This article has been supplied.As pressure mounts on miners to cut emissions, conserve water and still grow production, Weir believes that smarter technology and re‑engineered flowsheets are the way forward. For the group, sustainability isn’t a side project – it’s the organising principle behind its entire innovation strategy.
Christian Stehle, Regional Engineering Director EMEA at Weir, explains that providing technology for a sustainable future is the essence of what the group does. “That promise plays out in four main areas: energy, water, waste and digital, all underpinned by a strong safety culture,” he states.
Nowhere is the sustainability challenge more acute than in comminution, the energy‑hungry heart of most mines. Rather than just tweaking individual machines, Weir is promoting the redesign of the entire circuit where possible. “At Weir, we are promoting ‘non‑traditional’ flowsheets built around high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs), large ENDURON vibrating screens, coarse particle flotation and stirred mills to cut back on conventional tumbling mills. If you can do that in your flowsheet, then you use less water and significantly less energy compared to tumbling mills,” Stehle explains.
