Abstract:
South Africa is blessed with a plethora of mineral resources, and as such several
mineral beneficiation plants are in operation. In the mining value chain, a processing
facility is seen as the bottleneck. The reason for this is quite simple. Large quantities
of ore are removed in a highly industrialised process from mining activities. This large
amount of ore needs to be beneficiated through capacity constrained processing
facilities. In order to maintain an economically viable balance between life of mine,
and maximum throughput, a large portion of ore extracted from South Africa is
exported to foreign countries. The ore is then further beneficiated in plants that do not
necessarily suffer from the same constraints as the South African plants. These
constraints include labour costs, electricity availability and pricing, water usage etc.
Even though the downstream beneficiation of minerals will have a profound effect on
the South African economy, it is of utmost importance that the Mineral Beneficiation
Plants (MBP’s) responsible for a large portion of the beneficiation strategy, be
operated effectively to allow local end users of their products to remain internationally
competitive.
It is clear that MBP’s play an integral part in the value chain of the minerals industry,
and effective operation of these plants are critical. It is of utmost importance to
ensure that MBP’s are operating at full capacity, as effectively as possible, and within
budget constraints.
Development of a continuous improvement model for a South African Minerals Beneficiation Plant
In order to achieve this objective, MBP’s need to implement a sustainable
Continuous Improvement Programme. Several models are available and have been
utilised with variable success rates in some MBP’s around the world, however none
of these models specifically address CI from a minerals processing point of view.
This study aims to develop a model which can be exclusively used for CI in South
African MBP’s. A survey was conducted to understand the requirements that a CI
model should fulfil. The survey was completed by respondents in both junior and
senior roles within different resourcing and consulting organisations as well as
academic institutions.
It was found that most respondents prefer a model which involves an amalgamation
of current CI models i.e. six sigma, theory of constraints and lean manufacturing. A
new model was developed using the elements from these existing models that are
applicable to MBP’s. The model also incorporates strategic direction required to
implement it successfully. It focusses on the core elements that would result in
process improvement. These are as follows:
• Reduction in Waste
• Improvement in Quality
• Improvement in Efficiency
• Decrease in cost
A case study is shown which highlights the applicability and success of the model
within a South African Ferro Alloy plant.
