After years of battling unreliable valve management and frequent breakdowns with beforehand put in positioners, a mine website on Zambia’s famend copperbelt has discovered an answer that would face up to the situations.
Copper ore should endure a demanding flotation course of involving aggressive chemical compounds, excessive humidity, mud and intense vibration. On this surroundings, actuators and valve positioners are important for sustaining steady stream management and stress. Any instability results in misplaced restoration, diminished output, and elevated prices.
Sadly, the positioning skilled repeated breakdowns with beforehand put in positioners. Regardless of attempting a number of manufacturers, none withstood the tough situations lengthy sufficient to make sure constant plant efficiency.
The turning level got here when Valmet’s stream management group, in collaboration with distributor accomplice Frasmac Restricted, launched a tailor-made improve: the Neles™ NDX™ clever valve controller.
With its contactless magnetic place sensing and industry-leading vibration resistance, the Neles NDX valve controller delivered a brand new degree of efficiency, Valmet says. The retrofit resolution, full with customized mounting brackets and set up assist, proved not solely technically superior but additionally operationally transformative. It turned an unstable, maintenance-heavy course of right into a dependable and environment friendly operation with zero unplanned interruptions, in response to the corporate.
The quick outcomes Valmet claimed included:
- Improved course of stability throughout your entire flotation circuit;
- Lowered air consumption because of the NDX controller’s environment friendly pneumatic relay;
- Eradicated unplanned failures or breakdowns; and
- Enabled speedy return on funding because the buyer ordered 10 further models instantly.
What set this success aside was not simply the product, however the partnership, Valmet says. Led by Valmet’s Sub-Saharan Africa group and supported by the on-ground experience of Frasmac Restricted, the undertaking was marked by shut collaboration, technical readability and swift execution.
Valmet stated: “Collectively, the group helped the client transfer from reactive upkeep to predictive stability. The mining group now considers us a trusted valve automation accomplice for future upgrades throughout different websites.”
Along with the Neles NDX clever valve controller, the client operates a wide array of Valmet stream management merchandise tailor-made for demanding slurry and course of situations. These embrace Flowrox™ pinch valves in varied sizes, Neles ND9 and ND7 controllers and valves, in addition to Jamesbury™ and Neles Easyflow™ ball and butterfly valves.
Collectively, this complete stream management portfolio helps the copper mine’s lengthy‑time period reliability and ensures constant efficiency throughout its most demanding course of areas, offering a strong basis for future upgrades, in response to Valmet.
