Newcrest mine improves consistency and effectiveness with self-aligning nozzles

Problem:

The purpose of a gold trommel is to separate the smaller gold bearing material from the larger substrate like rocks, pebbles and boulders. Newcrest mining Limited, a leading international gold producer, wanted to increase the efficiency of their trommels that were not performing at a high level.

Solution:

Newcrest now uses two spray bars. One to spray water on the ore and the other one to clean the trommel screen itself. Each spray bar is equipped with self-aligning nozzles. These spray nozzles are ideal for cleaning applications in general. They have flat fan spray pattern, and their groove feature provides repeatable pattern positioning without any elastomeric seal. And the interchangeable self-aligning spray tip slides into the groove in the nozzle body ensuring exact alignment body every time the nozzle is reassembled. This way, the original design, that ensures the correct overlap and offset angle, is kept independent of the nozzle’s replacement in the future.

Results:

For Newcrest, the use of separate and well-designed spray bars with self-aligning nozzles improved the consistency and effectiveness of the trommels. The spray bars eliminate of concern of replacing and orientating the nozzles properly. Once the tips wear out, they are easily replaced and sit exactly in the same position and orientation as originally designed.