Corflex Engineering

Also supplied were 250mm for pressures up 40 Bar (+/- 580 PSI) and 450mm valves at 16 Bar (+/-232 PSI). This new operation increased ERGO slurry pumping to +/- 4,000 000 Tons per month. In 1990 two 300mm Corflex Pinch Valves were installed at a Booster Station at a pressure of 50 Bar (+/- 725 PSI) These two valves ran for 15 years with only one sleeve being replaced due to being punctured by a piece of metal as the valve was being closed. Two 300mm Corflex Pinch Valves were installed on the inlet side of two banks of 8 Pumps for pressures up to 25 Bar (+/- 360 PSI). These valves had no failures. In 1988 Rand Mines developed the Crown Mines Operation to recover gold, uranium sulphur from slimes dams around Johannesburg and in the west. Corflex Pinch Valves up to 500mm were installed in all slurry applications up to pressure of 25 Bar. Both ERGO and Crown Mines continued to use Corflex Pinch Valves for all their slurry applications. In around 2005 Anglo American stopped its ERGO operation. This was subsequently taken over by Crown Mines. All equipment that could be salvaged including Corflex Pinch Valves were put back into use. There are many Corflex Pinch Valves of all sizes which have been operating in both operations since 1986 which to date is some 36 years. Most of the Corflex Pinch Valves are hydraulically operated because of high pressure. In some areas where fail safe is required the pinch valves automatically close and act as a non-return valve. Corflex Pinch Valves supply Pinch Valves suitable for higher pressures than any other similar valve. The Corflex Pinch Valves have continued to show that they can safely handle high pressures with low maintenance for long periods of time on slurry pipelines.

Corflex Engineering, +27 (0) 11 866 1932, info@corflex.co.za, www.corflex.co.za