View of the Transalloys plant under construction with conveyors linking the screening plant on the left to the main plant containing the crushing and jigging facilities on the right. Part of the 7M tonne slag dump can be seen in the background.

In the crushing section the slag is reduced in several stages to an optimal size for liberating the metal. The primary crusher is on the far right of the picture.

The three conveyors in the foreground move material of different size fractions from the screening building in the left foreground to the main plant. The conveyor rising towards the left in the background feeds material from the primary crusher to the screens.

Ferro-alloy recovery at Transalloys

A plant for the recovery of ferro-alloys has been built near Witbank in Mpumulanga, RSA, by Titaco Projects (Pty) Limited, a BATEMAN subsidiary, together with its associates Mintek and First National Bank (FNB). The plant is being used to process a 7M tonne slag dump owned by Transalloys Pty Ltd.

In terms of a toll-treatment contract, Transalloys is paying for the amount of ferro-alloy slag treated. Titaco and its associates provided the process technology, arranged for the funding of the project, built the recovery plant on the site and will operate it until the dump is exhausted. The plant cost R37M and was built in the record time of 9 months.

Slag containing between 3 and 4 % ferro-manganese and silicon-manganese is brought by truck to the plant which operates continuously and processes 150 t/h. The slag is crushed and screened into size fractions and passed through fine or coarse APIC jigs with underbed pulsation where about 95 % of the dense metal particles are separated out. This process converts the remaining slag into an inert coarse tailings material which is deposited by truck in the space vacated by the treated slag.

Although Titaco has considerable experience with the technology for recovering ferro-alloys from slag, having to date supplied seven similar plants to clients in Southern Africa, this is the first ‘own-and-operate’ arrangement entered into by Titaco.

Further details on BATEMAN's 'own-and-operate' services for the toll-treatment of ferroalloys are available from Nick Haywood, on +27-11-899-3269 or email ventures@batemanengineering.com

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