SciDev has received a trial purchase order for its MaxiFlox chemistry from BHP’s Olympic Dam polymetallic mine, in South Australia, which will see the company transfer its waste processing expertise to the production side, Lewis Utting says.

Australia’s largest copper operation, Olympic Dam operates a fully integrated processing facility from ore to metal.

The SciDev trial, which includes an initial A$1 million ($717,526) purchase order for the MaxiFlox chemistry, reflecting about three months of consumption, is expected to start by the end of the year and last around six months. It will focus on the use of SciDev’s chemistries in the hydromet and concentrator sections of the processing plant, SciDev said.

SciDev’s South Australia-based staff will be on site to deliver the associated professional services.

SciDev Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Lewis Utting, said the order represented a significant opportunity for SciDev.

“The opportunity to transfer our chemistry and knowhow from the waste processing side directly to the production side of a mining operation reflects the potential for the company’s bespoke chemistries,” he said.

The Olympic Dam mine produced 171,600 t of copper cathode in the year to June 30, 2020, 7% higher than the same period a year earlier, alongside 145,972 oz of refined gold, 984,000 oz of silver and 3,678 t of uranium (all of which was from a concentrate).

MaxiFlox, meanwhile, is specifically designed for the treatment of wastewater across several industries, SciDev says. Products in the MaxiFlox range are supplied in both liquid and powder form across an extensive range of molecular weights and charge densities to solve industrial challenges.

The MaxiFlox chemistries are also being used in the tailings thickener at the Las Bambas copper mine, in Peru, following a trial purchase order from mine owner MMG.