Tag Archives: Dale Henderson

TOMRA Mining tech to be used for the world’s largest lithium sorting plant

TOMRA Mining says it is in the process of installing what will be the world’s largest lithium mineral ore sorting plant at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora project in Western Australia.

The installation has already started and is expected to reach completion in late 2023.

Pilbara Minerals says it owns the world’s largest, independent hard-rock lithium mine, producing a spodumene and tantalite concentrate. Through its P680 Expansion Project, the company has plans to step-up its production run-rate at the operation to a total of circa-680,000 t/y of spodumene concentrate. The sorting plant is part of this project.

Dale Henderson, Managing Director and CEO, Pilbara Minerals, said: “This new facility to be constructed at our Pilgangoora Project will be the world’s largest lithium mineral ore sorting plant. TOMRA’s experience in large global sorting installations, innovative technology and ability to provide local support were significant factors in our decision to work with them. From the start, the TOMRA team has been working side by side with us and our engineering partner DRA Global to deliver this important project.”

As part of this expansion project, Pilbara Minerals turned to TOMRA Mining for assistance to address the key industry challenge in the processing of spodumene feed ore contaminated with barren host rock.

TOMRA has 50 years’ experience in sensor-based sorting technologies and has designed and built 90% of the world’s large-scale mining sorting plants with a capacity above 300 t/h, it says. These include plants such as the Ma’aden Umm Wu’al project, which is operating at 1,850 t/h and the Lucara diamond operation which runs 15 sorters.

Specifically for the Pilbara Minerals project, TOMRA Mining highlighted that it offered effective ore sorting solutions with high sensor resolution and ejection accuracy that ensure high lithium recovery and waste removal with a stable and consistent performance at high capacity.

The TOMRA Mining team conducted a geological assessment of sample ores supplied by Pilbara Minerals. It revealed the pegmatite deposit did have non-lithium bearing host rock intrusions. Some of these minerals have a high density like that of spodumene, which means that it is also concentrated when using heavy media separation (HMS). This reduces the efficiency of the downstream flotation and contaminates the final product. Sensor-based sorting technologies, on the other hand, can measure the colour, density and mineralogical variations in individual particles, enabling the accurate detection and removal of this barren material, the company explained.

Working closely with the Pilbara Minerals metallurgical team, TOMRA conducted extensive test work at the TOMRA Test Center in Sydney, Australia, to check all the options and answer any questions arising during the tests.

The samples were run at capacity on production sorters and included repeatability and variation testing. The test work benchmarked the expected performance of the sorters and was used to establish the sort quality on each of the ore types that will be fed through the plant.

Primero Group, which was awarded the contract for construction of the project, has now started bulk earthworks for the sorting plant.

The TOMRA team was involved not only in the testing and supply of equipment, but also provided assistance with the plant layout and understanding of the implications of sorting on the upstream mining and downstream process of the ore. This involvement throughout the development process will add to efficient operational ramp-up and technical optimisation.

TOMRA’s capability to support the project with a dedicated Australia-based team and a global support structure has been a significant factor and is an important part of de-risking the installation of this new technology. The team is working closely with Pilbara Minerals through the installation process, commissioning and start-up, and will continue to provide on-site support once the sorting plant is up and running.

Pilbara Minerals and Calix commit to lithium calcination tech demo plant at Pilgangoora

Pilbara Minerals and Calix have executed a joint venture (JV) agreement for the development of a demonstration plant using Calix’s patented calcination technology at the Pilgangoora project in Western Australia.

The aim of the joint venture is to produce lithium salts via an innovative midstream “value added” refining process leveraging this calcination technology. It will also explore the potential commercialisation of the process.

The objective of the “Mid-Stream Demonstration Plant Project” is to deliver a superior value-added lithium product enabling lower product cost, reduced carbon energy intensity, and reduction of waste product logistics.

The unincorporated JV will be a 55:45 agreement in favour of Pilbara Minerals, with each party funding their share of operating and capital costs and Calix licensing its patented technology and calcination knowhow into the JV. Pilbara Minerals will manage the demo plant at Pilgangoora, overseeing both the construction and operational phases.

A successful demonstration of the calcination technology via this plant may then lead to its commercialisation with the JV licensing the technology to the global spodumene processing industry, Pilbara Minerals says.

It follows a previous agreement signed back in June.

The project aims to demonstrate a superior value-added lithium product to the existing industry supply chain, while also potentially delivering a significant reduction in carbon intensity, with potential industry benefits including:

  • Product cost – the flash calcination technology developed by Calix has the potential to treat very fine spodumene concentrate at lower lithia grades and materially improve overall lithia recovery, thereby enabling a lower cost per lithia unit;
  • Carbon intensity reduction – substantial carbon emission reduction through the electrification of the Mid-Stream process, including spodumene calcining, enabling the potential to use up to 100% renewable sourced power; and
  • Waste reduction/handing – rationalisation of the carbon footprint via reduced waste movement across transport and logistics supply chains from a more lithium-dense, and near zero-waste final product.

Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director and CEO, Dale Henderson, said: “The Mid-Stream project has the potential to be a game changer for our industry. If successful, we will be able to deliver a superior chemical intermediary product to market compared to spodumene concentrate.

“This intermediate product offers a higher concentration in lithium and less impurities whilst being produced through a new process that reduces CO2 emissions compared to the traditional process route for hard-rock spodumene chemical conversion.”

UMCC banks Mineral Technologies’ MD Spiral Separators at Irshansk

United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), in Ukraine, has recently commissioned eight banks of Mineral Technologies’ MD Spiral Separators (models MG6.3 and HG10i) as part of the refurbishment of its Irshansk mineral sands operation, the Australia-based company reports.

Business Development Manager, Dale Henderson, said Mineral Technologies had worked with UMCC for several years and during this time had developed a solid understanding of the unique requirements of the Ukrainian site.

“We were delighted to welcome UMCC leaders to our head office earlier this year to inspect our spiral production facilities and discuss future plans for the mine site,” he said.

As a follow-up to delivery of the spirals, Henderson and Craig Vadeikis, Principal Process Consultant, visited the Irshansk site in September this year to review the equipment installation and commissioning.

General Manager, Metallurgy, Equipment and Technology, Alex de Andrade, said that by developing a deep understanding of customer operations and process objectives Mineral Technologies is well placed to identify the best process, equipment selection and key know-how to assist project success.

de Andrade said: “We congratulate UMCC on achieving final commissioning for their new mineral sands plant. It has been a pleasure working with UMCC throughout this process and we look forward to assisting in future operations.”