The mainstay of the business in Africa is the design, manufacture, supply and installation of electro-winning rectifiers built into six-metre containers for ease of transportation, installation and removal to new sites.“The rectifiers are typically sold in pairs delivering up to 60,000 Amps , typically at 300 Volts, “ Saftronics design engineer Rudi Kersten says. “We also supply transformers for the rectifiers, shorting frames and auxiliary equipment such as pumps, structure and copper work.”
Some of the Solutions are large scale, adds Kersten. “For the Katanga Copper Company (KCC), we have been installing power electronics solutions requiring 400 tonnes of copper with 10 rectifiers and 10 transformers giving 400,000 Amps and 1.0 MVA of chiller cooling systems for the water-cooled rectifiers.
“Thanks to containerisation we are able to provide turnkey rectifier solutions anywhere. Civils work is minimal and the control rooms are self-contained within the rectifier.”
Caption: Copper busbar structures for the main supply to an electrowinning cell house.
