BATEMAN Apic jig processes slag
at Middelburg Ferrochrome
BATEMAN has completed a jigging project for Middelburg Ferrochrome
at Middelburg, RSA, for the recovery of ferrochrome from slag with a
95 % recovery rate.
The project was carried out for Atoll (Apic Toll Treatment
(Pty) Ltd), a joint venture between BATEMAN and Mintek. The agreement
encompassed establishing the crushing, screening and jigging facilities
to enable the production of saleable products from the discarded slag
in dumps at Middelburg Ferrochrome. The award of this contract followed
Atoll’s successful two-year operation of a second-generation, modular
jigging plant and a prototype classifier on the same site, which demonstrated
excellent availabilities and process performance.
This fast-track project commenced in December 2001,
with the first concrete being poured in April 2002, and was completed
in October 2002. A high water table in the area made site selection
and civil construction challenging. In order to contain costs, and optimise
the installation programme, the filter press, the Apic jigs and the
Bateman Ultrasep had to be erected on the same day using a 350 t crane.
The operation is dubbed MARS for the Metal Alloys
Recovery System it uses, and is expected to yield 5,3M t. The recovery
plant was designed to handle particle sizes up to 22 mm diameter with
a capacity of 160 t/h but has been running well in excess of this figure
since commissioning.
Both coarse and fines jigging facilities were established,
as well as a hydro classifier for handling and concentrating ultrafines.
This is the first plant to have such a built-in classifier unit.
The jigs were engineered to provide the added robustness
required when recovering metal from slag at high capacities and to accommodate
the relatively high pressures within the jigs. The APIC controller provides
the operator with user-friendly control over the setting and optimisation
of pulses and enables automatic reaction to variations in the feed.
This results in improved control over product quality and higher yields
of on-specification product.
The separation system (both gate and through-the-bed)
had been applied successfully in previous plants but was enhanced to
provide increased operational stability and a reduced amount of misplaced
material. An improved concentrate-extraction system was incorporated
which, in addition to its steady and reliable operation, offers compactness
(compared to bucket elevators) with very low maintenance costs.
Water treatment covers both the reticulated water
to the jigs, as well as slimes removal using a Bateman Ultrasep with
the objective of achieving a zero effluent plant. The only water lost
from the plant is through the adsorbed moisture in the final products.
The slimes from the plant are discarded in a dry cake form.
For further information, please contact:
Brian Hansell, BATEMAN Project Manager on
+27-11-899-2354
or email brian.hansell@batemanengineering.com,
or
Vincent Dieudonné, BATEMAN General Manager,
Jigging,
on +27-11-899-2343 or
email vincent.dieudonne@batemanengineering.com.
