Bright beautiful mines

For over 68 years NEO Paints has created a Namibian legacy of personalised paint solutions that blend quality and innovation to bring beauty to the harshest environments. The company is well established as a supplier to significant mines in the country, counting among its clients uranium giant Husab, and also Rössing Uranium, the Navachab goldmine, diamond miner Namdeb and hopefully the soon to be reawakened Langer Heinrich, according to Janine Briedenhann, Neo Paints marketing manager.

Her confidence is inspired by the SIGMA range of coatings that NEO Paints is the Namibian approved distributor for. SIGMA is supplied to NEO Paints by PPG South Africa, following research and development of the products done at PPG USA. Stock is manufactured in Alberton, Gauteng, South Africa.

According to Briedenhann, “we deliver market leading performance in-line with group standards, not just in product performance but also in speed, efficiency and product availability. This is backed up with high levels of field technical support and coatings project partnerships. Our durable advanced coating systems are designed to protect and extend the operational life of mining facilities and equipment and are produced to meet the environmental conditions found in surface mining, underground mining, dredging and in-situ mining,” she adds.

Systems are adapted to the specific requirements of the mines they service, she says; “We have epoxy and polyurethane systems, we have phenolic systems for more aggressive areas. We have high-build epoxies that can be applied up to 1 000 microns in a single coat. We focus on smart systems with all the latest technology and want to provide our clients the best technical and commercial system.”

Commercial coating applications always need to be able to deal with heat. “There is quite a wide range of temperature coatings that be offered but it depends on the application. For high temperature our ranges are: 120°C, 200°C, 230°C, 350°C, 540°C and 650°C. This is for atmospheric applications. When referring to temperature for tank linings, the system and coating is done on a case by case basis, but we do have a system, suitable for demineralised water up to 100°C,” she says.

Regarding colours Briedenhann says; “We have a range of tintable epoxies, but the general top coat (Polyurethane coating) is available in any colour. We focus on the RAL, BS and SABS colour range, but we also match as per sample when required by our clients.”