With the recent incorporation of allmineral Australia Pty Ltd, allmineral is now able to directly contribute to the continued expansion of Western Australia’s iron ore mining industry. The company states: “This direct investment provides for an even stronger market presence of allmineral in Western Australia concurrent with further improved customer services now directly rendered from allmineral’s Australian experts. At the same time it demonstrates its high appreciation of existing and future Australian customers in supporting them in a highly competitive market.”

There is an increasing demand in the Pilbara for allmineral’s processing technologies, which are capable of turning low grade ore into higher quality products. Following a strategically important installation of Rio Tinto’s pilot plant containing allmineral’s core processing equipment types, namely alljig, allflux and gaustec WHIMS; in 2011, allmineral secured contracts for another 12 alljigs as well as 14 allflux fluidised bed separators in the Pilbara. Some 17 alljig, 25 allflux machines and 1 gaustec high intensity magnetic separator are now in operation in Australia. The group hopes to further benefit from the increasing annual iron ore production capacities in Australia, that are predicted to increase by another 300 Mt over the next few years.

Currently, 14 allflux fluidised bed separators and 12 alljig wet jigs are being installed. Manufactured and pre-assembled in Western Europe, they undergo tough factory tests prior to being shipped to Australia. The throughput rates of the allflux fluidised bed separator are up to 250 t/h of iron ore. The material (particle size <1 mm) is separated in two fractions based on particle size and density. The flow and control equipment facilitates the generation of three selectively graded products from a single machine, including thickening and desliming.

The air and side-pulsed alljig F-2500 jigging machines utilise the density differences between the iron and the lighter minerals in the ore for efficient separation. Due to the fact the jigging machines can be flexibly adjusted, they are able to precisely separate ores from 1 mm up to 8 mm. The alljig F-2500 can operate at a throughput rate of 120 t/h of iron ore with minimal energy consumption. The entire capacity of the new allmineral processing equipment in the Pilbara region is approximately 4,500 t/h or 30 Mt/y.

“Our globally proven equipment for the efficient sorting of haematite iron ore allows us to support the preservation of an economically successful mining operation in the Pilbara region in future years, as well as to provide for sustainable growth for the existing and planned mining operations in Western Australia”, commented allmineral’s Managing Director Dr Heribert Breuer.

allmineral is one of the leading global producers of customised processing plants, with facilities conceived in Duisburg now found in Europe, India, Australia, North and South America and in South Africa. The company has supplied over 450 alljigs and 120 allflux machines for the wet separation of primary and secondary raw materials, with 120 of the former and 50 of the latter machines being used for ore processing. In addition, they are also used for the efficient processing of coal, slag, gravel, sand and various recycling materials.