KZN orders cement Osborn’s position
as a leader in Bulk Materials Handling

November 2008

Bulk materials handling specialist Osborn is currently keeping busy in KwaZulu-Natal, with a contract underway for a new primary tip and secondary crushing station for an anthracite mine in northern KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a significant project in progress at NPC-Cimpor’s Simuma operation near Port Shepstone.

Projects Sales Manager, Clive Culverwell reports that Osborn’s R23-million contract at Somkhele anthracite mine near Mtubatuba was awarded in March this year and cold commissioning is planned for December. He notes that it is a turnkey contract that will see Osborn undertaking virtually all elements of the project, including the supply and delivery of machines, construction, mechanical and structural elements, electrical and instrumentation and commissioning. Osborn is not undertaking the execution of civil works, but has completed the civil designs to support the equipment, he adds.

The new primary tip and secondary area will process the run-of-mine anthracite before the product material is stockpiled and transported to an existing crushing plant, which was originally supplied with Osborn equipment. “We secured this order based on the mine’s satisfaction with the Osborn machines that are already operating successfully in the existing plant, including a 42 x 48 Jaw Crusher and Vibrating Grizzly Feeder,” he notes. Close cooperation with the mine management in the development of the plant philosophy were also key to the success of this order.

The project is aimed at increasing the capacity of the mine’s existing anthracite plant.

"The Osborn machines at the new primary crushing station comprise a 100 ton Receiving Bin with Static Grid, Reciprocating Plate Feeder and 42” x 48” Osborn Jaw Crusher," Culverwell explains. “From the primary tip, the material will be fed by conveyor into an Osborn Rotary Coal Breaker, which has a dual purpose to remove most of the rock and reduce the Anthracite down to nominal 80mm size. The new equipment will process up to a maximum of 750 tph run-of-mine Anthracite.”

At NPC-Cimpor’s Simuma plant on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, Osborn is undertaking a R25-million turnkey contract for new primary and secondary limestone crushing stations, also aimed at increasing this operation’s output. Osborn’s addition to the plant will have a 300 tph capacity, reports Senior Projects Manager, John Cripps.

Equipment supplied by Osborn for this project includes an apron feeder, belt feeders, 100 t receiving hopper and 50 t bins, conveyors and idlers, as well as an Osborn BTI Rock Breaker. Cripps states that Osborn is also a turnkey contractor on this project, undertaking virtually all elements of the expansion, including the supply and delivery of machines, construction, mechanical and structural elements, civil design, electrical and instrumentation and commissioning.

Awarded to the company in July 2007, Osborn’s undertaking at NPC-Cimpor Simuma is currently being commissioned.