Ramesh Mahadevan Archives - International Mining

As part of its modernisation drive, a mining and processing plant recently installed 3 x 62 m diameter DELKOR high-rate thickeners with a view to reducing electricity consumption by one and a half times for the pumping of tails, as well as rationalising the use of process water.

The project concerns the design, engineering and supply of three DELKOR 62 m high-rate thickeners for the dewatering of iron ore tailings as part of the processing plant’s modernised slurry thickening complex.

This modern complex, of which construction was completed in 2020, has now done away with outdated slurry pump stations, adopting, instead, the efficient process of thickening, hydraulic transport and storage of slurries.

Employing DELKOR’s latest generation feedwell design that comes with improved flocculation together with improved flocculant and slurry kinetics, these elevated thickeners boast large feedwells, which rank as some of the largest ever built, DELKOR says.

Ramesh Mahadevan, Regional Managing Director – DELKOR, had this to say upon successful commissioning of the thickeners: “This project is a very important reference for us in Ukraine. Given current global conditions, working with a new end user is a noteworthy achievement and one for which our entire DELKOR team must be commended.”

TAKRAF, the owner of DELKOR, meanwhile, says there has been strong demand for DELKOR technology in Latin America, noting a recent order for TAKRAF Peru for the supply of 2 x 38 m paste tailings thickeners with a capacity of 455-623 t/h.

The order, placed by a Peruvian entity processing tailings from a nearby iron ore mine, forms part of an expansion to develop a second plant. This will enable the entity to handle more tailings from the mine, according to TAKRAF.

Design requirements for the thickeners include accommodating the process demands for a paste application with a target of 65% +/- 3% solids content for the underflow. This required an equipment configuration that allowed it to operate under an expected yield stress of 200 Pa in the underflow material, the company noted.

Tenova DELKOR says it has successfully supplied and carried out mechanical completion of seven DELKOR thickeners, together with its flocculation system and a DELKOR Pinned Bed Clarifier (PBC) for a silver leaching plant project in Morocco.

The thickeners are to be employed in the counter current decantation circuit of the plant, with the project including the design, fabrication and supply of thickeners, flocculation plant and PBC, supervision of installation and performance guarantee.

The PBC is a unique process for hydrometallurgical plants where solution clarity is important, according to the company. “A technology for polishing feed solutions for solvent-extraction plants, the unit offers low suspended solids counts in overflows, regularly achieving clarities of less than 50 ppm solids, and as low as 20 ppm.”

Benefits of the PBC technology, according to Tenova DELKOR, include low capital expenditure for comparative clarifying technology; no moving parts, virtually eliminating the need for maintenance; robust and stable performance; it is optimised to minimise flocculant consumption, and; a small footprint.

Ramesh Mahadevan, DELKOR India Managing Director, said: “As the industry specialist in sedimentation, DELKOR offers a range of thickeners and clarifiers catering to various applications across the minerals, chemical, industrial and water management industries with designs of up to 100 m in diameter.

“Successful hand over of this important project only serves to strengthen our capabilities in the North African region and is a true testament that.”

Ukraine iron ore miner cuts electricity consumption, process water use with DELKOR thickeners

Tenova DELKOR shows off sedimentation specialism at Morocco silver project