Engineering News

Mobile heavy duty rock trommels are now available to the mining and quarrying sectors across Southern Africa. 

The rotating barrel design of the trommels allows mineral-bearing materials to be manipulated and more easily processed.  The action of the trommel on coal and diamonds helps to liberate minerals and reduces the need for further processing. The action also suits sticky materials and materials prone to clogging gravity-fed incline and other types of screens.

Terex-owned MDS recently concluded an exclusive distribution agreement with South African multi-franchise distributor ELB Equipment to bring the heavy duty teavy Heattrack trommels to the local market. ELB Equipment divisional director for mining Wakefield Harding says the addition of the tracked trommels effectively closes the screening loop for its customers, with a full range of equipment available for any application.

Although static trommels are used in the industry, the tracked trommels provide flexibility to move the machine to suit the changing landscape of a mine and to reduce handling.

With aperture sizes up to 450 mm the trommels can be fed large rock sizes and screened to three different streams if needed. The trommels are application-specific and ELB Equipment mining experts are available to advise users about specific applications.

Suitable applications include:

• Coal: Using a trommel for low-grade coal that is adhered to shale allows coal to fall off the shale but remain intact. Using a crusher for this type of coal would make it unusable but the trommel allows the coal to tumble through the barrel, it can then be processed as fines as higher-grade coal. This can be done more cost-effectively than crushing and screening methods and allows for more available coal to be liberated and sold instead of being dumped or requiring washing to glean the coal.
• Diamonds are in the minus 30 mm to 40 mm fraction where as much as 70% of feedstock is above 30 mm. The trommel can send all minus 50 mm to the diamond processing plant.
• Quarrying. A tracked trommel allows quarries to start with large-sized rock and screen up to three separate streams without the need for crushing. This results in more available saleable product and reduced wear and tear of secondary screens, if required for smaller-sized materials.
• Borrow pits and recycling. A tracked trommel can process large rocks on site wherever road and railway construction or flood protection requires the use of borrow pits. The trommels’ ability to handle large sizes and rebar makes it ideal for demolition and processing work.

The machines can also be used for run-of-the-mill work wherever speed and efficiency is required. The MDS M515 track trommel is designed to provide mobility and vigorous screening of all types of mediums with the capacity to accept rocks up 800 mm. It is a versatile machine suitable for overburden, clay, riprap or armour rock, steel slag, limestone, primary screening, demolition and blasted rock. It comes complete with fold-out stockpiling conveyor, and mid-product and fines conveyors.