Tag Archives: Mike Hourn

Glencore Technology, Global PAM formalise IsaMill agreement in North America

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , ,

Glencore Technology has announced what it says is an important formalisation and commitment with Global PAM to deliver services to clients of IsaMill™ technology throughout North America.

Global PAM has significant capabilities in technology commissioning and asset management, according to Glencore Technology.

The company will support Glencore Technology through the installation, commissioning and service of its fine-grinding technology, IsaMill, predominantly in the US and Canada.

Glencore Technology says it has had a long-term relationship with Global PAM and some of the company’s key team members, but elevating to a formal commitment is seen by the company as providing its clients in the region with an alliance partner that is trusted.

Servicing IsaMill for three years, Global PAM has worked with Glencore Technology on installations in Corbin, Teck and Las Bambas operations.

The company has significant experience in stirred mills, SAG and ball mills and is widely respected as a general mill maintenance specialist, according to Glencore Technology.

IsaMill is seeing significant growth in North America, so Glencore Technology is keen to see clients receive
maintenance services from a local and respected provider, it said.

Mike Hourn, Glencore Technology’s General Manager – Business Development, said: “Glencore Technology has had a long-term relationship with Global PAM, and we want to extend this to our IsaMill clients in the region. It gives our clients a highly skilled partner we can trust and who shares our values.”

Tom Shumka, President of Global PAM, said: “We have solid experience in providing a complete mechanical mill inspection of IsaMill applications and we’re extremely impressed with the technology. We’ve delivered full installation and commissioning support throughout all stages of the equipment. So this formalisation is a natural progression for us.”

Global PAM intends to deliver maintenance and operational training for IsaMill applications as well as continuous improvement solutions to allow for improved operations of the fine grinding circuit, adding to its service, engineering and aftermarket scope.

SGS Minerals on board with Glencore Technology’s Albion Process

Base metals, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , ,

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.