Crushing and screening specialist Pilot Crushtec reports a surge in demand for overband magnets as players in the crushing, screening and recycling industries are becoming increasingly aware of their benefits.

Africa sales manager Wayne Warren knows from experience the damage that can be caused to cone and impact crushers when in closed circuit by tramp metal and is convinced that adding an overband magnet to a plant is a simple matter of common sense.

“It is a relatively low-cost solution to what could be a very expensive problem. By adding an overband magnet, you are in a way taking out a life insurance policy on your plant and the price is insignificant in comparison to the cost of repairs, downtime and the pressures involved in making up lost tonnages,” says Warren.

Regional sales manager Rasheel Sukdhoe has an increasing number of customers who use overband magnets for reclamation and recycling purposes.

“They provide an excellent solution for reclaiming steel from slag which can then be recycled and resold. Some customers use overband magnets to remove metal from material before it reaches the stockpile, yielding an additional saleable product.”

Another application is the use of overband magnets on demolition sites where rubble is crushed using jaw or horizontal impact crushers. The operator scores yet again as rebar can be reclaimed from the concrete and sold for scrap.

Warren explains that the installation of an overband magnet is a matter of good sense, something with which his customers must obviously agree. Sales during 2012 have already equalled the total volumes sold in 2011.