A change in focus in the local mining industry from Greenfield to Brownfield projects has meant that MIP Process Technologies is positioned ideally to modernise older thickeners and process equipment.

There is an increasing trend in the minerals-processing industry to ‘sweat’ mining assets, Managing Director Philip Hoff comments. “Many South African minerals-processing plants contain outdated equipment that can be revitalised at minimal cost. Better throughputs and higher efficiencies can be achieved reliably with newer technology.”

This refurbishment strategy has proved highly successful at a local phosphate mine, Hoff reports. Here the modernisations of the thickeners resulted in much higher and consistent underflow densities. In addition, subsequent downstream process efficiencies such as filtration have also been improved. An added benefit is a substantial saving in water, which is an increasingly scarce resource.

Another example of MIP Process Technologies’ success in this regard was the refurbishment of two 45.7-m-diameter thickener mechanisms for a gold operation. “Thickeners that have been dormant for years can now be put back in operation at minimal investment. This enables the mining operation In question to increase productivity, and remain economically viable.”

Hoff comments that linear screens are another minerals-processing staple that lends itself to refurbishment as opposed to replacement. “The design of our equipment meets all the requirements of reliability and higher throughput. We are able to supply products speedily and competitively.”

MIP Process Technologies has a large installed base of equipment globally, and services the mining industry via its own offices, combined with its agents. Its ‘proudly South African’ product range includes attrition scrubbers, agitators, bag filters, clarifiers, dry dust cyclones, flocculant plants, horizontal belt filters, reagent plants, slurry samplers, thickeners, and wet scrubbers for dust-extraction applications.