Weba Chute Systems, globally recognised for its expertise in dry bulk materials handling, has once again demonstrated the versatility of its engineering capability by resolving complex transfer point challenges in the wet plant of an iron ore mine in Sierra Leone.
The mine had been battling persistent screening inefficiencies that were significantly affecting plant performance. According to Dewald Tintinger, Technical Director at Weba Chute Systems, the root cause was traced back to poor chute design rather than screen performance.
“Material was not being fed optimally onto the centre of the screens, causing around 80% of the material to run to one side of the two screens at extremely high velocities,” Tintinger explains. “Under these poor screening conditions wet sluggish material flooded the conveyor belt, resulting in excessive spillage and frequent plant downtime for cleaning.”
Because of this uneven loading, only a limited portion of the available screening area was being used effectively. The bias loading combined with excessive material velocity significantly reduced separation efficiency and overall throughput. While the application involved wet material, Tintinger notes that the underlying principles remain consistent across different material types.