In the context of the implementation of its ‘Infrastructure development and productive capacity improvement’ project, the goal of which is to see the mining operation through the next 20 years via works such as the construction of a desalination plant and associated pumping system, a fifth mill and new facilities to increase mineral recovery, Chilean copper mine operator Compania Minera Dona Ines de Collahuasi (Anglo American 44%/Glencore 44%/Mitsui via Japan Collahuasi Resources 12%) recently closed the tender process for new assets for the new concentration plant at the Cordillera site.
As part of this, at the end of March 2023, Finnish company Metso Outotec was awarded the contract for six new flotation cells, set to be in operation as of the fourth quarter of 2024, which Collahuasi says will help it maintain recovery levels, given the increased ore throughput that will result from the commissioning of the new mill, which is currently under construction. Metso Outotec told IM that these are TankCell® e300 cells with FloatForce mixing technology, which are well proven and efficient in this type of application, and are part of its Planet Positive portfolio.
Collahuasi said that the technology offered by Metso Outotec showed advantages such as a positive performance in copper recovery from smaller particles, as well as a solid post-sale strategy and spare parts availability. For Collahuasi’s Executive Vice-President of Operations, Dalibor Dragicevic, the award of this contract is “a great advancement in the search for strategic partners that are committed to supporting our growth, giving greater stability to our plant processes through the implementation of technology we have known and have operated for years, but which has been updated with better services.”
In turn, Eduardo Nilo, President of Metso Outotec South America, said: “There are various noteworthy projects we have successfully completed with Collahuasi, such as the enhancement and upgrade of the ML-1012 ball grinding mill or the improvement of the mine’s VPA filter availability through a technological upgrade that increased it significantly. We want to look at future challenges together with our clients. We really like this cells project that seeks maximum efficiency and we want to continue working with Collahuasi in other challenges with a focus on recycling and circularity.”
The new cells are also characterised by low energy consumption, which contributes to a decrease in greenhouse gases and the reduced use of auxiliary equipment in their operation, as well as a higher metallurgical performance with lower maintenance costs.