Tag Archives: manganese

Assmang orders battery-electric mining equipment for Black Rock manganese mine

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Epiroc says a large fleet of battery-electric mining equipment will be deployed at Assmang Proprietary Ltd’s Black Rock underground manganese mine in the Northern Cape of South Africa after the two companies signed an agreement.

Assmang has ordered several of Epiroc’s battery loaders and mine trucks – the Scooptram ST14 Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery, respectively – for the deployment. The order was booked in the March quarter of 2022 and is valued at SEK120 million ($12.5 million).

The order extends Assmang’s and Epiroc’s collaboration to use state-of-the-art solutions for optimised operations at the mine, Epiroc said. Assmang has previously ordered the same type of battery-electric machines for this mine, and, in 2019,  selected Epiroc’s Mobilaris Mining Intelligence digital solution, which provides superior situational awareness of the mining operation in real-time

“Epiroc is proud to support Assmang on its journey toward lower emissions through the use of our cutting-edge battery-electric machines, while also prioritising productivity and safety,” Helena Hedblom, Epiroc’s President and CEO, said.

The Scooptram ST14 Battery and Minetruck MT42 Battery machines, manufactured in Örebro, Sweden, are built to face the toughest conditions and are packed with intelligent features, according to Epiroc. They will be equipped with a Collision Avoidance System as well as with the telematics system, Certiq, which allows for automated monitoring of productivity and machine performance.

Metso Outotec to supply VSFX tech for Li-Cycle battery recycling plant

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Metso Outotec says it has signed an agreement with Li-Cycle North America Hub Inc for the supply of manganese, cobalt, and nickel solvent extraction technology for a battery recycling plant to be built in Rochester, New York in the US.

The contract value, which is not disclosed, has been booked in the Metals December quarter 2021 orders received.

The Metso Outotec delivery includes three modular VSF®X solvent extraction plants and related Dual Media Filters, and basic engineering.

Jari Ålgars, President of the Metals business area at Metso Outotec, said: “We are looking forward to working with Li-Cycle on this battery recycling project. The energy-efficient, modular VSFX solvent extraction plant, which is part of our Planet Positive product range, reduces emissions and is safe to operate. The Li-Cycle project will be an important new reference for Metso Outotec in the battery recycling business.”

Crushing and washing plant inaugurated at Tata’s Khondbond iron and manganese mine

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Tata Steel’s Ores, Mines & Quarries (OMQ) Division has opened an 8 Mt/y crushing and washing plant at its Khondbond Iron and Manganese Mine (KIMM) near Joda in the Keonjhar district of Odisha, India.

The facility was inaugurated today by T V Narendran, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel, in the presence of D B Sundara Ramam, Vice President (Raw Materials), Tata Steel; Avneesh Gupta, Vice President (TQM and Engineering & Projects), Tata Steel; Atul Kumar Bhatnagar, General Manager (OMQ Division), Tata Steel; Mukesh Ranjan, Chief Projects OMQ Division, Tata Steel; Pervez Akhtar, Chief Projects Raw Materials, Tata Steel; and other senior officials and vendor partners of the company.

Speaking on the occasion, Narendran emphasised the need to focus more on resource efficiency, productivity and technology with the requirement of raw materials growing in line with the growth of the company. He congratulated the OMQ Division and the engineering and projects team for achieving this great milestone.

The iron ore processing plant will cater to the rapidly growing raw material requirements of Tata Steel and will provide raw material security. In line with the company’s core objective of building sustainable mining and manufacturing processes, the facility incorporates the latest technology for ore processing, enabling efficient resource usage and reduced wastage.

The plant design includes three stage crushing and screening. To reduce the inherent alumina from the ore, two rotary drum scrubbers have been installed, which can reduce the alumina of the incoming ore, thereby improving the ore quality.

The slurry from the scrubbing screens is processed through hydrocyclone clusters, maximising ore recovery and reducing wastage, the company said. The overflow from the hydrocyclone is fed to a high rate settling thickener which facilitates recovery of process water from the slime. To further minimise water use, the water recovered from the thickener is recycled back into the plant for recirculation, minimising the requirement of makeup water for plant operation.

An in-plant rainwater harvesting reservoir has also been created to store and reuse the rainwater runoff from the hill slopes for dust suppression, plant operations and ground water charging in and around Khondbond. A paste thickener facility is also being set up within the premises for further improving the recovery of water. The plant is equipped with a dry fog dust suppression system and water sprinklers for controlling fugitive dust emissions within the product stockpiles.

Element 25 targets Butcherbird upgrade with STEINERT KSS ore sorters

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Element 25 Ltd has acquired two STEINERT 2-m-wide KSS ore sorters fitted with multiple sensors that are now installed at its Butcherbird manganese project in Western Australia.

The sorters will be used to upgrade the high-quality manganese concentrate for export markets, STEINERT says.

The Butcherbird operation has a proven and probable manganese ore reserves of 50.55 Mt at an average grade of 10.3% Mn for 5.22 Mt of contained manganese.

Element 25 plans to use the STEINERT KSS sensor-based sorters to upgrade the washed feed material to an average grade of >32% Mn, STEINERT says.

The miner has already shipped its first consignment of ore and the second is scheduled to be loaded at Port Hedland, in Western Australia, in late August. Current annual production is estimated at 365,000 t of manganese ore concentrate with a 40-year mine life for Stage 1 of the operation.

Element 25 previously said Butcherbird is ideally placed to feed potential demand, with advanced flowsheet development work undertaken in 2019 and 2020 confirming a simple, unique, ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure leach process for Element 25 ores which, when combined with offsets, will target the world’s first Zero Carbon Manganese for EV cathode manufacture.

Element 25 progresses Zero Carbon Manganese vision with AK Evans pact

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A day after securing the sale of the first parcel of material from its Butcherbird manganese project in Western Australia, Element 25 Ltd has signed a letter of intent with AK Evans Group Australia for transportation of manganese concentrate from the project to Utah Point in Port Hedland.

AK Evans is a privately owned construction, civils, heavy and bulk haulage company, founded in Port Hedland, with locations across Western Australia. AK Evans also has a strategic partnership with Kurtarra Pty Ltd, an 100% indigenous-owned earthmoving and services company.

The letter of intent will cover the initial transport arrangements – with haulage for the maiden cargo undertaken using agreed terms and rates – and the parties are in the process of finalising a long-term commercial arrangement, which will see the introduction of new quad road trains during the remainder of 2021, Element 25 said.

Element 25 Managing Director, Justin Brown, said: “We are excited to be partnering with AK Evans with a view to having new dedicated road trains to transport our manganese to Port Hedland. We are also excited to know we can work with our commercial partners in delivering solutions to fulfil our vision of delivering Zero Carbon Manganese™ for the electric vehicle (EV) battery revolution. This is another important milestone for the project and company, and we are excited to be heading for our first shipment of Butcherbird’s material to our offtake partners.”

On May 26, Element 25 announced the sale of the first parcel of material from Butcherbird to OMH under offtake agreement terms. The material in the contract specification is 30-35% Mn concentrate, with the first shipment planned for June 2021.

Last year, Element 25 completed a prefeasibility study on Butcherbird that outlined a start-up manganese concentrate export scenario as part of a staged development strategy. It outlined a maiden proven and probable reserve of 50.55 Mt at 10.3% Mn containing 5.22 Mt of manganese, with a base case assuming annual production and sales of 312,000 t/y of medium-grade lump manganese concentrate grading 30-35% Mn.

“The project team will now turn its focus to the next stages of the multi-stage development strategy of the project including a Stage 2 expansion of the concentrate business followed by a Stage 3 development to convert the concentrate material into high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries to power the global transition away from fossil fuel powered mobility,” the company said.

Element 25 says Butcherbird is ideally placed to feed potential demand, with advanced flowsheet development work undertaken in 2019 and 2020 confirming a simple, unique, ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure leach process for Element 25 ores which, when combined with offsets, will target the world’s first Zero Carbon Manganese for EV cathode manufacture.

BME breaks another electronic detonator blast record in South Africa

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Another South African record for the largest electronic detonator blast has been broken by the blasting and explosives company BME.

The blast was conducted by BME, an Omnia Group company, at the end of 2020 at a manganese mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. Using its AXXIS™ electronic initiation system, BME was able to plan and execute a blast of 4,647 detonators. Just a few months earlier, the company had broken a previous record at the same mine by initiating 3,780 detonators in a single blast.

“The latest achievement involved a remarkable 535 t of emulsion explosive in over 2,300 blast holes requiring a total of more than 37,000 m of drilling,” Kobus Boonzaaier, BME Area Manager in the Northern Cape, said. “The resulting blast was able to move almost 2.3 Mt of rock within a matter of seconds.”

Boonzaaier highlighted that the advantage of these large blasts is that they allow mines to blast less often; this means less disruption and a more streamlined operation. The size of the blast was not the only factor to consider, however, as a quality blast must also optimise key outcomes like fragmentation, BME said.

“We were pleased to once again achieve good fragmentation with this blast, ensuring that the resulting particle size would facilitate efficient loading, hauling and comminution by the mine,” Boonzaaier said.

The mine has made use of a full blasting service from BME for the past five years, with BME providing its expertise through a team of over 20 blasters, operators and assistants.

BME’s emulsion explosives – combined with AXXIS electronic initiation system, electronic detonators, blast planning software and other accessories – have been helping break records at South African mines for over a decade. It has conducted even larger blasts in Australia and Zambia in recent years – in the coal and copper sectors, respectively.

Kwatani branching out from South Africa roots

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Vibrating screen and feeder specialist Kwatani says it is transitioning from equipment supplier to solutions provider, as it attracts customers from well beyond its South Africa headquarters.

According to Kwatani General Manager Sales and Service, Jan Schoepflin, the company’s strong in-house expertise and design capability – combined with the manufacturing quality it consistently achieves – ensures its customised solutions deliver optimal performance at the lowest possible lifecycle costs.

“Our recent orders show that our customer base in Southern Africa remains strong, while there is growing recognition of our cost-effective offerings in West Africa, East Africa and North Africa,” says Schoepflin. “At the same time, orders from countries like Canada and Russia indicate that our markets abroad continue to grow.”

Kwatani says it remains the market leader in the supply and servicing of vibrating screens and feeders on iron ore and manganese mines in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It also counts platinum, coal, diamond and gold mines in its customer base. Its West Africa orders have been mainly to gold mines, and there is growing potential for gold mining in East Africa, Schoepflin says.

Over its four decades of operation, Kwatani has produced about 16,000 custom-designed screens, and is building, on average, 30 to 40 units a month in its ISO 9001:2015 certified facility close to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

“Our reputation has been built on prioritising what our customers need, and doing business with integrity and trust,” Schoepflin says. “This means delivering on what we promise and making sure that customers achieve the expected value from our products.”

The company’s solution focus is underpinned by its significant and ongoing investment in local skills, ensuring that its designs leverage strong mechanical and metallurgical engineering expertise, according to Schoepflin.

“This confidence in our products allows us to offer a process guarantee to customers, to deliver the tonnage, throughput and fractions that they expect,” he says. “Depending on which country our customers operate in, they may also have different industry and quality standards/certification expectations and we work closely with them to understand these clearly and meet their requirements.”

Schoepflin also emphasises the company’s service capabilities, which include its local service centres closer to customers, and its support partners in other countries.

“The careful selection of these partners is vital to meet customers’ stringent technical expectations,” Schoepflin says. “In some countries, our partners can also manufacture components according to our drawings and specifications, should there be an urgent requirement from a customer.”

G&G Mining delivers XMOR dump truck bodies to ConsMin’s Woodie Woodie mine

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ConsMin has taken delivery of its first pair of XMOR™ dump truck bodies at the Woodie Woodie manganese operation in Western Australia, G&G Mining reports.

These bodies will be put to work at the mine, one of the state’s most abrasive manganese operations, aboard Cat haul trucks.

G&G Mining said the company had selected the lightest, yet toughest, body design in the market with the most operational benefits for its site.

“XMOR is a combination of design and advanced materials utilising Hardox® 500 Tuf to offer a body that is lighter, stronger and harder wearing,” the company said. “The design offers an increased payload, an extended wear life with no liners, eliminates hang up, has an automatic load centering feature and an anti-spill canopy.”

The customer requested a special blue paint job and decals to its XMOR bodies in support of the ConsMin “Mining Minds Matter, Working Away Not Alone” mental health program, G&G Mining added.

Woodie Woodie’s high-grade manganese ore is recognised as the world’s best manganese ore due to its high manganese content, high manganese to iron ratio, low phosphorous and hard, competent nature, according to ConsMin.

Since May 2017, the Consolidated Minerals Group has been privately owned by Ningxia Tianyuan Manganese Industry Co. The group has operating assets in Ghana and Australia and trading companies in Jersey, supplying some 11% of the world’s manganese ore production and around 19% of the demand for Chinese imports of manganese ore.

Comilog enlists help of JRC, Geka Telecom for Moanda 4G/LTE infrastructure

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Comilog, a leading manganese miner and part of Eramet Group, has decided to build a Private 4G/LTE network in Moanda, Gabon, as part of an effort to modernise the operation.

JRC (Japan Radio Co Ltd) and Geka Telecom were selected to provide a turnkey solution. JRC will provide the LTE infrastructure for hundreds of subscribers and 4 RF sites, while GEKA Telecom will provide the full services.

Comilog, as part of its modernisation efforts, is investing in a modern and secured LTE infrastructure. This will see field staff equipped with ruggedised tablets and smartphones, with a target to digitalise the various processes to increase efficiency and reduce its use of paper. This is part of an overall project called Comilog 2020 to increase the capacity of the mine and to enhance the operation’s local added value.

JRC LTE infrastructure was chosen for the quality of its offer, JRC said. The proposed LTE infrastructure is designed to meet mission critical environment and performance. GEKA Telecom will provide its expertise for the settings of the network and the installation.

“We are very proud to contribute to the Comilog 2020 project,” Sato Katsuhiko, General Manager of 5G Project at JRC, said. “We are a specialist of wireless communication for mission critical networks. Projects such as Comilog 2020 are crucial for us. We aim to grow our private LTE/5G business significantly in the EMEA region.”

The Moanda mine is currently undergoing an expansion that will see a new mine open up on the Okouma plateau, 13 km to the north of Moanda. This could lead to 7 Mt/y of products being available for sale in 2023, compared with just over 4 Mt/y currently.

JRC, or Japan Radio Co Ltd, is a specialist of wireless infrastructure founded in 1915. Based in Japan and with offices across the world, it has provided complete Private LTE/5G networks since 2015.

GEKA Telecom, founded in 1982, has specialised in telecommunication networks in Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, to facilitate access to communication for all.

East Manganese project gears up for production following regulatory approvals

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The East Manganese project in the Northern Cape of South Africa has been granted a water use licence, paving the way for mining operations to commence soon.

Menar’s first manganese asset located near Hotazel, the R250 million ($15.1 million) project was granted environmental authorisations in February 2019, a mining right in August 2019 and water use licence last month.

Sitatunga Resources, whose major shareholder is investment company Menar, acquired East Manganese in 2018.

Menar Managing Director, Vuslat Bayoglu, said the timely approvals were encouraging for the company’s planned investments in the medium term.

“East Manganese is part of our group’s planned R7 billion investments,” Bayoglu said. “Speedy regulatory approvals are critical to unlock the investment spend and to contribute to South Africa’s economic revival. We are, therefore, impressed by Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu’s, recent undertaking to continuously improve turnaround times for applications.”

East Manganese holds an approximate 1 Mt run of mine (ROM) resource, and will produce around 30,000 t/mth ROM manganese ore, according to the company. Due to the conical shape of the proposed pit, it will take some 7-8 months to reach first ore, after which steady-state production will be achieved swiftly, Menar said.

East Manganese will be an open-pit mine with a single, 14 ha pit located on a small 50 ha portion of the total 1,000 ha mining right area. The remaining unused portion of the mining right area will be used for cattle and game farming by a local farmer, Menar says.

The mine will utilise a dry crushing and screening plant system, which will reduce water usage at the plant, to produce lumpy (85%) and fine (15%) particle manganese products.

Bayoglu pointed out that all the mine’s infrastructure will be powered by solar energy, including its offices and weighbridge.

The decision to diversify the Menar Group’s commodity portfolio is in keeping with its aspirations of becoming a leading South African diversified mining company, Bayoglu said.

“We are committed to realising South Africa’s full mining potential by continuously seeking out new investment opportunities and East Manganese is a clear illustration of this continued commitment,” he said.

He added: “The establishment of the East Manganese mine will aid economic activities in the area and create between 70-80 direct new jobs on the mining complex once peak production has been reached. If we multiply this figure by 10 [which is the average number of people that are dependent on a single salary earner in South Africa], then, in essence, 700 -800 people will directly benefit from this project.

“In addition, the indirect economic benefit of the operation, even though not quantifiable, is also far reaching. The mine’s recruitment process is being undertaken in conjunction with Joe Morolong Local Municipality which, through its Local Economic Development forum, has been very helpful to date.”