Daikin unveils details about two new VRV 5 heat pump systems set to hit the market in the first half of 2024. With expanded capacities for the Mini-VRV system of up to 33.5 kW and a new Top-Blow series reaching 56 kW, Daikin is expanding its portfolio for the decarbonization of commercial buildings.

VRV 5 heat pump

These pumps ensure optimal product quality and lower energy consumption in mission-critical starch glue applications.

Biodegradable, renewable and thus seen as much more ecological than their petroleum-based alternatives, starch-based adhesives have been increasingly utilised in the production of paper and cardboard to bond multiple paper layers together. Starch glue feeding and recirculating is one of the most demanding tasks in these heavy-duty manufacturing processes, with the quality of the glue – which is very sensitive to high temperatures and excessive shear forces – being crucial for the achievement of the desired paper/cardboard properties.

To avoid filming, starch-based adhesives need to be pumped smoothly at a consistent, reliable rate with as little pulsation as possible. Diaphragm pumps have traditionally been the pumps of choice for this application which, due to the large pumping volumes required and the nature of the raw material used, entails major energy expenses. With process air generation accounting for a significant portion of paper and cardboard manufacturing plants’ total operating costs, the choice of the right diaphragm pump model can make a huge difference.

ARO’s EVO Series electric diaphragm pumps address the primary pain points of paper and cardboard makers. Their design featuring three process chambers, precise torque control and high-efficiency electric diaphragms, these pumps offer a stable flowrate with very low pulsation levels and  high energy savings.

The EVO Series pumps gently handle starch-based glues with a wide range of viscosity levels without the use of an additional pulsation dampener, which prevents any damage to the quality of the adhesive and the finished end product itself. They are self-regulating, adapting easily to demand variations that are typical for starch glue applications. The pumps promptly react to sudden increases and decreases in flowrate requirements, which obviates the need to change the pump set-up when moving from full production load to recirculating load.

The above-mentioned characteristics, combined with the EVO Series electric diaphragm pumps’ robustness and durability even under high-load conditions, mean that in many situations one pump can actually perform the same job as two pumps derived from a different technology. “Using the EVO Series, you can run only one pump at a time and have another one on stand-by to further optimise the energy consumption of your manufacturing plant without compromising, and often actually increasing, its productivity rate,” said one of ARO’s customers.

As we prepare for another exciting Investing in African Mining Indaba in 2024, the theme of ‘positive disruption’ could not be more appropriate for the directions being forged in the field of mine blasting and explosives.

According to Ralf Hennecke, Managing Director of Omnia group company BME, mining has been facing the same winds of change that are impacting all sectors of the global economy, but has not just been adapting to new demands. Rather, the sector has been applying technologies that are taking safety and productivity to new levels.

“From our perspective as mining technology partners, BME can certainly attest to how mines are ‘Embracing the power of positive disruption’,” said Hennecke. “We have no doubt that this is a critical element of African mining’s bold new future.”

Sustainable ramp-up?

He highlighted that one of the many questions that will be posed at this year’s Indaba relates to how Africa will respond to the increased demand for battery minerals, and whether the continent can sufficiently ramp up production while sustainably managing environmental and social impacts.

Submersible pumps have long been a staple in the world of fluid handling and pumping, with their presence becoming more pronounced, especially in particular applications like sump pumping, wastewater management and numerous industrial processes.

Ruaan Venter, Rental Development Manager at IPR, says that while engineers have various solutions at their fingertips submersible pumps often stand out especially when compared to vertical spindle pumps. So, what gives these submersible devices their edge?

“First and foremost, submersible pumps are known for their superior energy efficiency,” Venter says. “This elevated efficiency not only makes them outperform their vertical spindle counterparts, but it also leads to significant cost savings in the long run.”

Space is often at a premium in many dewatering setups, and this is where submersible pumps have the upper hand. Their direct placement in the fluid they handle means there is no need for extended piping or additional external infrastructure. This innate compactness becomes a boon, especially in locations where space is tight.

South Africa’s food and beverage sector plays an important role in maintaining food security. Conversely, this energy-intensive industry is under considerable pressure from retailers and consumers alike, to absorb ever-growing input costs and help curb rapidly increasing food price inflation.

Associated Energy Services (AES), South Africa’s leading operations and maintenance service provider to the steam and boiler sector, believes that it can help food and beverage sector manufacturers deal with their many challenges.

AES Commercial Director Dennis Williams sums up the sector’s key production-related performance challenges in three words: efficiency, quality and reliability. Consequently – and as one of the country’s largest users of thermal energy – Williams says the food and beverage industry needs an energy management ally.

“One of the idiosyncrasies of the food and beverage sector is that not only is thermal energy a key input in the beneficiation process, but this usually exceeds electricity requirements – by two or three times.

TOMRA has installed a first X-Ray Transmission (XRT) sorter at Saloro’s tungsten mine in Barruecopardo, Spain. The sorter, implemented in the beneficiation stage, is consistently delivering a much higher head grade to the processing plant, significantly reducing costs.

Tungsten is an essential industrial metal with unique properties used in the production of hard metals, specialist steels and super alloys, as well as aerospace, electronics and military applications. Its production is concentrated in China, where 80% of the world’s tungsten is mined.

For this reason, it is considered a strategic commodity and is categorized as a “critical raw material” by the EU. The Saloro mine in Barruecopardo is one of the most important in Europe, and one of the few outside China that produces concentrate with high tungsten grade with limited impurities, making it a high-value product in the industry.

Saloro approached TOMRA Mining to explore ways to further improve the head grade to the processing plant: “We were looking for equipment capable of sorting ore with scheelite content in order to remove the non-mineralized product from the feed line,” explains Pedro Jiménez, Plant Manager at the Barruecopardo mine.

TOMRA XRT technology: high-grade feed and cost savings at Barruecopardo

TOMRA proposed its XRT ore sorter, which has the capability to identify fine high atomic dense tungsten inclusions with a detection technology developed in-house. “Our ‘Inclusions Technology’ is a perfect combination of a high-resolution XRT sensor with tailored sorting algorithms,” explains Carolina Vargas, Area Sales Manager Europe, India and Rest of the World at TOMRA Mining. “At the Barruecopardo mine, this technology enables the detection of 1-mm or even smaller tungsten inclusions –This is unique in the market.”

TOMRA conducted test work with its XRT technology on 10-30mm and 30-60mm particle sizes at its Test Center in Wedel, Germany in 2019, which yielded positive results. “We chose TOMRA because of the reliability of the equipment in the tests and the time required to supply it,” adds Pedro Jiménez.

In July 2023, TOMRA installed a COM Tertiary XRT ore sorter in the beneficiation stage. It is fed with raw material in the 8-25mm size range at a rate of around 30 tons per hour. The sorter achieves +90% recovery of scheelite and removes 85 to 90% of host rock prior to downstream processing through gravity concentration, magnetic separation and flotation. By only processing the material with scheelite content, the plant achieves significant cost savings.

The sorter has clearly demonstrated the value of this technology for the Barruecopardo mine. “The tests and the results achieved so far are very positive and favorable. We are convinced that this sorting technology from TOMRA Mining will help Saloro to significantly improve efficiency and production at the plant,” says Pedro Jiménez. In fact, Saloro has decided to purchase additional TOMRA XRT sorters for the mine: “By purchasing more sorters, we aim to further increase the feed grade to the plant, remove material that does not contain scheelite.”

TOMRA’s hallmark collaborative approach stands out

TOMRA Mining has developed a solid reputation for its collaborative approach to helping mining operations add value to their mines. This project was no exception, and Pedro Jiménez has found that TOMRA stood out for “its involvement with Saloro. Communication with members of their team is very fluid and fast. Their willingness to solve the problems that have arisen has been very effective. From the very beginning, they have kept a close eye on the status of the project and monitored its progress on an almost daily basis.”

TOMRA Mining

TOMRA Mining designs and manufactures sorting technologies for the global mineral processing and mining industries. The company’s solutions aim to transform how natural resources are processed to maximize recovery and minimize our ecological footprint.

As the global market leader in sensor-based ore sorting, TOMRA Mining is responsible for developing and engineering intelligent technology to deliver resource efficiency and reshape the industry for the better.

The SEIFSA Office has noted with concern submissions to the DTIC calling for the extension to the scrap metal export ban which is scheduled to come to an end in December 2023.

“SEIFSA’s position has always been that the scrap metal export ban is misguided in the issue that it is attempting to solve for, namely infrastructure damage for scrap metal theft. It is an extremely blunt measure with unintended industrial policy consequences. More worryingly it communicates a very poor economic signal by not taking into account a total steel perspective” Mr Elias Monage, SEIFSA President states.

In the deliberations regarding the scrap metal export ban SEIFSA is beginning to note with some concern a shifting in the goal posts, where discussion are beginning to lean to the export ban being used as an industrial policy instrument to support scrap-based mills and the country’s decarbonisation efforts, which was never the original motivation for the ban.

“The initial intention was always security related aspects and to attempt to limit the damage to infrastructure, with other considerations – whether noble or adverse – being ancillary to the core issue” comments Mr Monage.

Security

Apart from SEIFSA’s repeated submission that the export ban is the incorrect instrument to solve a security related matter, to introduce industrial policy by stealth in this manner would be very poor economic signalling on the part of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).

“If it is the intention of the DTIC to introduce a new industrial policy regime then the economic signalling should have been communicated as such and developed, with industry, taking the total steel sector perspective into account” states Mr Monage.

Poor and/or misleading economic signals run the risk of the DTIC losing the trust of the investment community due to the instability created in the economic environment. This stability is paramount particularly to the long term nature of the investments associated with this sector.

“The scrap metal export ban creates a disproportionate and policy induced – not producer efficiency – input cost advantage that is afforded to only a select group of producers where scrap metal is used as an input” states Mr Monage.

In the absence of a mechanism similar to a Price-Preference-System (PPS) on iron ore, that attempts to level the playing field, pockets of the value chain are rendered uncompetitive, relative to the beneficiaries of the scrap metal ban. There also does not exist any regulatory mechanism that ensures that this input cost advantage is passed down the value chain, which again renders the intervention extremely narrow in its perceived benefits.

The scrap metal export ban also presents World Trade Organisation (WTO) contraventions and anti-competitive behaviour from a predatory pricing point of view, all of which the DTIC has opened the country up to from the decision to impose the export ban.

Whilst the unsuccessful export ban has undoubtedly been abused by consumers and lead to prejudicial consequences, the critical question that still remains is whether the unsuccessful ban on ferrous scrap exports and suspension of the Price Preference System (PPS) has contributed in any meaningful way to the fulfilment of the objective of the directive – the elimination and/or reduction of metal theft and associated criminal activity. The undeniable answer to this question is that it has not.

“Given all the negative consequences accompanying the scrap metal export ban and the fact that it is not working, SEIFSA strongly urges the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition not extend the scrap metal export ban beyond December 2023” states Mr Monage.

Innovation, quality and capability are hallmarks of a Pan-Africa trailblazer, and therefore no surprise that Macsteel, a leading manufacturer, merchandiser and distributor of steel and value-added steel products was first in line to take up the highly sought-after Pan-African Trailblazer sponsorship opportunity at the 2023 South African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) Steel Awards.

Trailblazing innovation was also the mainstay of one of the Steel Awards’ most exciting category winners. The Azmet Reactors project – which won the Mining and Industrial as well as the Best Export Project categories – comprised a combination of six colossal reactors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

This distinctive project was recognised for its precision engineering, use of steel and overcoming seemingly insurmountable logistical challenges. It also represents the innovation, tenacity and foresight – which Macsteel’s CEO Mike Benfield believes reflects the spirit and essence of what it means to be a pan-African trailblazer.

Pursuing reinvention

In addition, the project is closely aligned with Macsteel’s operational ethos of ‘Pursuing Reinvention’ which, in turn, reflects and supports the Pan-African Trailblazer sponsorship concept. Benfield believes it is important to support organisations such as the SAISC, which provide a platform for members of the steel value chain to drive a common agenda in the sector, while also fostering a ‘Team Africa’ approach to quality and collaboration across the continent. This is increasingly important, as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement becomes a reality.