Impact resistant ceramic panels were introduced, as an alternative to traditional cast manganese or hard steel liners, for use on headgear chutes in the gold mining industry in 1987. The technological advances applied by developers Multotec Wear Linings within these products, over the past 26 years, has resulted in major cost savings for a number of well-known hard rock mining operations.

These locally manufactured composite impact panels comprise engineered ceramic tiles embedded in a polyurethane-based resilient bed. In addition to a large African footprint, the ceramic panels have also found favour in Australia, Canada and South America.

Multotec consults with each customer before specifying the appropriate product for each application. The composite wear panels are custom made to ensure an optimum wear solution and, although there are restrictions on optimal panel sizes, the panels can be manufactured in almost any shape. Variations on the materials used in the construction of the panels include substituting polyurethane with epoxy and other impact absorbing products.

In-depth research into the optimal design of the panels, coupled with extensive feedback from its customers, has led Multotec to incorporate modifications that enhance the impact resistance.

According to Stephen Jackson, marketing manager of Multotec Wear Linings, the shape of the block or tile itself is just as important as the high alumina ceramic formulation used. The tiles are not only shaped to provide the optimum working area for resistance against abrasion and impact, but they are also engineered to obtain a mechanical attachment to the polyurethane and to prevent shearing of the polyurethane bed.

“The advantages to our customers in the hard rock mining sector are apparent in the increased lifespan of the ceramic impact panels. We can cite many examples where our panels have achieved a lifespan of five years compared to the six months generally achieved by steel liners in the same application. The economics are apparent Multotec Ceramic Impact Panels achieve at least ten times the lifespan,” Jackson concludes.