Comminution and separation company IMS has launched a materials test centre in conjunction with its new range of German separation technology company Steinert sensor sorters and its new Cybas-I cone crusher.
“These initiatives, combined with the recent acquisition of German advanced sorting technology manufacturer Allmineral, enables us to better help our customers enhance their business operations through improving comminution and separation processes,” says IMS MD Paul Bracher.
The test plant, in Spartan, Kempton Park, has a full range of crushers and sorters, includ-ing a new Steinert sensor sorter. The facility also includes a fully equipped laboratory for the analysis of data.
“Sensor sorting will be an important part of sorting in the future, which IMS is able to provide through its partnership with Steinert. Cologne-based Steinert has a range of sensor-based separation and sorting solutions includ-ing X-ray transmission and X-ray fluorescence sorting or X-ray sorting,” says Bracher.
The company also manufactures optical colour sorting, three-dimensional laser sorting, which recognises shapes, induction sorting, which recognises electromagnetic properties of particles, and near-infrared sorting, which analyses the reflected near-infrared spectrum.
“We look forward to significant penetration in the Southern African market, which is ideally suited to it,” Bracher says.
The Steinert technology and the acquisition of Allmineral enable IMS to provide a more cost-efficient, comprehensive waterless alternative to the traditional wet-processing methods, says IMS business development and capital equipment sales manager Shannon McEwan.
“Sensor sorting is much more cost-effective than traditional sorting methods. “Apart from saving on water, less energy and labour is required and, importantly, one can sort at the point of extraction, meaning that only the ore containing the mineral needs to be transported, significantly reducing transportation costs.”
IMS will initially focus on the coal mining sector, with X-ray transmission sorting, says McEwan.
Meanwhile, IMS has upgraded its Cybas cone crusher range to the new Cybas-I cone crusher.
“This development was achieved through collaboration between Japanese industrial manufacturer Kawasaki and IMS engineers, who used their experience of several real-world applications and combined what they learnt with developments in materials and mechanical design,” he says.