Tag Archives: NextOre

NextOre and Pfeiffer to evaluate integration of MR bulk sorting and vertical roller mill tech

NextOre Ltd says it has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement and a share subscription agreement with Gebr. Pfeiffer, a leading German comminution technology company.

Pfeiffer is a family-owned business with a 159-year history of innovation, specifically in mill technologies. Importantly, Pfeiffer is aligned with NextOre’s mission to deliver sustainable breakthroughs in processing technologies, NextOre says.

Under the strategic cooperation agreement, NextOre and Pfeiffer will collaborate to explore opportunities to combine their respective technologies to drive a step-change in efficient, environmentally-friendly minerals processing using:

  • NextOre’s magnetic resonance sensors and real-time bulk ore sorting to allow companies to achieve more metal production from smaller plants with lower environmental impact; and
  • Pfeiffer’s innovative vertical roller mill technology for dry grinding, which, it says, provides a substantial benefit in energy saving, delivers a uniform size reduction with a narrow particle size distribution, provides a high reduction size ratio of up to 1,000 and is highly flexible.

The first focus of NextOre and Pfeiffer’s collaboration will be on an integrated iron ore sorting and grinding solution for Brazil and Australia iron ore producers. NextOre and Pfeiffer have also identified a portfolio of copper projects that could see particularly strong results from the application of the two companies’ proprietary technologies to overcome their specific challenges.

Under the share subscription agreement, Pfeiffer has invested A$5 million ($3.2 million) through a placement of ordinary shares.

Pfeiffer’s investment follows NextOre’s successful completion of a A$5.2 million funding campaign in July 2023, which was underpinned by RFC Ambrian’s QCM fund – leaving the company well-funded to execute on its growth plans.

NextOre CEO, Chris Beal (above on the left), said: “We are delighted to welcome Gebr. Pfeiffer, a business with a long history of excellence supporting heavy industries, as a strategic partner and valued shareholder and look forward to creating real and sustained value as we advance the NextOre technology.

“We are excited at the opportunity to combine NextOre’s leading technology with Pfeiffer’s dry grinding technology, which is seeing rapid adoption into leading miners’ feasibility studies and which we see as a game changer for environmental sustainability.

“NextOre is undergoing a phase of significant growth. Pfeiffer’s investment in our business is a strong endorsement of NextOre’s magnetic resonance technology and recognition of its game-changing potential in the global resources industry.

“Like Pfeiffer, we are committed to creating solutions that our customers can rely on. We are excited to further prove NextOre’s real-world applications through this collaboration.”

Gebr. Pfeiffer’s CEO, Mathias Dülfer (above on the right), said: “Rising energy costs coupled with declining ore grades and the need for improved sustainability require new process technology. We are pleased to announce our partnership with NextOre to provide solutions that together can set a new standard.

“By investing in NextOre, a company that has developed this innovative and ground-breaking ore sensing technology over many years, we are building a strong foundation for a collaboration that will add sustainable value to the mining industry.

“The combination of Pfeiffer’s dry grinding technology for minerals with NextOre’s upstream sorting technology complements each other to increase production efficiency while reducing consumption of natural resources.

“Pfeiffer’s way of working has led to many breakthrough innovations that have resulted in our leading vertical mills. The cooperation with NextOre is another important milestone in this regard and a further contribution to the expansion of our mining activities. This is a consistent continuation of our strategic focus on efficiency, sustainability and digitisation.”

United thinking on mining, water solutions can save money and protect the environment, Worley says

Today, the need for extraction and refinement of copper and other transition materials is essential to world development, as we navigate a transition to more sustainable energy technologies, Saleem Varghese and Carola Sepulveda* write. But as its importance has grown, copper ore grades have decreased at a rate of approximately 25% over the last decade – increasing demand pressures on the commodity – meaning miners need to process more material to achieve the same output.

Today’s copper mines also need a lot of water. A 50,000 t/d ore copper mine will consume around 30,000 cu.m/d of fresh water. This isn’t a problem in some geographies, but it’s critical to the viability of operations in some of the most copper-rich regions on earth, such as the Americas.

Copper miners in the Americas are united by the need to secure their water supply, reduce water consumption and manage their environmental impacts. What can they do to overcome these interrelated challenges, while meeting their production targets?

Where are we now?

Mining and processing depend on vast amounts of water, and for South American miners this leads to complications. The copper mines of the Americas are frequently located in arid and mountainous regions where water is scarce. Indeed Chile, a leading copper mining nation, is currently enduring a ‘mega-drought’ of 13 years and counting. Here, water is a national security issue, leaving some rural communities reliant on tankers to supply fresh drinking water.

This importance is recognised by miners as well, with local community impact and water management being the industry’s top ESG risks, concerning 78% and 76% of respondents, respectively, according to research by EY.

Indeed, by 2040, all Chilean copper mines are expected to be in areas suffering from water stress. Likewise, water efficiency is increasingly becoming a serious problem, with the water-energy nexus shifting and water becoming more expensive. For water-intensive mining processes, lack of access and an increasing price per litre can be potentially difficult hurdles to overcome.

For modern copper miners, there is a historic separation between mining and water operations which must be reengineered to improve water access and use. As mines see their speed to market and output slowed due to water stress, there are three key challenges which, if solved, will help the industry as it extracts the materials to electrify the world. Only by managing water and mining operations together and bringing in collaborative expertise, can miners tackle the challenges before them and deliver at pace.

Understanding the three critical factors for mining success

Water management is the key ESG factor copper miners face today, and this manifests in three key issues: one historic, one present and one which poses a challenge now and will only get worse.

The first challenge is securing a reliable water supply.

The second challenge is reducing water consumption and increasing water efficiency, to ease pressure on water supply.

And the third challenge is minimising environmental risks.

Overall, water issues could affect the viability of mining projects in many regions around the world. Mining operations require significant amounts of water for processes including mineral extraction, ore processing, dust suppression and more. However, in many areas such as in Latin America water is becoming scarce due to drought, climate change and overuse.

Supplying modern mines

To supply mines and refining plants, mines have recently moved away from shared groundwater supplies to desalinated water. Desalination is more expensive but offers less impact on local communities and environment. Given that mines in the Americas are usually distant from the coast and at higher altitudes, desalination represents a difficult challenge for engineers to make feasible. Alternatively, to secure groundwater lifting licences, consumption needs to be effectively managed, and any water put back into the environment must be treated effectively.

Solving the supply challenge by altering water consumption

In effect, the first problem, supply, can be eased by tackling the second issue: water consumption. If supply is the historical issue, using water more efficiently to alter consumption is the issue of today. Whether it’s water use in particle flotation or lost in tailings slurries (for transportation and storage), making sure these processes are done as economically, efficiently and sustainably as possible is key. This is where new technologies and solutions come in.

An example of this is seen in the storage of tailings. Where water cost and procurement are not an issue in different locales and climates, the storage of tailings in a slurry form is common. In arid conditions where water resources are strained, the economic sense behind storage slurries evaporates. Slurries not only take water out of the operational system and into a closed storage system (which will need to be replaced), but it also allows the potential for water loss through evaporation and seepage.

Dry storage techniques – which have increased in scale in recent years – are the obvious solution with greater water reclamation from tailings and increased safety in storage. Moreover, high-altitude mines and liquid-based storage pose a potential risk to those downstream, making dry storage safer and more effective.

Copper tailings from an old mine that are deposited between rock berms that help contain the sediment

Another example of reducing consumption can be through greater efficiency when appraising the ores to be processed. This can be done with advanced ore sorting technologies such as those offered by NextOre, a cutting-edge technology able to provide real-time analysis of newly extracted ores. Rather than typical analysis methods which can detect mineral particles at or near the surface of ore, NextOre’s magnetic resonance technology can evaluate and sort much coarser ore with accuracy and speed. This allows miners to selectively remove the waste or lower grade material before it enters the processing plant – ultimately saving water, with only the best ore to be utilised.

A common misconception about water projects is that they are expensive and require significant resources to implement. While water projects can be costly, it is important to consider the long-term benefits that they bring, such as increased water availability, environmental impact mitigation, improved access to clean water for communities, and further growth for industry.

Saving water, and protecting the local environment

The third issue, which is increasing in importance by the day, is managing the risk of localised environmental issues, especially acid mine drainage that can contaminate the natural environment.

This is an issue that is only going to become harder to tackle as the ores we are required to mine become lower grade and the ability to avoid sulphur-forming ores is lost. In this respect, new technologies can help as more challenging ores are treated.

Overall, the challenges faced by the industry cannot be addressed by a single solution, or by siloed teams attacking from all angles. A unified, collaborative approach will be needed for the best results.

The design and implementation of a water management approach should be tailored to the specific mine site needs and context of the community and stakeholders involved. For projects to succeed in the future, they must integrate mining, water and environmental capability under one roof – from front-end studies to delivery, and operations through end-of-life. Miners will benefit from working with a collaborative partner to consider mining operations and water issues holistically, and how new mining technologies can operate synergistically to help tackle these water challenges.

Why internal and external collaboration is key for businesses

The mining industry will struggle to solve its water challenges alone. And it doesn’t need to. The complexity of modern mine operations – and need for diversified expertise – simply reflects the scale of the energy transition, and the need to continuously improve environmental outcomes to maintain the social licence to operate.

The answer is not straightforward and requires a deep understanding of operations, mining, water management and the surrounding community. Collaboration needs to be coordinated to develop and implement real solutions for the enduring issues facing miners.

If done right, copper mining will bring lasting value to communities through low-impact operations that share the benefits of water infrastructure and provide meaningful local economic contributions. This is the responsible way to ensure we deliver the copper our world desperately needs.

*Saleem Varghese is Copper Growth Lead at Worley, while Carola Sepulveda is Water for Mining Lead, Peru, at Worley

NextOre’s in-pit sorting advances continue with development of mining truck sensor

NextOre and its magnetic resonance (MR) technology have made another advance in the ore sorting and material classification game with the development of a new “open geometry” sensor that could enable mines to scan mining truck loads.

The company, in the last year, has surpassed previous throughput highs using its on-conveyor belt solutions, accelerated the decision-making process associated with material sorting viability with its mobile bulk sorter and made strides to branch out into the in-pit sorting space via the development of these open geometry sensors.

NextOre’s MR technology is the culmination of decades of research and development by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), with the division spun out from the organisation in 2017. Since then, NextOre has gone on to demonstrate the technology’s viability across the globe.

NextOre’s MR analysers were first fitted on conveyor belts, yet interest in solutions for in-pit equipment predates the company’s inception.

“A significant portion of the time when CSIRO would show people the technology, they were working on for fitting on a conveyor belt, many would ask: ‘could you possibly put it around a truck somehow?’,” Chris Beal, CEO of NextOre, told IM.

After workshopping many ideas and developing increasingly large prototypes – commencing at the start with an antenna made up from a copper loop and a couple of capacitors – two in-pit solutions leveraging CSIRO’s open-geometry sensor have come to the fore.

The first – a 3-m-wide sensor – underwent static and dynamic tests using chalcopyrite copper ore grade samples in a material feeder setup in 2022, in Australia.

This test work, observed by several major mining companies, laid the groundwork for a bigger installation – a 7-m-wide ruggedised antenna that weighs about 5 t. This can be positioned over a haul truck and manoeuvred using a crane supplied by Eilbeck and guidance systems developed for NextOre by CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney.

The advantage of MR in a truck load scanning scenario, just as with a conveyor, is the ability to make accurate, whole-of-sample grade measurements at high speeds. Yet, to operate effectively, this system requires significant amounts of power.

“The truck system we are building is between 120 kW and 200 kW,” Beal said. “For people in the radio frequency space, power of that magnitude is hard to comprehend; they’re used to dealing with solutions to power mobile phones.”

For reference, a NextOre on-conveyor system rated up to 5,000 t/h has around 30 kW of installed power. And conveyor systems above 5,000 t/h have 60 kW of installed power.

The idea is that this new MR truck sensor station would be positioned at an ex-pit scanning station to the side of the main haul road at a site and trucks will be directed to ore or waste as a result. The test rig constructed in NextOre’s facility has been built to suit the truck class of the initial customer, which is a major copper mine using 180-t-class and 140-t-class haul trucks.

The first prototype has now been built (as can be seen by the photo) and is awaiting of shipment to the mine where a one-year trial is set to commence.

While pursuing this development, NextOre has also been increasing the scale of its conveyor-based installations.

Around nine months ago, IM reported on a 2,800 t/h MR ore sorting installation at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia, which had just shifted from sensing to sorting with the commissioning of diversion hardware.

Now the company has an ore sensing installation up and running in Chile that has a capacity of 6,500 t/h – a little over 50% higher than the highest sensing rate (4,300 t/h) previously demonstrated by the company at Newcrest’s Cadia East mine in New South Wales, Australia.

Beal said the unit has been up and running since December, with the copper-focused client very happy with the results.

For those companies looking to test the waters of ore sorting and sensing, another big development coming out of NextOre in recent years has been the construction of a mobile bulk sorter.

Able to sort 100-400 t/h of material on a 900-mm-width conveyor belt while running at 0.3-1 m/s, these units – one of which has been operated in Australia – is able to compress the timeline normally associated with making a business case for ore sorting.

“As people can now hire such a machine, they are finding it either resolves a gap in proving out the technology or it can be used to solve urgent issues by providing an alternative source of process feed from historical dumps,” Beal said. “They want to bring a unit to site and, after an initial configuration period, get immediate results at what is a significant scale.”

Such testing has already taken place at Aeris Resources’ Tritton copper operations in New South Wales, where the unit took material on the first surface stockpile taken from an underground mine.

While this initial trial did not deliver the rejection rate anticipated by Aeris – due largely to rehandling of the material and, therefore, a reduction in ore heterogeneity ahead of feeding the conveyor – Aeris remains enthusiastic about the technology and Beal is expecting this unit to be redeployed shortly.

“We now know thanks to results from Kansanshi, Carmen Copper Corp/CD Processing, this new Chilean site and Cozamin (owned by Capstone Copper) that this in-situ grade variability can be preserved, and that mixing impacts directly on sorting performance,” Beal said. “Even so, we have seen really good heterogeneity persist in spite of the unavoidable levels of mixing inherent in mining.”

He concluded: “People want this type of equipment not in a year’s time, but next month. Capitalising the business to put more mobile units out in the world is a priority.”

Metso Outotec aims for higher capacities as ore sorting offering develops

The entry of Metso Outotec into the bulk ore sorting space arguably heralds the beginning of a new stage of market adoption – one that is focused on significant throughputs across multiple commodities.

In May, the mining OEM announced a collaboration agreement with Malvern Panalytical, a company that has been using Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation (PFTNA) technology onboard its cross-belt analysers to analyse and help divert ore and waste streams with improved accuracy.

Up until that announcement, Metso Outotec had mooted the benefits of bulk ore sorting in several industry articles. On the smaller scale, it had also renewed its ongoing agreement with particle ore sorting major player, TOMRA.

The company said its agreement with Malvern Panalytical, which has previously worked on bulk sorting projects with Anglo American among others, brought together its expertise in crushing and bulk material handling solutions with Malvern Panalytical’s ore analysis nous to offer an industry-leading portfolio of solutions for bulk ore sorting.

Rashmi Kasat, Vice President, Digital technologies at Metso Outotec, said in the press release that the pact with Malvern Panalytical would allow the company to meet the industry’s increasing sustainability and resource efficiency needs in an enhanced way in the early comminution stage.

“Sensor-based bulk ore sorting and data-driven analysis upgrades low grade or waste stockpiles, making them economical and far less energy-intensive to treat,” she said.

There are obvious positive benefits up- and down-stream of sensor-based sorting too, with the ability to carry out a low-cost mining method (upstream), as well as reduced capital investments in downstream equipment already shown with early-adopter projects.

That is before considering the relative energy and water reduction requirements that come with applying the technology.

Kasat later told IM that the company’s existing portfolio of material handling modules, crushing stations or mobile crushing equipment, as well as bulk material handling solutions, already “complement” the concept of bulk sorting.

“The addition of the bulk sensor is easily achieved,” she clarified. “The diversion mechanism will be included as well to be able to offer the whole plant out of one hand.”

With crushing stations – at least in the in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC) space – that can go up to 15,000 t/h (see the company’s Foresight™ semi-mobile primary gyratory station), the prospect of Metso Outotec making a concerted effort to get into the bulk ore sorting space bodes well for the rising throughputs of projects.

NextOre recently claimed it had commissioned the world’s largest bulk ore sorting system at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia. This installation, which uses the company’s magnetic resonance technology, comes in at a 2,800 t/h-rated capacity.

Scantech, meanwhile, recently confirmed it has a GEOSCAN GOLD installation using prompt gamma neutron activation analysis technology for bulk sensing/sorting up and running that uses a diversion system at conveyed flow rates of more than 6,000 t/h.

Kasat, without naming a range, confirmed Metso Outotec was targeting “higher capacities” in line with the sensors available on the market. She also clarified that the agreement with Malvern Panalytical was “non-exclusive”.

“We will choose all our sensor/analyser partners strategically,” she explained. “Malvern Panalytical has a leading position and history in this field with proven technology for ore sensing. We will leverage our and their Tier 1 position in the industry for our bulk ore sorting offering.”

Malvern Panalytical uses Pulsed Fast Thermal Neutron Activation technology onboard its cross-belt analysers to analyse and help divert ore and waste streams with improved accuracy

As the type of sensor to be employed varies based on several factors including mineralogy, plant capacity, application of bulk ore sorting, etc, Metso Outotec will identify the right partners for the right need, she explained.

The major constraints for these sensors are often measurement times and sensor penetration, according to Kasat.

“There are very few sensors out there that can do sensing of a 500-mm-deep bed of rock on a conveyor belt, moving at 5-6 m/s,” she said. “But our current and future prospective partners are working on developing the technologies to reduce measurement times without compromising the accuracy of measurement.”

The mining OEM is looking to, in most cases, provide ‘plug and play’ flowsheets for bulk ore sorting and then carry out the required customisation per sensor.

This plan reinforces Kasat’s assertion that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ concept in bulk ore sorting applications.

For new projects, the process could see the company start with metallurgical testing, progress to mobile/fixed pilot plants in the “backyard” to test the accuracy of the sensors for the given application, and then find the right solution for the customer’s use case.

Renato Verdejo, Business Development Lead for Bulk Ore Sorting at Metso Outotec, added: “For existing plants, we will install the sensor over the belt conveyor and analyse the results after selecting the right sensor for this sorting application.”

Metso Outotec intends to focus on major commodities like copper, iron, nickel and gold, among others, with applications such as waste/ore sorting, low grade re-crushing and beneficiation process optimisation.

Within this wide remit – and in line with its non-exclusive agreements with Malvern Panalytical and TOMRA – the company is also considering the combination of both bulk and particle sorting in flowsheet designs.

Metso Outotec, in 2021, renewed its ongoing agreement with particle ore sorting major player, TOMRA

“The combination of the superior throughput of a bulk application with the selectivity of particle sorting in a rougher-scavenger setup is something that can bring sorting to high volume mines in the future,” Kasat said.

“Plant concepts and flowsheets have already been conceptualised and we expect the first deliveries to be in pilot stations to test the sensors on site,” she added, saying that the tonnage requirements for bulk ore sorting sensor validation meant a bulk sensor would have to be piloted in the field to get statistically meaningful data about the properties of the deposit.

Metso Outotec’s crushing system offering will form the “base” for these solutions, with ore sorting optionality available to all customers, she said.

This sensor-based optionality also overlaps with another in-demand part of Metso Outotec’s business: IPCC.

The company’s dedicated team in Germany are responsible for this area, developing projects backed by comprehensive studies.

They – like most of the industry – are aware of the potential application for sensor-based ore sorting in IPCC projects.

Markus Dammers, Senior Engineer of Mine Planning for Metso Outotec and one of the team members in Germany, said there were applications for both bulk and particle sorting in IPCC applications, with the former likely integrated after primary crushing and the latter after secondary/tertiary crushing.

“Bulk ore sorting in an IPCC application should be integrated after primary crushing in order to recover marginal material determined as waste in the block model, or reject waste from the ore stream,” he said.

Bulk ore sorting in an IPCC application should be integrated after primary crushing in order to recover marginal material determined as waste in the block model, or reject waste from the ore stream, according to Markus Dammers

If integrated after secondary or tertiary crushing, it becomes less effective, with the ore’s heterogeneity decreasing every time the ore is rehandled, transferred, crushed, blended, etc.

“In this manner one can take advantage of the natural variability in the deposit, rather than blending it out, with bulk ore sorting,” he said.

After secondary and tertiary crushing, particle sorting may be applied as a “standalone or subsequent ‘cleaner’ process step”, he added.

With Metso Outotec open to the inclusion of ore sorting in fully-mobile, semi-mobile and stationary crushing stations within an IPCC context, the company has many potential customers – existing and new – out there.

And that is just in IPCC applications.

The company also has hundreds of crushing stations on fixed plant installations that could represent potential sorting opportunities.

Metso Outotec, on top of this massive install base, has a few advantages over traditional ore sorting vendors in that it understands the plant that goes around the analysis and diversion process associated with ore sorting; knows how important uptime is to its customers; and, through sophisticated modelling, realises what impact changes in the flowsheet will have up- and down-stream of such equipment.

“The key point here is to have all the equipment to handle and process the ore to feed the sorter and, later, having the technology to divert the material and retain the availability of the plant without changes,” Kasat said.

Energised by its Planet Positive aims of responding to the sustainability requirements of its customers in the fields of energy or water efficiency, emissions, circularity and safety, the company is now ready to flex its processing plant muscles to increase the industry’s adoption of bulk and particle sorting technology.

NextOre, First Quantum fully commission ‘world’s largest bulk ore sorting system’

A 2,800 t/h MRA ore sorting installation at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia is now fully commissioned and using diversion hardware, Chris Beal, CEO of NextOre, told RFC Ambrian and Stonegate Capital Partners’ Copper Pathway to 2030 webinar on Tuesday.

Presenting alongside speakers from RFC Ambrian, Oroco Resource Corp and First Quantum Minerals, Beal revealed that the diversion process on what he said was the highest capacity bulk ore sorting operation in the world had now commenced, some 16-17 months after the magnetic resonance (MR) based system was installed and testing commenced.

“After a one year sensing-only trial, Kansanshi has now gone forward and commissioned and tested diverting hardware in May that has allowed them to fully transform into an inline bulk sorting system,” he said.

“With the validation of that having just gone by, this now represents the highest capacity sorting plant in the world.”

NextOre was originally formed in 2017 as a joint venture between CSIRO, RFC Ambrian and Worley, with its MR technology representing a leap forward in mineral sensing that, it said, provides accurate, whole-of-sample grade measurements.

Demonstrated at mining rates of 4,300 t/h, per conveyor belt, the technology comes with no material preparation requirement and provides grade estimates in seconds, NextOre claims. This helps deliver run of mine grade readings in seconds, providing “complete transparency” for tracking downstream processing and allowing operations to selectively reject waste material.

The installation at Kansanshi is positioned on the sulphide circuit’s 2,800 t/h primary crushed conveyor belt, with the system taking precise measurements every four seconds for tonnages in the region of 2.5 t to a precision of +/- 0.028%.

“Magnetic resonance technology, in particular, is very well suited to high throughput grade measurement – it is measuring all of the material that is going through,” Beal explained. “And these sensors like to be filled with more material.

“We hope to go larger from here. And we, in fact, have projects ongoing to do that.”

This wasn’t the only reveal Beal provided during the webinar, with the other announcement slightly smaller in scale, yet no less significant.

Seeking to address the lower end of the bulk ore sorting market, the company has come up with a mobile bulk sorting plant that is powered by MR sensors.

This solution, coming with a capacity of up to 400 t/h, has now found its way to Aeris Resources’ Murrawombie mine in New South Wales, Australia, where it is being used for a trial.

At Murrawombie, the setup sees an excavator feed a mobile crusher, with the crushed material then passed to the mobile ore sorting installation (the conveyor, the sensor, the diverter and supporting equipment). The system, according to Beal, provides bulk ore sorting results in a cost- and time-efficient manner.

It has been designed to suit small mines and those seeking to monetise historical dumps, or to provide a rapid test method for bulk sorting to support a potentially much larger bulk sorting plant, Beal explained.

The fully-diesel setup is destined for copper operations globally and potentially some iron ore mines, he added.

Magnetite Mines plots Razorback DFS path that includes ore sorting

Magnetite Mines is preparing to commence a definitive feasibility study at its Razorback iron ore project in South Australia after receiving positive results back from a pre-feasibility study (PFS).

The PFS supports declaration of a maiden ore reserve of 473 Mt based on 12.8 Mt/y plant throughput and 2 Mt/y of high-grade concentrate, but it has opened the door for two other options.

Process plant optimisation, for instance, could see a nominal 15.5 Mt/y feed using three grinding stages, three stage magnetic separation and flotation to generate a premium-grade magnetite concentrate with 67.5-68.5% Fe content. And a “Head Grade Improvement Case”, based on higher mining rates with a head grade upgrade from selective mining or ore sorting, could see around 2.7 Mt/y of high-grade concentrate produced.

Razorback would involve initial capital investment of $429-$506 million for a post-tax internal rate of return of 14-33%. This is based on the range of throughput and concentrate production options, in addition to 62% Fe iron ore prices of either $110/t or $150/t.

Magnetite Mines said preparation for a prompt commencement of a definitive feasibility study is well advanced with further drilling, test work, metallurgical investigation and engineering workplans in progress.

Magnetite Mines Limited CEO, Peter Schubert, said: “The PFS is a significant milestone for the company, and defines our optimised go forward scope, which has been developed following rigorous and methodical testing of various options. The resulting scope meets our objectives of practical scale, capital efficiency, attractive returns, high quality product and an expected low emissions footprint.

“This small-scale start-up allows for a practical development of a long life, high quality business with a targeted date for first ore on ship at the end of 2024.”

The mining strategy involves a simple, small-scale mining operation, using mining contractors at start-up to simplify development and leverage the advantages of low strip ratio and short, flat hauls due to orebody geometry and outcropping nature, it said.

“The potential for selective mining is a key criterion and a simple truck and shovel operation was selected as a flexible, reliable and selective method of resource extraction,” the company said. “Bulk methods such as electric rope shovels, in-pit crushing and conveying and continuous miners were investigated but not selected.”

The selected fleet used a single 350 t excavator as primary unit with wheel loader back-up loading medium class (150-190 t) rear dump trucks. The 350 t excavator class was chosen as the maximum size of excavator that can achieve the 1 m of selectivity required to take advantage of the orebody characteristics. Ancillary gear has been sized to a size class appropriate for the excavator productivity and road geometry.

“During the definitive feasibility study, as further geological drilling and geo-metallurgical testing is undertaken, the fleet mix will be reassessed match capacity requirements once selective mining strategies are finalised,” the company said.

During the PFS, investigations and modelling showed there is significant potential in accelerating mining activities and realising higher plant feed grades, from some combination of accelerated and selective mining, stockpiles strategy and/or ore sorting, the company said.

Magnetite Mines has been investigating the potential application of a NextOre magnetic resonance analyser (MRA) with ore sorting technology to the Razorback resource. The use of the MRA allows for a high throughput, high accuracy bulk sorting application that is typically added to the front-end of a processing flow sheet to divert waste ores away before processing, it said. “This has the effect of improving mining grades by pre-concentrating the ore that will be subject to processing, whilst rejecting significant tonnages of low-grade material to tailings via a diversion method such as a chute flop gate or dead box diverter,” the company added.

In October, the company announced it had entered into an agreement with NextOre to supply a mobile bulk ore sorting plant using a magnetite resonance sensor for a trial of the NextOre technology. While the bulk trial was originally scheduled for later in 2021, NextOre and the company have agreed to reschedule this trial until later in the development schedule to allow for the results of planned infill drilling and metallurgical test work that are part of the planned definitive feasibility study to be incorporated in the bulk trial design, the company said.

To assess the impact of improved head grades in the PFS, meanwhile, results from an ore sorting case have been developed, using an increased mining rate and the block model used for reserves, then applying the previously released ore sorting results to generate improved plant head grades and mass recoveries.

“These results are consistent with the analysis earlier in the year on the discrete mineralised bands of the deposit and the gridded seam model,” it said. “Due to these encouraging results, the go-forward case for Razorback will be based on the higher head grades available from selective mining and ore sorting, which will be investigated further with comprehensive infill drilling of the Razorback orebody planned and designed to inform a selective mining schedule to definitive feasibility study standards.”

For the PFS, in addition to the test work completed as part of the 2013 PFS and additional high resolution DTR (Davis Tube Recovery) test work, a comprehensive mineralogical test program was completed to better understand the mineralogical composition of the Razorback and Iron Peak deposits, complementing the existing data from the previous test work program. This was informed by the results of the 2013 PFS study, which was completed for a two-module processing plant for a total of 6.2 Mt/y, and an optimised business case for a third module bringing it to 9.3 Mt/y.

Designed by the company’s process engineering consultants, the test work was used to improve the flowsheet. The flowsheet in the 2019 scoping study had three stages of grinding, three stages of magnetic separation and a final cleaning stage with a hydro separator producing final magnetite concentrate at a grind size of a P80 of 25 μm. This is a widely used, low risk flowsheet, but has significant power requirements and generates a very fine magnetite concentrate with potential filtration and product use issues, the company said.

The company has now generated a preferred flowsheet and plant layout for the PFS, which has significant advantages in efficiency and separation over the conventional configuration used in the scoping study estimates, it said. The inclusion of fine grinding and flotation allows efficient production of high-quality concentrate. The final scale of the preferred go-forward option is plant feed of approximately 15.5 Mt/y with ability to process up to 20% DTR with a capacity of up to 3.1 Mt/y concentrate.

NextOre’s magnetic resonance tech up and running at First Quantum’s Kansanshi

Australia-based NextOre is onto another ore sorting assignment with its magnetic resonance (MR) sensing technology, this time in Zambia at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine.

NextOre was originally formed in 2017 as a joint venture between CSIRO, RFC Ambrian and Worley, with its MR technology representing a leap forward in mineral sensing that provides accurate, whole-of-sample grade measurements, it says.

Demonstrated at mining rates of 4,300 t/h, per conveyor belt, the technology comes with no material preparation requirement and provides grade estimates in seconds, NextOre claims. This helps deliver run of mine grade readings in seconds, providing “complete transparency” for tracking downstream processing and allowing operations to selectively reject waste material.

Having initially successfully tested its magnetic resonance analysers (MRAs) at Newcrest’s Cadia East mine in New South Wales, Australia, the company has gone onto test and trial the innovation across the Americas and Asia.

More recently, it set up camp in Africa at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi copper mine where it is hoping to show off the benefits of the technology in a trial.

The MRA in question was installed in January on the sulphide circuit’s 2,800 t/h primary crushed conveyor at Kansanshi, with the installation carried out with remote assistance due to COVID-19 restrictions on site.

Anthony Mukutuma, General Manager at First Quantum’s Kansanshi Mine in the Northwestern Province of Zambia, said the operation was exploring the use of MRAs for online ore grade analysis and subsequent possible sorting to mitigate the impacts of mining a complex vein-type orebody with highly variating grades.

“The installation on the 2,800 t/h conveyor is a trial to test the efficacy of the technology and consider engineering options for physical sorting of ore prior to milling,” he told IM.

Chris Beal, NextOre CEO, echoed Mukutuma’s words on grade variation, saying daily average grades at Kansanshi were on par with what the company might see in a bulk underground mine, but when NextOre looked at each individual measurement – with each four seconds representing about 2.5 t – it was seeing some “higher grades worthy of further investigation”.

“The local geology gives it excellent characteristics for the application of very fast measurements for bulk ore sorting,” he told IM.

Mukutuma said the initial aim of the trial – to validate the accuracy and precision of the MRA scanner – was progressing to plan.

“The next phase of the project is to determine options for the MRA scanner to add value to the overall front end of processing,” he said.

Beal was keen to point out that the MRA scanner setup at Kansanshi was not that much different to the others NextOre had operating – with the analyser still measuring copper in the chalcopyrite mineral phase – but the remote installation process was very different.

“Despite being carried out remotely, this installation went smoother than even some where we had a significant on-site presence,” he said. “A great deal of that smoothness can be attributed to the high competency of the Kansanshi team. Of course, our own team, including the sensing and sorting team at CSIRO, put in a huge effort to quickly pivot from the standard installation process, and also deserve a great deal of credit.”

Beal said the Kansanshi team were supplied with all the conventional technical details one would expect – mechanical drawings, assembly drawings, comprehensive commissioning instructions and animations showing assembly.

To complement that, the NextOre team made use of both the in-built remote diagnostic systems standard in each MRA and several remote scientific instruments, plus a Trimble XR10 HoloLens “mixed-reality solution” that, according to Trimble, helps workers visualise 3D data on project sites.

“The NextOre and CSIRO teams were on-line on video calls with the Kansanshi teams each day supervising the installation, monitoring the outputs of the analyser and providing supervision in real time,” Beal said. He said the Kansanshi team had the unit installed comfortably within the planned 12-hour shutdown window.

By the second week of February the analyser had more than 90% availability, Beal said in early April.

He concluded on the Kansanshi installation: “There is no question that we will use the remote systems developed during this project in each project going ahead, but, when it is at all possible, we will always have NextOre representatives on site during the installation process. This installation went very smoothly but we cannot always count on that being the case. And there are other benefits to having someone on site that you just cannot get without being there.

“That said, in the future, we expect that a relatively higher proportion of support and supervision can be done through these remote systems. More than anything, this will allow us to more quickly respond to events on site and to keep the equipment working reliably.”

Magnetite Mines up for NextOre magnetic resonance ore sorting pilot at Razorback

Having shown potential in lab-based test work to increase head grades at the Razorback project, NextOre’s magnetic resonance (MR) ore sorting technology is to now get an outing in South Australia at the high-grade iron ore development.

Razorback owner, Magnetite Mines, says it has entered into an agreement with NextOre to supply a mobile bulk ore sorting plant using a magnetic resonance (MR) sensor for a trial of the technology at the project.

The company said: “This advances our exclusive partnership with NextOre and is an important step in our journey to unlocking the potential of the Razorback project. The company is excited by the potential of the NextOre technology to enhance processing of by ‘pre-concentrating’ run of mine ore feed to increase plant head grade.”

The NextOre agreement includes a non-refundable deposit of A$100,000 ($71,418) and contemplates further, staged payments of A$700,000, Magnetite Mines says. The scope covers supply of a full-scale mobile ore sorting plant to site at Razorback for sorting magnetite ore using MR technology during the trial period for the purpose of mine feasibility analysis. The agreement includes milestone dates, with the equipment despatch from the CSIRO Lucas Heights facility, in New South Wales, expected in 2021.

Formed in 2017 by CSIRO, Advisian Digital and RFC Ambrian, NextOre supplies MR ore sorting solutions to global mining companies that applies mineral sensing technology developed by the CSIRO.

Unlike traditional ore sorting technologies that are based on X-ray or infra-red transmission, NextOre’s on-belt MR analyser ore sorting solution allows for the grade of high throughput ore to be measured at industry-leading accuracies and speeds, NextOre says. Due to the high speed of the technology, the integrative system is able to perform the analysis, computation and physical diversion of waste ores down to one second intervals allowing for fast diversion or high-resolution sorting.

As previously reported, the company entered into an exclusivity agreement with NextOre granting Magnetite Mines exclusive use of its MR ore sorting technology for any magnetite processing applications Australia-wide and all iron ore applications in the Braemar (including New South Wales) for a period of four years.

Magnetite Mines Chairman, Peter Schubert, said: “NextOre’s magnetic resonance sorting technology, developed over many years in conjunction with the CSIRO, has a rapid response time allowing unprecedented selection accuracy and speed. The result is potential for a substantial increase in the head grade of plant feed, resulting in lower unit operating costs and a significant improvement in capital efficiency.

“This technology also offers potential environmental benefits, with enhanced water efficiency and reduced tailings volumes.”

He added: “We are particularly interested in the potential of the NextOre technology to increase the grade of ore fed to the concentrator. The bulk trial of this exciting technology will contribute to the study work now underway.”

Chris Beal, CEO of NextOre said: “We are enthusiastic supporters of Magnetite Mines’ vision of unlocking the vast resources in South Australia’s Braemar region. Their disciplined approach, which leverages emerging technologies with well-established mining methodologies, is a testament to the team’s knowledge and experience in the field.

“In our collaborative planning, the Magnetite Mines methodology of carefully integrating mine and mill activities speaks strongly to the ability to generate the maximum value from bulk ore sorting solution. I am thrilled that NextOre can contribute to this transformative project and I look forward to jointly developing Australia’s reputation as a global leader in green resource extraction.”

NextOre’s ore sorting tech shows potential at Magnetite Mines’ Razorback project

Magnetite Mines Ltd says a study looking at applying NextOre’s on-belt magnetic resonance ore sorting solution at its Razorback Iron project, in South Australia, has shown the potential for a significant increase in plant throughput at the asset.

The ASX-listed company said results to date indicated that Razorback ores are especially well suited to bulk ore sorting with substantial improvements to ore mass recovery demonstrated in the study, completed by NextOre (a partnership between CSIRO and industry players Advisian and RFC Ambrian).

NextOre’s solution uses an on-conveyor magnetic resonance sensor to continually sense the grade of the material on the belt. This information is used to control a diverter gate that separates material above the selected cutoff grade (accepted material) from material below that grade (rejected material).

Magnetite Mines and NextOre, in October, signed an agreement that allows the development company exclusivity over any magnetite processing applications, Australia-wide, and all iron ore applications in the Braemar (including New South Wales) for a period of four years.

NextOre’s Razorback report demonstrates that the heterogeneity of the Razorback and Iron Peak resources allows for the potential for significant upgrading from ore sorting, Magnetite Mines said.

“For example, at a 50% rejection level (corresponding to a cutoff grade of approximately 16% Fe at Iron Peak and 14% Fe at Razorback), the grade of the accepted material would be increased by a factor of about 1.4,” the company said.

Were this to be implemented as part of a development of the project, by increasing mining rates, and pre-concentrating the plant feed, the throughput of a given plant capacity could be increased by some 40%, the company said. This would create significant savings in capital and operating costs per tonne of concentrate product, it added.

In order to assess the potential for bulk ore sorting at Razorback, NextOre used data drawn from the overall geological model for the Razorback and Iron Peak resources (the two resources that make up the Razorback project). The Razorback project currently has an inferred and indicated resource of 2,732 Mt at a grade of 18.2% Fe, but Magnetite Mines intends to produce a 68.8% Fe concentrate from the project.

NextOre then applied a fractal model, applying a mixing model to assess the predicted grade variation or heterogeneity of ‘pods’ of ore as they would present to an on-conveyor bulk ore sorting implementation, Magnetite Mines explained. Various sorting cutoff grades were selected to demonstrate a range of grade improvement scenarios, the company noted.

Magnetite Mines said: “Following the recently completed scoping study for a low capital cost, staged development of the Razorback project resources, this study highlights the applicability of NextOre’s magnetic resonance bulk ore sorting technology to the processing of the Razorback ores.

“When applied to a large, heterogeneous, low strip ratio deposit, such as Razorback, bulk ore sorting represents a pre-concentration technology ahead of the concentrator that can enhance throughput, improve economic efficiency and reduce tailings and water use.”

Magnetite Mines Chairman, Peter Schubert, said: “While our scoping study results for a low capital, staged development have been highly encouraging, we are now confident that the use of leading edge ore sorting technology can further enhance results, providing the company with a sustainable competitive advantage.”

Magnetite Mines and NextOre sign ore sorting exclusivity pact

Magnetite Mines Ltd says it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with ore sorting technology company NextOre to use its leading-edge magnetic resonance ore sorting technology for pre-concentration of magnetite and iron ore projects.

The terms of the agreement include exclusive use for any magnetite processing applications Australia-wide and all iron ore applications in the Braemar (including New South Wales) for a period of four years.

Formed in 2017 by RFC Ambrian, Advisian Digital and the CSIRO, NextOre aims to commercialise magnetic resonance ore sorting technology, an on-belt mineral sensing technology developed by the CSIRO. The technology uses a magnetic resonance analyser (MRA), a form of radio frequency spectroscopy, for the quantitative measurement of target ore minerals.

The use of the MRA allows for a high throughput, high accuracy bulk sorting application that is typically added to the front-end of a processing flow sheet to divert waste ores away before processing, according to Magnetite Mines. “This has the effect of improving mining grades by pre-concentrating the ore that will be subject to processing, whilst rejecting significant tonnages of low-grade material to tailings via a diversion method such as a chute flop gate or dead box diverter.”

The theorised result of ore sorting is a reduced volume of upgraded ore that performs better in the processing plant while reducing processing costs as nil-value material that would ordinarily be subject to downstream processing is rejected early on, according to the company.

“Unlike traditional ore sorting technologies that are based on X-ray or infra-red transmission, NextOre’s on-belt MRA ore sorting solution allows for the grade of high throughput ore to be measured at industry-leading accuracies and speeds. Due to the high speed of the technology, the integrative system is able to perform the analysis, computation and physical diversion of waste ores down to 1 second intervals allowing for fast diversion or high resolution sorting.”

Magnetite Mines Chairman, Peter Schubert, said: “We see great potential for technology to unlock a step change in competitiveness of our Razorback iron project (pictured). NextOre has completed an initial mathematical assessment based on our extensive geological data and the results are encouraging.”

Schubert said the company was moving to bulk test work to prove its application in its Razorback iron project, which has generated some 3,900 Mt of iron ore resources and has over 110 km of unexplored strike. The company believes it will be able to produce a 68.8% Fe concentrate from the project.

He added: “NextOre’s magnetic resonance sorting technology, developed over many years in conjunction with the CSIRO, has a rapid response time allowing unprecedented selection accuracy and speed.

“The result is a substantial increase in the head grade of plant feed, resulting in lower unit operating costs and a significant improvement in capital efficiency. But the application of this technology also gives environmental benefits, with enhanced water efficiency and lower tailings levels.”

Razorback already has advantages of scale, proximity to established ports, proximity to rail and shallow stripping, according to Schubert, “but the NextOre technology takes the competitiveness of the resource to another level”.

The company has initiated a desktop study of NextOre’s ore sorting solution with initial results to-date being very positive, it said.

Initial analysis of the macro-scale heterogeneity of the Razorback iron project JORC 2012 mineral resources indicates that the orebodies are suited to the application of ore sorting.

“The highly selective technology is particularly well suited to magnetite measurement and can be calibrated for several mineral types,” it said. “Further test work is envisaged in the near future in aid of refining the existing flowsheet.”

Chris Beal, CEO of NextOre, said: “The Braemar Province is really an astonishingly vast mineralogical system and represents an incredible potential for value. Owing in large part to the way nature arranged its geology, the system appears particularly well suited to the application of bulk ore sorting systems.

“In terms of reductions in water and electricity consumption, tailings dam size reductions, and overall plant efficiencies, the application of bulk ore sorting has the potential to impact developments in the region in a significant way.”