Mining operation donates R600k pump to Kagiso school

Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR) has demonstrated its commitment to the ongoing upliftment of skills in the South African mining industry with the recent donation of a slurry pump worth R600 000 to Mandisa Shiceka School of Specialisation.

The school specialises in Mathematics, Physical Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with a special focus on the mining sector. The high school was established in 1995 in Kagiso under the auspices of the Kagiso Education Crisis Committee and some teachers who were volunteering their services.

This establishment aimed to accommodate learners who could not be admitted to local schools due to the high rate of learners who were seeking admission.

MTR supports skills development with major equipment donation

MTR mechanical foreman, Obakeng Moroeng, says, “Having this technology readily available will provide students with invaluable hands-on experience, giving them a genuine advantage when they ultimately enter the industry as professional engineers.”

He added that MTR has accompanied the donation with a pump curve and capacity chart for the cyclone, featuring various vortex finder options, and has made its technical team available for assistance and consultation should the school require this.

“Slurry pumps offer a unique solution for slurry applications in the mining and mineral processing industry and have been designed to deliver maximum efficiency and capacity, while providing longer wear life than conventional designs,” Moroeng says.

He further explains that these cyclones provide enhanced dewatering and desliming efficiency, reduced product loss, improved product recovery and increased circuit capacity by minimising the quantity of material escaping to the underflow or overflow streams.

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“Their distinctive design provides a natural flow path for slurry material. The unique shape has no sharp edges, no square corners and allows the feed stream to blend smoothly with the rotating slurry inside the unit, minimising localised wear on the feed chamber and vortex finder. These design improvements result in lower operating costs and fewer cyclones required for a given duty. The result is greatly reduced turbulence, creating more even wear, longer life and more efficient classification.”

Hands-on learning opportunity for Kagiso school

Oriel Shikwambane, MTR general manager, says the pump donated to the school will help learners gain practical knowledge about mining equipment and how it operates.

Shikwambane explained that the pump is a critical piece of mining equipment used in the company’s operations to move tailings material from large tailings dams through the processing plant.

He believes that the donation will provide valuable hands-on learning opportunities and help learners develop practical technical skills related to the mining sector.

“This pump is quite critical in our operation because we re-mine tailings from the tailings dams. It is the initial pump in the re-mining process where we pump the material from the mining area through our process plant.”

The donation followed a request from some of the company’s employees who suggested that the equipment be donated to a school so learners could use it for educational purposes.

Learners to gain practical exposure to mining equipment

According to Shikwambane, the slurry pump will give learners practical exposure to how mining equipment functions.
“Pumps are really critical within the mining industry. The school will be able to learn how pumps operate and how this equipment works,” he adds.

Learners will also have an opportunity to study the internal components of the pump, including the impellers, liners and casing, allowing them to better understand the mechanics behind mining operations.