filtration plant at coal miner Anglo American Thermal Coal’s Greenside colliery is exceeding all operational and production expectations,” says Jacobs.

Enprotec will continue to work with several clients to add value to their ope- rations by turning waste streams into product streams and proving that zero- effluent operations can be possible.