Screening beyond expectations

Having signed the exclusive distributorship for the full Anaconda Equipment range of crushing, screening, feeding, washing and conveying equipment in southern Africa last year, Vermeer Equipment Suppliers has sold its first machine – a DF518 scalping screen.

The large-sized scalping screen has been deployed at one of CSS’s latest contracts, where the company is processing about 5-million tonnes (t) of old gold dumps. The company has been on site since February this year, and, by end of June, had already processed nearly 1-million t.

At the time of Quarrying Africa’s visit in July, the Anaconda DF518 scalping screen had been on site for three weeks, during which time it had already processed in excess of 50 000 t, proving to be a hit with the team on site.

Beyond expectations

Speaking to Quarrying Africa, Stan Fischer, MD and owner of CSS, says the machine has performed beyond expectations. To provide context, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) states that the screener has the ability to cope with tonnages of up to 375 tonnes per hour (tph), depending on application and feeding method. Equipped with a steel apron feeder, CSS’s machine is punching well above this OEM capacity, taking up to 400 tph of feed.

“We are feeding anything between fines and 400 mm size material. We screen out oversize to extract -20 mm material, which is transported to the client’s processing plant, located off site, for further processing. The DF518 is proving to be a powerful scalping screen to run; equipped with a high energy 5,49 m X 1,52 m screen box, the machine is processing in excess of 400 tph,” says Fischer.

Due to its high capacity, the production team on site had to change the bucket size on the feeding excavator from the standard 1,5 m³ to 3 m³ to allow the loading tool to keep up with the screen’s feed capacity.

“The DF518 has a larger feeder box and is quick to screen. With a 1,5 m³ bucket, the excavator had to feed up to four buckets per minute to keep up with the screen, which was quite difficult. The 3 m³ bucket is matching up, because it achieves double the amount with just two scoops. Because of its high performance, we have also managed to replace two competitor screens that were previously working on site,” says Fischer.

Shaun O’Toole, sales manager – Mining, Crushing & Screening at Vermeer Equipment Suppliers, is pleased that the machine is proving itself, which bodes well for the brand still trying to make its big break into such a competitive market landscape.

“We are glad that the machine is delivering more than expected. The DF518 is a powerful and economical screen to run. With productivity at its core, the scalping screen has the ability to become the heartbeat of any large screening operation in the local market,” says O’Toole.

Why Anaconda?

Commenting on why CSS opted for Anaconda, Fischer says the machine is built ‘Africa tough’. The Anaconda product, he says, is robust, yet easy to operate and service, which is key for African contractors who often find themselves operating in remote locations.

More importantly, adds Fischer, Vermeer Equipment Suppliers’ aftermarket regime was a key consideration when making the buying decision. “Backup support is the most important consideration in this industry, especially given the importance of machine uptime in contracting. We need to maximise uptime to be able to earn money. This is a big-ticket purchase, and any form of downtime is therefore out of the question,” he says.

“Vermeer’s track record in the provision of parts and services was a key consideration for us. The company has established itself for the past 20 years as a reliable partner with strong relationship building and dedication to its customers,” he adds.

Jan Kern, production & technical manager at CSS, was impressed from the onset by the machine’s ease of serviceability and commissioning, which spoke directly to the contractor’s drive for uptime. Complete with a two-deck screen box, hydraulic folding hopper, main conveyor and two hydraulically-folding stockpiling side conveyors, the DF518 is extremely easy to commission and can be running within 20 minutes of arrival on site.

“All the service points of the machine are easily accessible. There is no need to strip the machine to get to certain components, thus our service-related downtime is very minimal. We also like the fact that it’s an easy machine to use and service; it’s a simple screen with no complicated electronics,” says Kern.

O’Toole adds that the machine was designed with uptime in mind. “On close inspection, one can see the attention to detail with little things such as collars around the clamp bar bolt heads to make changeout easier – something that the guys in the field will appreciate,” says O’Toole.

Broad range

As part of its distributorship agreement, Vermeer Equipment Suppliers offers the full Anaconda Equipment range of crushers, scalping and finishing screens, as well as trommels, washing equipment and mobile and tracked conveyors.

The crusher range comprises the J12 jaw and I12 impact crushers (open and closed circuit). This is complemented by a range of three scalping screen models and a four-model finishing screen line, as well as a mobile conveyor and feeder conveyor range of six models.

A key competitive edge, which O’Toole believes will be key in the brand’s breakthrough in such a competitive marketplace, is that the Anaconda is the only crusher range in the market that comes with interchangeable chambers. Core to the concept of the Anaconda tracked crusher range is that the same running chassis can be integrated with either an interchangeable, hydraulically driven, jaw or impact crusher chamber.

“The generic chassis is the backbone of the Anaconda crushing range. It allows for the placement of either crushing chamber, giving the customer immense flexibility in their fleet and the ability to reduce inventory costs. It increases fleet utilisation by allowing customers the versatility of converting the machine from a jaw to an impactor and vice versa in minimal time,” says O’Toole. “Anaconda has therefore created a machine where one can lift out the chamber and create either a jaw or impact crusher on the same chassis, and no other manufacturer has ever done that in the market.”

To feed these crusher chambers, Anaconda has provided its crushers with a wide and heavy-duty grizzly feeder that can deal with the harshest of feed materials. The feeder is lined with replaceable wear resistant plates and has a robust grizzly screen as standard. This will remove fines from the feed material and improve the performance of the crushers while reducing the wear on the crusher plates and blow bars.

The Anaconda mobile scalping screen range – including the DF410, DF514, DF518 and FSL100 – has been designed to deal with heavy duty applications where scalping away bulky overs at the first stage of screening is a key aspect. The finishing screen range – comprising the two and three-deck SR520 as well as the two and three-deck SR514 – has been designed to deal with applications where separating fines if of utmost importance.

The Anaconda range of trommels – the TD516 and the TD620 – helps end users produce up to 75% more fines in the first pass compared to a standard scroll drum. This is because a scroll drum can cause the material to ball and bind together and increase the need for reprocessing.

The three-model Anaconda tracked conveyor range – the TR60, TR75 and TR100 – has been designed to minimise operating costs while maximising stockpile capacity. Key talking points on the range are the exceptional build quality and rapid set-up time, complemented by competitive pricing and versatility.

The wheeled conveyor range comprises three models – the ST50, ST60 and ST80. Designed for material handling, the ST range aims to reduce production time and save stockpiling costs.