Tag Archives: ore sorting

Gowest Gold heads towards production at Bradshaw with help of Steinert XRT ore sorter

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Gowest Gold is expected to make the leap into production shortly at the Bradshaw gold deposit, in Timmins, Ontario, with all permits secured and a Steinert ore sorter commissioned.

In an update this week, the company said it had received official notice from the Ontario’s Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines that its Mine Production Closure Plan had received final review and filing in accordance with the Ontario Mining Act. This plan provides details for how the Bradshaw mine will be operated and closed, and how the site will eventually be reclaimed once mining activities are completed.

With this permit in hand, Gowest says it has now received all environmental approvals required to bring the mine into commercial production.

On top of this, Gowest said its ore sorter has been commissioned in preparation for sorting the mixed development ore currently stockpiled on surface. This material will be trucked to Northern Sun’s Redstone Mill, in accordance with a toll milling arrangement, where processing is scheduled to begin on the week of November 9.

Gowest previously reported that around 28,000 t of gold-bearing mixed development ore had been collected and stockpiled on site from the company’s ongoing advanced exploration bulk sample program. The company also plans to mine around 15,000 t of stope ore as part of the bulk sample.

The company has previously outlined that run of mine ore from Bradshaw will first be crushed and sent through a dual energy X-ray Transmission ore sorting unit supplied by Steinert US. This was expected to “sharply reduce handling costs and increase gold grades of ore sent for processing”, it said. In a recent presentation, the company said this technology could reportedly double the Bradshaw grade up to 10 g/t Au.

As part of its Phase 1 developments at Bradshaw, Gowest is aiming to ramp up to production of 50,000 oz/y.

MineSense, Commerce Resources look at ore sorting options for Ashram REE project

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Commerce Resources has started a test project initiative with MineSense as part of its ongoing collaboration with CanmetMINING.

The project with Commerce will include assessing the spectral response on 127 course analytical rejects from drill core, comprising five rock types associated with the Ashram rare earth and fluorspar deposit, in Quebec, Canada.

Of these 127 rejects, a total of 72 are from drill core within the Ashram deposit’s primary mineralised zone: the A-Zone. Based on the information collected, MineSense will be able to assess the laboratory-scale efficacy of its technology to the Ashram deposit material. If successful, a value contribution assessment may be completed as a follow up activity for the Ashram project.

MineSense specialises in digital technology solutions for ore-waste classification in real time at the mining stage (run of mine), thereby providing better grade control compared with that of the deposit block model or mine plan. It uses data analytics, combined with its trademarked ShovelSense and BeltSense technologies, to monitor mineralogical or grade changes in an orebody daily, as it is mined. This information allows for optimal ore blending, grade trend characterisation, and overall improved mine planning with resultant cost efficiencies.

The MineSense technology is based on X-ray Fluorescence sensors fitted to specific pieces of mining equipment to monitor the spectral response of the material being actively mined. The technology provides for a higher level of control compared with the typical ore sorting process which occurs at the truck scale in the process plant, Commerce says.

One of the standout deployments of ShovelSense is at Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Copper (HVC) operations in British Columbia.

The funding for the test work at Ashram is provided by Natural Resources Canada through CanmetMINING’s six-year rare earth element (REE) and chromite program (announced in April 2015), focused on developing new extraction technologies, addressing Canadian environmental challenges, and improving the knowledge of Canadian deposits, Commerce says. The company’s contribution to the collaboration is a supply of REE mineralised material from Ashram, in which several tonnes remain readily available from a bulk sample completed in 2012.

The Ashram deposit outcrops at surface, allowing for cost-effective collection of material for test work. As such, the company is actively engaging with various research and academic institutions to support the advancement of the rare earth element industry in Canada, and in Quebec specifically, it said.

The resource base at Ashram consists of 1.59 Mt of material averaging 1.77% total rare earth oxides (TREO) in the measured category, 27.67 Mt at 1.9% TREO in the indicated category and 219.8 Mt at 1.88% TREO in the inferred category. The preliminary economic assessment outlined a 4,000 t/d open-pit operation with a 0.19:1 (waste:ore) strip ratio over a 25-year mine life. Annual production averaged circa-16,850 t of REO over the life of mine.

Vimy senses Angulari gold-uranium project boost following TOMRA XRT trial

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Ore sorting test work from TOMRA Sorting Australia has Vimy Resources thinking about higher grades, lower capital and operating costs, and the production of precious metals at its majority-owned Angulari uranium-gold deposit in Australia’s Northern Territory.

The ASX-listed company, which has defined an inferred mineral resource estimate of 26 Mlbs of U3O8 (0.91 Mt at 1.3% U3O8) at Angulari, already thought the deposit, part of the Alligator River project, had potential to fit into the first quartile of the global uranium cost curve, but now it has eyes on further improving its cost position.

An ore sorting proof of concept trial conducted by TOMRA using its COM X-ray Transmission Tertiary system factored in a 41.5 kg sample that was obtained from mineralised material collected from drill core that Cameco Australia drilled in 2011 and 2016.

The trial on this material saw the uranium concentrate grade increase from 1.2% to 2% U3O8 (70% increase) with high U3O8 recovery. Alongside this, the sample gold concentrate grade increased from 0.7 g/t to 1.1 g/t (47% increase). On the latter gold work, Vimy said: “This warrants further investigation given no gold processing or recovery test work has been undertaken to date.”

The test work also showed that gold mineralisation is spatially coincident with the uranium mineral resource within the sample.

Some 13.5 kg of this 41.5 kg sample was not sorted due to the high uranium grade, which provides additional upside in future trials, Vimy noted. Other potential by-products were also identified, including platinum and palladium.

All of this bodes well for cutting the capital and operating costs that Vimy was unable to disclose to investors as part of its December 2018 scoping study on the project.

A higher feed grade from ore sorting would likely result in lower operating costs, the company said.

Meanwhile, smaller hydrometallurgical plant circuits would likely be required for the same level of production. Coupled with a potential reduction in acid-consuming phases in the concentrate, ore sorting has the potential to lower reagents (and water) usage and costs on a per lb U3O8 produced basis, noting that expected reagent use is already low, Vimy said.

“A smaller plant would result in a lower overall disturbance footprint with commensurate approvals and capital cost benefits,” it added.

Mike Young, CEO of Vimy, said, “The results of the TOMRA ore sorting trial at the Alligator River project’s Angularli deposit have exceeded our expectations. The high-grade nature of the deposit, coupled with the ore sorting outcomes, enhances the prospect of Angularli’s potential future development as a low-cost uranium operation.

“Our next step is to progress the upgrade trials and investigate the potential for the recovery of high value by-products associated with the uranium mineralisation at the Angularli deposit.”

The Angularli deposit is located in the King River-Wellington Range tenement group which is managed in a joint venture (Vimy 79%: Rio Tinto 21%) with Rio Tinto Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto Ltd.

Rafaella considers processing options after positive TOMRA XRT ore sorting tests

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Sensor-based ore sorting test work from TOMRA Sorting Solutions has shown the potential for lowering the planned capital expenditure and operating costs associated with developing the Santa Comba tungsten-tin project in Galicia, Spain, project owner Rafaella Resources has reported.

The “exceptional” ore sorting results showed a 50% rejection of un-mineralised rock and an approximate doubling of feed grade, which would significantly lower the planned process capex and opex, and enhance process efficiency through a simpler process flowsheet, the company said. The 50% cut in process tonnage also reduces the project’s environmental impact, with a far lower volume of waste generated, lower energy consumption per unit of metal produced and reduced water consumption.

The “Grade Recovery Curve” showed the potential for over 90% tungsten recovery with an increased yield of up to 55% of feed mass, it added, while testing of the low-grade ores showed viable recovery from over 2 Mt of mineralisation not currently factored into the project’s economics.

The program tested two bulk samples selected from assayed drill core crushed to two size groups: +8 mm to -20mm and +20 mm to -40 mm. Sample No. 40 was circa-1,100 kg of average grade ore at 0.15% WO3, while Sample No. 41 was circa-250 kg of low-grade ore at 0.05% WO3.

TOMRA’s conclusion in its report was that “the results from this test work were positive for both sizes and samples. Significant upgrades of WO3, as well as high recoveries, were achieved in all test runs for sample ‘40’ using X-ray Transmission (XRT), while leaving rather low grades for WO3 in the waste fraction. A calculation has shown that a 90% recovery of tungsten can be possible at a waste removal of more than 50%.

“The low-grade sample ’41’ could be upgraded by a factor of 1.7 to 3. For further calculations, a waste grade between 0.025 and 0.030 is achievable.”

The success of the XRT sorting tests allows several mining and process options, Rafaella says, including:

  • Simplification of the process;
  • Bulk ore zone mining to reduce operational costs and maximise ore recovery;
  • In-pit sorting and conveying;
  • Bulk underground mining and sorting of wider ore zones using larger and longer stopes;
  • Separate sorting of sub-grade mineralisation; and
  • Sorting of satellite deposit ores prior to hauling to the process plant.

TOMRA estimates a throughput of 1 Mt/y of feed ore and circa-500,000 t/y of pre-concentrate would require two XRT units.

Rafaella’s Managing Director, Steven Turner, said the results from the ore sorting test work have exceeded the company’s expectations.

“The clear discrimination between ore-bearing rock and low grade or barren rock has delivered high recoveries and yields allowing for a simpler process plant,” he said. “The benefits of this simplification will be significant once the metallurgical studies are completed. These results are now being fed into the feasibility study that is in the final stages of completion.

“The company looks forward to providing the market with these exciting updates on the fast tracking of its flagship project over the coming weeks.”

Santa Comba is a brownfield project with a 5.1 Mt JORC 2012 compliant near-surface inferred resource at 0.203% WO3 and 0.014% Sn and an underground inferred resource of 234,000 t at 0.95% WO3 and 0.28% Sn.

Steinert to bolster sorting system test capacity in Pulheim

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Steinert is to introduce additional sorting lines for mining and waste recycling at its new test and development centre in Pulheim, Germany, the company says.

The new lines are being installed in an effort to better achieve the company’s aspiration of “test before you buy”, allowing it to “respond with ever more accuracy to the sorting aims of extraction, purity and profitability for each sorting task”, Steinert said.

Steinert’s sorting solutions are used throughout the mining industry as a way of pre-concentrating material ahead of milling.

The metal sorting line of the new test and development centre will official go into operation on September 22. This milestone will be marked with a virtual event held on that day.

By opening the new building, the company is trebling its testing capacity, allowing it to be more flexible in responding to customer demands, it said.

“The processing sequence deployed in the sorting systems is the same as that used in a real industrial plant,” Peter Funke, CEO of the Steinert Group, said. “We are delighted that even more customers can try out our technology, from magnetic separators to sensor-based sorting systems, such as X-ray transmission, X-ray fluorescence and near-infrared (NIR),”

The research and development team is also moving to the same building in Pulheim, seven kilometres away from STEINERT’s headquarters in Cologne, allowing customers to derive even more benefits from the latest developments, the company said.

TOMRA makes recovery promise to diamond miners

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TOMRA is offering diamond mining customers a guaranteed diamond recovery of greater than 98% with the use of its sensor-based ore sorting technology.

The company is making this guarantee alongside a promise of 100% detection in the specified range, irrespective of luminescence profile or coating.

As the company says, maximising diamond recovery while optimising costs is the top priority for every diamond producer.

“With TOMRA’s holistic approach and cutting-edge technologies, both can be achieved to deliver outstanding results,” it said, adding that its X-ray Transmission (XRT) diamond recovery technology has helped recover some of the largest and rarest gemstones in history.

TOMRA says it approaches every project as a partnership with the customer to deliver a complete solution that meets their operational and business requirements.

This begins with a detailed analysis of the customer’s requirements and operational needs.

TOMRA – Operations Hub Johannesburg

Working collaboratively, it assists in developing a tailor-made flowsheet redesign that combines its XRT technology with its Near Infrared (NIR) and Laser solutions as needed. This collaborative approach continues throughout the project, with testing at its Test Center in Germany and, on-site, as required, through to installation and beyond.

More recently, this approach has been enhanced with the development of a remote testing option.

“The complete solution can also include the web-based TOMRA Insight platform that turns all the sorters into connected devices for monitoring and tracking the system’s performance,” the company said.

Once the system is fully operational, TOMRA offers its Service Level Agreement to ensure its solution continues to deliver the desired results.

“The tailored agreement can include on-site presence as required, seven days a week product support, application engineer visits, tiered urgency support, targeted site response, training, as well as spare and wear parts coverage to ensure maximum uptime and protect the customer’s investment,” the company said.

Advanced technologies adding value

TOMRA’s XRT technology recognises and separates material based on its specific atomic density. It uses a cutting-edge X-ray camera with DUOLINE® sensor technology to measure spectral absorption information.

TOMRA’s proprietary high-speed X-ray processing unit uses the data to produce a detailed “density image” of the material. The result is a high level of purity in sorting materials, irrespective of size, the degree of moisture or surface pollution present, TOMRA says. This makes TOMRA’s XRT high-capacity sorters effective in the recovery of free, liberated diamonds at high feed rates up to 300 t/h.

TOMRA’s NIR sorters recognise and separate kimberlite and waste rock based on their chemical composition. This technology is useful in upgrading lower grade run of mine and stockpiles, producing a kimberlite concentrate for further processing, the company says.

Marie-Claude Hallé had first-hand experience of how TOMRA’s solutions can add value to diamond mining operations when she held the role as Marketing Operations Manager for diamond exploration and producing company, Stornoway Diamonds.

“You have to really envision that TOMRA has actually changed the game in terms rough diamond recovered around the world and allowed producers to access large exceptional quality goods that perhaps in the past would be crushed to pieces,” Hallé said.

Customised solutions for kimberlite, lamproite and alluvial applications

With its customised approach, TOMRA says it can deliver on its promise of guaranteed results both in hard-rock kimberlite/lamproite and alluvial deposits – each of which presents their specific challenges.

In kimberlite, the challenge is to recover “needle in a haystack” diamonds, which requires controlled crushing of kimberlite ore to avoid damaging or breaking the diamonds, the company says.

“High waste dilution impacts the crushing energy needed and further increases diamond breakage risk,” TOMRA says. “Utilising TOMRA NIR technologies, we can remove non-diamond bearing material, not only improving the crushing profile of the ore, but also increasing the value of each tonne of ore processed. TOMRA NIR waste sorting technology can make diluted marginal kimberlite deposits economic.”

Additionally, complex, energy- and water-intensive kimberlite liberation processes, and the cost of transportation for crushing and processing, are challenges facing modern diamond miners today.

“TOMRA’s XRT and NIR technologies, which offer extremely high concentration factors, allow the production of hand sortable, ultra-high grade concentrates in as little as two stages compared to up to seven in traditional methods,” the company claims.

The challenge of economically mining low-grade alluvial deposits is due to their typically lower grade and the sporadic nature of the deposits.

The high recovery performance of TOMRA’s XRT technology enables single-stage or double-stage diamond recovery, offering a drastically lower operating cost and capital investment so that mining marginal deposits becomes economically viable, according to TOMRA.

“Another advantage of TOMRA’s XRT solution is that it can operate as a dry process, which dramatically reduces its environmental impact and operational complexity,” it says. “Besides, it opens the door to new opportunities, making it possible to mine deposits in arid areas where water access is minimal.”

TOMRA XRT machines have proved effective in alluvial operations, the company says.

One such case is that of the Lulo mine in Angola, operated by Lucapa Diamonds, where TOMRA XRT technology is used to process material between 18 and 55 mm in size and allows the recovery of diamonds of up to 1,100 ct – and where it has recovered Angola’s second-biggest diamond on record, a 227 ct stone in 2017.

Stephen Wetherall, Lucapa Diamonds Managing Director at the time of the recovery, said: “The recovery of the 227 ct diamond using the new XRT circuit justifies our investment in TOMRA’s large diamond recovery technology, which has more than paid for itself with the recovery of this one stone alone.”

Optimised flowsheet

TOMRA is in the unique position of being able to offer diamond operations a full XRT recovery flow sheet to 2 mm that delivers concentration factors up to 1 million with a much-reduced number of concentration stages, it says.

Geoffrey Madderson, Diamond Segment Manager for TOMRA Sorting Mining, explains: “TOMRA XRT technology replaces multiple stages of diamond concentration by virtue of its ability to concentrate diamonds to a hand sortable product after only a single step. This concentration factor allows for the removal of multiple recovery steps, drastically reducing both the capital investment and operational costs to recover diamonds.”

Geoffrey Madderson, Diamond Segment Manager for TOMRA Sorting Mining

TOMRA’s XRT technology can replace traditional methods such as dense media separation (DMS), wet magnetic separation and XRL final recovery with single-stage solutions for +8 mm and double-pass for -8 mm +4 mm particles, it claims.

“TOMRA’s solution eliminates up to seven concentration stages, dramatically reducing the complexity of the supporting plant and infrastructure,” the company says. “This results in significantly lower power and water consumption, which not only reduces costs, but also the environmental impact of the recovery process.”

An additional benefit of TOMRA’s solution is that it is a fully automated process, so there is no manual handling during pre-concentration and recovery, which has positive implications on security and eliminates human error, resulting in greater accuracy, the company says.

Recoveries

TOMRA’s sorters process these volumes with great efficiency, finding more diamonds than other, traditional separation methods – including coated and low- or non-luminescent diamonds, the company says.

The performance of its XRT sorters is independent of the “heavies” content in the feed, and is ideal for processing high-yielding ores unsuitable for DMS. The result is an exceptionally high recovery rate, it claims.

“TOMRA guarantees >98% recovery: that is how confident we are in our technology,” Madderson states.

With TOMRA’s sorting solutions, diamond producers can install large diamond recovery systems with a small capital investment and operate with a fraction of operating expenditures per tonne compared with traditional recovery methods such as DMS and XRL, it claims. In addition, the economic recovery of ultra low-frequency exceptional diamonds of +32 mm is now possible.

“TOMRA’s ability to deliver not only a technology that can detect such large diamonds, but also an economical process solution for the recovery of ultra-rare, exceptional diamonds is what sets it apart from its competitors,” Madderson said.

“This is the reason that, to date, TOMRA XRT has become synonymous with the recovery of extraordinary diamonds from all around the world.”

AEX Gold has high ore sorting hopes following TOMRA Nalunaq tests

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Greenland-focused AEX Gold may have found an effective way to distinguish between high-grade gold-containing quartz veins and host amphibolite at its Nalunaq gold project after testing with a TOMRA ore sorting machine produced positive results.

A 500 kg bulk sample of mineralised Main Vein (MV) material, collected from the historical underground workings at Nalunaq, was used for a preliminary performance test at TOMRA’s test facility in Wedel, Germany, with the performance test report confirming that Nalunaq’s mineralised material is “highly amenable” to ore sorting technology, according to AEX Gold.

Laser sorting technology showed favourable results in the preliminary performance test, with total gold recovery ranging between 90.2% and 99.4% and with mass rejections of waste ranging from 58-62% of the incoming feed stream, the company said.

While a second test, planned for 2021, will focus on optimising the detection parameters to increase confidence in gold recovery, AEX already believes ore sorting technology, once optimised, could offer a cost-effective processing solution to supplement the company’s existing plans.

Nalunaq is a past-producing underground mine located in south Greenland. Having produced around 350,000 oz of gold between 2004 and 2009, it has demonstrated a low-cost production potential from past operations, the company says.

Redevelopment plans include developing a mining camp and ancillary facilities to establish a regional hub; carrying out 2,000 m of underground drifts into mineralisation with long hole stoping, operated by a contractor; locating a 300 t/d crushing, milling and gravity recovery plant (65-70% Au recovery) outside of the mine to provide operating scalability and store tailings for future re-processing; refurbishing an existing, permitted leaching plant, located underground, to increase gold recoveries to 95% once free cash flow positive; and adopting new technologies to improve recovery, reduce dilution, and minimise processing costs.

Eldur Olafsson, CEO of AEX, said: “Ore sorting has the potential to be a cost-effective solution for processing Nalunaq’s mineralised material. We are pleased to continue progressing on the development of the Nalunaq project by involving industrial cutting-edge technologies in our development strategies.”

Gold at Nalunaq is mineralised in a MV, which averages 0.7 m in width and exhibits a typical ‘nugget effect’. Past mining operators have used a combination of selective resue mining and conventional long hole stoping, which resulted in an average true mining width of 1.2 m, according to the company.

“Therefore, the mined material includes a significant quantity of amphibolite host rock (devoid of gold and considered as dilution),” the company said. “It is anticipated that ore sorting could be effective at Nalunaq due to the contrast in density and colour between the high-grade gold-containing quartz veins (white) and host amphibolite (dark grey).”

Filling the mineral processing flowsheet gaps

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Crushing, grinding, flotation, solvent extraction, electro winning, tailings management…Metso Outotec covers it all.

The new mineral processing entity might be less than a week old, but many in the industry would have, no doubt, had some burning questions to ask since the planned merger was announced on July 4, 2019.

IM had a chance to put some of these questions to Stephan Kirsch, President Minerals business area, Metso Outotec, gaining an initial impression of what the combination of the two companies means for the Minerals business he heads up.

IM: What big mining industry challenge will the combined group be better placed to tackle? What equipment/solutions/expertise within the group are the most important in achieving these goals?

SK: One issue – although not technology-focused – is community engagement.

Some mining operations in the world face challenges in terms of engaging with local communities and returning benefits to them. There is a social responsibility for mining companies, as they are the operators, but also for mining industry supporters involved in such projects.

That said, the vast majority of the mining industry runs initiatives that ensure communities understand mining companies are not just there to extract the iron, copper or gold and make money from it. They give back to local stakeholders and help improve community standards.

Stephan Kirsch, President Minerals business area, Metso Outotec

From a technology perspective, an industry issue we are well equipped to tackle is tailings management. With our combined offering, we look very seriously into solutions that can involve dewatering, dry stacking, and the reprocessing of tailings.

You asked about the products involved in solving these challenges…that includes filtration technologies, bulk materials handling products for conveying and stacking, and then various ore sorting technologies for the reprocessing.

Another trend to highlight is the use of energy or, more specifically, the need to reduce power consumption. There is some work to do here.

When you go and buy a car, you tend to focus on the fuel consumption. The mining industry, however, aims for high installed power because there is a sentiment that more power in the mill means more product out of the mill, more fines and, as a result, better downstream recoveries. In a way that is true for technologies like horizontal mills, ball mills and SAG mills, but when you turn to different, newer technologies it is not always the case.

One of these technologies is HPGRs which were introduced in the minerals industry in the mid-80s. Today, HPGRs are used in high tonnage, competent, abrasive ore applications due to their lower specific power draw and other downstream benefits compared to conventional technologies.

One can add to this, conserving other natural resources such as water. Water scarcity is obviously a problem and we should look at the recycling of process water wherever possible (that is where the filtration technology comes into play again) at the same time as examining more energy-efficient flowsheets.

There is quite a bit we can do to solve some of these challenges from a mineral processing perspective, but, the problem is, the industry remains conservative and anything new takes time to be implemented sustainably.

IM: I know Metso has previously talked about creating a bulk ore sorting solution for industry. Considering this, do you as Metso Outotec expect to continue leveraging the agreement Outotec has in place with TOMRA to carry out more sensor-based ore sorting projects? Alongside this, will you continue with your own bulk sorting projects?

SK: Early removal of tailings/overburden from the processing plant feed has been the operator’s dream for probably a century! This concept of preconcentration has been a consideration for many years, but in the last 30 or so years, technologies with different sensors have been developed to help with this separation process.

It is the ability to use sensor technology to single out particles on a conveyor belt at an appropriate speed and quantity that is the industry challenge. After all, when it comes to mining, we are talking about bulk materials that must be processed, not single elements like you have in the recycling and food sectors where much of this sensor technology originated from.

You need to look at the operating economics of such plants. When I say economics, I am factoring in throughput and recovery rates: you want a high tonnage and you don’t want to waste your ore, which is already low grade compared with what was being mined, say, 30 years ago.

The answer to your question is that Metso has been looking into preconcentration technologies for some time – we have R&D projects and partners looking at it. The same is the case with Outotec. Going forward, we will analyse this and make a call on whatever is the best combination to continue with such work.

Personally, I am a big believer in segregating waste as early in the process as possible to save energy downstream. But there are technical challenges to this.

IM: Both companies have been expanding their modular offering in recent years (Metso with its flexible FIT™ stations and the smart Foresight™ stations/Outotec with its modular paste backfill plants and HIGmill): is a lot of your mining and metals R&D currently focused on reducing the footprint of your solutions?

SK: Our R&D budget – as you probably heard on the webcast last week – is quite significant when put together. As Metso Outotec committed to keep both of our budgets unchanged, the spend comes to about €100 million ($112 million). A market survey we carried out revealed that, in terms of R&D spend, we are at the top of the industry.

Then, we must spend this money wisely wherever we see it being applied most economically for the benefit of our customers and for Metso Outotec. The modular crushing stations you mention are an area of interest we started developing years ago. We see good potential for this modular offering and will continue to develop it.

As for the percentage of the budget we will dedicate to it, this will – like all R&D projects – be analysed alongside others for crushing, grinding and all separation technologies with a strong focus on product innovations, digitalisation and sustainability.

IM: As you hinted at earlier, do you see tailings management being one of the combined group’s core strengths?

SK: It is one big focus area for us, but only one.

Crushing and grinding, which I mentioned earlier, is another strong area. We are a market leader in some of the crushing technologies we offer, and high up the industry when it comes to grinding technologies. We plan to really expand on this side.

I mentioned HPGRs where we have brilliant, world-class technology, but are missing the installed base. With 20-25 years of HPGR experience, I know we have the technology to make a difference, we just need to effectively bring it to market.

The whole re-grind space is really a future area for us to pursue due to industry-wide issues of falling grades, the need to reduce power consumption and fine grinding requirements.

Back to the original question, I expect Metso Outotec to be a strong player for dewatering and tailings management solutions.

IM: Outotec has a much more developed downstream business in areas like hydrometallurgy and smelting, etc in mining than Metso – will this remain a core part of the combined group?

SK: The front-end strength of Metso for mineral processing plants and the wet processing business focus of Outotec shows how well both companies complement one another. From a technical perspective, this is one of the reasons why the merger of Metso and Outotec makes much sense.

IM: In what segments of the mining and metals market do you see the most complementary solutions within Metso and Outotec?

SK: When we brought these two companies together it is amazing how many renowned international mineral processing experts came with it. We can provide much more comprehensive services to the industry because we can look at the entire flowsheet – from run of mine ore, to metal.

Why is this so important for our customers? You can bundle equipment together to make tenders and dealing with OEMs more economical for mining companies. But, more than that, we can bring a much larger pool of experts to a project to interact and talk with each other to provide the right innovations. This is the ‘one plus one equals three’ effect.

We can also look at balancing the equipment so, for example, the primary crusher is appropriately configured to produce the right ore for the secondary crushing process and the screens are amply sized to effectively carry out their job. That then leads to finding the optimal operating point for the HPGRs and milling equipment and then the downstream processing segment. This type of equipment balancing is highly interesting for the market, creating win-win situations for customers and us as an OEM.

IM: Do you see your relationship with mining customers changing because of this holistic approach?

SK: Yes and no. There are companies that will appreciate this wider offering and there are others that will continue to come to us as part of a more traditional way of tendering for mineral processing equipment.

I see a trend where larger companies are coming back to reliable OEMs because the availability, sustainability and reliability of equipment is much more important than saving a dollar in capex in the first place. That is a trend we have seen strengthen even more recently with COVID; we all know when a plant is not running, it costs operators hundreds of thousands of dollars per day in lost revenue.

Yet, there are always customers that say capex is king. They will do everything they can to tender it most competitively from a capital expense perspective, regardless of the long-term total cost of ownership benefits choosing another solution will have.

IM: How will your digital offering be strengthened through the combination?

SK: At Metso, we started, especially in South America, with a strong operation and presence in terms of remote control and remote operating and maintenance support for processing plants.

The service solutions that have been developed and established in some countries, specifically for Metso and for Metso equipment, in the new company will, of course, be transferred into the installed base of Outotec (for example, a facility previous owned by Outotec in Espoo, Finland, is now a Metso Outotec Performance Center facility).

We often heard from customers: ‘We have great equipment from the Outotec side, but we have never experienced the great Metso services.’

What is so encouraging to see is that there is demand from the industry for such a combination of equipment and services.

IM: Where do you see an overlap of solutions (for instance, possibly crushing and grinding equipment (SAG/AG/ball mills), vertical crushing tech (Vertimill/HIG mill)) or flotation (Outotec has a greater market share but Metso supplies some interesting options like column flotation, plus is the leader in flotation camera monitoring with VisioFroth)? Historically, have you been competing against each other for contracts in these market segments?

SK: As you know, for 12 months or so, there was intense scrutiny from the regulatory authorities to find out if the companies could merge or not because of an overlap, and the answer that came back is yes.

From a regulatory authority perspective, there is no overlap, and, from a technical perspective, I view it in a similar way.

One prime example to give would be the Vertimill (below, left) and the HIGmill (below, right). If you look at both in detail and you talk to customers – which has happened when we have our project meetings and negotiations – you often find that the applications being examined are so specific that both mills, although close when it comes to operating process, have their own sweet spots.

                      

Most of the cases where we, as Metso and Outotec, won or lost a tender, the argument was not around price or sentiment; it was always technical where, for example, the feed was too coarse for the HIGmill, or the end product needed to be so fine that the Vertimill was ruled out.

We, therefore, want to continue offering both technologies; we will not shelve one because we believe there is room for both solutions.

IM: Could this combination then enable you to offer a more customised solution for customers?

SK: That is where the benefit (from the combined Metso Outotec) for the industry really kicks in; our customers are not just getting standard solutions; some tailoring is involved. They will be able to get more specific and solution-oriented, performance-balanced pieces of equipment.

IM: Would you like to add anything else?

SK: I need to say that I am quite excited about the opportunities for the new company, Metso Outotec. There are benefits for both us and the wider industry.

Personally, I am humbled to be elected to run such a large organisation of industry experts and high-quality equipment. It is exciting times ahead.

Novo Resources to take Steinert ore sorter into the field

Comminution of minerals, Mineral exploration, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Precious metals, , , , , , , ,

Novo Resources says it is in advanced discussions with Steinert Australia to procure a 1 m wide KSS 100F LIXT fine mechanical sorting unit, to be deployed at its wholly-owned Purdy’s Reward and Comet Well JV gold projects, in Western Australia, during the 2020 field season.

The sorter will be manufactured by Steinert in Germany with an expected 18-week delivery time to Australia, Novo said.

Approvals are being prepared for field testing of up to 10,000 t of material from Purdy’s Reward, Comet Well, and 47K, respectively (total up to 30,000 t). Novo also plans to utilize this sorter to test field exploration samples delivered from its other projects including Egina, it said.

Field test work will be designed to better understand gold grades, the extent and location of mineralised conglomerate units, evaluate mechanical sorter gold recovery at production throughput rates and of various sorted size fractions, and provide critical input concerning operational costs, the company explained.

The company has previously carried out ore sorting test work in the lab on samples from its Reward and Comet Well JV gold projects.

Rob Humphryson, Novo’s CEO and a Director, said: “We have achieved outstanding laboratory level mechanical sorting test results utilising both Steinert and TOMRA sorters. It is now time to field test productivity and performance. This Steinert unit will be equipped with technology that is capable of testing material from all our coarse gold projects.”

Humphryson said the decision to initially deploy a Steinert unit into the field was more a reflection of “local, non-technical factors” than any distinct differentiation of capabilities between the two suppliers’ sorters.

He added: “Should field testing of mechanical sorting prove successful, it is likely that the final utilisation of this technology will involve a hybrid solution involving equipment from both suppliers. In light of this, we intend to maintain a close working relationship with both suppliers.”

TOMRA receives positive ore sorting signals as virtual offering gains pace

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Industrial minerals, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

While the effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt across the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector, the time away from the office or mine site has enabled many within the industry to carry out work that could lead the industry into a whole new growth cycle.

The jury is out on when such an upturn could occur – these economic studies will not necessarily result in a positive mine investment decision – but this activity, coming alongside billions of dollars of investment from governments and central banks, bodes well for the future.

One company that has witnessed this increase in interest is TOMRA Sorting Mining. The Germany-based firm, known to miners for providing high-tech sorting solutions, including X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, has received many enquiries since lockdowns were established across the globe in March and April, according to Jens-Michael Bergmann, Area Sales Manager for Europe, MENA and India.

“The number of enquiries has definitely increased since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place,” Bergmann told IM last week. “There are many people deep into prefeasibility or feasibility studies (FS) on projects who need ore sorting data for this. They are very happy to have this provided remotely.”

Jens-Michael Bergmann, Area Sales Manager for Europe, MENA and India, TOMRA Sorting Mining

Such remote work could range from the inspection of photos sent from smart phones or distributed within MS Teams videoconferences, to more advanced analysis and testing of material, Bergmann explained.

Fortunately, TOMRA is setup for this type of remote interaction. Its initial sales process – where mining companies will at this stage be considered ‘leads’ – usually involves the exchange of emails/phone calls, inspections of photos/videos and a few kilograms of material to sample.

The next stage would include the performance test, which could involve hundreds of tonnes of material and usually a visit to the Test Center in Wedel, Germany.

It is this stage that has been revamped recently to cater to the lack of travel options for clients.

TOMRA has opened virtual testing facilities that enable miners to take informed purchasing decisions for their processing plants, regardless of where the client may be located.

This brings the capabilities of the company’s Test Center to the client, offering a video of their material being sorted in an ore sorting unit and a follow-up detailed report including assays (supplied by a sub-contractor), ore sorting data and an estimation of just how optimal a sort could be achieved on that material when it is subjected to XRT technology.

“You have a complete document and resource to base economic decisions on,” Bergmann said.

TOMRA, last month, presented the Virtual Demonstration and Test Solution to the market as a “temporary” platform, but recent experience shows the potential for this becoming part of the company’s standard offering.

“We understand it currently to be a temporary version, but in recent days we have had some positive replies that make us think we can continue to offer it in the future to certain clients,” Bergmann said.

In a COVID-19-affected world where every decision to travel on a plane requires strong justification, flying from North or South America, Asia, or Australasia to Europe for a one-day test is unlikely to be warranted.

Such a trip involving operations teams, executives and metallurgists is more likely to take place when a detailed week-long trial examining the effects of sorting technology on roughing, cleaning and scavenging stages is planned, Bergmann said.

“We don’t think in the future we will go virtual permanently, or personal permanently,” Bergmann said.

Testing time for tungsten-tin

TOMRA only established these virtual facilities on May 12, but it has already carried out four or five of these tests for clients that either had sent samples to Wedel ahead of lockdowns or dispatched them during the period when travel was restricted.

Mike Hallewell, Consultant at MPH Minerals Consultancy Ltd

One of these tests has been for Tungsten West, the owner of the Hemerdon tungsten-tin asset in Devon, England.

Previously owned and operated by Wolf Minerals Ltd, Hemerdon has been offline since late 2018 after Wolf fell into financial trouble as the operation failed to reach expected recovery rates.

According to Tungsten West, Hemerdon hosts the world’s fourth largest tungsten resource, with the potential to become the world’s largest.

With eyes on re-starting the operation and improving recoveries, the company has been looking at XRT ore sorting technology to ensure the new operating plan stacks up over the long term.

Mike Hallewell, Consultant at MPH Minerals Consultancy Ltd, has been helping the company explore its processing options and said the virtual test work TOMRA carried out on behalf of Tungsten West was part of studies looking into a re-start of the mine.

“They are at scoping study level and now moving towards feasibility level,” he told IM. “Ore sorting is a key component of that next phase.”

Hallewell said the recording of the virtual test on an Hemerdon ore sample at Wedel was well received by both himself and Tungsten West.

“You have got to convince the Plant Manager that is operating the plant that it (XRT ore sorting) is something he will be comfortable with, on top of making the case to boards of directors that may not have the same metallurgical expertise as the operation guys,” he said.

“When people see particles being blown by the air jets, it greatly enhances the visual understanding of the separation technique being employed,” he added. “To see is to understand.”

TOMRA has done well replicating the experience project and executive teams would have had in Wedel in person with this testing, Hallewell said.

“They have thought about the things that a client would want to do and see if they were there,” he said.

“They provide a powerful video of the air jet stones hitting the sides, the bins where material is deposited into, and even go as far as putting their hands in that bin at the end to try and replicate that tangible feeling of the sort.”

Future indicators

The more successful TOMRA is at replicating the in-person experience virtually, the more likely these ‘temporary’ options will become part of its permanent offering.

Another area that could ‘go virtual’ in the future is the maintenance and servicing side of TOMRA’s ore sorting business, Bergmann believes.

“The maintenance side is moving in that direction already to a certain degree,” he said.

“Since everybody is currently facing travel restrictions, the infrastructure for accurate virtual maintenance will, in the future, be set up in all plants. The awareness of the need to do this will increase,” he said.

Certain parts of the contract negotiation process could also go virtual, such as “all the unloved paperwork”, Bergmann added.

But, the installation and final signoff of these machines is unlikely to make this transition, at least in the near term.

That is despite an XRT ore sorting machine from TOMRA recently being installed at Sotkamo Silver’s mine in Finland when lockdown conditions were still in place.

On this installation, specifically, Bergmann said: “A lot of pre-commissioning work on that unit took place ahead of the delivery and it was a representative from Outotec – a salesperson with engineering experience – that was able to commission it with remote assistance from our specialists in Germany.”

Looking past the virtual offering, TOMRA could be set for an upturn in business in the near- and medium-term if the influx of enquiries it has recently received is converted into, first, demonstrations and, then, sales.

“In terms of first inspections of material, I would say we have had around 50 enquiries in this lockdown period,” Bergmann said.

“While everyone is planning now, if they hit the investment button, there could be a lot of orders backed up. The manufacturing could run into a bottleneck.

“It’s potentially a positive problem, but a problem nonetheless.”

Considering the amount of investment being pledged by governments to stave off an economic downturn, TOMRA is unlikely to be the only METS company facing such a ‘positive problem’.