During the recent Spring Festival holiday of the Year of the Rabbit, Sinosteel Equipment & Engineering Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Sinsoteel MECC") successfully conducted smooth feeding and trial operation for the 1 million tons platinum ore beneficiation plant project.
Sinosteel MECC project team
The first-phase engineering design of the platinum ore beneficiation plant project in the Bafokeng Platinum Mine, South Africa, undertaken by Sinosteel MECC, involves the annual processing of 1 million tons of platinum ore. Sinosteel MECC is responsible for the engineering design, equipment supply, civil construction installation, commissioning management, guidance, and performance assessment of main process systems such as raw ore storage, crushing system, grinding-floatation system, as well as tailings and concentrate dewatering systems, and supporting facilities. This marks the first platinum ore beneficiation plant constructed by a Chinese enterprise overseas.
The project adopts a three-stage closed-circuit crushing, stage grinding, and stage flotation process, and introduces high-frequency fine screening for the first time in a newly-built platinum ore beneficiation plant. The project is characterized by mature and advanced technology, as well as being environmentally friendly and low-carbon. Advanced flotation machines are utilized, resulting in approximately 30% energy savings compared to traditional platinum ore flotation machines. The remaining equipment employs high-efficiency, energy-saving motors, achieving about 15% energy savings compared to traditional motors.
above: grinding workshop
below: President of Wesiswe Platinum and Sinosteel MECC team
The project fully adheres to South African standards. Based on a comprehensive understanding and digestion of over 200 South African national standards, the project team from Sinosteel MECC, combining on-site inspections with overseas project experience, tailored a design solution for the client. The project employs three-dimensional design, achieving three-dimensional collaborative design for various disciplines on the same platform:
- Early anticipation and correction of potential issues
- Avoidance of collisions between facilities in different disciplines
- Improved design accuracy to ensure design quality
3D sketch of floation grinding workshop
The project team also conducted fully digitized processing drawing design for detailed refinement of components and nodes, ensuring 100% consistency with processed parts. This includes process pipeline and instrumentation flow diagrams, detailed drawings of nodes, steel structure details, pipeline isometric drawings, and more. To enhance design details and better present the outcomes and correctness of the design, they prepared up to 50 comprehensive calculation books in English for each area, covering concrete and steel structures.
Due to the complex geological conditions of the project site and the significant variation in the foundation soil layers within the factory area, especially in areas with high loads such as silos and grinding workshops, the natural foundation's bearing capacity and deformation were challenging to meet the design requirements. In response, the Sinosteel MECC project team organized multiple expert discussions and reviews, comparing various options. They ultimately chose a design that involved shallow replacement filling to increase the foundation stiffness. This solution, while meeting bearing capacity and settlement requirements, is more convenient for on-site construction compared to conventional designs. It helps to shorten the construction period and reduce the overall project workload.
On January 26, 2023, the beneficiation system's feeding trial operation was successfully completed, earning praise and acclaim from the client for the Sinosteel MECC project team. Project leader Xia Bing, who led the team in continuous efforts on-site for a remarkable 16 months, stated, "In the past two months, the project team has not taken a single day off. The successful feeding trial operation is the New Year's gift earned through everyone's hard work."
above: ball mill feeding trial operation is underway, Xia Bing (front left) and beneficiation plant director Mr. Tumelo Molapo (front right)
below: Sinosteel MECC celebrates trial operation with local team
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Sinosteel MECC Successfully Completed Trial Operation Platinum Ore Beneficiation Project in South Africa
