Kennametal’s KenCast™ is known for its durability in highly challenging environments. It is air-hardened cast steel with metallurgically bonded tungsten carbide particles on the wear surface, which has been proven to withstand extreme abrasive and high-impact applications and could show a life improvement over standard wear solutions depending on materials and applications. Downtime can be significantly reduced. Don’t just take our word for it, check out the results from one of our tests.
Downtime Means No Time for Second-Best
A mining company in Brazil, known for its high volume of mineral extraction in the processing and production of gold, needed to reduce downtime caused by replacing wall plates in chutes used in its crushing operations.
The environment in which the wall plates are used is predominantly abrasive. However, weight is also a factor, as the flow of minerals inside the chute can concentrate in several different areas and cause wear similar to an impact on the plates. Depending upon the area of the chute, most competitors’ wall plates used at this site provided only 15 to 50 days of use before downtime was required to replace them – according to the customer.
The customer asked us to develop plates — with a particular emphasis on those used in the discharge chute walls — that would reduce inspection- and replacement-related downtime to increase productivity at its gold mine.
The Kennametal Solution
We presented a test protocol to the mining company pertaining to the durability of our solution which provided custom wear plates to armor their discharge chute. Additionally, we provided reports from other customers who achieved 30 percent longer wear with our solution compared to the competitors’ wall plates.
Our experts then put two KenCast KCWB-0938 wall plates (painted black, for easier identification) to the test. In November 2022, the pair of plates were placed in the most challenging environment of the chute wall, alongside the competition’s plates.
Kennametal KenCast Plate KCWB-0938
- Surface: Tungsten-carbide grains in the mixture of -3/8, +5/16 and -1/4, +4
- Base steel: Carbon, manganese, silicon, aluminum, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum
Outstanding, Outlasting Abrasion Resistance
Two separate inspection dates were chosen to evaluate the KenCast plate. One evaluation in December 2022 and one in evaluation January 2023, 59 days into the operation. At this point, the KenCast plates were shown to have excellent thickness preservation and carbide grit remaining intact.
The differentiated composition of the KenCast steel base provided superior resistance to abrasion as compared to competitor plates using a nodular iron base. While the competition’s plates were worn down and needed to be replaced, the KenCast solution kept going.
After 90+ days of continuous operation, which brought us to February 2023, one of our Kennametal plates needed to be swapped out. However, one of the customer’s inspectors concluded that the remaining KenCast plate had the potential to continue its tool life for another 30 to 60 days.
Compared to our rivals’ plates, KenCast plates could last 10 times longer! Just as important, the customer could achieve an unprecedented reduction of downtime and a significant increase of more than 30 percent in ore extraction.
Want these kinds of results for your operation? Talk to our experts to find out how KenCast mining solutions can provide excellent wear protection and extend the life of your equipment.
