Tag Archives: copper

thyssenkrupp and Northparkes collaborate on latest crushing innovation

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thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Australia says it recently signed a contract that will see the world’s first “double-mouth” jaw-gyratory crusher supplied to China Molybdenum majority-owned Northparkes underground copper-gold mine in New South Wales.

The new crusher has been developed in consultation with Northparkes to meet its specific operating objectives, according to thyssenkrupp.

The company explained: “This unique jaw-gyratory crusher is a modern machine based on the proven BK 63-75 design. thyssenkrupp has developed a new, patented, spider to give the opportunity to feed the crusher from both sides – the “double mouth” jaw configuration, thus removing the need for a primary crusher feed (buffer) hopper and primary apron feeder.”

This dramatically reduces excavation requirements in an underground operation like Northparkes leading to a sizeable reduction in installation cost, according to thyssenkrupp.

The delivery of this latest crushing innovation follows the recent release of the company’s Eccentric Roll Crusher, the modular Variopactor impact crusher and the KB 63-130 gyratory crusher, the company said.

Northparkes is one of the most modern underground block cave mines in the world, with the majority of its loading and haulage operations carried out autonomously. Mining started up at Northparkes in November 1993, with 80% owner China Molybdenum now processing around 6.4 Mt/y of ore of high-grade copper-gold concentrate, which is shipped to its clients overseas for smelting.

Northparkes was the first mine to use the standard indirect fed Jaw Gyratory crusher type BK 63-75 for its newly developed block caving mine concept, thyssenkrupp said, with this primary crusher design becoming the “state of the art solution for block caving mines”.

Ian Smith, Engineering Superintendent of the E26L1N Block Cave Mine project at Northparkes, said: “As a long-time owner, operator and maintainer of the thyssenkrupp jaw gyratory crushers for primary crushing underground, Northparkes is pleased to be installing its third BK 63-75 in the new E26L1N block cave mine underground crusher station.

“The first BK 63-75 crusher of its kind was commissioned underground at Northparkes in 2003 followed by a second installation in 2009. Northparkes has worked closely with thyssenkrupp over the years to develop and make improvements to these crushers and has developed great confidence in the reliability and robustness of the BK 63-75 crusher.”

Smith said the first two crushers installed are of a single mouth design with the latest crusher being a double mouth design that is “ideal for our direct tip underground crushing station dump pocket that negates the use of a large run of mine bin and primary feeder thus reducing the mass excavation underground”. He said the ability of this crusher to handle a very large feed size and a high reduction ratio has also negated the need for the use of a pre-screening grizzly.

He concluded: “Northparkes’ innovative culture is again highlighted as shown in their initiation and involvement in the development of the double mouth feed shell with thyssenkrupp with the aim that the performance of this crusher will not only meet but will exceed expectations.”

SGS Minerals on board with Glencore Technology’s Albion Process

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Glencore Technology and SGS Minerals have announced an agreement and certification that has seen SGS’s Lakefield site in Ontario, Canada, become the latest laboratory to be certified to conduct amenability level Albion Process™ testwork.

SGS, one of the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies, has become only the third certified provider of Albion Process testwork, joining Core Resources in Australia and TOMS Institute in Russia, Glencore Technology said.

“SGS is a highly trusted provider of laboratory testwork services and becomes a valuable supplier to Glencore Technology, expanding testwork capability throughout the Americas,” the company said. The lab successfully performed Albion Process testwork on a gold/pyrite concentrate and a copper/gold concentrate as part of this qualification.

The Albion Process is emerging as a competitive proposition in hydrometallurgy, using a combination of ultrafine grinding and oxidative leaching at atmospheric pressure to help extract base or precious metals. The process sees the sulphides in base of precious metal concentrate feeds oxidised and valuable metals liberated, with the economic metals recovered by conventional downstream processing, according to Glencore Technology.

The SGS testwork certification is important to both companies because the correct performance of the testwork is key to the successful full-scale implementation of the Albion Process on which performance guarantees are based, Glencore Technology explained.

“While the number of certified laboratories will expand in other key geographic areas, it will be kept to a relatively small number to maintain quality,” the company added.

Glencore Technology’s Mike Hourn, said: “We are delighted to see SGS Lakefield join the family of laboratories with the capability to perform Albion Process amenability testwork. They’re good at what they do and SGS represents a significant presence for us in the Americas and their network is highly valued by Glencore Technology.”

SGS Lakefield’s Niels Verbaan, said: “SGS is pleased to be accredited by Glencore Technology on Albion Process™ Testwork and looks forward to working with its clients to provide an objective opinion on the available process options.”

Independent analysis presented at the Extraction 2018 conference suggested the Albion Process has much lower capital cost than traditional leaching technologies like pressure oxidation (POx) plants (Clary et al, 2018). It also tolerates a more variable feed and lower grade to work where others may not, according to Glencore Technology. “It can therefore make some projects feasible and profitable where alternative technologies were unable to,” the company said, adding that there are six plants in operation globally treating refractory gold and copper concentrates.

The Lakefield site of SGS Minerals is its centre of excellence for metallurgical and mineralogical testing in the Americas, offering both laboratory and pilot plant services.

GIW MDX-750 keeps slurry moving at Panama copper mine

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GIW Industries says its recent success with a customer at a Panama copper mine bodes well for the future of copper mining in Central America and the pump manufacturer’s potential for business in this area and beyond.

The Panama copper mine customer needed to ensure continuous and efficient operation of its mine and, according to GIW, was looking for a dependable partner with experience in the market, a good track record in similar applications and excellent technical support.

Reliable parts supply was at the top of the priority list, GIW said, while it also needed a company that could help solve their system challenges and offer continuous improvements.

GIW said: “The customer was familiar with GIW’s success in Chile with the MDX-750 slurry pump and wanted to achieve the same performance.”

GIW supplied a customised MDX-750 pump – one of the world’s the largest mill pumps – featuring all the latest slurry handling technology, it said. In addition to GIW’s long-lasting wear materials, the company included technology to allow the company to monitor vibrations and check the temperature of the bearings.

The company added: “GIW design engineers converted our traditional imperial threads to metric, and all seal configurations have been customised to the customer’s specifications. In the future, the customer will have the capability to test the oil quality and assess parts’ wear life. They also have the ability to optimise their pump by adding GIW’s remotely adjusted mechanical suction liner (RAMSL) feature.”

The RAMSL function allows for efficient pump operation in aggressive wear applications, according to GIW.

Benefits of the MDX pump include increased output, reduced downtime and easier maintenance, the company says. This increased efficiency and a longer wear life results in a lower total cost of ownership.

This success is an example of GIW’s ability to provide reliable service around the world, it said, with GIW collaborating with its parent company’s (KSB) teams in Australia and Central America to coordinate the engineering and delivery of the pumps to site.

Cupric Canyon rewards Fluor with Khoemacau copper-silver EPCM contract

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Fluor says it has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract by Cupric Canyon Capital for its Khoemacau copper and silver project in northwest Botswana.

The company booked the undisclosed contract value in the June quarter of 2019, it said.

This announcement follows hot on the heels of the groundbreaking ceremony (pictured) at Khoemacau and Barminco being awarded a five-year underground mining contract at the 3.6 Mt/y Zone 5 mine.

Tony Morgan, President of Fluor’s Mining & Metals business, said the two companies previously worked together on the project’s front-end engineering and design phase to establish a “capital-efficient design and execution plan” for the project. This saw Fluor involved in construction management of the early works for the camp upgrade, bush clearing, transport corridor and surface infrastructure terrace preparation, he added.

Fluor’s EPCM scope includes upgrading the existing copper concentrator plant and new mine surface infrastructure, with the project expected to produce 62,000 t/y of copper and 1.9 Moz of silver with a life of mine in excess of 20 years.

Morgan said: “We will leverage our local capabilities and extensive copper experience to execute the Khoemacau project with excellence – safely, on time, on budget and with quality.”

Fluor has worked in Botswana since the early 2000s and opened an office in Gaborone in 2015. From Gaborone, it delivers safety, cost-competitive innovations and execution excellence to clients, it said.

AI lays groundwork for process control improvements at Boliden Aitik

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A series of tests at Boliden’s Systems Technology division has indicated that artificial intelligence (AI) could unlock further gains from its productivity efforts at the Aitik copper mine, in Sweden.

The company, which partnered up with ABB for these tests, conducted the AI studies to see if technology is available today that could make its concentrators “self-learning,” it said.

The trial took place during the autumn and took a closer look at how AI could be used by Boliden to optimise its concentration processes.

Aitik, meanwhile, is in the middle of an expansion plan that will see production increase from 36 Mt/y to 45 Mt/y of copper ore starting in 2020.

Development Engineer and Project Manager, Johannes Sikström, explained: “At Systems Technology, we develop dynamic simulations of our processes. These simulations can be used in the same way as a game where we define what is a win and what is a loss.

“In the case of self-learning algorithms – so-called deep learning or reinforcement learning – the challenge is the great quantity of data necessary for the algorithm to learn enough about the system for it to make effective decisions.

“This is why games are such a major area within AI research. Games are well suited to enable algorithms to train themselves, and what constitutes a successful result – a win – is also well defined,” he said.

The simulation models enable the company to re-create data equivalent to several decades in just a few hours, according to Boliden.

In its previous projects, Boliden primarily researched machine-learning techniques that analyse data without allowing the algorithm itself to influence it. The aim of the latest project was to allow the algorithm to self-learn instead.

Following initial studies into suitable tools together with Anders Hedlund from data analysis firm BI Nordic, the project led to a degree project in a collaboration involving ABB and Boliden. Max Åstrand from ABB was appointed Supervisor, with his colleague Mattias Hallén taking the lead.

Sikström said: “We directed our attention to the grinding process in Aitik, where we have a well-developed simulation model. We wanted to see if AI was able to do better than our existing control strategy.

“Mattias did a fantastic job setting up the architecture and getting the various environments to ‘play ball’ with each other. We were then able to test various algorithms and different goal functions.”

To begin, Boliden tested a “Q-learning algorithm” which had a goal of trying to control the mill’s load within a given range. After around 40 attempts, the algorithm taught itself to do just that, according to Boliden, acknowledging that it solved the task using a method that would not work in the real world.

In the next step, Boliden investigated the ability of the algorithm to optimise a “gain” instead of optimising a process variable. The goal function for the gain was created as a theoretical model using metal prices, grinding and throughput, for example.

Sikström said: “With this goal function, the AI algorithm succeeded in beating our PID (project initiation documentation) structure to produce a greater gain. So-called wall time was around 80 hours before AI had learned to run the process profitably, in this case equivalent to a plant operating time of more than 300 years.

“The study highlights the value of simulations, and the AI technology shows exciting development opportunities for Boliden’s future process control.”

While the test results were positive, with AI performing better than Boliden’s current control method, Sikström said further studies were necessary before the company considers approaching a viable production solution.

He concluded: “Several technical details need to be resolved, and it is important to use accurate simulation models and well-defined goal functions.

“Because an algorithm is only able to solve the problems formulated for it, process knowhow and experience are at least as important in this type of development as classic process control.”

Newmont Goldcorp weighing haul truck automation at Boddington

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Newmont Goldcorp President – and soon to be CEO – Tom Palmer, told investors on a conference call this week that the miner was looking into the feasibility of implementing autonomous haulage at the Boddington gold-copper mine, in Western Australia.

The mine produced 709,000 oz of gold for Newmont Goldcorp last year and is currently undergoing a stripping campaign in the South Pit in order to reach higher-grade ore.

Palmer said the company recently advanced its “autonomous haulage study” at the mine and there could be a funding decision made on this project before the end of 2019.

“If approved, the project is expected to improve cost and mining productivity, by converting the fleet of 39 haul trucks to autonomous operation, using the Cat command system,” Palmer said.

Schenck displays continental comminution offering with Peru copper contract

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Schenck Process has won a contract to design manufacture, supply and commission vibrating screens and feeders for the greenfield Mina Justa copper project, in Peru.

The order will see Schenck business units on four continents combine to deliver seven banana screens (across three models), five diverging pan feeders and one grizzly feeder.

Mina Justa, owned by Minsur and Empresas Copec through holding company Cumbres Andinas, is slated to produce around 100,000 t/y of copper when fully ramped up.

The screens and feeder contract will see all design completed at Schenck’s vibrating equipment design centre in Sydney, Australia, manufacture and testing in the company’s Chinese plant, custom-made screen panels from the South Africa production facility and commissioning by the aftermarket services team in Chile. The project is being managed and coordinated by the Australia-based Project Management team, Schenck said.

The screens include several mechanical and operational improvements developed on a prototype vibrating screen now undergoing site testing at an iron ore mine in Western Australia, according to the company.

“The five larger screens feature laminated side plates to maintain structural integrity and reduce stress concentrations associated with the projected process tonnages,” Schenck explained. “Additionally, machined transition flanges are welded in a low stress area to the cross beams to actively reduce fatigue, and a unique spring removal system has been fitted to facilitate and reduce downtime during spring change-outs.”

The six feeders have been designed to account for site conditions and feature a more robust design. They are also equipped with exchangeable liners and an upgraded transition hopper to improve operational availability and performance, the company said.

Each of the vibrating feeders and screens for Mina Justa is equipped with CONiQ, the company’s proprietary continuous six-dimension condition monitoring system, to track and alert operators to abnormal operating conditions. Feeder control systems have been electronically aligned with the screen’s installation, Schenck added.

Project manager, Lauren Williams, said: “This is a truly international project and, from our point of view, it is the best way to give our customer the equipment that will deliver higher process efficiency and longer service life.

“Although based on standardised platform designs for screens and feeders, each unit has been subject to a customising process to meet site and processing capacity requirements. We are delivering an integrated package of screens and feeders to optimise availability and productivity and represent the best value for money.”

Pacific Energy to power up Jaguar copper-zinc mine

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Pacific Energy’s wholly-owned KPS subsidiary has secured a new contract to supply electricity to Round Oak Minerals’ Jaguar copper-zinc mine, in Western Australia.

The Jaguar mine, around 250 km north of Kalgoorlie, was first brought into production in 2007, with, Round Oak, through CopperChem, purchasing the mine, including the existing power station, in 2018. The operations consist of underground mines and processing facilities producing copper and zinc concentrates for export.

Under the new contract, KPS will acquire the existing 12.9 MW power station (10.5 MW gas and 2.4 MW diesel) from Round Oak for a price of A$2.5 million ($1.7 million) and immediately assume responsibility for operation of the power station. Within five months of acquiring the power station, KPS intends to complete a range of optimisation and enhancement work to improve fuel efficiency to an agreed target range, optimise control systems and reach agreed KPI’s for station reliability, it said.

The contract is expected to commence following settlement in August and will run for an initial term of four years, with Round Oak having an option to extend for a further term.

James Cullen, Managing Director of the power generation specialist, said: “We are grateful for the confidence that Round Oak has placed in KPS to take over full responsibility for power supply to the Jaguar site. The key driver for Round Oak awarding the contract to KPS was to realise operating efficiencies and the KPS team looks forward to showcasing its knowhow in gas and diesel fuelled technology to deliver on this.”

Agua Rica-Alumbrera mine integration plan hits the right note in latest study

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A plan to incorporate infrastructure from Glencore, Newmont Goldcorp and Yamana Gold’s jointly owned Alumbrera copper-gold operation, in Argentina, into the Agua Rica copper-gold project looks like paying off after a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the project highlighted an increase in annual output over the mine’s first 10 years and lower operating costs.

The three companies, in March, signed a definitive integration plan, which contemplated the development and operation of the Agua Rica project using the infrastructure and facilities of Minera Alumbrera, which saw open-pit mining conclude in 2018. This pact, they said, would realise important synergies, lowering initial capital required, and reducing the environmental footprint. As part of the deal, Agua Rica would be jointly owned by the three parties, with Yamana owning 56.25%, Glencore holding 25% and Newmont Goldcorp holding the remaining 18.75%.

Yamana said: “The integration plan generates significant synergies and lowers execution risk by bringing together the extensive mineral resource of Agua Rica with the existing infrastructure of Alumbrera to create a unique, high quality, and low risk brownfield project that the parties believe will bring significant value to shareholders and local communities and stakeholders.

“This unique and innovative project will serve to position Catamarca as a focal point for development in northwestern Argentina.”

Based on mineral reserves updated as at June 30, 2019, the PFS estimates a mine life of 28 years with average annual production over the first 10 years of around 533 MIb (241,765 t) of copper equivalent, including 107,000 oz of gold and contributions of molybdenum and silver. Average cash costs over this period were estimated at $1.29/Ib, with all-in sustaining costs coming in at $1.52/Ib.

Yamana said the initial capital cost estimate of $2.4 billion realises “significant synergies from using the infrastructure and facilities of Alumbrera”, with the project expected to generate an after-tax NPV (8% discount rate) of $1.935 billion based on a copper price of $3.00/Ib.

Opportunities to further improve the economics will be evaluated in a value-seeking study, scheduled for this year, and the full feasibility study, expected by 2020, Yamana said.

The PFS assumes a throughput rate of 110,000 t/d with scenarios considering a higher throughput rate to be evaluated in the value-seeking study and subsequent full feasibility study.

“Preliminary evaluations have indicated the potential for significant upside to the project economics from increases to throughput with existing mineral reserves to 115,000 t/d, which would improve NPV to over $145 million and require only a marginal increase to initial capital,” the company said.

The PFS for the integrated project considers the Agua Rica deposit to be mined via a conventional high tonnage truck and shovel open-pit operation. Average life of mine material moved is expected to be approximately 108 Mt/y, with ore feed of 40 Mt/y and average life of mine strip ratio of 1.66.

Ore extracted from the mine will be transported from the open pit by truck to the primary crusher area and then transported via a conventional conveyor to the existing Alumbrera processing plant. To route the overland conveyor system, approximately 5.2 km of tunnel development will be required. The conveyor extends 35 km to the Alumbrera process plant, where it will feed the existing stacker conveyor via a new transfer station.

Relatively modest modifications to the circuit are needed to process the Agua Rica ore in order to produce copper and by-products concentrate, according to Yamana, which will then be transported to the port for commercialisation. An in-situ blending strategy has been defined to manage the concentrate quality over certain years of the mine life, which will allow the project to achieve the desired targets, the company explained.

The high quality and well-preserved existing infrastructure of Alumbrera is fully used in the planned integration, Yamana said. Tailings storage facility, power supply, water supply, ancillary buildings, and logistical installations, among other infrastructure, are all included. “This significantly reduces the environmental footprint of the project,” Yamana said.

Given the level of progress achieved in the PFS, the parties have begun the process to prepare the Environmental Impact Assessment for the integrated project, as well as continuing engagement with local stakeholders and local communities, Yamana said.

Twin Metals looks to avoid tailings dam concerns with dry stacking plan

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The developer of the Twin Metals project, in the Iron Range region of northeast Minnesota, USA, has announced plans to use dry stacked tailings at the underground copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, gold and silver asset as the company looks to eliminate the perceived risk of a dam leakage or failure.

Twin Metals Minnesota (TMM), a company owned by Antofagasta, said the dry stack method eliminates the storage pond and dam associated with conventional tailings facilities and has been successfully used in four mines in the northern US and Canada with similar climates to Minnesota.

In 2018, an update of the prefeasibility study for Twin Metals outlined a 18,000 t/d ore project, producing an average of 42,000 t/y of copper, plus nickel and platinum group metals as by-products, the equivalent of some 65,000 t/y of copper.

TMM, like many other potential mine developers, said community concerns about copper-nickel mines have focused on fears of tailings dam failure or leaks that could threaten both nearby surface water and groundwater. This comes after several high profile dam failures in North and South America.

If all goes to plan, the company will use the dry stack method to store the leftover rock from its proposed underground mine on a lined ground facility near the plant site. This will allow reclamation of the tailing site to occur in stages, with the site capped or covered with natural vegetation.

Kelly Osborne, Chief Executive Officer of Twin Metals Minnesota, said: “Dry stack tailing storage is the most environmentally friendly tailings management approach for our site. The first key is that there’s no dam, no risk of dam failure. The moisture content of the filtered tailings is reduced to a material that we can compact and manage seasonally.

“Because there’s no risk of a dam failure, dry stack is considered the best available technology for tailings storage and, after a decade of study and consultation with concerned voices in our community, we determined that it will be an effective choice for our project.”

Equally important, TMM said, is the fact that the tailings from the Maturi deposit at Twin Metals will be non-acid-generating.

“The common concern about sulphides points to a basic misconception about our project,” Osborne said. “The geology of the Maturi deposit provides us with confidence that we can mine here safely and sustainably. The rock sandwiching the layer of copper, nickel and platinum group minerals in the deposit is almost completely free of sulphides. When the targeted minerals are removed during the concentration process and shipped to customers, only a minute amount of sulphides will remain in the tailings.”

Extensive testing over the past decade shows that Maturi deposit tailings will be non-acid-generating, the company clarified.

Dry stack tailings storage has been an option under consideration since Twin Metals began mine planning in 2010, the company said. “As technology has continued to advance, and the application of dry stack in cold, wet climates has proven successful at multiple locations, Twin Metals made the decision to move to it as the best available option,” TMM said, adding that The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy hailed the advantages of dry stack tailings in a statement earlier this year.

Osborne concluded: “Dry stack is one of the ways we are making a 21st century mine that will be the most technologically advanced mine in Minnesota’s history and a model of how copper mining can be done safely and sustainably.”

The approach will be outlined in detail in TMM’s Mine Plan of Operation, to be submitted to state and federal regulators in the coming months. Regulatory review, including hearings for public comment, will cover compliance with regulations to protect water and air quality, drinking water, wetlands, endangered species, plant life and cultural resources. While the MPO is being reviewed the company will advance the feasibility study.

After reaffirming Twin Metal’s right to renew its two federal mineral leases, the Department of Interior reinstated the leases to TMM in May 2018. Antofagasta expects these to be renewed during 2019.