SAND PROCESSING
‘MAGNIFICENT’ SERVICE
ATTRACTS CUSTOMERS – AND METALS Magnetic separation keeps product clean and prevents tramp metals from causing damage and breakdowns in crushers and screens. As Eriez Australia’s Ezio Viti explains, quarry operations have numerous options to combat unwanted tramp metals, contaminants and downtime.
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riez Magnetics has developed a global presence in removing unwanted contaminants from valuable materials conveyed across the extractive industries. Since 1942, Eriez has perfected the science of magnetic separation for a loyal customer base. Part of this has involved the provision of honest on-site feedback about how quarried aggregates, for example, can be beneficiated with electromagnetic and permanent magnets. Of course, no one quarry site is the same, and in understanding this Eriez treats each application on its merit. Eriez Australia sales director Ezio Viti explained the approach taken to ensure each customer gets the most out of their magnets. “There are a lot of factors to consider, including the size and shape of the contaminant in the conveyed material, to ultimately determine the magnet size and type,” Viti told Quarry. “The rule of thumb is the smaller the contaminant, the larger the magnet. “The next criteria are the dimensions of the belt and the size and shape of the conveyed material. We also assess whether the customer wants a manual or self-cleaning magnet. And the greatest factor in terms of magnet strength is its location.” Location, size, shape, power consumption, self-cleaning – all considerations which could easily fly over the head of plenty of quarry managers. Therefore, Eriez takes pride in meeting in-person (taking into account COVID-19 risks) to catch any missed information and provide a clear explanation.
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Suspended magnets in a mobile circuit.
Viti said an open dialogue between Eriez technicians and their customers is key to successful and effective magnet ownership. “The most important thing about the Eriez service is the feedback, going both ways,” Viti said. “Nothing’s more impressive than gaining loyalty from customers. Loyalty spawns from our performance and if we can’t perform then we don’t deserve any support. We’ve won customers based on that loyalty and continue to do so.” With strong rapport and expertise, there’s scarcely been an issue of separation and filtration that Eriez couldn’t accommodate. On a project in Tasmania that purifies silica down to about 100 parts per million, Eriez was able to supply its magnetic filters and rare earth grates to clean fine silica sand before it is shipped overseas to be milled into silica flour for use in various high quality touch screens. “Our grates are basically a permanent magnet grate with a number of stainlesssteel tubes which encase a combination of mild steel poles and rare earth magnets,” Viti explained. “The design concentrates the magnetic field to attract and retain the finest of
contaminants in the product flow. “This is equally useful in applications like clay operations where the final products are used as additives in paints, cosmetics or toothpaste where the occurrence of iron contaminants render them unusable.”
OLD FOR NEW Aside from adding value to operations through product beneficiation, Eriez can also add value in its aftersales service too. Viti recounted a time where this service was of value to an Australian household name. “A major construction materials company had one of our magnets which was superseded due to an upgrade in application,” he said. “We offered them a deal where instead of simply removing the old magnet from their operation and having it potentially discarded, we offered to buy the old product back for repurposing.” Viti was proud of Eriez’s ability to provide service support from end to end, adding value all along the customer’s process chain. “We can look further down the track and if a customer’s plant, product or process has
