September 2026 marks the point in the South African production year when plant teams start booking the shutdown windows that will carry them through to December, and conveyor protection is one of the items that tends to move up the list. Mechani Mags, the conveyor magnet manufacturer based at Bisset Road in JetPark, Boksburg, is using the run into the final quarter to draw attention to a part of its range that plant engineers often assume is not available to them: the low head-room model of its dry-type overband magnet, together with oil to dry conversions of existing units and the spares and auxiliaries that keep an installed magnet running.

The constraint is a practical one. A suspended overband belt magnet has to hang above a conveyor with enough clearance to do its work, and in plants that were laid out tightly, or that have since had extra equipment fitted above or beside the belt line, that clearance simply is not there. The result is a section of conveyor running without ferrous protection, not because the operator does not want it, but because a standard suspended unit will not physically fit. Mechani Mags lists a low head-room model as one of the main features of its dry-type magnet, and it states on its products page that magnets can be modified to fit in restricted spaces.

What the dry-type magnet does on a conveyor line

Magnetic separators exist on a conveyor for one reason, which is to take ferrous tramp metal out of a moving stream of material before that metal reaches something expensive. A loose bolt, a broken tooth, a length of reinforcing bar or a piece of a previous repair travelling into a crusher, a mill or a screen is the sort of event that turns a planned week into an unplanned one. Mechani Mags describes its dry-type units as suspended self-cleaning over-band belt magnets designed to remove tramp metal from conveyed materials in mining, processing and recycling, and the company positions them as conveyor cleaning and protection equipment rather than as material upgrading equipment.

The self-cleaning arrangement is what makes the unit continuous. Captured metal is carried off the face of the magnet by the overband belt and discharged clear of the conveyor, so the magnet keeps working without an operator having to stop the line and strip it by hand. Mechani Mags also offers the same magnet in a manual-clean version for applications where the tramp metal loading is low enough that a scheduled clean is acceptable.

Why the dry design changed the retrofit conversation

The older generation of overband electromagnets was oil cooled, and oil brings its own set of obligations: the risk of contamination if a seal fails, corrosion, the mass of the unit and the maintenance downtime that goes with fluid management. Mechani Mags builds its current generation without oil and without cooling fans. The company states that the dry design carries a premium energy efficiency rating equivalent to the IE4 standard and is 50 percent more energy efficient than standard models, delivering the same magnetic power for half the electrical input.

The engineering detail behind that is set out on the product page. The coils are aluminium with a rectangular cross-section, insulated to Class H at 180 degrees Celsius. The unit carries a stainless steel wear plate and internally welded lifting lugs, runs a WEG IE3 motor with an SEW gearbox, and uses four crowned carbon steel pulleys. A belt-slip and belt-tear detection system works alongside a PT100 temperature probe so that the magnet reports on its own condition rather than failing quietly. The housing is rated IP66, fully protected against dust and water, and the magnet is built to operate at any position and incline angle, including inverted. For underground and other hazardous installations, the unit can be supplied Ex certified.

Oil to dry conversion without rebuilding the power supply

For plants already running an older oil-cooled overband unit, the company offers a conversion route rather than a full replacement project. Mechani Mags states that it can usually convert an existing oil-cooled electromagnet to an equivalent strength dry-type electromagnet without the need to modify existing power supply units. That matters for a shutdown plan, because the cost and the programme risk in this kind of upgrade usually sit in the electrical work and the structural steel, not in the magnet itself.

The workshop side supports the same thinking. Mechani Mags repairs and upgrades magnets of any make or brand, not only its own, and says its Boksburg workshop can handle any size magnet up to 20 tons. Loan units may be available while a customer's own magnet is being worked on, workmanship is guaranteed, and the company offers a free assessment with a strip and quote on a faulty magnet sent into the JetPark workshop, or will arrange collection.

Detection and removal are different jobs

Conveyor metal detector equipment is frequently discussed in the same breath as overband magnets, and it is worth separating the two functions when a plant is planning its protection strategy. A detector tells the control room that metal is present on the belt and can trigger a stop or a diverter. A magnet physically lifts the ferrous fraction off the material stream and discharges it. Mechani Mags works on the removal side of that pairing, and its site assessment service is aimed at establishing what a specific conveyor and material stream actually needs before any equipment is specified.

The wider product range

Dry magnetic separator units are the flagship of the range, but they sit inside a broader catalogue. The ferrochrome magnet uses rare earth magnet elements and is built for separating ferrochrome from slag. Lifting magnets are supplied as extra heavy duty sealed units for scrap handling, ball loading and furnace loading, with varying duty cycles available, and the company is explicit that these are not intended for suspension over conveyor belts. Demagnetising coils are offered for demagnetising material flowing through the centre of the coils, and drum magnets or magnetic pulleys handle separation as material discharges over the head end of a belt. Fan-cooled electromagnets and the older oil-cooled self-clean and manual-clean overband types remain on the list, as do permanent magnets and fully custom designs.

Auxiliaries and spares keep the installed base running

A magnet that is out of service because a gearbox or a length of belting cannot be sourced is a magnet that is not protecting anything. Mechani Mags carries power supply units suitable for any mains supply voltage up to 1000VAC at 50 or 60Hz, control panels compatible with almost any electromagnet system, three-phase heavy duty solid-state bridge rectifiers and suitable DC cabling. Adjustable suspension chain slings are supplied complete with rating and identification tags and a certificate of compliance. Beam crawlers and trolleys are available in motorised, non-motorised and geared-chain-pull versions, alongside spring-driven cable reeling drums and festoon systems for DC cable runs. Replacement parts cover belts, pulleys, gearboxes, motors, bearings, shafts, couplings and DC terminal poles. Type F flame retardant conveyor belting is supplied with test certificates, and reinforced heavier duty belting is offered specifically for use with magnets.

Site services and compliance work

Mechani Mags keeps a trained site service team on standby through the year and available to travel worldwide. The on-site list covers gauss, or magnetic strength, testing and reporting, routine inspection reporting, certificate of compliance inspection, testing and reporting, commissioning assistance and release inspections, fault finding, installation assistance, general repairs and part replacement where these can be done in place, and site assessment for a new magnet application. For an operation preparing for an audit or closing out a shutdown scope, that combination of testing and documentation is usually as important as the hardware.

The head office and workshop are at 30 Bisset Road, corner Hargan, JetPark, Boksburg, 1460, in Gauteng, with the office open from 07:30 to 16:30 Monday to Thursday and 07:30 to 14:30 on Friday. The company ships worldwide and publishes its company profile under the heading 50 Years Strong. Full product detail, downloadable technical documents, support services and contact options are set out on the Mechani Mags website at https://africanmagnets.com/.

About Mechani Mags

Mechani Mags is a South African manufacturer of conveyor magnets and magnetic separators for tramp metal removal in the mining, processing and recycling sectors. Operating from a head office and workshop in JetPark, Boksburg, Gauteng, the company designs and builds dry-type suspended self-cleaning overband belt magnets, ferrochrome magnets, lifting magnets, drum magnets, demagnetising coils and custom magnet solutions, and supplies the control panels, belting, chain sets and spares that support them. It repairs and upgrades magnets of any make in a workshop rated for units up to 20 tons, offers oil to dry conversions, and provides on-site gauss testing, inspection and compliance reporting through a service team that travels locally and internationally.

Media Contact
Mechani Mags
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 11 397 6870
Website: https://africanmagnets.com/