Sandvik provides solutions to niche market satisfaction

One of India's largest mineral, resource and energy companies, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) recently sought the assistance of Pilot Crushtec International to provide a coal processing solution to meet its commercial needs.

The JSPL mine, located at Chirodzi in the Cahorra Bassa Province of Mozambique, needed to screen coking coal in a range of very specific sizes for sale to important export markets. Being an existing customer of Pilot Crushtec International, it contacted the Jet Park-based crushing and screening specialist for advice.

Export sales manager Wayne Warren explains that what JSPL was looking for was flexibility and a supplier that could meet a crucial delivery deadline.

"JSPL has its own, extensive high volume coal processing plant, however it would be technically very difficult and certainly uneconomic, to screen the comparatively low volume runs associated with specialist end use products," he says.

From JSPL's standpoint, the Sandvik QA140 presented the ideal solution, a compact mobile tracked product with a screen box designed to accommodate the regular mesh changes required when processing different sizes and qualities of material.

"Being the Sandvik distributor in southern Africa, we could immediately deliver to JSPL the complete sales and service package. The machine itself and essential wear components were dispatched from stock and commissioning and onsite training was provided by our InstalLink team, which spent five days at Chirodzi," says Warren.

In the two months following its arrival, the QA140 has already proved its worth according to project manager Prashant Goyal.

"It is producing material to the sizes we require and in the volumes we need. We can certainly say that we are very happy with this Sandvik product and the service provided by Pilot Crushtec International," says Goyal.

From Warren's point of view, the sale of the Sandvik QA140 to JSPL represents another example of the company's ever growing footprint across sub-Saharan Africa.

"This is another step in our African journey and we are pleased to have provided a customer of JSPL's stature with a positive outcome in advancing its sales of high value export coal.

JSPL's initial motivation for starting operations was to mine coal to fuel its Indian steel plants. It has however indicated that a steel plant could be established in Mozambique should sufficient volumes of quality iron ore be discovered.