Sensors & Transducers


In control at Kumba

May 2010 Sensors & Transducers

Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen South project puts E+H’s expertise as a single source supplier to the test.

During tough economic times cutting costs – without compromising on quality and service delivery – becomes an increasingly crucial concern. This is especially true when the nature of the business requires substantial capital layouts upfront, as is the case in the mining industry. Endress+Hauser says this is where its comprehensive product basket and expert advice give its mining clients the upper hand. Kumba Iron Ore contracted Endress+Hauser to supply approximately 90% of the instrumentation at its new Sishen-South iron ore mine in the Kalahari plains of the Northern Cape.

Situated 20 km outside Postmasburg, work on the new mine started about a year ago. One of the largest Anglo American projects currently underway, the total cost involved is estimated to be R8,5 billion. Although many similar mining projects have been put on hold in recent times, Anglo American decided to go ahead with the Sishen South project, while keeping a tight rein on budgets. It approached Endress+Hauser to become the main supplier of instruments; in this way, Kumba sidestepped the costs and risks involved in dealing with a variety of suppliers.

Endress+Hauser accepted third party responsibility, undertaking to source instruments that fall outside its scope from nominated suppliers and ensuring the compatibility of all products. Furthermore, it offered a process guarantee on all field instruments ensuring that all devices are ‘fit for purpose’. In the event of an instrument malfunctioning, it is E+H’s task to either fix or replace it.

The company says the single source supplier approach to outsourcing as implemented by Kumba has proved to be an economical solution. The benefits realised by Kumba can be summarised as follows:

* Placing a single order with Endress+Hauser has saved the project a considerable amount of time, administration and human resources when compared to the process involved in placing multiple orders.

* Endress+Hauser guarantees that all the instruments supplied, including those sourced from third parties, will function at the highest level, hence removing a potentially costly risk from Kumba.

* Endress+Hauser commits to the speedy delivery of products and spare parts to the site.

* With instrumentation being a scarce skill in South Africa, Endress+Hauser’s team of experts is adding value to the project, including providing Kumba employees with the necessary training and skills transfer.

With the mining industry accounting for about 40% of Endress+Hauser’s business, it offers a wide range of measurement instrumentation for a variety of mining applications, for example in the areas of flow, liquid analysis, level and temperature. To ensure that the most appropriate instruments are recommended for a particular application, it offers a comprehensive consultation service to clients. This enables cost effective solutions by decreasing raw material and energy consumption, as well as maintenance. Finally, all instruments on site are standardised, thus reducing end user stock holding.

For more information contact Fanie Ferreira, Endress+Hauser, +27 (0)11 262 8000, [email protected], www.za.endress.com



Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

High-precision automated inspection
Sensors & Transducers
Delivering advanced inline metrology to an expanding range of challenging industries, SmartRay is launching the smallest field-of-view 3D sensor of its cutting-edge ECCO X series.

Read more...
Long-range laser distance measuring sensor
Vepac Electronics Sensors & Transducers
The MS-100A is a long-range laser distance measuring sensor with a range of 150 to 1000 mm. This sensor excels in applications requiring extended measurement capabilities, such as quality control and logistics.

Read more...
Simple and efficient level measurement in the mining, minerals and metals industries
Endress+Hauser South Africa Editor's Choice Level Measurement & Control
Measuring devices in the mining, minerals and metals industries face the challenge of varying material states and long distances in measurement height. Endress+Hauser’s answer to these challenges is the new Micropilot family.

Read more...
The power of smart maintenance for securing water supply
Omron Electronics Sensors & Transducers
The water industry plays an essential role in delivering safe drinking water and effective wastewater services to society and various industries. A lack of maintenance could have severe consequences, as even the failure of a single component can significantly impact operations, and maintenance expenses represent a substantial part of the overall costs of water and pumping systems.

Read more...
Rotary atomisers for efficient paint spraying
Instrotech Sensors & Transducers
Painting the bodywork is an integral component of vehicle manufacturing. Keller supplied intrinsically safe pressure transmitters and intrinsically safe temperature sensors to a client producing paint robots for the car industry.

Read more...
The smallest most powerful infrared sensor in the world
Sensors & Transducers
The superior performance and robustness of Telco’s infrared sensors ensures that there are no limits to any mining and industrial applications.

Read more...
Easy parameter setting of vision sensors
ifm - South Africa Sensors & Transducers
Contour verification and object inspection are two of the most important functionalities in industrial imaging. With the new O2D5xx series, ifm now offers a solution that perfectly masters both functionalities

Read more...
New range of vision units
Beckhoff Automation Sensors & Transducers
Beckhoff has added four new vision units to its VUI2000 series. They integrate a camera, illumination and liquid lens technology for simplified installation.

Read more...
Condition monitoring sensor
Sensors & Transducers
The Balluff BCM Gen2 Condition Monitoring Sensor is an advanced IIoT-ready device designed for real-time machine health monitoring.

Read more...
Inductive IO-Link sensors
Turck Banner Southern Africa Sensors & Transducers
Turck Banner is expanding its sensor range, with inductive measuring sensors with IO-Link and an analogue output for flush and non-flush mounting.

Read more...