Building on its expertise in sensor-based mineral sorting, materials handling specialist IMS Engineering has partnered with German separation technology expert, Steinert Elektromagnetbau, in order to market systems using magnetic technologies.

IMS Engineering will offer these technologies in addition to the Steinert range of sensor-based sorting and separation systems such as induction, optical, dual energy X-ray, and near-infrared systems.

Steinert magnetic technologies cover a wide spectrum of solutions, ranging from lifting magnets, dry and wet magnetic drum separators and magnetic head pulleys to the classic overband or overhead suspension magnetic separators and patented eddy current separators.

Steinert plants are in service worldwide, with some 2 000 nonferrous metal separators, more than 100 induction sorting systems and innumerable load magnet systems and separating magnets doing duty in the recycling and mining industries, says IMS Engineering marketing and customer support manager Shannon McEwan.

Steinert has a track record in scrap metals separation in South Africa and references include steel manufacturer Scaw Metals and metal recycler SA Metal. IMS Engineering is now expanding applications to include local mining and minerals processing.

“In Australia, Steinert has earned a specialist reputation in the mining industry spanning five decades for the production of overhead suspension magnets and wet drum separators in particular,” says McEwan. “Equipment manufactured at its Australian subsidiary is in operation in hundreds of coal and other mines around the world.”

“Overband magnets from Steinert have been extracting tramp iron from bulk materials for decades, protecting grinders, mills, crushers and other processing equipment against wear and tear, and also extracting clean iron scrap. Other examples include magnetic separation to remove reinforcing steel, old tooling when open pit mines cut into old underground workings, and the separation of tramp metal out of stone in quarries. Characterised by extremely deep and powerful magnetic fields, these overband magnets are also used to increase the purity of raw materials for further processing.”

Dry magnetic drums, used when recycling to separate ferrous metals, are used in mining to concentrate ferrous ores, while wet drum separators have been successful in the concentration of fine-micron magnetic ores. More typical applications of Steinert wet drum separators are, for example, in the recovery of magnetite in coal washing plant and ferrosilicon in diamond dense media seperation plants.

“Steinert industrial magnets are known for their durability and innovation, the latter born out by the development of both the eccentric magnet system in the eddy current separator and Steinert’s high-power electromagnetic coils made from anodised aluminium strip,” explains McEwan.

“Whether recycling, mining, minerals processing or quarrying, the Steinert philosophy is centred around improving material yield, purity and equipment protection, thus perfectly meeting IMS Engineering’s ‘three M’ criterion of matching the machine with the material.”