Abstract
A storage bin suffering from intermittent discharge and hang-ups can be a terrible source of frustration and unforeseen operating costs. Understanding the scientific principles that underpin good bin and feeder design for difficult flowing cohesive materials, such as dewatered tailings and ore concentrate filter cake, is key to knowing how to resolve troublesome storage and feed systems.
Starting in the 1980s, Kamengo led an extensive research program examining why bins plug, in particular when handling difficult flowing cohesive materials such as ore concentrates, potash, nickel laterites, lithium carbonate, and coal. What the researchers discovered surprised them.
This presentation will review the key findings from Kamengo’s research. In particular, it will review the three root causes of intermittent discharge and bin plugging, which are:
1) incorrect bin geometry;
2) compaction of the stored material by the discharge feeder; and,
3) uneven withdrawal of material by the discharge feeder.
The presentation will use three case studies to illustrate how the outcomes of Kamengo’s research were applied in the design of new equipment as well as the retrofit of equipment suffering from chronic plugging. The presentation will look at the storage and feed system handling sticky, wet cobalt-hydroxide filter cake at a copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The presentation will also look at the design of two tall truck load out bins handling dewatered tailings at a nickel laterite mine in the South Pacific. Finally, the presentation will look at the hull design of two self-unloading ships, which are purpose-built to carry difficult flowing cargoes, including wet iron ore fines, coal, potash and rock gypsum.