Weir Minerals Total Asset Management Plan for increased productivity and significant savings
18.03.2021Weir Minerals have further strengthened their partnership with Tronox by entering into an exclusive arrangement to take ownership of the maintenance, asset management and optimisation of the mine’s key assets.
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Weir Minerals’ Total Asset Management Plan is a unique and innovative service contract that is revolutionising mining operations, with improved performance and a reduction in unplanned maintenance time. A Total Asset Management plan was successfully implemented at the Tronox mine in Cooljarloo/Western Australia – where Weir Minerals focused on managing 20 assets including slurry pumps on the plant, two floating dredges and a floating concentrator which processes over 3000 t/h of heavy mineral concentrate.
“The Weir Minerals team worked closely with Tronox to determine what their goals and vision for their mine were. The team then developed a tailored Total Asset Management plan which aimed to look after the customer’s assets, improve their wear life and keep the mine running,” describes Daniel Fleckhammer, Weir Minerals Director.
Weir Minerals successfully helped Tronox reduce their maintenance costs by 10 %, and unplanned maintenance by 30 %. Tronox are also now able to transition from a 6-month shutdown cycle to an 8-month shutdown cycle, which will save the mine over $ 1 million dollars on maintenance costs each year. This increased reliability is potentially worth over $ 1 million dollars per year in additional productivity. Dave Netherway, Tronox Maintenance Manager at Cooljarloo highlights that “under the Total Asset Management Plan we have with Weir Minerals we pay on a cents per tonne based on the throughput through the plant. Weir have skin in the game with the way we operate.”
Being located on site, the Weir Minerals team are prepared for crucial maintenance and gain vital insights into the customer’s issues. By leveraging their worldwide expertise in pump technology, the team proactively evaluate each asset and provide outstanding service to Tronox.
A clear set of KPI’s, which were developed in conjunction with Tronox, enable Weir Minerals to increase savings and improve the reliability of assets. Both companies work towards a common goal that is mutually beneficial to all. “If other companies around the world are looking at this type of agreement, I'd really encourage them to explore it. At Tronox, we've only been touching the surface for a year now and we really see some huge benefits already.” explains Ian Rennie, Tronox Site Director at Cooljarloo.
