Tag Archives: ore sorting

Caravel Minerals takes HPGR use forward to DFS

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

Caravel Minerals has issued a prefeasibility study update on its namesake project in Western Australia, which, among other things, outlines opportunities to incorporate high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) and coarse particle flotation (CPF).

The company only issued the original prefeasibility study in July of this year. This outlined a dual train plant and infrastructure build costing some A$1.2 billion ($806 million), with parallel development of two 13.9 Mt/y capacity trains for a total throughput capacity of 27.8 Mt/y.

Over an initial 28-year mine life, annual production was expected to come in around 62,000 t of copper in concentrate in this study.

The company said at this point that optimisation studies by Ausenco were already in progress for a single train circa-27 Mt/y design, with the pending results expected to show substantial reductions in capital expenditure and operating costs.

That study has now come out, with the company saying the single train design and the adoption of HGPR and CPF are forecast to reduce processing cash unit costs by up to A$1.23/t of ore and reduce capital costs by around A$100 million.

What’s more, the company is also anticipating reductions in both power demand and water consumption with the use of these new technologies.

After seeing such results, Caravel says it will take forward HPGR use over SAG mills in its definitive feasibility study.

It also said the inclusion of CPF in the process flowsheet had the potential to reduce capital and operating costs when compared with the original prefeasibility study flowsheet.

The original Caravel PFS mentioned the potential use of diesel-electric autonomous haulage trucks with electric trolley assist and electric power for drills and face shovels. Mining operation opportunities also included the use of shovel-grade sensors, with the company saying XRF-based bucket sampling was under consideration.

TOMRA XRT ore sorters providing Mt Carbine with tungsten upgrade, circular economy advantages

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TOMRA X-Ray Transmission (XRT) sorters are providing a game-changing solution for the EQ Resources-owned Mt Carbine mine in Queensland, Australia, reducing costs and achieving high-purity tungsten ore for follow-on processing while contributing to a circular economy by producing green aggregates for sale, the ore sorting company says.

The Mt Carbine mine, northwest of Cairns, Queensland, was acquired by EQ Resources in 2019. The company entered a joint venture with Cronimet Group to set up tungsten extraction from the mine’s large waste dump and tailings. It is also planning to operate the open pit and underground mine, of which it has full ownership.

EQ Resources management has a long-standing relationship with TOMRA, having used its sorters with success on a variety of projects since 2011, TOMRA says. Based on this experience, the company turned to TOMRA once again for the Mt Carbine mine, with test work conducted at TOMRA’s Test Center in Wedel, Germany, confirming its XRT technology would provide the solution for the project.

“We were confident it would work, but we sent a small sample for testing to make sure,” Kevin MacNeill, CEO of Mt Carbine mine, EQ Resources, said. “The advantage of TOMRA’s sorters compared to others is in the image resolution: it is able to resolve the finer inclusions in the tungsten. This high resolution gives us better recovery and more control over the sorting process.”

Mt Carbine is currently mining the 12 Mt of low-grade historical stockpiles. The ore is crushed and screened at 6 mm and 40 mm. Two TOMRA XRT sorters are used to pre-concentrate the feed in the 6-40-mm-size range before processing in the wet plant. Approximately 10% of the sorters’ feed mass is ejected as product with a recovery of tungsten of well over 90%. This means only 10% of the mass is processed in the wet plant, dramatically cutting running costs, reducing the required size of the wet plant, as well as saving water and energy, TOMRA says.

“We let the technology do the work for us and take out all the rubbish and we’re left with just the pure tungsten to send to the processing plant – and we do that very cheaply using the sorters,” MacNeill says. “One of the best things about the TOMRA XRT is the cost savings to the operation. It costs approximately A$1.5/t ($1.02/t) to sort and then it costs A$14/t for wet processing: as we take out 90% of the sortable fraction mass, we only have to process 10% of the higher grade concentrate and natural -6 mm material while maintaining recovery, so our cost benefit is obvious.

“We couldn’t afford to run this waste dump if we had to crush everything to 6mm and process it through the wet plant, it would be too low grade and costly.”

EQ Resources is also taking advantage of the TOMRA XRT sorters to create an additional revenue stream from the waste material.

MacNeil explained: “Normally you would grind the waste down to 6 mm and put it through the jigs, but, by putting it through the TOMRA sorters, we are able to keep a whole range of aggregates on the coarser size fractions. The sorters remove any material containing acid-forming sulphides and the waste rock that comes out is incredibly clean. We are, therefore, able to use it in making all kinds of different quarry products – from road bases to concrete aggregates. It’s a perfect example of a circular economy.”

“Selling these green aggregates adds a significant portion to our business – about A$5 million a year – and that’s all because of the TOMRA sorters. In fact, we’ve probably paid for each machine from this revenue five times over.”

The TOMRA XRT sorters are delivering both environmental and business benefits to the Mt Carbine operation, to the satisfaction of MacNeill: “They’re dry, they create no water usage, they require very little power compared to what we use in the processing plant, so it’s a real advantage to us to have these, and we’re looking at purchasing a third one in the near future.

“From an environmental point of view, I think the TOMRA sorters will play a huge role in the future because of their capability of removing sulphides. If you remove sulphide before stockpiling waste rock, you will have the benefit of no acid creation and drainage – and it would reduce your footprint in your closure plans.”

Metso Outotec aims for higher capacities as ore sorting offering develops

Base metals, Bulk handling, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Newcrest’s Brucejack mine set for full fleet battery-electric transition in Q4

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Newcrest’s Brucejack gold-silver mine in British Columbia, Canada, is set for a full battery-electric fleet transition by the end of the year, the gold miner said in its financial year 2022 results.

Following a successful site trial, seven underground battery-electric trucks are being commissioned at Brucejack, replacing the existing diesel fleet and abating approximately 65,000 t of CO2 emissions through to 2030.

The new fleet will improve truck productivity, lower unit costs and enhance operational efficiency from planning to production, according to Newcrest. Three of the Sandvik 50-t-payload Z50 battery-electric trucks are already in production, with the full switch over expected to be completed in the December 2022 quarter, it noted.

Sandvik and Pretivm previously noted that seven Z50 haul trucks would be supplied to the operation as part of the planned fleet transition.

The project is being partly funded thanks to a C$7.95 million ($6.1 million) investment from The CleanBC Industry Fund.

Brucejack, which became wholly owned by Newcrest when the acquisition of previous owned Pretivm Resources completed earlier this year, is currently the subject of Newcrest’s EDGE program, which aims to drive a culture of innovation, high performance and continuous improvement. The program has identified additional opportunities of approximately C$15-$25 million/y, with improvements in stope turnaround time and more efficient mine operations as the initial focus areas, the company said.

Run-rate benefits from this effort are expected to be fully realised by the June 2024 quarter, Newcrest says.

Newcrest said in the financial results that it was also assessing ore sorting technology at the mine, which aims to classify and separate mineralised material from non-mineralised material to deliver more consistent mill feed grades and increase operational flexibility.

Atlas Copco VSD electric compressors help improve Autlán’s manganese ore sorting capacity

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Atlas Copco’s E-Air V1100 Variable Speed Drive (VSD) electric compressors are helping Mexico-based manganese producer, Autlán, improve the effectiveness of its ore sorting process by providing clean, dry compressed air whose temperature doesn’t exceed 20°C above ambient, the company says.

Compressed air is an essential component in the production of manganese nodules, with one such area being the company’s mineral sorting machine, which helps to classify the manganese ore. It blasts air at stones deemed to be waste, separating them from stones with high manganese content.

To do this, it needs clean, dry compressed air whose temperature doesn’t exceed 20°C above ambient. The amount of free air (FAD) needed to do this task is 45 Nm3/min at 150 psi.

Atlas Copco Power Technique Mexico worked closely with Autlán to understand and define the optimum airflow for the process. It advised Autlán that a constant flow of air was not required because the air shots were not continuous (only when stones with low manganese grades needed to be separated). Because of this intermittent requirement, Autlán could specify a compressor that met its FAD requirements but saved energy and lowered costs.

The suggested solution was to install three E-Air V1100 VSD mobile compressors: two compressors for production and one for stand-by purposes. These electric mobile air compressors with VSD technology are built to operate in harsh and outdoor conditions. Because of their robustness, Autlán did not need any special installation or compressor room, saving money on civil works, Atlas Copco says.

Atlas Copco’s E-Air VSD comes with the standard spillage-free frame that offers 110% fluid containment, providing reassurance against possible spillages on site. This was a key feature for Autlán, avoiding the possibility of polluting the soil of the mine, which is strongly regulated.

Moreover, the compressors come equipped with potted motor windings to prevent dust and water ingress, an IP65-rated controller, an IP67-rated water-cooled drive, single-sheet steel, non-welded undercarriage, and a three-layer anti-corrosion paint system, the company explained.

As the compressed air quality is vital for this project, Atlas Copco recommended adding its UD+ filter after the cooler to ensure the air guns didn’t clog. The UD+ filter is a patented design, two-in-one coalescing filter that takes out oil aerosols, dust and water, providing clean compressed air with hardly any pressure drop or efficiency loss. Moreover, this system is a space-saving option compared with traditional filter packages, according to Atlas Copco.

Julio Ponce, Sales Engineer & Air Master for Atlas Copco in Mexico and Central America, says: “The E-Air VSD provides Autlán with a reliable flow of compressed air without any CO2 emissions.”

The E-Air’s integrated VSD-driven permanent magnet electric motor only requires low power for start-up, so there is no need to oversize the power supply. The VSD and permanent magnet motor also make an important contribution to efficiency. Combined, they offer the best-in-class efficiency at partial load and ensure that power consumption closely follows the air demand trend, according to Atlas Copco.

These electric mobile air compressors with VSD range include the Atlas Copco’s PACE system (Pressure Adjusted through Cognitive Electronics). This enables users to control the pressure between 5 and 12 bar, in precise 0.1 bar increments, thereby adjusting the flow to the optimal level for their application. Because of this, one compressor can handle various jobs that previously would have required multiple units.

The E-Air VSD features the Smart Air Xc4004 controller. This increases the efficiency of operations by providing insights and features in an easy-to-use interface that allows a simultaneous view of several parameters, including pressure and flow. Additionally, top structured alarm settings allow for operation monitoring.

The E-Air VSD range is also equipped as standard with an after-cooler, providing high-quality air for applications like sandblasting.

Futureproofing the world’s copper supply through technology use

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Realising the vision of a world of clean energy brings the issue of metal supply into sharp focus, with major and sustained increases required to meet growing demands, Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Ellen Thomson* writes.

With copper, for example, there are predictions of a shortfall of 15 Mt per annum by 2034 based on the current output. Therefore, boosting the efficiency of mining operations has never been more important, and smarter technology is undoubtedly the way forward to achieve this. Real-time sampling and measurement right across the mineral processing value chain can arm miners with analytical data, enabling them to build a robust understanding of the performance of each plant and drive continuous improvement at every step of the process. This article takes a closer look at how several of these steps could be optimised, including ore grade measurement, sorting on the mill feed conveyor, particle size analysis in the grinding circuit, the addition of reagents in the flotation circuit and elemental analysis and impurity detection in the concentrate leaving the plant.

Copper miners face the challenge of satisfying the rising demand for metal, while hitting the industry’s 2050 net zero carbon target. This is likely to require significant changes in operations through processing low-grade ore more efficiently, fully exploiting existing deposits, and bringing new mines into production. Unfortunately, higher-grade ore – with a 2-3% metal concentration – has largely been depleted, and miners now often work with concentrations of just 0.5%, meaning greater quantities of ore must be processed to extract sufficient amounts of copper. Therefore, it is essential to seek fresh opportunities to improve processes across the entire mining value chain, so that the increasing demand for copper ore will be met well into the future.

Does your ore make the grade?

Enhancing mining efficiency begins as soon as raw material is extracted from the ground, and extends through the crushing process and the mill feed conveyor. It is important to accurately measure the grade of the plant feed as this will impact both the performance of the concentrator and the production costs of the final product. However, this can be challenging, as some deposits are highly heterogeneous and unpredictable. Bulk ore sensing and sorting are, therefore, crucial steps in improving the raw feed material consistency and concentrator efficiency, since they reduce the dilution of incoming feeds and redirect low or marginal grade material away from the concentrator at the first opportunity. These stages rely on highly accurate and precise analytical technologies to rapidly differentiate material grade and minimise the loss of valuable material, moving only economically viable ore further along in the process. A high spec analyser is vital to this part of the chain and enables small and lower-grade satellite deposits to be accessed more successfully, as well as increasing profits for established plants.

Cracking down on the grinding circuit

Grinding is an essential first step in mineral liberation, but there is often no clear understanding of what the target particle size should be for a given head grade. Producing finer particles liberates more metal, but also increases media and energy costs. More than 50% of the energy consumed at a mine goes into crushing and grinding, so over grinding has definite economic and environmental implications. It is crucial, therefore, for each mine to find a balance between particle size and circuit throughput that limits consumption of grinding media and energy, while still maximising metal yields.

Grinding just enough is critical – too fine means lower throughput and/or higher energy consumption; too coarse and recovery suffers

Once a target has been established, real-time analysis of particle size and head grade elemental composition – for example, by prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) using a cross-belt system such as the Thermo Scientific™ CB Omni™ Agile Online Elemental Analyzer – can have a significant impact on the efficiency of the grinding circuit. In addition, by standardising particle size and controlling composition through the plant feed and grinding stages, the stability in feed forward control is increased going into the next stage – the flotation circuit.

The CB Omni™ Agile Online Elemental Analyzer (Thermo Scientific) rapidly and accurately differentiates material that is at or below the cut-off grade for ore sorting, the company says

Fine-tuning flotation

Flotation is a complicated physicochemical process where reagents – such as frothers, collectors and pH modifiers – are introduced to promote separation. The flotation feed can vary in particle size and chemistry depending on how the grinding circuit is optimised, and may contain excess fines. Miners might choose to compensate by adding more reagents, which can sometimes be beneficial but can also incur greater financial and environmental costs. Therefore, it is important to tailor the dosages of the flotation reagents in response to the incoming ore grade and particle size.

Concentrating on monitoring impurities

Certain impurities compromise the value of a concentrate, but they are often overlooked. Detecting impurities in the concentrate ahead of shipping reduces the chance of rejection at the receiving site – and the subsequent financial losses – and has the potential to improve ore quality, strengthen a company’s reputation and reduce the risk of penalty charges. In fact, representative sampling throughout ore extraction to concentrate the production process should be considered, but this can be extremely challenging owing to concentrated slurries, high tonnages, long distances between sample and analysis, and the expense and complexity of tackling head constraints.

Multi-stream analysers – like the Thermo Scientific MSA 3300 Slurry XRF Analyzer – are commonly employed in the mining industry, and can seem like an excellent, cost-effective solution. However, multiple streams can reduce efficiencies and lengthen the time to results – leading to less responsive control – and so their low upfront cost should be carefully balanced with their long-term implications. Choosing high quality analytical equipment that requires minimal manual input and has a proven record of reliability could help overcome these challenges and offer a better long-term solution. For example, a dedicated online sampling and elemental analysis station, such as the AnStat-330, provides a versatile and compact solution for addressing issues related to the process control of critical streams, time to results, the distance from sampler to analyser and the requirement for a metallurgical accounting quality sample.

 

 

The MSA 3300 Slurry XRF Analyzer (Thermo Scientific) measures up to 12 streams, with full stream separation retained throughout, Thermo Fisher says
The Anstat-330 Slurry Online Sampling and Elemental Analysis Station (Thermo Scientific) comes with options for additional process functionality, including distribution and pebble screening

Future-ready mining technology

It is vital to detect and understand why mining processes may be operating sub-optimally to know how to improve them. Relevant, reliable digital information is the foundation of an efficient operation and investing in more effective and continuous analysis is a key strategy for increasing return on investment. Digital twins, for example, integrate and collect data from sensors into a cloud platform to construct a complete and fully representative digital version of the concentrator. This allows miners to model different scenarios – such as changing process parameters – without interrupting the real-world activities of the mine. They aid in decision making and help to prevent unnecessary expenditure, as well as identifying any operational bottlenecks. Mining companies could potentially achieve 20 times – with some estimates up to 40 times – return on their initial investment through implementing digital twins, and more easily establish advanced, automated process control, increasing efficiency and depopulating mines.

Digital innovations are undoubtedly going to transform the mining industry and will help to reduce resource consumption and meet future sustainability goals. Without reliable, timely feedback, process control will always be on a ‘trial and error’ basis, which is no longer sufficient if miners are to fulfil the increasing copper demand ahead of us. Thermo Fisher Scientific supports the mining industry in adopting such technologies to enable dependable, timely and, often, real-time measurements that provide the data that miners need to track metal values, all the way from exiting the mine through to concentrate shipping.

*Ellen Thomson is PGNAA & Minerals Senior Applications Specialist at Thermo Fisher Scientific

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

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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.

Hatch identifies opportunities to cut Australian tailings generation by as much as 30%

Coal technology, Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new report from multi-disciplinary engineering, operational and development project, Hatch, estimates Australia’s mining waste can be reduced by 30% using already available technologies.

One of the biggest challenges currently facing the mining industry is managing the volume of tailings generated as minerals mining ramps up to meet the demands of the transition to renewable energy.

Undertaking an in-depth analysis to identify the technologies required to reduce or eliminate tailings of six key commodities (copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, coal and bauxite), Hatch investigated how tailings production would be impacted by applying the key technologies ‘themes’: advanced geometallurgy, ore sorting, advanced sensing and particle sorting, in-situ extraction, and preferential fracturing.

The company’s analysis revealed that technologies available today could reduce tailings by 20-30%, also identifying that, in the next 10-20 years, the integration of these technologies in future projects or expansions could provide an opportunity to reduce tailings by more than 50%.

Managing Director of Australia and Asia at Hatch, Jan Kwak (pictured), says the challenge of reducing tailings is a complex effort that is best solved utilising the innovative capacity of the entire mining supply chain.

“A balanced spread of researchers, METS (mining equipment, technology and services) companies, and operators in the mining industry are actively commercialising technologies,” he said. “Half (50%) of stakeholders identified are METS companies, whose core business is the supply of equipment and services of these technologies, indicating commercialisation is underway. This group was also present across the technologies that our analysis has shown to have higher TRLs (Technology Readiness Levels).”

The TRL ranking system measures the maturity of technologies, whereby Hatch graded technologies from zero (idea stage) to nine (commercial application).

For in-situ mining and preferential fracturing technology themes, there is a larger representation of research organisations and partnerships. This suggests collaboration is required to advance technological development, according to Hatch.

“It is vital that these stakeholders are highly engaged in the tailings reduction challenge in order to achieve the greatest cut through and introduce real change and advancement in the reduction of tailings, which will be needed to support the increase in mining activity while meeting emissions reduction targets,” added Kwak.

Teck’s Carmen de Andacollo goes live with MineSense shovel-based ore sorting system

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Following a successful trial of a MineSense’s ShovelSense ore sorting unit at Teck Resources’ Carmen de Andacollo mine in Chile, the operation is now using the system to divert trucks in real-time, MineSense says.

The implementation of an additional ShovelSense system at CDA is now also underway, the Vancouver-based company says.

CDA is Teck Resource’s second mining operation using ShovelSense, following commercialisation in 2019 at Highland Valley Copper (HVC) in British Columbia, Canada.

“The ShovelSense results are spectacular!” Victor Araya, Teck Superintendent Geology, said, referring to the results of the trial recently completed.

All new technology introduced into the mine is rigorously tested at different stages of evaluation at scale to ensure the system works reliably in the field, according to MineSense. ShovelSense exceeded one-digit accuracy (single-digit relative error) measuring copper ore and met and exceeded expectations for all criteria in the trial: system availability; accuracy to blast hole data; and precision in the field, the company reported.

Teck CDA also recently celebrated the diversion of seven ore-from-waste trucks, which are the first of many that ShovelSense data will automatically divert to maximise ore recovery and minimise the needless transportation and processing of waste, MineSense said.

“We have now incorporated ShovelSense to decide the destination of the materials, not at the block scale, but truck to truck, due to the reading of grades on each shelf of the loading equipment… the end result is increased ore to mill tonnage and also a significant improvement in feed grade,” Araya concluded.

Claudio Toro, EVP Business Development at MineSense, added: “We are proud that Teck has chosen to partner with MineSense again, demonstrating confidence that ShovelSense is a proven and valued technology. Global mining operations are continually seeking new ways to get more value out of their mines and extend the life of mine and we are pleased to again be chosen by Teck.

“ShovelSense is a proven solution that unlocks a mine’s full potential.”

Hear more about Teck CDA’s installation on April 25 when MineSense and International Mining will be holding a joint webinar titled, ‘Ore sorting at the extraction face’ at 10 am EST/4pm CEST. Click here for more information

Tungsten West breaks ground at Hemerdon for TOMRA XRT ore sorters

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Tungsten West says it has broken ground at its Hemerdon tungsten-tin mine in Devon, England, with the first sod turned for the installation of the TOMRA X-ray Transmission (XRT) sensor-based ore sorters.

This event, the company says, marks another major step in the company’s upgrade and refurbishment plans for the project’s processing plant.

Hemerdon is, Tungsten West says, the third largest tungsten resource globally, as well as being a previously producing mine that was operational from 2015-2018. Tungsten West purchased the Hemerdon Mine in 2019, and has since completed a bankable feasibility study that demonstrated an extensive reserve of approximately 63.3 Mt at 0.18% W and 0.03% Sn, as well as 37.4 Mt of saleable aggregate material. The company estimates that the life of mine is currently 18.5 years with the opportunity to extend this through future investment.

As announced earlier this month, the company took receipt of important long-lead equipment items, including the seven XRT ore sorters, which will make up part of the upgraded equipment the company plans to install into the front end of the processing plant. The XRT ore sorter will substantially improve and streamline operations once production restarts, minimising plant downtime, increasing recovery as well as a host of ESG benefits, it said.

After significant test work, Tungsten West engaged TOMRA to supply the seven units that are required to treat the run of mine throughput. This consists of six duty units and one standby unit. Orders and deposits for these units were placed in 2021 and the units have now been delivered to the UK and await final transfer to Hemerdon where they will be installed in the front end of the processing plant.

Additionally, the company is pleased to announce the appointment of James McFarlane as Managing Director of Tungsten West. McFarlane previously held the position of Technical & Operations Director of the company.

Max Denning, Tungsten West CEO, said: “We are extremely excited to have broken ground at Hemerdon this week, marking an important milestone in the project’s restart. Ensuring the UK and the western hemisphere have got access to two key critical minerals has never been more profound. We are also delighted to announce James as our new Managing Director; his extensive experience will prove invaluable in the company’s development as we move closer to first production at Hemerdon.”