Tag Archives: mineral processing

Metso Outotec greenfield iron ore contract to include most sustainable tech available

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec says it has been awarded a major contract for the delivery of sustainable crushing, screening and grinding technologies to a greenfield iron ore project in South America.

The concentrator plant has a targeted production of premium pellet feed, with the total value of the order approximately €45 million ($47 million).

The comminution circuit flowsheet developed for the new concentrator plant in cooperation with Metso Outotec represents the most sustainable technology currently available, according to the OEM. Conventional horizontal mills have been replaced with the combination of HRC™e high pressure grinding rolls (pictured above) and Vertimill® grinding mills to achieve the best energy-efficiency with the lowest operating and life cycle costs, it says.

By using this flowsheet, the plant is expected to save 25% of installed power compared with a conventional high pressure grinding roll (HPGR)/ball mill circuit and over 40% compared with a conventional SABC (SAG mill followed by pebble crusher and ball mill) circuit, the company claims.

Metso Outotec’s scope of delivery consists of the engineering, manufacturing, and supply of SuperiorTM MKIII Primary Crusher, HP SeriesTM cone crushers, HRC e HPGR high pressure grinding rolls, vibrating feeders, as well as banana, horizontal and dewatering screens and Vertimill grinding mills. In addition, Metso Outotec will provide installation and commissioning advisory services and wear and spare parts.

Christoph Hoetzel, Head of Grinding business line at Metso Outotec, said: “Metso Outotec is honoured to be chosen to deliver these state-of-the-art comminution technologies. The plant’s Planet Positive comminution flowsheet combines the best solutions available, allowing to achieve superior energy-efficiency and lower wear rates.”

Fernando Samanez, Vice President, Minerals Sales, South America market area at Metso Outotec, added: “This is a remarkable project and Metso Outotec will play a significant role also in the project start-up with its strong local operations and highly skilled service team.”

Jervois gears up for Idaho Cobalt Operations commissioning

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , ,

Jervois Global is progressing the build of the Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) in the US, with the mill set to be commissioned in September and full production slated for February 2023.

Once in production, ICO is billed as being the only primary cobalt mine in the US, able to supply a critical metal necessary for electric vehicles, energy generation and distribution, defence and other industries.

In its latest project update, Jervois said that it had come up with a revised construction budget of $107.5 million that had board approval. This was up from the previous $99.1 million outlined, reflecting a heighted inflationary environment in the US.

This adjusted final forecast capital expenditure and schedule will form the basis of a “Cost to Complete” test by independent engineer RPMGlobal, who has been engaged by the trustee acting for bondholders under the terms of Jervois’ $100 million Senior Secured Bonds. RPM engineers are scheduled to visit site in early July to undertake the final Cost to Complete test ahead of the planned second tranche bond drawdown of $50 million later that month.

Mine development, meanwhile, continues at circa-25 ft/d (7.6 m/d), the company noted. Planned increases to underground working faces, improved water management and road conditions, as well as additional personnel and mining equipment on site, are expected to increase mine development productivity, it said.

“Jervois and its mining contractor, Small Mine Development, remain confident in the revised mining production targets that underpin the capital cost update,” the company stated.

Jervois says it is achieving infill drilling rates over 200 ft/d as part of a 19,000 ft underground campaign to decrease hole space aiming to enhance orebody knowledge. The drilling is improving the robustness of the resource model to generate a production block model for mining, it added.

The SAG mill, ball mill and crusher are each in place, and work continues with facilities construction and equipment placement, Jervois noted, saying that an official opening ceremony was scheduled at site for October 7, 2022. The SAG mill, a 4.7-m diameter and 2.5-m-long 750 kW installation, is provided by Metso Outotec.

A 2020 bankable feasibility study, managed by a joint team of DRA Global and M3 Engineering, was based on extracting 2.5 Mt of ore at an average grade of 0.55% Co, 0.8% Cu and 0.64 g/t Au. The initial mine life within the study was seven years.

Haver & Boecker launches next-gen Niagara T-Class vibrating screen

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

Haver & Boecker Niagara has announced the next-generation Niagara T-Class vibrating screen, which, the company says, retains the technical benefits the original concentric technology is known for while improving screening uptime and performance with new features.

The T-Class provides producers with a cost-effective, maintenance-friendly solution to process a wide range of materials within the aggregates, mining, industrial minerals, recycling industries and more, it said.

The T-Class deck frame is now primarily lockbolted rather than welded to provide optimum strength, reliability and safety. Lockbolts are proven to be more effective than welding in the demanding, load-bearing, high-vibration operation of a vibrating screen to ensure the machine’s structural integrity, the company said. The robustness of the machine also permits cross beams to be positioned and lockbolted every four feet (1.2 m) instead of every two feet, allowing for better clearance and easier maintenance.

The new design allows producers to upgrade their vibrating screen with Haver & Boecker Niagara’s new Drop Guard system, further minimising maintenance. The innovative liners provide 100% cross beam protection, both reducing wear and extending the life of the vibrating screen, according to the company. The system simply drops over the cross beam with no adhesive or tools required, making installation quick and easy, it says.

Additionally, Haver & Boecker Niagara redesigned the flat deck frames of the new T-Class vibrating screen for simplified maintenance. The pin & anchor deck frame is adaptable to virtually any pin-style modular screen media. It features polyurethane anchors that are easy to replace and prevent premature wear on the deck frame. Additionally, the open design of the modular deck prevents material build-up on the bar rails. The cap & slide deck frame, meanwhile, is adaptable to virtually any groove style modular screen media and features full rail protection.

The T-Class can also be manufactured for side-tensioned or bottom deck end-tensioned screen media. Each new side-tensioned machine comes with Haver & Boecker Niagara’s signature Ty-Rail™ quick-tensioning system, which cuts screen change-out times in half, the company claims.

Duncan High, the product manager behind Haver & Boecker Niagara’s new T-Class design, said: “The new, more robust T-Class was designed specifically to offer more strength in the middle of the machine, where it’s needed most. Each update was engineered with ease of maintenance in mind, to keep downtime low while providing cost efficiency.”

All Haver & Boecker Niagara vibrating screens undergo extensive testing, inspection and Pulse Vibration Analysis prior to shipping to ensure correct balance and smooth operation, the company concluded.

AspenTech Mtell Agents getting ahead of the mine maintenance game

Automation, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , ,

AspenTech is looking to turn condition monitoring procedures in the minerals processing plant on their head by providing prescriptive maintenance tools powered by machine learning that offer the earliest possible issue detection along with the required context to allow operators to act.

“After more than a decade of working on Mtell, we understand how to slot into an operation to make sure our data is clear, prescriptive and acted on,” Mike Brooks, Global Director of APM Solutions at AspenTech told IM recently.

Aspen Mtell® has been a gamechanger for industries such as metals and mining, according to the company, performing prescriptive maintenance by forecasting degradation and equipment failures, alerting staff in advance of when a failure could occur, identifying potential causes and the scope of any failure, and providing advice on the corrective action to avoid or mitigate the impending failure.

This is leading to increased operational efficiency, resulting in improved energy efficiency and reduced emissions, according to the company.

Unlike other mining-related predictive maintenance proponents, AspenTech and Aspen Mtell have been using machine learning for over a decade, using the benefits of this technology to improve on the condition monitoring and firefighting maintenance procedures in place at industrial sites.

“By obtaining sufficient domain knowledge and packaging it into a solution, we have created a product that is able to detect patterns in the data, track any anomalies and contextualise these anomalies on the basis of past performance and previous incidents,” Brooks explained.

This process involves detecting failures, “hidden failures” (spikes or changes in behaviour not associated with an event) and when an asset is offline from past operating data and contextualising this within what is considered ‘normal’ operating conditions. From this, data analysts create “Failure Agents” and “Anomaly Agents” to spot potential failures and watch for changes in normal operating behaviour.

Once these Agents have been trained from historical data, they are deployed to monitor live equipment feeds with all deviations labelled as anomalies and detected by the appropriate Agent.

If an anomaly does not match the signature of a deployed Failure Agent, the anomaly triggers an alert requesting an inspection to determine the cause. The results of the inspection will categorise the anomaly as either a new variation of “normal” or a new never-before-seen failure pattern.

If it is the former, the Anomaly Agent will be updated with this new information to make sure no future false alerts with the same signature occur. If categorised as a new failure, a new Failure Agent will be deployed to allow for earlier detection in the future.

The more operating data the Aspen Mtell platform ingests, the more accurate the alert system becomes and the more context the solution can provide operators. Brooks said around a year’s worth of data often proves enough to know what ‘normal’ looks like while ensuring false alerts are kept to a minimum.

In some instances, Aspen Mtell has managed to get ahead of a potential failure on certain components by 4-6 months, allowing maintenance personnel to strategically schedule maintenance procedures and reduce unplanned downtime, according to Brooks.

“Not only are we able to identify the root cause and failure mode with alerts, but we can also often provide details of exactly what is needed to fix it based on past experience,” he said. Such information is particularly useful in an industry like mining, which has an ageing employee demographic that will, in the future, need to be replaced with a new generation of personnel.

“This is all part of our vision of the ‘Self-Optimizing Plant’,” Brooks said.

The Self-Optimizing Plant, as AspenTech puts it, is a self-adapting, self-learning and self-sustaining set of software technologies that work together to anticipate future conditions and act accordingly, adjusting operations within the context of the enterprise. The plant does this through pervasive real-time access to data and information, combining engineering fundamentals and artificial intelligence, and capturing and using knowledge to optimise across multiple levels, provide recommendations and automate actions securely in a closed feedback loop.

While the mining industry is still some way off adopting such a vision, AspenTech is getting nearer to convincing the sector of its potential future worth.

Brooks provided an example from a mining company with a worldwide presence that was having difficulty with frequent production interruptions caused by unexpected equipment failures as a case in point.

This company decided to deploy Aspen Mtell across a whole site to improve the reliability and availability of equipment, boost production yields and reduce maintenance costs.

On the secondary cone crusher at the operation in question, the Aspen Mtell application gave an extreme early warning and exposed a multi-dimensional pattern showing fast incremental changes, according to AspenTech. This provided the technicians with the required insights to detect the degradation issue and take the appropriate action, avoiding operational complications that can result in production and maintenance costs in the order of $100,000-500,000 per incident.

Similarly, Aspen Mtell was able to deliver a very early lead time and warnings of a bearing issues on the cone crusher, well in advance of the vibration detection system, allowing early action to service a minor issue before a catastrophic failure. This resulted in savings of around $75,000, according to AspenTech.

Equally, monitoring and catching potential bearing problems on conveyors allowed early replacement without the extended shutdowns associated with unplanned maintenance. Such avoidance is generally worth around $1-$1.5 million in operational costs, AspenTech says.

“The net results were that the company was able to better plan and schedule service and repairs on the mobile heavy haul trucks and the static ore processing, improving operators’ safety, extending component lifetimes, and increasing equipment availability besides improving on spare part/resource planning,” it said.

“The positive results encouraged the company to expand the Aspen Mtell application to other mining sites.”

Brooks says this specific company is one of a handful of miners realising the benefits of Aspen Mtell, with the mining sector fast becoming one of AspenTech’s key growth markets behind oil & gas.

And, with AspenTech having just completed the acquisition of Emerson’s OSI Inc and Geological Simulation Software business, there could be many more mining-related opportunities on the horizon.

Sandvik offers up enhanced three-deck Doublescreen solution

Comminution of minerals, Mining equipment, Sustainable mining, , , ,

Sandvik Mobile Crushers and Screens, part of Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions, has announced what it says is a new first-of-its-kind, three-deck tracked mobile plant with independent screen angle adjustment and hydraulic screen separation in the form of its QA452.

The latest evolution of the Sandvik QA Series products and three-deck Doublescreen technology, the QA452 features two triple deck inline screen boxes with equal size screen decks, each providing 9 cu.m of screening area

Sandvik Doublescreen technology typically outperforms traditional screens by up to 30%, offering a tailored rock processing solution for quarry, recycling and mining industries, Sandvik says.

Screen enhancements on the equipment include an 11% longer bottom screen deck to extract more fines.

“Featuring independent screen angle adjustment, the primary screen can be independently adjusted from the secondary screen, allowing operators to optimise their throughput, screening efficiency and product gradations,” the company said. “The primary screen performs as a fines extractor, whilst the secondary screen performs as a grader. Two processes on one plant, offering exceptional flexibility, excellent separation, accurate grading and massive throughput.”

Sandvik offers hybrid ‘e’ drive with electric plug-in on this solution, meaning operators can choose the most economical and efficient energy source. The QA452 provides a lower environmental impact due to reduced fuel consumption, and the latest powerpack on-board offers less operating noise and low emissions, according to the company. In addition, the hydraulic system has been enhanced to reduce energy wastage, and its hydraulic oil change intervals have been extended from 2,000 hours to 4,000 hours meaning up to 50% less hydraulic oil is consumed over 10,000 hours of machine usage (subject to oil sampling).

The primary screen on the QA452 can also be hydraulically separated to gain better access for maintenance and screen media changes. The addition of a new oversize cross conveyor means greater oversize material extraction, while this cross conveyor can also be reversed to allow the plant to function like a two-deck screen with oversize and mid overs discharged together.

Each screen deck features end tension screen media using Sandvik’s unique mesh tensioning system. This means faster screen mesh tensioning and removal, reducing downtime. The company’s new range of Sandvik WX rubber media, meanwhile, combines the high accuracy of wire screens with the durability of rubber, offering up to 10 times longer wear life and up to 50% faster installation time compared with wire mesh, according to the company. Having equal size panels also means the screen media is interchangeable between decks.

On top of this, thee QA452 comes with Sandvik’s My Fleet telemetry system and seven-year data subscription as standard. This offers 24/7 fleet management, geo-fencing and remote support, according to Sandvik.

Several safety features are included as standard to improve operator and on-site protection. Dust suppression spray bars, on-board water pump, safety pull cords and lighting mast are now fitted as standard for extra peace of mind.

Multotec spirals helping assess heavy minerals potential in Cameroon

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

Exploring for heavy minerals in Cameroon, a multinational mining company is gaining valuable results and insights through the use of an on-site pilot plant from South Africa-based process equipment leader Multotec.

The pilot plant was designed and assembled at Multotec’s extensive design, manufacturing and testing facilities at Spartan near Johannesburg, South Africa, and shipped to the remote site in central Africa last year. The containerised plant includes a range of Multotec’s own equipment including screen panels, cyclone rig and spiral rig.

According to Faan Bornman, Technology Manager: Research and Development at Multotec’s Technology Division, drill samples from the prospect area are passed over the screen to remove oversized material, with undersize going into a sump to be mixed with water to the correct density. The undersize material reports to the cyclone for desliming – the removal of very fine particles – delivering an underflow with an optimal size range of between 38 microns and 1 mm. This is fed to the spiral rig for concentration, with the spiral delivering a concentrate, middlings and tailings. The process allows the project to assess its economic heavy minerals portion, which is concentrated towards the inner section of the spiral.

“Multotec’s HX5 and 117HM spirals were employed to suit the customer’s requirement, with the new 117HM spiral showing great recovery in mineral sands,” Bornman says. “With the HX5 handling up to 5.5 t/h and the 117HM 2.3 t/h, these spirals also offer different recoveries and grade in the various heavy minerals.”

The equipment in this pilot plant is vital to achieving an accurate assessment of the deposit’s viability, but the results also give the customer important insights into how the full-scale plant should be designed if exploration proves results provide positive, according to Multotec.

“To ensure that the customer receives optimal value from the pilot plant, we sent a process engineer to site to commission the system,” Bornman says. “During the several weeks that he spent there, he also conducted training with local staff on how to run and maintain the plant.”

Kwatani customers set to benefit from Sandvik Rock Processing integration

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

Both local and foreign customers – as well as mineral processing OEMs looking for specialised solutions – are set to benefit from the recent acquisition of vibrating screen specialist Kwatani by global multinational Sandvik, according to the South Africa-based company.

The closing the transaction occurred late last year with Kwatani becoming part of Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions. 

The deal highlights South Africa’s world class nodes of excellence in the engineering sector, according to Kim Schoepflin, CEO of Kwatani, who says the Sandvik collaboration is a milestone for local industry. It also contributes significantly to the government’s industrialisation strategy, to foster world-class industries that can compete globally and promote job creation locally.

“The acquisition will allow Kwatani greater access into foreign markets through Sandvik’s extensive distribution network,” she says. “Our modern Kwatani facilities in Kempton Park, accredited in terms of ISO 9001:2015, is now the global engineering and manufacturing base for vibrating screens and feeders for customers.”

She adds that an added benefit for customers is the support they will receive through the Sandvik service network of engineers and technicians in the field. The proven interface between Kwatani and Sandvik equipment – for instance, a Kwatani screen feeding into a Sandvik crusher – will, the company says, add considerable value to customer’s purchasing choices.

“Customers get the best of both worlds, and can feel confident of the efficient dovetailing of our product ranges,” Schoepflin says.

Sandvik brings state-of-the-art resources which further leverage the benefits to Kwatani customers, the company says. This includes access to monitoring and automation processes as well as a depth of research and development into the application of technology like simulators.

Kwatani continues to invest heavily in its resources at its Kempton Park facilities, Schoepflin says, which employ and develop local expertise while sustaining a strong supply chain of local players. Sandvik supports this model, and shares the vision that business sustainability must be based on effective engagement, investment and commitment to the local economy. Kwatani’s local empowerment strategy supports transformation and is compliant with the South African Mining Charter.

“We work closely with local supply partners in our value chain – many of them being small businesses – to embed quality systems and manufacturing capacity,” Schoepflin says. “Customers can therefore be assured of quality throughout our products’ construction, with a reliable, sustainable and cost effective local production base.”

With its cost base rooted largely in the South African economy, Kwatani can offer customers a consistent pricing regime that is not vulnerable to frequent exchange rate fluctuations, it says. This has added to the popularity of Kwatani’s products at home and abroad, with the company twice being recognised in the Exporter of the Year awards hosted by the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC).

“Our growth has allowed us to build our complement of competent staff, who are continuously upskilled to stay a step ahead of industry needs – with the help of our in-house training centre,” Schoepflin says.

An important indication of Kwatani’s depth of expertise and field experience is its ability to precision-engineer specific solutions for other OEMs in mineral processing. This extends to highly specialised equipment like sorters, which demand very precise feed characteristics and other protection.

“We are a partner of choice to OEMs whose equipment must operate within tight specifications, and which may have other specific requirements that a standard range of screens would not accommodate,” Schoepflin says.

Kwatani’s approach addresses the three key elements of vibrating screen performance: ore properties, screen design parameters and screening media. Its engineering solutions address all these priorities, Schoepflin says, giving customers optimal results at the lowest cost of ownership.

Metso Outotec to ‘enrich’ mining, metallurgy decision making with Geminex digital twin

Automation, Environmental, IoT, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

The value a ‘true’ digital twin could provide the mineral processing and metallurgical industries has been spoken of continuously throughout the last few years, and Metso Outotec believes it is on the cusp of realising such value with its “science-based” Metso Outotec Geminex™ digital twin.

Designed to manage variability and optimise resources, the solution simulates and optimises seamless sustainable operations in minerals, pyro- and hydro-metallurgical processes by combining operational data from both internal and external data sources, the company says.

For simulation and production, Geminex uses the renowned HSC process models that already have over 20,000 users worldwide. These models – which combine versatile chemical, thermodynamic and mineral processing features – have been successfully implemented in hundreds of minerals and metals processing flowsheet development cases, with the same models used in plant run-time optimisation, according to Metso Outotec.

There’s more to this digital twin than the HSC process models alone, according to Veli-Matti Järvinen, Vice President, Automation at Metso Outotec.

Geminex uses “first-principle” dynamic process and equipment models for calibrated performance to help provide an ‘accurate’ digital twin for existing operations, he says.

“Here, both quality and availability of key process data are important,” he told IM, mentioning that normally available instrument and laboratory data tend to be sufficient inputs for generating the digital twin’s simulations.

And Geminex, through a series of “soft sensors”, also produces a vast amount of data that cannot be measured directly yet is leveraged through the dynamic process models, according to Järvinen.

“These soft sensors, as they are called, give an insight to the process that was not available before,” he explained, with examples including element or mineral content by particle size fractions in the process streams. This goes one step further than the feedback from, for instance, Metso Outotec’s Courier® on-stream analysers, which provide real-time elemental analysis measurements.

This makes the digital twin that much more powerful than existing solutions on the market, as it can introduce a new dataset to the equation.

And, as with all ‘true’ digital twins, the models are adapted to live data and continuously improved by machine-learning algorithms, Järvinen said.

“An example of this is model adaptation for variable ore types with different processing performance to help manage variability,” he said. “The resulting metallurgical digital twin is accurate, and its behaviour reflects the physical process.”

All this means Geminex can simulate and test alternative operational scenarios and parameters based on accurate process models and real data, providing the sort of decision-making tools the industry has been after for decades.

While the resource sustainability angle is key here – reinforced by the fact Metso Outotec has labelled Geminex as a Planet Positive product: a collection of the company’s most environmentally efficient technologies – the digital twin’s ability to use resources in an optimal way while considering both impacts and constraints is only a fraction of the industries’ value case.

The ability to incorporate new equipment and tools in a ‘live’ flowsheet that considers the specific characteristics of the orebody at hand and the conditions in which each processing stage receives material is very powerful. One can see it easily aiding the incorporation of new technology in the plant, with the simulations able to provide operators with the confidence to leverage innovations.

Järvinen says the digital twin’s use will also enable the company to start process flowsheet design that much earlier in the mine exploration/development stage.

“As soon as the customer has metallurgical data, the process can be designed and optimised to match the required economic optimum,” he said.

Metso Outotec’s strong experience in developing metallurgical processes, as well as incorporation of the process models of Metso Outotec’s HSC simulation package for minerals processing, pyro- and hydro-metallurgical processes, enables this early analysis.

“These models provide great value in the exploratory phase by enabling scenario analysis, which will help find alternatives for process flowsheets, equipment selection and even blending of different types of ore, if needed,” Järvinen said.

At the same time, Järvinen expects the Geminex digital twin to reduce the plant ramp-up time and “time to market” in the later mining project stages as operators will be that much better prepared for the likes of cold and hot commissioning.

“Great value and impact towards a positive change can be achieved in the run-time of the mining operation and the operating strategy by enriching decisions with the help of Geminex,” he said.

Geminex may be Metso Outotec’s own proprietary digital twin, but, thanks to an extensive back catalogue of process plant modelling references, it is able to run dynamic simulations that incorporate competitor equipment, according to Järvinen.

Similarly, while the company has sustainability and Planet Positive aims for Geminex, the equipment to feature in simulations does not have to be classified as Planet Positive, Järvinen says.

“The processes or assets do not need to be Planet Positive equipment, but those can become such with proper control and optimisation,” he said. “With Metso Outotec Geminex, the full value chain of mineral processing plants and hydro- and pyro-metallurgical plants are considered for Planet Positive production.”

Able to be implemented in modules, Geminex can be deployed piece by piece as part of customers’ digital transformation and continuous improvement projects, he added, opening the possibilities for Metso Outotec to leverage its capabilities beyond full flowsheet design.

In the development phase of Geminex, Metso Outotec carried out several successful pilots with universities and, now commercially available, the company has three ongoing projects in the delivery/commissioning phase with early adopters.

“These projects are already providing good results,” Järvinen said.

“With the good and growing process expertise, we are well prepared to support numerous customers with various optimisation targets in mind.”

Molycop enhances digital mineral processing position with Digital Control Lab buy

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , ,

Molycop has announced the completion of the acquisition of the assets of Digital Control Lab (DCL), a provider of mill monitoring solutions based in Florida, USA.

DCL has an established market position in the cement and mining mill monitoring domain, combined with strong brand recognition, innovative engineering capabilities and a reputation for delivering a differentiated technology offering, according to Molycop.

The business offers the MillSlicer, TriSlicer and MillScan monitoring systems for SAG and cement mills. These systems are installed on customer grinding mills and provide real-time insight into the inner workings of these critical assets. These solutions have proven to reduce liner damage, eliminate obstruction spills, increase material throughput all while producing a better targeted output, Molycop says.

Jim Anderson, CEO of Molycop, says: “We are very excited to be aligning our efforts with the DCL team. This aquisition will enhance our position at the forefront of providers of digital solutions for the global mining and industrial markets. This is an exciting and important step in Molycop’s digital transformation adding industry-leading mill scanning technology and products to our current digital offering.

“Our vision is to leverage DCL’s market reputation, product offering, domain expertise and intellectual property in mill monitoring solutions, to build upon Molycop’s current technical service and digital technology portfolio, to create the premier platform for mineral processing circuit monitoring and optimisation.”

Dr Karl Gugel, DCL CEO and Founder, says: “We are very pleased to be joining a company that has been at the forefront of providing solutions to the mining industry for over a century. I am passionate about the future opportunities this transaction provides and look forward to a great partnership with Molycop.”

Multotec addresses grade control, recovery issues with RAMA sampling system

Mineral processing, Mining services, , , , , , ,

With its latest sampling system that aligns with metallurgical accounting standards, minerals processing equipment company Multotec says it now offers unprecedented levels of accuracy for effective plant optimisation.

The company’s Realtime Automated Metallurgical Accounting (RAMA™) system promises to deliver significant value by unlocking higher mineral content through improved grade control and recovery, as well as by optimising the consumption of reagents. The system brings together three sampling disciplines – metallurgical accounting slurry sampling, sub-sampling, preparation and analysis – into one solution, it says.

“By integrating our advanced samplers with a sample preparation system that meets metallurgical accounting standards, we can feed online analysers with a fully representative and accurate sample,” Modisaotsile Nyokong, Process Manager at Multotec, says. “While analysers can be accurate instruments, they cannot provide meaningful results if they are fed with inaccurate samples.”

Nyokong highlights that the RAMA online analysis feed preparation system extracts regular and full sample increments from slurry flow streams according to AMIRA P754 metal accounting standards, best practice standard and Theory of Sampling (TOS). This eliminates more than 80% of the total sampling error and allows real time process control to be conducted to the highest standard, according to the company.

“Samples are extracted from the production flow using automated mechanical samplers which are TOS compliant,” he says. “This is achieved by taking full cross-cut samples that are representative of the flow stream.”

The analysed slurry is therefore unbiased, presenting an accurate reflection of all the key parameters such as particle size, slurry density, settling velocity and mineral grade, Multotec claims. Nyokong explains that process control samplers – including pressure pipe, poppet and shark fin type samplers – have traditionally been used to feed online analysers. However, these primary samplers do not comply with the TOS, with the result that poorly represented samples are analysed with high levels of precision – a futile exercise.

“Our advantage with the RAMA system lies with feeding representative samples to online analysers, using correct sampler designs,” Nyokong says. “This produces real-time results that represent the flow stream and are free of error or statistically significant bias.”

Multotec’s slurry sample preparation solution prepares and treats each analysis stream in its own line, making it ideally suited to analysers that deal with streams individually. This avoids cross-contamination. Where multiple streams are analysed through the same analyser source and detectors, some cross contamination of streams can occur with different grades or mineral properties – undermining the accuracy of the result.

Over an analyser multi-stream cycle, the RAMA system can collect composite samples for each stream, according to Willem Slabbert, Sampling and Magnetics Product Specialist at Multotec. This means the analyser does not measure the instantaneous off-take stream ‘sample’ from the traditional in-line continuous discharge like process control samplers – which is only done about 30 minutes apart.

“Rather, it measures the performance of each stream through multiple composite samples taken over the 30-minute interval,” Slabbert says “This reduces the grade or quality variability per flow stream, and gives the plant manager a more representative monitoring of minimum and maximum process conditions – with precise values.”

The problem with ‘snapshot’ sampling of process control samplers is that stream properties can fluctuate before and after the analysis., meaning the fluctuation is not captured in the results. By contrast, the RAMA system’s composite sample accounts for all process variations over the analysis period, according to Multotec.

Slabbert reiterates that sample analysis results are only as good as the sample presented for analysis, pointing out that this applies as much to online analysers for process control as it does to conventional laboratory analysis for metallurgical accounting.

“RAMA is also a cost saving solution, as separate process control samplers are no longer required,” he says. “The samplers’ purpose in our system is doubled up for both metal accounting and for process control – without the need for any compromise.”

Configured in a containerised and modular design, RAMA is a compact and mobile system. This allows for easy installation and retrofitting into any plant operation, where it can feed any type of online analyser. It can also be readily transported and commissioned, with flexibility for expansion where necessary. Layout options are available for plants that have primary and secondary sampling with a subsequent containerised sample preparation stations, as well as for those with primary sampling only and separate secondary sampling preparation.

The RAMA system allows analysers, for the first time, to be fed with representative samples taken from the production flow stream, according to the company.

Multotec added: “The innovative combination of existing equipment with proven track record into a modular, containerised solution will bridge the gap between metallurgical accounting accuracy and accurate process control.”

Slabbert concluded: “The advantages of this novel combination of sampling global best practices into process control applications will unlock value for both analyser calibration as well as optimal, dynamic process performance.”