Tag Archives: ore sorting

South Crofty pre-con, ore sorting test work implies improved project economics, Cornish Metals says

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , ,

Cornish Metals Inc has received results back from TOMRA Sorting GmbH that indicate X-ray Transmission (XRT) sensor-based sorting could be a viable option for its South Crofty tin project in the UK.

The feasibility study on South Crofty, a iconic former producing copper and tin mine with first documented production history dating back to 1592, is advancing on schedule with a substantial amount of the study completed, Cornish Metals said. The mine was the last tin operation in Cornwall to close in 1998.

Metallurgical test work and heavy liquid separation (HLS) pre-concentration test work provided “excellent results”, the company said.

Conducted on samples from the 2023 metallurgical drill program across five mineralised zones (No. 4 Lode, No. 8 Lode, Roskear B/D Lodes, North Pool Zone and Dolcoath South), it represented the majority of the potential production areas in the first six years of the proposed mine life, according to Cornish Metals.

The XRT work came back with a 55% mass rejection and less than 3% metal loss (-50 mm – +15 mm size fraction), while the HLS testing saw a 50% mass rejection and lesss than 5% metal loss (-15 mm – +0.85 mm size fraction).

The XRT ore sorter test work of bulk composite samples was completed by TOMRA Sorting GmbH, with the HLS test work of bulk composite samples completed by Wardell Armstrong International.

Cornish Metals said: “The test work results confirm the upgrading potential of South Crofty mineralisation and enables continuation of the process design optimisation work to reduce the size of the mineral processing plant and materially lower capital costs, operating costs and environmental footprint.”

Richard Williams, CEO and Director of Cornish Metals, said the company expected the mineralisation at South Crofty to respond well to XRT ore sorting, but these results exceeded “our most optimistic expectations”.

He added: “We expect this result will have a positive effect on the project economics, allowing for lower power consumption and a smaller process plant and therefore lower capital and operating costs.”

In addition to ore sorting test work, the following feasibility study components have also been completed:

  • Headframe structural modelling and refurbishment;
  • Schedule and costing for the refurbishment and recommissioning of New Cooks Kitchen and New Roskear shafts;
  • Televiewer investigations and geotechnical rock testing to confirm known historical structural and rock mass property data;
  • Conceptual numerical modelling of the proposed underground mining methods and stope designs. Back analysis supports historical operating data. Ground conditions and excavation stability are expected to be very good;
  • Phase 1 of the metallurgical testwork program (mineralogy, physical competency, characterisation and gravity response test work). The gravity response results are very good and confirm previous operational results;
  • Concept engineering on paste backfill options and sighter test work; and
  • Ground investigations for the new mineral processing plant.

The following dtudy components are currently underway:

  • Mineral processing plant design, layout and capital cost study, incorporating the results of the metallurgical test work program reported today and potential future throughput expansions;
  • Underground mine design and optimisation using the latest South Crofty resource estimate published in September 2023;
  • A mine ventilation study, underground infrastructure design and hoisting analysis;
  • A feasibility study-level engineering design for the paste backfill plant;
  • Hydrogeology, environmental, social, marketing and closure studies; and
  • AMC Mining Consultants has been appointed to independently review and compile the feasibility study with initial gap analysis and site visits completed.

Innovating lithium ore sorting: HPY Technology teams up with Zhicun Lithium

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

HPY Technology says it has provided a customised ore sorting solution to Zhicun Lithium, assisting the company in achieving efficient and environmentally friendly pre-concentration of its spodumene-based orebody, saving energy and reducing carbon emissions during the mineral processing process.

Located in Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, Zhicun Lithium has large-scale production capabilities when it comes to battery-grade lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide and rubidium cesium salts from lithium resources. According to 2021 data from the Asia Metal Website, Zhicun Lithium topped the national production in terms of battery-grade lithium carbonate. It has a projected output of 200,000 t/y in 2023.

HPY Technology, meanwhile, holds an 80% domestic market share in China and services over 100 mining customers worldwide, the company says. It specialises in developing and manufacturing sensor-based ore sorting machines.

In late 2022, as part of its expansion project, Zhicun Lithium enlisted HPY Technology to develop an efficient lithium ore sorting solution. The team tested ore samples provided by Zhicun, which were determined to be granite pegmatite spodumene. Using these insights and considering the ore properties and on-site production volume, the Insight Series ore sorting machine was deployed for pre-concentration and waste removal testing.

The use of sensor-based sorting technology, HPY Technology says, provides a way to accurately distinguish ore from waste rock by measuring properties such as colour, texture and density. This technological application not only enhances mining efficiency but also significantly reduces the environmental impact of mining activities by reducing waste and the inflow of tailings into the tailings pond, according to the company.

The Insight Series, equipped with VIS HD dual-sided imaging, X-ray imaging, laser imaging and more, allows detection methods to be combined freely depending on various mine characteristics, costs and benefits. HPY Technology claims it offers the best detection combination solution based on the customer’s mine mineralisation properties.

The machines also leverage a multi-dimensional AI algorithm for fast image acquisition and high-resolution imagery, alongside time delay integration technology to avoid image distortion, offering a solid resistance to imaging interference.

The technology underwent a rigorous testing phase, first at the HPY testing centre, then at the mine site. The HPY engineering team provided swift and effective support throughout this phase, helping to achieve remarkable results that meet Zhicun Lithium’s technical specifications, it said.

With HPY Technology’s ore sorting machine, the results demonstrated a significant increase in ore grade, reaching over 2.5% Li2O, and an enrichment ratio exceeding two times.

Zhicun Lithium Group Co., Ltd. ore sorting results
Particle size: +10-60 mm
Processing capacity: 40-60 t/h
Raw ore grade: 1.27% Li2O
Waste rock grade: 0.6% Li2O
Concentrated ore grade: 2.63% Li2O
Rejection rate: 67%
Recovery rate: 68.35%
Enrichment ratio: 2.07

In 2023, HPY Technology plans to extend the use of the Insight Series to two more mining projects: one in a molybdenum mine in Luoyang, China, and the other in a gold mine in Tajikistan.

The company concluded: “This indicates a promising future for HPY Technology’s sensor-based ore sorting solutions, contributing to increased mining efficiency and sustainability.”

SpectraFlow NIR technology helping Vale with iron ore analysis

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

Vale, one of the world’s biggest iron ore producers, has approved the SpectraFlow Crossbelt Analyzer for online measurement of iron ore material at its ports and mines, the technology provider says.

After a rigorous trial that tested the stability of the hardware and measurement accuracy of the analyser, SpectraFlow Analytics is now the chosen provider for Vale’s online iron ore analysis, it says.

Vale’s Guaíba Island Terminal (TIG) is a port that receives raw material from a large number of variable iron ore sources by train and loads the material onto ships for export. Global demand, local supply and heightening climate change and sustainability pressures necessitate stricter quality assurance and control measures from the world’s largest iron ore producer, SpectraFlow says. Also, as one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil, Vale has impetus to manage train and ship loading schedules with ever smaller margins for delay. Online analysis has the potential to address all these concerns through real time chemical and mineral analysis, according to SpectraFlow, which is providing its online near infrared (NIR) technology to the company.

Minute by minute measurements for iron and other key chemical constituents from an installed Crossbelt Analyzer were compared with sample measurements by Vale’s laboratory. Accurate moisture analysis is of particularly high importance at TIG, as there is risk of ships capsizing if the moisture levels are not strictly controlled.

“Fortunately for Vale, SpectraFlow’s online measurements of moisture and all other critical chemical constituents were found to be well within the strict delta limits set by Vale’s quality control protocol,” it said. “In fact the analyser’s measurements have already been used to eliminate unplanned stoppages at TIG, helping Vale reduce downtime and deliver value timeously. Now that the technology is proven, the SpectraFlow analyzer can also be used to blend material to reach optimum grade and gangue targets at the port and even sooner in the value chain, at Vale’s mines.”

The SpectraFlow online analyser measures dry raw material composition at key points in mining, processing and refining value chains. Usually placed over a conveyor belt, or in an airslide, the analyser can measure fine deviations in the moisture, grade or gangue composition of the material in real time. By using the measurements from the analyser that are exchanged directly with the control room PLC or from SpectraFlow’s database and monitoring user interface, bulk mineral, precious metal and cement producers can create automated control loops for quality control and assurance of their final product, the company says.

SpectraFlow’s summarised benefits of its online NIR analyser are:

  • The analyser is free of any radioactive sources, neutron generators or any hazardous components. This means the SpectraFlow analyser does not require any permits or licences regarding importation, operation or maintenance. This also means that the SpectraFlow analyser is completely safe, with maintenance able to be carried out by the plant personnel;
  • Real time, short acquisition time measurements of the complete flow of material gives the customer the opportunity to provide high resolution feed forward information to downstream processing or make value-based ore sorting control decisions on the material; and
  • The Crossbelt Analyzer reduces the need for frequent belt cuts or manual sampling of the material for quality control, and instead gives the user the user large amounts of accurate composition data for real-time feedback on upstream quality delivery like ore block control and stockpile blending.

SpectraFlow says it has installed more than 75 analysers in 28 countries worldwide.

TOMRA Mining complete diamond solution attracts interest of operations

Diamond mining, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, ,

The priority at the top of the list of every diamond producer is to maximise diamond recovery, while optimising costs as well as acting on the growing pressure to address corporate social responsibility and environmental issues. This is where TOMRA Mining says it can help.

TOMRA’s holistic approach and cutting-edge technologies have proven to deliver consistently exceptional recovery rates, significant cost savings, operational advantages and a smaller environmental footprint, the company says. In particular, its complete diamond recovery solution is attracting fast-growing interest of diamond producers of all sizes – from large-scale operations to small mines – from different parts of the world. TOMRA is receiving increasing enquiries from existing and new customers, looking to update their plant or complete the process with TOMRA’s revolutionary Final Recovery sorter.

A key element of TOMRA’s full solution is the COM XRT 300 /FR Final Recovery sorter, which the company has been demonstrating at its Demo Rooms in Wedel, Germany, and Johannesburg, South Africa. These demonstration facilities are proving particularly valuable for diamond operators, who have the opportunity to experience first-hand the unique benefits of this revolutionary and easy-to-operate compact final recovery sorter, the company says. They can watch accurate demonstrations of typical final recovery, sort house and single particle sorting functions, across various size fractions with either kimberlite or alluvial ore, and experience sorter outputs at various feed rates exhibiting actual on-mine conditions. The TOMRA operator can show them how their unique operational requirements would be addressed on a live easy-to-use HMI (Human Machine Interface) panel.

“The biggest advantage of these demonstrations is that the customer experiences the extremely low yield – that is the ultra-high diamond-by-weight concentrate – delivered by the sorter,” Corné de Jager, Diamond Segment Manager TOMRA Mining, says. “This in turn highlights the significant downstream benefits with regards to hand sorting and security. What’s even more impressive for them to see is the exceptionally low amount of gangue ejected with the diamond concentrate, even for the difficult-to-sort ultra-fine size fractions.”

TOMRA has also demonstrated the COM XRT 300 /FR sorter at the Electra Mining Show 2022, performing simulated operational production runs for the entire duration of the exhibition. The sorter was fed with fine alluvial ore, which had diamond dust tracers and diamonds added.

“This realistic and live operation drew a never-ending stream on show goers,”  de Jager says. “The live demo show has resulted in numerous enquiries and sales. In fact, a ‘hands-on’ CEO of a large diamond operation had lengthy discussions with the TOMRA team on site. In front of the crowd, he asked us to process 1 kg of alluvial gravel and to include 150 diamond tracers and 10 diamonds. The sorter delivered a perfect result, ejecting all 160 added tracers and diamonds, with minimal ore particles. The crowd cheered, while the CEO shook hands with our TOMRA design specialist.”

Corné de Jager, Diamond Segment Manager TOMRA Mining

TOMRA’s complete partnered diamond recovery solution

TOMRA says it is the only manufacturer to offer a complete Partnered Diamond Recovery Ecosystem – a full recovery service from 2-100 mm with a flowsheet covering the entire process – from high-capacity Concentration (+4-100 mm) to Final Recovery and Sort House applications (+2-32 mm). It includes a detailed analysis of the diamond producer’s requirements and operational needs, the collaborative development of an X-Ray Transmission (XRT) technology-based flowsheet, all the way to installation. After commissioning, TOMRA remains at the side of the diamond producer, to provide on-site and advanced remote support with specialized services and training. The complete solution can also include secure cloud computing benefits of the optional web-based TOMRA Insight service, that offers onlineand near real time performance metrics of all the sorters.

TOMRA is today, it says, the world’s leading supplier of XRT diamond recovery technology, having recovered some of the largest and rarest gemstones in history. The extremely precise detection and ejection of even the smaller particle sizes, proprietary image processing and large capacity of TOMRA’s XRT sorters deliver exceptionally high concentration factors and recovery rates in high tonnage diamond concentration applications. In fact, its promise to customers is simple: 100% detection in the specified size range, irrespective of luminescence profile or coating, and a guaranteed diamond recovery greater than 98%. This consistent performance has allowed diamond mines to revolutionise the entire process plant design.

In Final Recovery, the performance of TOMRA’s XRT proprietary ultra-high resolution sensor and precise ejection technology has revolutionised this stage of the process to efficiently deliver recovery rates greater than 99% along with an ultra-high diamond-by-weight concentrate with yields as low as 0.05%. This in turn has created a unique proposition for the significant reduction of traditional hand sorting, with higher capacities than existing single particle sorters.

HPY ore sorting tech helps Xintianling Wolfram Mine achieve sustainability goals

Base metals, Mineral processing, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , ,

Xintianling Wolfram Mine in China has partnered with HPY Technology to upgrade the ore content and reduce the amount of tailings being processed at its operation in China.

Established in 2008, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Xintianling Wolfram Mine Co., Ltd. (Xintianling Wolfram Mine) represents the largest individual producer of tungsten concentrate in China. With a processing capacity of 1.5 Mt of ore, the mine produces 5,000 t of tungsten concentrate annually. The company is engaged in mining, beneficiating and tungsten ore sales, along with molybdenum and bismuth recovery.

Xintianling Wolfram Mine is a subsidiary of China Tungsten and Hightech Materials Co. Ltd., which is the management and operation platform for the tungsten industry owned by China Minmetals Corporation. A Fortune 500 company, China Minmetals manages and operates a complete tungsten industry chain that integrates mining, smelting, processing and trading. Its management area contains 1.23 Mt of tungsten resources, representing approximately 11% of China’s identified tungsten resources, according to the company. Its annual production capacity for tungsten smelting reaches 20,000 t, constituting 10% of the total capacity for ammonium paratungstate in China.

In its early years, Xintianling Wolfram Mine used shorthole blasting as the primary mining method. While this method leads to low ore depletion rates, it comes with drawbacks such as low mining efficiency, high costs, low mechanisation and high safety risks. In response to these challenges and production requirements of a 4,500 t/d reform and expansion project, the mine transitioned to medium-deep hole blasting methods for mining. This change, however, introduced issues of higher depletion rates, decreased ore grade and increased beneficiation production costs.

A significant challenge faced by the Xintianling Wolfram Mine is the production of over 1.3 Mt/y of tailings, consuming over 1 million sq.m of tailings reservoir capacity. With the existing tailings pond projected to meet production needs for only five more years, the mine needed to enrich the raw ore grade, reduce the amount of tailings entering the tailings pond, and lower the amount of material entering its grinding and flotation processes to adhere to its commitment to sustainable mining.

To tackle these problems, Xintianling Wolfram Mine partnered with HPY Technology in early 2021, seeking a method to solve its technical challenges and for a more sustainable process. HPY’s sensor-based ore sorting technology could help with these aspects, the technology company says. X-ray Transmission (XRT) detection is commonly used in the mining industry to analyse the atomic density differences in ores. XRT relies on the principles of X-ray absorption and attenuation to differentiate between various materials based on their atomic densities. The tungsten ore is first crushed into a smaller particle size, with the material then fed into the sorting machine, which uses X rays to detect differences in the ore. By measuring the degree to which the X rays are absorbed by the ore, the machine can distinguish between different types of material. As tungsten absorbs X rays very strongly due to its high atomic number and density, it is relatively easy to be identified through this method, according to HPY.

Even so, the raw ore of the Xintianling Wolfram has its own special characteristics. The mineral composition of the raw ore at the Xintianling Wolfram Mine is quite complex. Various minerals in the raw ore can be imaged under radiation, including tungsten minerals, metallic sulphides, iron minerals and denser gangue minerals. However, the most finely embedded tungsten cannot be captured and effectively identified in the image due to the varying particle sizes in the raw ore. Solving this problem requires high-precision imaging capture and ore identification by a sensor-based ore sorting machine. At the same time, the raw ore itself has a small particle size. Therefore, the image of the ore is relatively small, resulting in an increase in the amount of ore to be processed for the same processing capacity. It was a technical challenge for HPY to improve the processing capacity while maintaining a low waste rock grade and rejection rate.

HPY conducted on-site research, sampling, testing, simulation and analysis at the Xintianling Wolfram Mine. The Classic Series was used during the early stages of the experiment. The middle and later stages saw the introduction of the Circle Series – HPY Technology’s ring-shaped structure design that, the company says, allows for exceptional processing capacity within a compact frame. Through continuous optimisation of the software, modification of equipment adaptability, and fine-tuning of the artificial intelligence-based algorithm, the engineers succeeded in reducing the rejection rate and stabilising the waste rock grade, the company said. As a result, the experiment reached its desired goals and Xintianling Wolfram Mine was satisfied with the sorting results.

Ganzhou HPY Technology Co., Ltd., is a high-tech enterprise specialising in the development and manufacture of ore sorting machines. The company’s AI technology includes perception technology, human-computer interaction and deep learning. The performance of HPY’s technology in the Xintianling Wolfram Mine project demonstrates its effectiveness in addressing the challenges of sustainable mining, the company says.

Xintianling Wolfram | HPY Technology

Particle size +10-35 mm Raw ore grade  0.15%-0-40% WO3
Rejection rate 25% Waste rock grade 0.04% WO3
Recovery rate >94% Processing capacity 80-90 t/h
Enrichment ratio >1.4    

Orexplore Technologies enters South America core scanning market with Gold Fields deployment

Environmental, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

Orexplore Technologies Limited, a mineral scanning technology company focused on the global mining and metals sector, says it has entered the South American market with a commercial field deployment for Gold Fields at its’ Salares Norte project in Chile.

Salares Norte is a high-grade, epithermal gold-silver, open-pit deposit in the High Andes, Atacama Region, of northern Chile , and will be Gold Field’s second mine in South America, joining Cerro Corona in Peru.

Under this agreement, valued at approximately A$430,000 ($285,369), Orexplore will deliver site-based scanning and analysis of around 3,000 m of drilled core for the exploration team.

Orexplore says it will roll-out its new “Smart Sampler” software solution to enable the exploration team to reduce the quantity of drill core that is sent for analysis through assay laboratories. The company will also work collaboratively with the Gold Fields’ site and corporate teams to integrate the broader suite of new Orexplore solutions offered through the technology platform to advance Gold Fields’ orebody knowledge.

Orexplore has designed and is manufacturing a containerised deployment solution tailored to site conditions through local suppliers in Santiago, suitable as a solution across similar South American sites.

Two GeoCore X10® units will be deployed in the container, and Orexplore’s engineering team will attend site to undertake the commissioning and initial start-up of the units. Geoscience and technical personnel will deliver training to Gold Field’s geologists and technicians enabling them to self-operate the GeoCore X10 units in a dry hire style arrangement. Orexplore will provide systems technicians, scanning trainers and a project geologist to ensure ongoing operational and value delivery assurance.

Orexplore’s new Santiago office is being established to meet the expected demand as a result of the sales and business development efforts in the region that continue to identify ongoing annual drill campaigns and large-scale core farms across multiple countries, that are suitable to the technology, it said. As demonstrated through the Perth and Stockholm laboratories, this enables an effective and efficient onboarding process as customers send initial quantities of core to establish trust in the technology and delivery team.

Orexplore’s technology platform comprises its field sensing GeoCore X10® hardware unit that rapidly scans drilled core in less than 15 minutes per metre, and presents the information as a 3D digital model through the company’s Orexplore Insight® software. This platform, the company says, enables remote mining and geology personnel located anywhere in the world to analyse and interpret these 3D core scans, and connect the information into their standard geological software packages to assess orebodies and rapidly study the optimal methods of extraction.

Orexplore says: “This technology is unique through its ability to see through the entire inside of the core using medical grade CT scanners, and to combine this with dual XRF sensors to build three-dimensional elemental and geochemical models that drive powerful automated data-science solutions.

“As one of the few true “deep tech” companies with capabilities spanning from sensor manufacture to data-science and geo-science, Orexplore can provide rapid “sense to decide” solutions that the myriad of geoscience-only companies utilising common third-party sensed data can’t.”

Orexplore’s Managing Director, Brett Giroud, commented: “We are very pleased to be working with Gold Field’s as our first step into the South American region, and to further demonstrate the broad application of our technology platform through our first deployment that targets full integration into an operating mine’s processes and workflows.

“South America is a very large base metals and gold market, with a proven appetite for technology adoption that we believe is well suited to our transformational technology platform. We are excited about the engagement we are seeing in the region and the excellent opportunity this represents for Orexplore going forward.”

He added: “As a business, we remain laser focused on the commercialisation of our technology platform by driving market adoption of our suite of solutions across the mining value chain. Coupled with the Exploration and Resource to Reserve (R2R) solution deployments over the last 12 months, this agreement further demonstrates the breadth and depth of the technology’s market potential and its accelerating global traction.

“In addition to this, and other recent commercial field deployments, Orexplore is rapidly developing additional solutions including ore sorting, and ESG products such as acid-rock drainage and site based environmental monitoring. Working with Tier 1 and other customers through our laboratories, these solutions are advancing rapidly to target customer demands and drive future potential global site deployments.” x

Gold Field’s Vice President of Exploration for the Americas region, Diego Huete, said: “We are very pleased to be commencing this journey with a company as committed to transforming the industry as Orexplore. Working closely with their team, we can see the value creation on offer through this technology from sample optimisation through to Orebody knowledge and ESG solutions, and we are excited by the opportunity that being a first-mover in the digital transformation of mining provides to our business.”

Maximising the benefits of sensor-based ore sorting machines

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ore sorting has been shown to provide both economic and environmental benefits, but many mines are not yet fully utilising this technology, according to HPY Technology.

Yet, the company’s ore sorting machines are providing a breakthrough solution for Fankou, one of Asia’s largest lead and zinc mines, resulting in an annual revenue increase of around $9.22 million.

Located in Renhua County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, Fankou is owned by Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co Ltd. The mine has been producing lead and zinc for over 60 years. However, with new underground mining processes, such as vertical crater retreat and large blasting, more waste rock is being introduced into the crushing, grinding and flotation processes, resulting in higher production costs and energy consumption.

Furthermore, under the “zero waste” target set by the Environmental Protection Law of China, Fankou’s tailings pond needs to be closed by 2025. As of 2018, the mine’s annual processing capacity was 1.5 Mt, with 600,000 t ending up in the tailings pond. In addition, Fankou’s waste rock piles had reached approximately 2 Mt. With the continuous addition of around 200,000 t/y of waste rock, these piles grew larger. With the pressure to meet the zero waste target, Fankou was under pressure to make a change.

In 2017, Fankou conducted exploratory tests of sensor-based ore sorting machines with Ganzhou HPY Technology Co Ltd. The result of the initial tests showed promise and addressed the problems the mine was beginning to face, according to HPY Technology. As a result, Fankou decided to add HPY Technology’s ore sorting machines to the industrial design plan of their mineral processing plant in 2018, and HPY Technology’s machines were officially added to the plant in 2019.

The Fankou lead-zinc mine currently produces about 1.4 Mt/y of ore, and it is expected that more than 105,000 t of waste rock will be pre-rejected from the raw ore throughout the year. Ore sorting technology can discard a large amount of waste rock from the raw ore before it is fed into the flotation system, reducing the amount of waste rock entering the mill and saving on electricity costs.

Fankou’s mineral processing plant uses four Classic Series P60-X1400 ore sorting machines. The machine processes the particle size range of +12-90 mm, which accounts for about 50% of the raw ore. This accounts for 2,600 t of ore, rejecting 400-500 t/d of waste rock. After pre-concentration, the lead and zinc content in the waste rock are below 0.3%, and the sulphur and iron content is below 3.8%. Therefore, the ore sorting process enriches the ore grade by 1.08% for lead and zinc and 2% for sulphur and iron.

Four Classic Series P60-X1400 ore sorters in Fankou’s mineral processing plant

After sorting the waste rock from the raw ore, this waste rock can be sold as construction aggregate to bring further economic benefits to the Fankou mine. This has also seen the amount of tailings decrease and the service life of the tailings pond extend significantly, resulting in remarkable energy savings and consumption performance, while also enhancing the mine’s societal value, HPY Technology says.

Mr Wang, Project Manager of Fankou Mineral Processing Plant, said: “We are proud to be one of the world’s first lead and zinc mines to utilise ore sorting fully. We see significant economic benefits for using HPY Technology’s ore sorting machine, especially for low-grade mines. China has huge lead and zinc ore reserves, the second largest in the world. But the grade of the deposits is generally low, with many poor and few rich ores. The average grade is about 1.5% for lead and 2.5% for zinc. Reserves with a grade below 5% account for more than 90% of lead ore, and reserves below 8% account for more than 85% of zinc ore. We hope to continue contributing to the mining industry’s progress and are willing to recommend HPY Technology’s ore sorting machine to our peers.”

The Classic Series used in Fankou’s mineral processing plant is a benchmark in the ore sorting industry, according to HPY Technology. This machine uses dual-energy X-ray technology, combined with high-speed air jets to sort ore from waste rock. The X-ray technology penetrates the ore and creates a grayscale image that distinguishes between target and vein minerals. This image is then processed by an artificial intelligence algorithm, which uses the information to accurately sort the ore and waste rock. The Classic Series has undergone numerous iterations, ensuring stable and efficient operation, HPY Technology says. It is currently the most widely used ore sorting machine in China’s mining industry, according to the company.

Fankou Lead-Zinc mine, mineral processing plant

HPY Technology | Fankou lead-zinc mine, mineral processing plant
Machine used Four Classic Series P60-X1400
Processing capacity 2,600 t/d
Particle size +12-90 mm
Concentrated ore grade (Pb+Zn) 12%
Waste rock grade (Pb+Zn) <0.3%
Grinding grade (Pb+Zn) increased by 1.08%
Rejection rate 16-17%

Fankou’s mineral processing plant can save more than $2.9 million/y by using HPY Technology’s ore sorting machines, resulting in an annual profit margin of more than $7.8 million, considering the comprehensive benefits of increased plant capacity, tailings reduction and construction aggregate sales.

In addition to the four Classic Series P60-X1400 in the mineral processing plant, the Construction Materials Plant has three HPY Technology ore sorting machines to process the waste rock from the mineral processing plant and its existing waste rock piles. The waste rock is taken to the construction material plant for another round of sorting, with the remaining waste rock being used for construction aggregates. The three machines at the construction materials plant also process the 2 million cu.m of waste rock initially stockpiled in the tailings pond.

Mr Luo, Project Manager of Solid Waste Treatment, said: “In the past, we could only transport solid waste back to the shaft for filling. After using HPY’s ore sorting machines, we can now sort out all the ore from solid waste and recover the value of the resources. The remaining waste rock can be sold as construction aggregates, which is a win-win solution. Currently, we are also sorting waste rock that was stored before using HPY’s ore sorting machines. The ore grade is about 3%. Sensor-based sorting technology enriches the ore grade to 12-14%. Sorting results show that the rejection rate exceeds 95%. In the global mining industry, Fankou is one the first to successfully apply intelligent ore sorting technology in lead and zinc mines, achieving maximum resource value recovery and is great for the environment.”

According to Mr Luo, waste rock that was initially made into construction aggregates now yields more than 1,500 t/y of lead and zinc metal, which has been able to be recovered through the Construction Materials Plant. In addition, the ore sorting process reduces the waste rock’s sulphur content. This substantially improves the grade of the construction aggregates, increasing its sales price. As a result, the waste rock made into construction aggregates generates about $977,000/y in economic benefits. In addition, the recovered ore generates over $2.8 million/y in benefits.

Fankou has utilised sensor-based ore sorting to its full extent, HPY Technology says, using it during the comminution process to pre-reject waste rock to increase its lead-zinc ore grade. The company also sees benefits from pre-rejected waste rock in reduced costs in its grinding process. With pressure to control the amount of tailings, the pre-rejected waste rock lowers the amount of tailings entering the tailings pond to help the company in its aim of closing the tailings pond in 2025. In addition, sensor-based ore sorting has allowed the company to gain additional revenue through the recovery of lead-zinc from their waste rock piles, while also utilising these piles for construction aggregates. Overall, the introduction of ore sorting has allowed the company to expand its resource recovery. By pre-rejecting and enriching low ore grades, Fankou can now mine areas previously deemed un-mineable due to having low grade ore, allowing them to increase the processing capacity each year.

Fankou lead-zinc mine, Construction Materials Plant

HPY Technology | Fankou lead-zinc mine, Construction Materials Plant
Machine used One Insight Series | Two Classic Series
Concentrated ore grade 12-14%
Waste rock grade Pb 0.04%, Zn 0.10%
Concentrate recovery rate Pb 96.76%, Zn 92.8%
Rejection rate 95%
Enrichment ratio Pb 9.68, Zn 9.28
Particle size +10-50 mm

The Insight Series used in Fankou’s Construction Materials Plant adopts a combined detection method comprised of a VIS HD dual-sided imaging system and X-ray technology, which can be customised according to the physical characteristics of different ores. The machine can collect the ore’s internal and external information simultaneously and with an AI algorithm, which can significantly improve the accuracy of ore sorting and better for sorting complex ores.

Compared with traditional ore sorting machines, which use a belt, the upgraded Insight Series utilises a vibrating feeder and short belt that leads to ore free fall, HPY Technology says. With the optimised mechanical design, the ore falls more evenly, avoiding ore overlap that affects recognition accuracy. In addition, the machine has various feeding widths (1,600 mm, 3,200 mm), which leads to processing capacities of 40-150 t/h (+10 mm-80 mm) to meet the needs of different mines needs during the beneficiation process.

As one of Asia’s largest lead and zinc mines, Fankou has taken steps to maximise the economic value of its process. Through the utilisation of sensor-based ore sorting, the company has seen significant increases in revenue and savings. Having worked with HPY Technology for over five years, Fankou looks to continue this partnership to further the research on the benefits of ore sorting machines. As HPY Technology continues innovating and revolutionising mineral processing, the benefits will only continue to grow, it says.

HPY Technology Co Ltd says it is a leader in the development and manufacture of ore sorting machinery, achieving excellent results in the ore sorting of tungsten, tin, antimony, lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum, gold, phosphate and over 30 other ore types, revolutionising the traditional mineral processing process and significantly promoting the technological progress of the global mining industry. With over 400 machines in use in over 100 mines, the company says it looks to continue revolutionising mineral processing.

TOMRA’s latest XRT advances open up processing options for miners

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining events, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

When it comes to particle sorting, size is everything. Whether used as a primary sorting method in smaller operations where product purity is paramount to profits, or in a scavenger setup downstream to capture value once lost to tailings, particle sorters are becoming more and more commonplace across the mining world.

They have featured in flowsheets in the industrial minerals space for decades, but they are now finding their way into metal operations all over the world as miners look to boost recoveries, reduce their energy consumption and, in many instances, rationalise their water use.

This makes TOMRA Mining’s latest advances in sensor-based ore sorting all the more significant.

The company is now breaking ground with a new ejection module for its COM Tertiary XRT (X-ray Transmission) sensor-based sorter specifically developed for sorting small particle sizes.

The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter, featuring the new TS100C module and the recently introduced image processing unit, is capable of sorting particle sizes down to 4 mm in high-capacity applications with much higher energy efficiency, delivering a high-quality product at low operating costs, according to the company.

The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter featuring the new TS100C ejection module has been installed at the TOMRA Test Center in Wedel, Germany

The high resolution TS100C ejection module features a new type of ejector that is four times faster than previous iterations, according to the company. Together with the new image processing unit, it delivers higher precision in sorting small particle sizes at high throughputs.

The mechanical design of the sorter has also been improved by the introduction of a new splitter plate and more precise calibration equipment to ensure the greater precision in the alignment between detection and ejection systems required for fine particles, according to TOMRA.

This has been captured in field tests that started back in May 2022, showing an up to 30 t/h boost in capacity, an increase in product recovery and a reduction in energy consumption.

Ines Hartwig, Director Product Management at TOMRA Mining, told IM on the side lines of the recent SME MINEXCHANGE 2023 Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, that the company had been able to visualise such small size particles previously, but the mechanical ejection function had not been able to keep up.

“This new ejection module is a significant leap forward for TOMRA, and we believe the whole particle sorting setup within the industry,” she said.

And, while the industrial minerals sector was the first one pushing for these developments, Hartwig said she expected the metal miners to also benefit from this.

“We have visited operations all over the world that have stockpiled fine material as they simply couldn’t process it with the technology on the market,” she said. “We’re now opening up many new opportunities for these companies.”

To gain field experience on the new ejection module, TOMRA partnered with a customer who has been running a COM Tertiary XRT to produce high-grade magnesite for more than two years. The sorter removes up to 50% low-grade and waste material from the raw magnesite feed, with particle sizes ranging from 10 to 35 mm at about 20 t/h.

Ines Hartwig, Director Product Management at TOMRA Mining

“After conducting the test work with the TS100C ejection module at the TOMRA Test Center, we were confident that it would be very beneficial for this customer,” Hartwig says. “We showed them the test results and outlined the benefits we expected the module to deliver. As soon as they saw the possible reduction in compressed air use and the consequent cost savings, they were very interested in doing the field trial!”

The customer, the magnesite operation in Turkey, completed several trials, documenting the energy savings and sorting efficiencies. The results showed a 70% reduction in air consumption with an increase in product recovery with a lower mass pull to waste by producing the same product quality, and a capacity increase ranging from 20 t/h to 30 t/h with comparable results, according to TOMRA.

The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter featuring the new TS100C ejection module has been installed at the TOMRA Test Center in Wedel, Germany, and is ready to run tests for customers on material samples from their mines, TOMRA says.

Hartwig said she expected existing COM Tertiary XRT customers to upgrade to the new module with the company’s retrofit solution, but there were also many new customers expected to acquire brand-new units.

“There is a significant ‘new’ market out there that we expect to take advantage of this technology,” she said. “The economic and environmental value case at many of these operations can be vastly improved by using the COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter.”

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

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.”

TOMRA Mining looks at the ore sorting fine print with latest innovation

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , ,

TOMRA Mining says it is breaking new ground with a new ejection module for its COM Tertiary X-ray Transmission (XRT) sensor-based sorter specifically developed for sorting small particle sizes.

The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter, featuring the new TS100C module and the recently introduced image processing unit, is capable of sorting particle sizes down to 4 mm in high-capacity applications with much higher energy efficiency, delivering a high-quality product at low operating costs, according to the company. Field tests have shown that it can deliver a 70% reduction in energy use on a production scale.

The new high resolution TS100C ejection module features a new type of ejector that is four times faster than previous iterations. Together with the new image processing unit, it delivers higher precision in sorting small particle sizes at high throughputs. The mechanical design of the sorter has also been improved by the introduction of a new splitter plate and more precise calibration equipment to ensure the greater precision in the alignment between detection and ejection systems required for fine particles, according to TOMRA.

The fast and highly precise ejection module uses significantly less compressed air to eject the particles, therefore, reducing the energy consumption. Extensive test work was conducted at the TOMRA Test Center, both with artificial material mixtures and real-world sample material. The tests showed a reduction in air consumption compared with industry standards, as well as an improvement in product purity of around 15%, the company reports.

“With the consequent cut in operating costs, sorting small particle sizes down to 4 mm with the COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter is not only viable, but adds value to the process,” it said.

Ines Hartwig, Director Product Management at TOMRA Mining, said: “We are receiving a rapidly growing number of requests from customers to sort smaller particles. One of the biggest drivers of cost in sensor-based sorting is the energy used for the compressed air for the ejectors. The new TS100C ejection module successfully addresses this issue and provides an effective solution to this increasing demand. It is a groundbreaking invention to create more higher-value product and reduce product loss.”

Ines Hartwig, Director Product Management, TOMRA Mining

To gain field experience on the new ejection module, TOMRA partnered with a customer who has been running a COM Tertiary XRT to produce high-grade magnesite for more than two years. The sorter removes up to 50% low-grade and waste material from the raw magnesite feed, with particle sizes ranging from 10 to 35 mm at about 20 t/h.

“After conducting the test work with the TS100C ejection module at the TOMRA Test Center, we were confident that it would be very beneficial for this customer,” Hartwig says. “We showed them the test results and outlined the benefits we expected the module to deliver. As soon as they saw the possible reduction in compressed air use and the consequent cost savings, they were very interested in doing the field trial!”

The customer completed several trials, documenting the energy savings and sorting efficiencies. The results showed a 70% reduction in air consumption with an increase in product recovery with a lower mass pull to waste by producing the same product quality, and a capacity increase ranging from 20 t/h to 30 t/h with comparable results, according to TOMRA.

The COM Tertiary XRT Fines sorter featuring the new TS100C ejection module has been installed at the TOMRA Test Center in Wedel, Germany, and is ready to run tests for customers on material samples from their mines, TOMRA says.