Sandvik Rock Processing is launching its HX900 wear protection plates in Africa, following global success in demonstrating significant improvements in wear resistance for mining operations.
The HX900 plates have shown remarkable results, extending wear life by multiple times in real-world mining applications, according to Sandvik. These plates are primarily used in feeders, feed chutes, transfer chutes, skirt liners, rock box edge liners, load-haul equipment, and buckets in regions such as Australia, Brazil, Peru, Sweden, and the US.
“What makes the HX900 wear protection plate so effective is its unique combination of two distinct mechanical properties in a single piece,” says Phumi Motsamai, Regional Manager for Screening Media & Wear Protection Africa at Sandvik Rock Processing. “The nodular iron resists high-impact forces, while the cemented carbides offer outstanding abrasion resistance.”
For example, carbide performance has been shown to last up to five times longer than white iron and up to 20 times longer than quenched steel. This extended wear life results in longer replacement intervals and lower total ownership costs, Motsamai explains. The operational advantages include reduced downtime, higher productivity, improved safety (as maintenance personnel are less frequently in contact with equipment), and reduced need for large inventories of replacement parts.
Motsamai explains that nodular iron, also known as ductile iron, is a type of cast iron with a microstructure that enhances its mechanical properties. It contains graphite in the form of spheroids, which provides ductility and toughness. This material can withstand significant deformation without failure, absorbs energy well, and offers good fatigue resistance, making it ideal for dynamic and cyclic loading conditions.
The cemented carbides in HX900 are made of hard carbide particles bonded by a metallic binder, primarily composed of tungsten carbide. With a hardness of approximately nine on the Mohs scale, tungsten carbide is one of the hardest known materials, surpassed only by diamonds and cubic boron nitride.
“This extreme hardness gives HX900 exceptional wear and abrasion resistance,” Motsamai says. “Compared to quenched and tempered 500 HB steels, cast-in-carbides can last up to 10 times longer. This improvement can be as much as 50 times longer when compared to regular chromium carbide overlays and white iron.”
Motsamai cites a case study in which HX900 replaced Hardox 400 plates lining a transfer chute at a Brazilian gold mine. After just two weeks, the Hardox 400 plates had worn through, processing only 108,000 tons of material. In contrast, the HX900 plates lasted 75 weeks, enduring over 3.8 million tons of material. Similarly, in another application, HX900 replaced Hardox 500 wear plates, extending the wear life from 18 weeks to 52 weeks.
“In a Swedish copper mine, the wear life of Hardox 500 in an accelerator chute was just two weeks (600,000 tons of production),” Motsamai explains. “After installing HX900 plates, the mine achieved a wear life of 32 weeks, handling 9 million tons of material.”
Beyond the operational benefits, the HX900 plates also contribute to sustainability efforts, Motsamai adds. The carbide production plays a crucial role in supporting the circular economy.
“Our HX900 plates follow strong sustainability practices, utilizing 99% recycled nodular iron and 100% recycled cemented carbides,” she says. “Research shows that using recycled materials in this way saves 70% of energy and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 40%.”
