The First Quantum Minerals (FQM) nickel mine is located within the shire of Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, approximately 550 kilometres south-east of Perth.
It was acquired as a decommissioned nickel operation in February 2010. FQM made significant modifications to the processing plant, focusing mainly on the redesign of the crushing, conveying, storage, reclaim and rejects areas.
Within the plant there are a number of large super heater and cooling coil structures that are used in the refining process. These structures are approximately 2m wide by 4 m high and consist of 5 coils welded to manifolds at the top and bottom. Comprising of about 300m linear metres of seamless carbon steel piping, these coils are essentially coiling inside the other.
Over an extended period of time these structures were wearing out from the high heat and pressure of plant processing. Replacement of these coils are expensive but integral for the running of the plant and business continuity.
Faced with the need to replace them, FQM had few resources to turn to get the job done within budget.
They reached out to us to produce eight coils for them as we were their supplier for previous orders and our reputation in the metal bending and rolling meant we were in a very select group of companies who were able to achieve what they wanted.
Producing coils is a complicated process in itself as the diameter and the pitch of the coil must constantly be accurate, however this order was even more complicated in that each unit was made up of not one but 5 separate coils for different diameters.
We went through an extensive design process working with old drawings. Bend-tech was adamant in wanting to ensure the bend radiuses were achievable. We built tooling to ensure accuracy of the bending process as the inner coils required a great deal of precision. All the welds were x-rayed and pressure tested.
Bend-tech was able to deliver the required product within a tight budget and short lead time. Our highly skilled designers and engineers were able to successfully produce these complex coils to the client’s specifications, making us one of the very few local suppliers who were able to complete this kind of custom job.
Get in touch with us if you have a complex bending and rolling challenge to find out how we can help you.
About The Author: Jesse Emia
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