Eriez Metalarm Metal Detector sold to MMD Mineral Sizing (Europe) Ltd. for The HALO Trust’s landmine removal efforts in Africa.

Eriez Magnetics Europe recently sold a Metalarm Metal Detector to MMD (Mining Machinery Developments). The Metalarm Metal Detector was then donated to The HALO Trust (Hazardous Area Life-support Organisation) to speed up anti-personnel landmine clearance in Zimbabwe and to help support the global Landmine Free 2025 campaign.MMD designed a mobile Demining Sizer rig to donate to The HALO Trust to help reach this commitment. Eriez Europe was tasked with designing a metal detector for the mobile rig to detect larger mines prior to them entering the crusher chamber. Working with MMD’s design team, Eriez provided a special metal detector allowing smaller contaminates to be ignored while still detecting larger pieces – this prevents unnecessary belt stoppages but still stops any larger pieces damaging downstream machinery.

Eriez advised on the installation requirements for the metal detector ensuring a successful installation and commissioning at MMD’s site in Derbyshire. The HALO Trust ran a number of successful tests with dummy anti-personnel landmines. 

Both Eriez Europe and MMD are world leaders in the manufacturing industry. Eriez Europe is recognised for their extensive knowledge and experience in separation technologies and last year, celebrated 50 years of manufacturing excellence in Europe. MMD celebrated a landmark year in 2018, celebrating 40 years in business in the design, manufacture and supply of mineral processing solutions and associated machinery serving the mining, quarrying and recycling industries.

The HALO Trust is a humanitarian mine clearance organisation registered as a charity in both the UK and US. Its mission is to protect lives and restore livelihoods for those affected by conflict by removing landmines and other debris of war.

HALO employs over 9,000 deminers worldwide, including 350 national staff in Zimbabwe, one of the most highly mine-impacted countries in the world. Highly dense belts of landmines (reportedly 5,500 mines per km) were laid along the borders with Zambia and Mozambique during the Liberation War of the 1970s and HALO has been demining there since 2013, with a clearance rate of approximately 500 mines per month.

The metal detectors on the rig will make a significant difference to HALO's clearance rate.

The MMD Demining Sizer rig was officially handed over to The HALO Trust at Hillhead 2018 and is currently in transit to Zimbabwe, where local management have said it will 'make a real difference to tens of thousands of people's lives.'

Paul Hale, Metal Detection Sales Manager, at Eriez Europe comments, “Eriez is very proud to work with MMD on this project and to support the incredible work of The HALO Trust. It is fantastic to know that our Metalarm Metal Detector will help towards eliminating mines in Zimbabwe and make a difference to so many people’s lives.”