Tag Archives: Crushing

Rio Tinto and Baowu to invest $2 billion in Western Range iron ore development

Bulk handling, Comminution of minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rio Tinto and China Baowu Steel Group Co. Ltd have agreed to enter into a joint venture with respect to the Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara, Western Australia, investing $2 billion to develop the mine.

Western Range’s annual production capacity of 25 Mt of iron ore will help sustain production of the Pilbara Blend from Rio Tinto’s existing Paraburdoo mining hub. The project includes construction of a primary crusher and an 18 km conveyor system linking it to the existing Paraburdoo processing plant.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2023 with first production anticipated in 2025. The construction phase will support approximately 1,600 jobs with the mine requiring about 800 ongoing operational roles, which are expected to be filled by existing workers transitioning from other sites in the Paraburdoo mining hub.

Rio Tinto’s share of the capital costs are already included in the group’s capital expenditure guidance of around $9-10 billion for each of 2023 and 2024. Both parties will pay their portion of capital costs for the development of the mine, and mine operating costs, plus a nominal ongoing resource contribution fee calculated by reference to Western Range production volumes. There is no upfront consideration being paid by either party.

Rio Tinto and Baowu, which own 54% and 46%, respectively, of the joint venture, have also agreed to enter into an iron ore sales agreement at market prices covering a total of up to 126.5 Mt of iron ore over approximately 13 years. This volume represents Baowu’s 46% interest in the anticipated 275 Mt of production from Western Range through the joint venture.

Rio Tinto has a long history of successfully partnering and investing with customers to develop new mines in the Pilbara. Rio Tinto and Baowu’s partnership in the Pilbara dates back to the 2002 Bao-HI joint venture to develop the Eastern Range deposits in the Hamersley Ranges (Eastern Range) and Western Range, subject to a production cap of 200 Mt. It is now expected the production cap will be sourced entirely from Eastern Range, and this transaction will continue Rio Tinto’s relationship with Baowu through development of Western Range.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Simon Trott, said: “This is a very significant milestone for both Rio Tinto and Baowu, our largest customer globally. We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Baowu for more than four decades, shipping more than 200 Mt of iron ore under our original joint venture, and we are looking forward to extending our partnership at Western Range.

“The development of Western Range represents the commencement of the next significant phase of investment in our iron ore business, helping underpin future production of the Pilbara Blend, the market benchmark.

“At the same time, Rio Tinto and Baowu continue to work together on low-carbon steelmaking research, exploring new methods to reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental performance across the steel value chain.”

Baowu Resources Chairman, Shi Bing, said: “The signing of the joint venture agreement for the Western Range project is a significant event in the history of cooperation between Baowu and Rio Tinto. We fully appreciate the persistent efforts of both teams in accomplishing the important achievement. The Bao-HI joint venture has been successfully operating for more than 20 years, leading us to a win-win result, and reaping friendship and trust.

“We hope that the two parties will deepen the mutually beneficial and win-win partnership, continue to carry forward the spirit of sincere cooperation and further expand cooperation in more fields and aspects on the basis of working together to operate the project well.”

Rio Tinto has worked closely with the Traditional Owners on whose country Western Range is situated, the Yinhawangka People, to co-design a Social and Cultural Heritage Management Plan for the project, designed to protect signiticant cultural and heritage values in the area.

The plan, which was agreed with Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation and announced earlier this year, outlines protocols for joint decision-making on environmental matters and mine planning.

Rio Tinto’s Paraburdoo hub is comprised of three operating mines, Paraburdoo, Channar and Eastern Range. Western Range contains two deposits, 36W–50W and 55W–66W, which are located within the Hamersley Basin of Western Australia. The deposits’ mineralisation is primarily hosted by the Brockman Iron Formation with additional detrital mineralisation present. The 36W–50W and 55W-66W deposits contain a measured resource of 22 Mt at 59.1% Fe, indicated resource of 102 Mt at 61.5% Fe and an inferred resource of 108 Mt at 61.4% Fe. The 36W–50W deposit contains a proven reserve of 109 Mt at 62.1% Fe and a probable reserve of 56 Mt at 61.7% Fe.

FLSmidth to highlight full flowsheet expertise with ShalkiyaZinc project delivery

Automation, Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FLSmidth has signed a contract, valued at around DKK950 million ($130 million), to supply a range of mineral processing equipment to ShalkiyaZinc, the operator of a zinc-lead mine in the Kyzylorda Region of Kazakhstan.

The equipment will transform the plant into a world-class facility that efficiently separates minerals with a minimised environmental impact, the OEM says.

Under the agreement, FLSmidth will supply two underground crushing stations with a materials handling system to the process plant; a full package of comminution and separation equipment, including SAG and ball mills, mill circuit pumps and cyclones; the zinc-lead concentrate flotation and regrinding circuit, including nextSTEP, VXP vertical mills, concentrate thickeners and Pneumapress filters; and reagents preparation and dosing area. Full plant automation is also included, as well as installation and commissioning supervision services.

The new concentrator will be supported from FLSmidth’s new in-country service Supercentre in Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

The equipment delivery is to be completed during 2024, with commissioning to start before the end of that year.

Mikko Keto, Group CEO at FLSmidth, said: “We are excited to receive this first order from ShalkiyaZinc, which highlights our full flowsheet expertise. The wide range of equipment included in the order will help ShalkiyaZinc save on both capital expenditure and operating expenditure; our new nextSTEP flotation technology will improve the quality of the concentrates, the SAG mill will provide more flexibility, while the automation and digital solutions will further enable water and energy savings alongside safer operations.

“We look forward to making this a success on so many levels.”

Assel Rakhimova, Chief Project Director of Tau-Ken Samruk, which owns ShalkiyaZinc, said: “After testing and basic design work executed by FLSmidth, we are pleased to enter this new phase of collaboration with the procurement of critical technologies to improve the productivity and sustainability of our plant. We believe in successful execution and look forward to receiving the ordered equipment according to the schedule for installation and to continue working with FLSmidth on commissioning services and spare parts.”

CMIC’s CanMicro technology wins top prize in Crush It! Challenge

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The Canada Mining Innovation Council’s cleantech solution, CanMicro, has been named as the grand prize winner of the Crush It! Challenge, being awarded a C$5 million ($3.9 million) grant to further develop the solution.

CanMicro combines microwave-assisted comminution and multi-sensor ore sorting technology to selectively break particles and sort waste from desired minerals, reducing crushing and grinding requirements. CMIC says the CanMicro technology can provide over 35% energy savings across several commodities.

The Crush It! Challenge was announced in October 2018 by Natural Resources Canada (NRC) with the aim to realise an innovative breakthrough in the mining industry’s most energy-intensive and inefficient processes: crushing and grinding.

The primary objectives of the challenge are to fight climate change by creating innovative technologies that reduce energy consumption and pollution, increase competitiveness by developing world-leading clean technologies, and transform the mining cycle to establish a new “future in mining”.

Semi-finalists (up to 12) received C$10,000 to help them pitch their ideas to the Challenge Jury, with up to six finalists being granted up to C$860,000 to build and test their clean technologies. The winner and innovator demonstrating the most superior energy breakthrough to crush and grind rocks was awarded a C$5 million prize to fully develop and roll out their solution.

The grand prize winner of the Crush it! Challenge was selected through a competitive and rigorous process designed and delivered by NRC.

Crush It! is one of six initial clean technology challenges led by NRC under the Impact Canada Initiative – a government-wide approach to introduce innovative approaches to help solve Canada’s biggest economic, environmental and social challenges. NRCan invested C$75 million in its cleantech challenges: Crush It! Challenge, Charging the Future Challenge, Indigenous Off-diesel Initiative, Power Forward Challenge, Women in Cleantech Challenge and The Sky’s the Limit Challenge.

CanMicro is the only technology to combine microwave-assisted comminution and sorting, according to CMIC. The treatment selectively heats value minerals, resulting in micro-fractures along grain boundaries that help reduce ore competency and increase mineral liberation after grinding. It also generates a thermal signature that can be used to sort ore particles so that only those containing value minerals are subjected to fine grinding.

Aside from the potential energy savings, which the team – made up of CMIC (Project Administrator), Dr Erin Bobicki (Technical Lead), Sepro Mineral Systems (Project Participants), Glencore Canada (Project Participants), COREM (Project Participants) and Queens University (Subject Matter Experts) – believe could be up to 70%, this has significant environmental implications for tailings.

Gold Fields Agnew to decarbonise crushing operations with new Sandvik solution

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Gold Fields’ Agnew mine in Western Australia is continuing to innovate, with its latest technology development involving the installation of a new modular Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions crushing system that can align with its day-time solar generation capabilities on site.

The operation has recently completed one of the biggest hybrid renewable projects in the mining sector – one that includes solar, wind, battery storage and a backup gas turbine (the Agnew Hybrid Renewable Power Station). This project has put the mine on track to source some 60% of its overall energy needs from renewables.

At the same time as this, Agnew is also testing out battery-electric equipment to further decarbonise its operations, which consist of two underground mines (Waroonga and New Holland) amalgamated into the Agnew One Mine Complex.

The innovative integrated thinking has gone further than this, with a planned plant throughput increase looking to leverage as much renewable energy as possible.

In this latest project, the mine has invested A$35 million ($25 million) in the construction of a new modular crusher. The latest milestone has seen all the concrete in the construction of the project poured, with the southern run-of-mine (ROM) access ramp completed and the final stage of backfilling of the ROM wall having commenced.

The construction team are 60% of the way through erecting the crusher structure and all key crusher components – crushers, screens, feeders, magnets and metal detectors – are on site.

IM put some questions to the Agnew Technical Team to find out more about this project.

IM: Are you able to share what type of crusher the new installation is? Could you also mention what crusher model it is replacing?

ATT: We opted for a Sandvik solution (modular plant solution and automation-ready). There were several reasons for going with Sandvik and deciding on a modular-style plant. This choice has now proven beneficial two years down the track with the challenges we have seen obtaining steel and fabrication services around the globe during COVID. We began early design work with Sandvik back in June 2020, however, we also worked through various other design and equipment options with other key crushing and screening suppliers on the market.

Gold Fields were involved in the design of the circuit as the configuration needed to accommodate for potential production increases in the future, whilst also efficiently crushing the current throughput rates.

The Gold Fields project team managed the electrical design through a third-party electrical engineering company. The automation and control philosophy has been undertaken in-house by the Gold Fields Process Control team. This has been a good opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge we are now building in that space. The project has been executed by the Agnew project team with an external engineering firm.

We are installing a CJ412 primary jaw crusher, two 840i cone crushers (secondary and tertiary), a double-deck product screen and several bits of auxiliary equipment such as magnets, weightometers and a rock breaker above the jaw crusher. The process design criteria was 1.7 Mt per annum with a P80 of 6 mm. The circuit replaces a JW42 jaw crusher, three 1350Z cone crushers (one secondary and two tertiaries) and two product screens.

IM: On top of the reduction in conveyor belts (the old crusher comprised of 16 conveyor belts; the new crusher circuit has six), what other benefits is the team expecting to receive with installation of the new crusher?

ATT: The new circuit will be simpler and more efficient to operate with less equipment, as well as being more modern. There are less transfer points and wear areas, which will reduce the maintenance costs associated with running the current crushing circuit.

In addition, the design and automation of the new circuit will mean the crusher is operated remotely from the main control room, removing the need for a second process operator to be situated in a standalone control room. The three Sandvik crushers have a larger capacity and slightly higher power draw, but they will produce a finer product size more efficiently based on being the latest technology on the market. This will have a positive impact upstream in the processing plant once the ore reaches the grinding circuit.

The design has included the ability to monitor the power draw of each section of the circuit, which will be fed from the Agnew Hybrid Renewable Power Station. Having the ability to crush at a higher throughput rate will also mean being able to operate the crusher more during daylight hours by taking advantage of the solar-generated power. Last year, 56% of the power Agnew draw came from renewables.

IM: When does the team plan to have the new crusher in place and commissioned?

ATT: Commissioning is scheduled for mid-August.

Metso Outotec and Malvern Panalytical to collaborate on bulk ore sorting projects

Bulk handling, Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec and Malvern Panalytical have signed a collaboration agreement to, the OEM says, provide sensor-based bulk ore sorting solutions to the mining industry.

The combination of the companies’ expertise in crushing and bulk material handling solutions, and ore analysers enables the parties to offer an industry-leading portfolio of solutions for bulk ore sorting, Metso Outotec said.

“With this offering, mining customers can substantially improve the head grade by pre-concentrating the ore at the crushing stage and, thereby, reduce their energy consumption and related environmental footprint in the comminution stage,” Metso Outotec said.

The agreemeent will see Metso Outotec’s crushing and bulk material handing solutions integrated with Malvern Panalytical’s cross-belt analysers. The latest generation of cross-belt analysers, CNA³, has been designed for tough environments such as underground mines, and features the Sodern neutron solution, which is powered by Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation (PFTNA) technology. The technology has been used by Anglo American, among others.

Rashmi Kasat, Vice President, Digital technologies at Metso Outotec, said: “Sustainability is a top priority for our entire industry. Collaboration with partners like Malvern Panalytical will allow us to meet the industry’s increasing sustainability and resource efficiency needs in an enhanced way in the early comminution stage. Sensor-based bulk ore sorting and data-driven analysis upgrades low grade or waste stockpiles making them economical and far less energy-intensive to treat.”

Jarmo Lohilahti, Sales Manager at Malvern Panalytical, said: “Malvern Panalytical’s cross-belt analysers provide high-frequency online data for cost-efficient bulk material analysis of major commodities. This collaboration enables customers to benefit from the in-depth know-how from both companies.”

Renato Verdejo, Business Development Lead for Bulk Ore Sorting at Metso Outotec, concluded: “Bulk ore sorting allows waste rock elimination early in the process and, when combined with Metso Outotec’s complementary crushing and bulk material handing solutions portfolio, it provides more sustainable flowsheets for our customers. Enhanced bulk ore sorting will contribute to Metso Outotec’s Planet Positive portfolio.”

On the particle sorting side of the business, Metso Outotec and TOMRA have a non-exclusive cooperation in place to supply particle ore sorting solutions for the mining and metallurgical industries.

Core Lithium enlists CSI for crushing services at Finniss

Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

Core Lithium says it has executed a crushing services contract with CSI Mining Services (CSI), a subsidiary of Mineral Resources Ltd, for the Finniss lithium project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Run of mine ore will be stockpiled prior to feeding into the CSI crusher circuit, after which crushed ore will be stockpiled before being processed by the dense media separation (DMS) plant to make spodumene concentrate for export.

The crusher civil works are nearing completion with CSI expected to start mobilising to the project during June 2022, the company said.

Core Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, said: “The award of the crushing contract is another significant step in the development of the Finniss lithium project. Core staff have done a great job getting the site ready for CSI to start work next month.”

In mid-2021, Core released a definitive feasibility study for the Finniss project, marking a major milestone in its goal to become Australia’s next major lithium producer by the end of 2022.

The study highlighted an average production of 173,000 t/y of high-quality lithium concentrate at a C1 operating cost of $364/t and a start-up capital cost of A$89 million ($63 million) thanks to the incorporation of a 1 Mt/y DMS processing plant in the project’s design.

Orica to further optimise blasting and mine-to-mill initiatives with FRAGTrack Crusher

Comminution of minerals, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Orica has announced the release of its latest fragmentation monitoring solution, FRAGTrack™ Crusher, an automated pre-crusher fragmentation measurement tool delivering, it says, operational continuity in a safe and reliable way.

Based on the success of the existing suite of automated post-blast fragmentation monitoring solutions, Orica has developed FRAGTrack Crusher to meet growing demand from customers for downstream monitoring and optimisation solutions at every stage of the mining value chain, the company said. The technology leverages the latest deep neural network artificial intelligence (AI) framework along with “industry-proven” hybrid 2D and 3D particle size distribution (PSD) processing methods to deliver a fully autonomous adaptive fragmentation monitoring solution at the crusher dump pocket, enabling customers to measure material on the truck during the tipping operations, according to the company.

The company said: “FRAGTrack Crusher provides truck-by-truck PSD analysis of rock fragments during the dumping operation with unmatched accuracy and without impacting operations or productivity.”

The technology delivers constant performance tracking for both the drill and blast operations and the downstream processing functions, driving continuous improvements end-to-end in the mining value chain. When bundled with Orica’s FRAGTrack Conveyor technology in a fragmentation monitoring solution, it enables further analysis of the crusher’s performance and the impact of blasting parameters in a production workflow in real time, according to Orica.

Orica Vice President – Digital Solutions, Raj Mathiravedu, said: “The full adoption of AI technology into our architecture, coupled with our strategic partnership with Microsoft, allows us to expedite the delivery of capabilities that were not previously possible, and FRAGTrack Crusher is an example of how we leverage AI to help deliver intelligence and value to our customers.”

PSD data is provided via a real-time application programming interface and industrial open platform communication unified architecture protocol to drill and blast software and crusher distributed control systems, allowing seamless integration into the existing site operation workflows, Orica says.

FRAGTrack Crusher has already been gaining traction globally in the mining and quarry markets, where it is being used as a critical enabler of blasting optimisation and mine-to-mill initiatives, according to the company. “This signals a significant transformation from the subjective nature of existing manual PSD analysis methods while eliminating the safety concerns of on-bench photography and the extensive time required to manually process and correlate to relevant data sets, including fleet management data to determine the material’s blast of origin.”

In the most recent application of FRAGTrack Crusher in a Tier One low-cost gold operation in Western Australia, it successfully delivered an automated blasting optimisation workflow on site leveraging PSD as a primary key performance indicator to throughput and overall mill performance. The project included installation of a FRAGTrack Conveyor system, post crusher, allowing pre- and post-crusher PSD to be monitored. When combined with a fragmentation improvement process, the FRAGTrack solution enabled a continuous feedback loop that enabled the operation to rapidly optimise blast designs that drive overall project profitability, according to Orica.

Weba Chute Systems solves choking problem at Botswana diamond mine

Comminution of minerals, Diamond mining, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

Weba Chute Systems has come to the rescue of a large Botswana diamond producer suffering from continuous chute maintenance with a customised solution that came with a 12-month guarantee.

This primary crusher discharge chute had been a headache for the company, with the crunch coming when, after considerable capital expenditure, the new conventional chute needed maintenance just six weeks after installation.

Hilton Buys, Regional Manager at Weba Chute Systems, said: “This could not continue and the mine needed a long-term solution which is why we believe they came to us for a proposal. Senior experts from our company visited the site to take a careful look at the conditions the chute needed to deal with, and we took our conclusions back to our design office.”

Among the challenges were large lump sizes in the ore stream, contributing to build-up of material in the chute and regular choking, Buys said. Also, while Botswana’s dry season is long, the rain that does fall causes considerable problems to the flow dynamics. The kimberlite on the mine – depending on which part of the pit it comes from – can become very sticky in wet weather, according to the company.

“We therefore had to pay particular attention to flow angles, and the design had to effectively accommodate both wet and dry conditions,” Buys said. The concept design – which included quick-release lips on dead boxes – was approved by the mine and the final design, manufacture and successful installation was conducted.

Adding to the complexity was that the feed end of the primary crusher was some 8 m below ground level, while the crusher itself stood about 10 m tall. The chute had to be positioned below the rock box, which stores the material from the crusher discharge, channelling the stream into the Weba chute at a transfer height of 9 m to the conveyor belt.

“The conventional chute also created excessive dust through uncontrolled rock velocity over this considerable transfer height,” Buys said. “By contrast, our chute’s controlled flow meant that the mine did not even have to apply its dust suppression system.”

After installation, Weba Chute Systems gave the customer a 12-month guarantee on this chute, as it does with all its new chutes. This guarantee, which comes with regular inspection reports, assures the customer that the performance will meet their expectations.

“These inspections allow us to monitor wear, so we can advise the customer on what action is required so that they can schedule maintenance and avoid unexpected downtime,” Buys said.

Installed in 2017, the chute is still operating with little maintenance, having been delivered at a highly competitive price compared to the one it replaced.

“Designing a long-lasting chute is not just about creating a box with some reinforcing where you think there will be wear,” Buys said. “It is an endeavour that must be scientific, based on in-depth analysis of material and flow conditions.”

Buys highlighted the importance of asking a range of technical questions about the specific application so the design answers those needs. The latest software and modelling tools are then applied by the Weba Chute Systems team to guide the most effective design.

CSI to deploy ‘innovative’ screening solution at Roy Hill iron ore operations

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

CSI Mining Services (CSI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited (MRL), has been awarded a mining services contract by Roy Hill at its iron ore operation in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

This new contract builds on CSI’s long-standing relationship with Roy Hill, which has seen CSI provide crushing and screening works since early project inception. The new contract will see CSI deliver an expanded scope of work which includes crushing, screening and haulage services.

CSI says it is uniquely positioned as a key service provider to Roy Hill given its strong track record of exceeding performance targets and detailed understanding of the mine and its operational processes and procedures.

In delivering the new contract CSI will deploy an innovative new screening solution to deliver industry-leading efficiencies to the project. The screening solution is an exclusive product to CSI and is not available on the market, giving CSI a distinct design advantage.

Mineral Resources’ Chief Executive Mining Services, Mike Grey, said: “We are very pleased to be selected as preferred mining contractor by Roy Hill to provide safe and efficient crushing, screening and haulage services, following the successful completion of our previous contract.

“Our track record at the operation demonstrates that we can mobilise quickly and exceed production targets, while maintaining an industry leading safety record.

“Our mining services business has delivered strong growth year-on-year and this new contract for Roy Hill reinforces CSI’s position as a market leading mining services contractor.”

Roy Hill Chief Operating Officer, Anthony Kirke, said: “CSI has been a valued partner to Roy Hill since February 2017, initially providing crushing services, followed by the addition of screening and associated haulage services for our Direct Shipped Ore. CSI’s agility in responding to changing operational requirements, commitment to innovation and continuous improvement and alignment with our values have resulted in positive outcomes for Roy Hill.

“The award of this new and expanded multi-year contract reflects the strong relationship between our two companies and we look forward to the deployment of CSI’s new screening solution at our mine site.”

Metso Outotec expands India facility on track-mounted crushing/screening equipment demand

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Metso Outotec is to invest in extending its current manufacturing capacity of mobile track-mounted crushing and screening equipment in Alwar, India.

The total Alwar production value is planned to grow by 30% from the current level and global track-mounted mobile machine capacity by 15%, the OEM said. Construction of the new factory facilities is planned to start in early 2022, and be completed by the end of the year.

The increased capacity in India will be used for the manufacturing of McCloskey mobile and Lokotrack equipment, employing approximately 200 additional people. After the extension is completed, the Alwar factory will be one of the biggest manufacturing sites of Metso Outotec, employing some 800 people, the company said.

“This is another step in developing our domestic and export business in India,” Markku Simula, President of the Aggregates business area of Metso Outotec, said. “At the same time, we are also investing significantly in engineering and R&D resources in Alwar and making it one of our global engineering hubs.”