This month’s Spotlight Feature Article focuses on the area of flotation, with Paul Moore looking at newer designs in the latest ‘future flowsheets’. Included within this is coarse particle flotation, or coarse particle recovery, which is billed by many in the industry as providing a way for mining companies to grind to coarser sizes, reduce energy consumption and costs, and recover valuable minerals and metals from tailings streams.
Metso is expanding its polishing filtration product family with the addition of the GM (Glass Media) filter, designed to, the OEM says, remove insoluble organics in battery metals processes by using very efficient and patented coalescing media.
With its cost-effective and modular design, the GM filter increases the recovery and recycling of valuable process chemicals.
Mika Vuorikari, Director of Industrial Filtration at Metso, said: “The GM filter is an ideal choice when insoluble organics need to be removed and recovered. Thanks to its efficient coalescing media for hydrometallurgical applications, the GM filter can perfect the removal and recovery of insoluble organics at a much higher velocity than the traditional coalescing medias. In applications where an Active Carbon (AC) filter needs to be used for dissolved organics adsorption from the process, the AC filter’s efficiency and media lifetime can be improved by utilizing a GM filter in front of it.”
The Metso GM filter is designed for variable sizes of process streams and its modular design makes it easy to expand to meet plant process requirements. It also optimises back washing with filtered process liquid and circulates back to the process, ensuring that water consumption is kept to a minimum. The low pumping pressure of the filter also results in lower energy consumption.
Together with the Dual Media (DM) and Active Carbon (AC) filters, Metso has a complete filtration portfolio for SX electrowinning and crystallisation processes. Strong know-how and experience from the hydrometallurgical industry allows Metso to design industry-leading filtration solutions for battery minerals processing. Metso has delivered more than ninety DM and AC filters to metallurgical SX processes globally.
With the mining industry’s growing understanding and openness to the benefits of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI), it was only a matter of time before some of the big OEMs ventured further into the software development space. That time is now with Metso having, today, opened a Digital Design and Development Studio in Krakow, Poland, to complement its already wide digitalisation offering.
Many mining companies around the world regularly interact with software carrying the Metso name: think of the ACT/OCS-4D™ platforms for advanced process control, the Geminex™ digital twin and HSC Chemistry for minerals and metals process simulation and optimisation, or the Metrics monitoring service.
The company’s latest software developments will go beyond these legacy solutions, leveraging what it refers to as “leading-edge digital capabilities” to solve some of the industry’s major issues.
Olivier Guyot, Senior Vice President for Minerals Digital at Metso, admits the minerals industry might have “missed the first train” when it comes to developing software that leverages AI and machine learning, but he still sees a major market opportunity for Metso, with customers more prepared to embrace digitalisation.
“We have recently had many customer meetings where we have shared our digital strategy,” he told IM. “It has been clear from these interactions that there is an opportunity for us to make inroads into this market.”
Metso doesn’t have an intention to compete with pure software players in this space. It is also cognisant its customers will not be open to adding another vendor to their already extensive list of digital suppliers without a proven value proposition.
“As a result, what we are focused on when it comes to software development, user experience design, data and AI is related to our expertise – equipment, services, process and materials technology, etc – and how to embed and integrate it seamlessly into an already mature plant ecosystem,” Guyot added.
“We really see digital as a complement to our core competencies, rather than something separate.”
When broken down, the rationale for Metso dipping its toe into the software development space now makes sense.
Guyot explains: “I feel we also need to go back to basics: start off with the right level of automation, sensors and analysers at site – these are the data generators. Without the optimisation of these hardware elements, the data coming back will not be accurate enough to produce valuable digital insights and analytics. This is the information that AI and machine-learning algorithms require.
“Without the right quality of data and the right domain knowledge, the outcome of these AI solutions might not be directly usable. We feel we have that domain knowledge, providing a legitimate claim to come and deploy our expertise digitally in many forms for our customers.”
The growing number of digital experts working in the Krakow office – currently estimated to be around 50 – can build these software solutions with knowledge of the underlying hardware in mind. This knowledge will come from interactions and collaborations with product and service experts, personnel at Metso Performance Centers across the globe, and more.
The brief for these digital designers is to focus on three key areas:
“To support these three priorities, we need to continuously develop our digital capabilities and that is what we are doing in Krakow to complement our existing capabilities,” Markku Teräsvasara, President Minerals & Deputy CEO at Metso, told IM.
Of course, the investment in this studio also reflects the industry’s continued requirement to address a growing labour and skills shortage, as well as the expected need to produce more metals for the electrification transition.
“If the industry is to produce more metals in a more sustainable and safe manner, digital solutions will be needed,” Teräsvasara added.
There is clearly an opportunity for Metso to leverage software as a market differentiator, but the move also reflects a growing sense of responsibility to in-source more of the digital supply chain.
Guyot explained: “Cyber security is not something we can delegate to anyone when it comes to servicing customers – especially with more of the information being on cloud-based platforms now.
“The Krakow Studio will allow us to responsibly develop this software hand in hand with cyber security in mind.”
And Guyot and Teräsvasara say this software development responsibility goes beyond just the Metso equipment portfolio, with customers able to also use this new software on all their equipment, irrespective of the supplier.
“Our software will be available to ourselves and our customers,” Teräsvasara said. “We will help our customers with all their equipment and performance issues, as we do with some existing LCS contracts.”
With the investment in this new Digital Design and Development studio, Metso is putting another marker down that could have positive ramifications for its customers and the wider mineral processing sector.
Supporting mining in achieving its energy, water and emissions reduction goals, FLS says it is evolving its regional strategy for even greater impact.
Mining customers are to benefit from the stronger regional capability being developed by FLS, which is making the company even more responsive to customer needs, the OEM says.
This is one of the key outcomes of the company’s strategic evolution underway, according to Bernard Kaninda, newly appointed FLS President Sales and Service for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). As a leading full flow sheet technology company, FLS occupies a distinctive place in the market, he says, giving it a special relationship with customers.
“Being a partner through all their mineral processing requirements, FLS walks with customers throughout the lifecycle of a comprehensive range of equipment and solutions,” he says. “This engagement gives us greater impact in helping the mining industry achieve its sustainability goals.”
FLS aligns itself with industry imperatives by committing to energy and water reduction targets, and committing to reach zero emissions by 2030. To achieve these goals, Kaninda says, it was imperative to further grow the region’s capability – shifting from the previous regional definition which comprised sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and Southern Asia to a more cohesive EMEA region.
“We believe the move to an EMEA region will better create the capabilities we are looking for, combining the strengths of Africa and Europe, and our learnings in the Middle East,” Kaninda explains. “We expect to be able to respond more quickly with services, spares and equipment, and are building local resources to achieve these improvements.”
The focus on communication and partnership is being fostered through clusters within the region, which are empowered with adequate resources for quick response times and effective support for end-users.
“As a partner that tailor-makes solutions for our customers, we go further by guaranteeing the performance of that equipment,” Kaninda says. “This means being able to respond effectively as and when the situation demands, so we need to be in close proximity to the customers’ sites – and very familiar with the conditions they experience.”
The clusters in Africa ensure a strong presence in Southern African countries – including South Africa, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – as well as West Africa and North Africa. These are areas where FLS already has a significant footprint of equipment in operation.
“The mining sector is dynamic, however, so we are constantly expanding our equipment footprint and will be establishing a presence wherever we have a significant installed base,” Kaninda says. “It has always been a matter of pride for us that FLS customers will receive the same close attention irrespective of where they are around the globe.”
Streamlined logistics are an important aspect of the strategic shift, which will reduce delivery times through better availability of inventory in-country. Teams in the clusters will also facilitate faster access to service and parts.
“We are also committed to the communities in the regions where we operate, and are increasing our local employment as we develop our presence in different countries – especially in Africa,” Kaninda says. “We believe in building local capability and this is visible in our teams, in which 90-100% of staff are already local in the various clusters.”
These teams are supported by specialised training provided by facilities such as the FLS Training Academy at the Chloorkop service centre in South Africa. This well-equipped regional training hub underpins ongoing skills transfer to build the company’s skills base and succession pipeline, he says, ensuring all customers receive the same FLS experience. So successful is Chloorkop’s model of combining technical services with training, that the company plans to replicate such a facility in the Middle East.
“This will allow us to upskill youth and enhance our positive economic and social impact on the community,” he explains. “There is no reason why we shouldn’t even look at another such centre in Africa, as there is growing demand for artisans and other specialised skills.”
Africa remains vital as a provider of mineral resources for the transition to a lower carbon future, concludes Kaninda, highlighting that FLS will continue to partner with customers so that mining itself becomes more responsible to the environment and community.
Sandfire says it has successfully commissioned a Larox permanent filter press at its Motheo copper mine in Botswana, as part of a planned debottlenecking process.
On May 25, Sandfire announced that it had successfully produced first copper concentrate at Mothe, with construction of the mine nearing completion and equipment commissioning activities over 92% complete for the initial 3.2 Mt/y processing capacity.
During the initial ramp-up of the Motheo process plant in the September quarter of 2023, it was identified that the OEM filter press installed during construction was unable to achieve design parameters, the company explained in a July 22 release. An interim solution using mobile filter units was implemented, enabling the operation to safely ramp up the production of copper concentrate at planned rates and specifications.
In parallel, an $8 million capital investment secured the procurement, installation and commissioning of a Larox filter press from Metso to support the long-term operational requirements of Motheo.
Sandfire Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Brendan Harris, said: “Commissioning of the new filter press concludes a challenging period for the Motheo operations team, and I congratulate them on their hard work and ingenuity. The new filter press removes significant complexity at the ‘back end’ of our processing circuit and provides the capacity needed to test higher rates of production as we debottleneck the operation.”
Metso says it has signed an agreement to acquire Jindex Pty Ltd, a privately owned Australian company specialising in valves and process flow control, boosting its capacity to provide more comprehensive slurry handling solutions for the mining industry.
The company plans to combine its extensive experience and offering in slurry handling, hydrocyclones and mineral processing equipment solutions with Jindex’s valve offering as part of this transaction.
Tiago Oliveira, Head of Pumps business line at Metso, said: “This acquisition is yet another important step in the development of Metso’s Pumps business line offering to bring us closer to being our customers’ lifecycle partner of choice. Flow and isolation control play a vital role in ensuring smooth slurry handling to maximise the productivity and efficiency of minerals processing plants. In the past, we have collaborated with Jindex on many customer projects and are now glad to welcome the Jindex experts to the Metso team. Jindex has extensive expertise and strong capabilities in valve technology and control equipment, as well as in many types of slurry valve projects, and thus their products complement our offering well.”
Stephen Fowler, Managing Director, Jindex Pty Ltd, said: “This is a great development and an exciting next step. The Jindex product offering and our technical expertise in valves are an excellent addition to Metso’s Pumps business and will enable Metso to provide more extensive flow control solutions to the mining industry. We look forward to contributing our unique knowledge and experience as part of the Metso team, and providing enhanced outcomes to all our collective customers.”
Metso’s Pumps business line offers complete solutions for slurry handling and hydrocyclones, including equipment, parts, aftermarket and lifecycle services and digital services, the OEM says. The equipment offering includes slurry pumps, pipes, hoses, valves and hydrocyclones.
The acquisition is expected to be closed in August 2024. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value, which has no material impact on Metso’s financials.
At this year’s Electra Mining Africa exhibition, in Johannesburg, South Africa, visitors will be attracted to the Weir stand by innovations such as the Weir Modular Wheeled Plant (WMWP), a fully mobile crushing and screening plant, as well as the latest in the company’s cutting edge digital solutions for smart mining, the OEM says.
Supporting customers to mine for a more sustainable future, Weir will showcase not only its leading range of equipment and solutions, but the digital technology to further optimise its performance and reliability.
“Our exciting Motion Metrics mine operation monitoring systems will be one of the main features at the show,” Mufaro Muzvondiwa, Process and Products Director at Weir, says. “These systems provide mines with real-time particle size analysis of material carried on shovels, loaders, conveyor belts and haul trucks – helping to avoid blockages at the crushing stage and optimise the mine-to-mill value chain.”
Using stereoscopic vision combined with artificial intelligence (AI), Motion Metrics™ cameras leverage machine learning to enhance its predictive capabilities and provide actionable insights to customers, according to Muzvondiwa.
Another highlight will be Weir’s intelligent solution which features condition monitoring technology. This is portrayed through 3D conceptualisation, showing all associated benefits including safety, savings and maintenance optimisation.
“Visitors to our stand can witness the value of real-time monitoring in enhancing plant performance and optimising uptime,” Muzvondiwa explains. “This is where Weir is supporting our customers’ ambitions to be more cost effective by driving down their total cost of ownership of equipment while driving productivity and sustainability.”
In addition to the display of its latest pumps, screens, cyclones, valves, liners and ground engaging tools, Weir will also have its recently launched mobile crushing and screening plant at its outdoor stand. With Weir’s WMWP fully mobile plant (render, pictured) mounted on an on-road trailer, the plant can be moved to site and set up within a couple of hours – as a ‘plug-and-play’ solution – Weir says.
“This innovation has already generated great excitement in the aggregates and small-scale mining sector,” Muzvondiwa says. “The design provides a fully mobile plant, making it ideal for road projects requiring aggregate crushing at various points along the route.”
Muzvondiwa highlights that Electra Mining Africa, running from September 2-6, provides a useful forum to remind visitors of Weir’s concerted focus on partnerships for sustainable mining. This includes the extensive footprint of OEM service centres and partners across Africa, ensuring technical support is always available in close proximity to mines.
“In addition to our South African presence, we are present in countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Botswana, Namibia, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia,” he says. “Our three manufacturing centres in South Africa also ensure high levels of local manufacture, to promote African economies and to streamline the supply chain to our customers.”
The combination of quality products and dedicated service means that Weir can be confident in the warranties and predictions it provides to customers regarding the productivity of its solutions. “This is demonstrated by our ability to enter into cost per tonne agreements with customers,” he says.
He adds that local skills development is also a priority for the company in building its service infrastructure, including its Mill Circuit University.
Metso has been awarded with a contract valued at around €15 million ($16 million) to deliver several thickeners and filters to a mine water treatment project in Peru.
Metso’s scope of delivery includes several high-rate thickeners operating in a high density sludge (HDS) mine water treatment application and automatic EBS series liquid filters with an electric self-cleaning mechanism for ultra-fine filtration.
The thickeners, which are part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering, include the Reactorwell™ feed system and are specially designed bolted stainless-steel construction for high corrosion resistance and fast installation, the company says.
Brian Berger, Vice President, Thickening and Clarification at Metso, said: “We are pleased to continue working with this important customer in Peru to support their needs in mine water treatment with our Planet Positive thickening solutions. The environmentally sound high-rate thickeners will have an important role in ensuring a reliable operation and meeting the customer’s project criteria for high performance, fast installation and low maintenance.”
CDE, a leader in the design and engineering of sand and aggregate wet processing solutions for the waste recycling and natural minerals processing sectors, has unveiled its new ProPress high-performance filter press at Hillhead, in the UK, adding to its state-of-the-art water management and recycling systems.
Developed to meet the evolving needs of the construction and demolition (C&D) waste recycling, quarrying and mining sectors, the ProPress integrates the latest technological advancements to deliver exceptional operational efficiency and maximum water recovery, according to the company.
CDE’s ProPress, which features patent-pending technology, benefits from a flexible design and variable throughput that can be scaled to fit the processing volume of any operation.
Unlike traditional filter presses, the system is dual feed, meaning sludge is fed from both sides of the ProPress for improved efficiency and faster cycle times. Optimised sludge feed pressure also allows for faster dewatering to increase overall throughput, CDE says. This is further supported by an overhead beam design that ensures reliability by reducing stress on the unit and improving its durability.
The ProPress features plates that are 25% larger (2.5 m x 2 m), while greater chamber volume and fewer plates serve to provide maximum capacity on a smaller footprint and improve mechanical cycle times, according to the company.
Safe and efficient maintenance is made possible by integrated plate-shaking technology which addresses filter cake build-up within chambers to help reduce the need for manual intervention. An access walkway provides clear and unobstructed means to carry out maintenance safely and efficiently, and flush mounted drip trays reduce material entrapment and lock in place to provide a secure maintenance platform for operators, CDE says.
The design is supported by an innovative, multifunctional robot, which serves as the main workhorse for the ProPress, controlling plate opening, plate shaking, cloth washing, plate winch and the maintenance platform.
The CDE ProPress is available in a range of different sizes to suit markets and applications. It is also largely pre-assembled to expedite commissioning, allowing operators to get up and running quickly.
ProPress process
As materials are washed and graded, the water from that process accumulates silt and other residues to form a sludge. A challenging material to process, that sludge is pumped under high pressure into the CDE ProPress, which consists of a sequence of plates, the composition of which forms a series of chambers.
As sludge is pumped under high pressure through the press, solid materials build within the chambers to form a filter cake which is dewatered to maximise water recycling and recover a by-product with multiple applications.
With the CDE ProPress, owners and operators can recycle up to 95% of process water for immediate reuse in their wash plant while simultaneously cutting waste disposal fees by recovering a filter cake product that can be used for pipe bedding and landfill capping, according to CDE. This eliminates the need for settling ponds which typically require extensive maintenance, consume labour resources and incur significant costs.
CDE’s Business Development Director, Darren Eastwood, said: “Tackling the most challenging of materials is our expertise. We’ve poured over 30 years of engineering excellence into the development of the ProPress. We’ve listened to and worked alongside our customers around the globe to design a solution that is adaptable to their needs, be they in the waste recycling or natural minerals processing sectors.
“Those needs were clear: sustainable water management was key to minimise fresh water dependency and maximise water recycling, all while improving processing capacity, reducing operating costs, and minimising maintenance downtime. The ProPress is our response to all of this and more and it is already delivering for our customers. By the end of the year, the ProPress will be found on eight plants across three regions, processing around 1000 t/h of material.
“Our most significant product launch in recent years, the ProPress really encapsulates CDE’s purpose: to create our best world, a ton at a time. It represents a constant push for improvement to make our equipment, our customers’ operations and the sectors we operate in more efficient and less wasteful. We’re very pleased to finally bring this latest innovation to the wider market to help maximise the availability of our natural resources and reduce the industry’s waste burden.”
Hillhead 2024 is being held in Buxton, in the UK, and runs from June 25-27.
Weir has officially opened its new Port Hedland Service Centre, strategically located in the heart of the Pilbara region, Western Australia.
The A$28 million (US$18.6 million) state-of-the-art facility strengthens Weir’s commitment to sustainable mining and is the flagship Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) service centre in the region, it says.
The new facility bolsters Weir’s national network of 16 service centres and will support customers and their operations across the Pilbara region, including the Iron Bridge project which incorporates Weir redefined flowsheets – the world’s first dry comminution circuit without tumbling mills. Port Hedland serves as a critical hub for the mining and resources industry in Australia, driving economic growth and success for the important iron ore region.
The Port Hedland service centre will deliver innovative engineering solutions and expertise, enhancing operational efficiencies and advancing sustainable progress across the Pilbara’s dynamic mining landscape, Weir added.
“With best-in-class technology and support, the centre features facilities for Enduron HPGR servicing, including tyre roller assembly and Linatex® rubber lining services helping customers to extend the life of their assets,” it says.
The centre is equipped to service Weir’s broader range of products and technologies, provide engineering and maintenance support as well as critical parts storage for faster service times for customers.
Kristen Walsh, Regional Managing Director at Weir Minerals, said: “The new centre at Port Hedland will support our key customers in the region, providing Weir’s best-in-class service and expertise. The A$28 million facility demonstrates our commitment to sustainable mining and with further investment planned, we will continue to support our ambitious growth plans in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.”
The next stage of development, set for 2025, will see an expansion of the team and specialisation in the repair and overhaul of various Weir processing equipment including Warman® pumps, Cavex® hydrocyclones and Isogate® valves as well as Enduron crushers and screens.
