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17-1
T
he
Coaltech
Research
Association
plans to further
evaluate a new,
dry dense-
medium
separation
FGX DRY-PROCESSING UNIT A layer of coal is subjected to a high- (DMS) process
frequency vibration to separate coal from stone
later this year at a
pilot plant at a coal mine in Witbank.
The process allows for sharp separations at low relative densities and
potentially offers a more effective dry beneficiation process; it can also
potentially produce export-quality coal.
Dry Beneficiation
Coal mining in arid regions has led to calls for research in the field of dry
beneficiation because it offers not only lower water requirements but also
lower operating and plant costs, notes De Korte.
Eliminating the use of water also removes the need for costly dewatering
processes such as pumping, screening, filtering and centrifuging. “Dry
coal preparation plants offer multiple advantages, such as being smaller
and cheaper to operate because of simpler equipment being used,
compared with water-based beneficiation that requires pipelines and
thickeners, and reduced freight costs (because of the reduced weight of
the haul) since moist coal will not be transported,” he outlines.
“The coal in South Africa differs from that in many other countries and, in
general, is more difficult to beneficiate. It is, therefore, necessary to
evaluate the effectiveness of different new coal processing technologies,”
De Korte emphasises.
“In shaking tables such as the Fuhe Gan fa Xuan mei, or FGX (meaning
compound dry-type coal washer, in Chinese) dry-processing unit, a layer
of coal is subjected to a high-frequency vibration, which causes the coal to
move to the top of the layer while the heavier stone works its way to the
bottom of the layer on the table. The coal and stone can then be
discharged at opposite ends of the shaking table,” explains De Korte.
Two new FGX units are being installed at Exxaro’s Matla colliery, near
Kriel, Mpumalanga. The plant is expected to be operational by June and
will be used to prepare coal for State-owned power utility Eskom.
Coal mining company Eyethu Coal also uses an FGX dry-processing unit
to beneficiate coal for Eskom, while global diversified miner Glencore
owns a plant with two FGX units, which will soon be recommissioned to
beneficiate coal, also for Eskom.
X-Ray Sorting
Coal miner Wescoal currently uses an X-ray sorter at its Elandspruit
colliery, in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, while mining company Isambane
Mining, also in Middelburg, owns two X-ray sorters. Isambane’s sorters
were previously used to reclaim coal from discard dumps and will soon be
recommissioned to beneficiate coal for Eskom.
However, De Korte points out, these methods of dry beneficiation can not
completely replace water-based methods, since there are various
markets for coal with different quality requirements, some of which can
be produced only by using more efficient processing methods, such as
conventional DMS.