Rebuilt MCC at Rhino Minerals’ Thabazimbi andalusite plant

Bateman Engineering has rebuilt the motor-control centre (MCC) at Rhino Minerals (Pty) Ltd’s andalusite-processing plant at Thabazimbi in the west of the Limpopo province, RSA. This is the largest producer of andalusite in the country. Rhino Minerals is part of Imerys South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a local subsidiary of the Imerys Group of France.

The work was covered by a R3.85 million lump-sum turnkey contract and completed within five weeks on a fast-track basis to meet an emergency requirement. On site, the installation was tied into the plant during a shutdown of the plant over a four-day long holiday weekend to minimise the impact upon production.

The project comprised the supply and installation of new control and low-voltage switchgear room, provided in customised containers. A rack carrying the cables connecting the MCC and the plant was also supplied.

All the electrical equipment to successfully start and run the plant was installed and earthed and motor protection provided in line with the mine’s specification. The motor cables were installed by crews working 12 h shifts around the clock until the job was complete.

A SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system monitors the processes and controls all of the processing circuits, including the ore feed and density settings of the first and second stages of the dense-media separation (DMS) plant.

All the legal requirements of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) 29 of 1996 were complied with and insurance cover provided for the project.

Bateman Engineering was awarded the contract because it could offer a complete solution to the need for a new MCC at the right price and because of its overall experience with electrical and instrumentation applications in process plants. The rebuilt MCC was commissioned successfully on schedule.

More information is available from Dirk Schenk, General Manager, Special Projects, or Jan Barwise, Project Manager,
on +27-11-899-9111 or email SpecialProjects@BatemanEngineering.com.