Tag Archives: Tin

W Resources crushing ore at La Parrilla tungsten-tin mine

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Just over a week since confirming mechanical completion of the La Parrilla crusher plant, W Resources has fed the first mined ore into the circuit at its tungsten-tin operation in western Spain.

Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources, said: “First ore into new crusher was achieved on December 18, 2018, ahead of the January 2019 target and is a great credit to the team at La Parrilla.”

The crushing circuit at La Parrilla, supplied by Metso Minerals’ Portugal division, has been engineered to minimise creation of tungsten fines and is designed to process 350 t/h of ore, according to the mining company. It is made up of a C130 jaw crusher and secondary cone crusher, both with vibrating grizzlies prior to size reduction, and two tertiary cone crushers in closed circuit with a double deck banana screen.

La Parrilla is envisaged as a scalable project, starting up at 2 Mt/y to produce some 2,700 t/y of tungsten concentrate and 500 t/y of tin concentrate, before an expansion to 3.5 Mt/y and beyond.

W Resources signs off on Metso crushing plant at La Parrilla

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W Resources has confirmed the mechanical completion of the La Parrilla crusher plant, paving the way for commissioning of mined ore from the tungsten-tin deposit in western Spain next month.

The crushing circuit, supplied by Metso Minerals’ Portugal division, has been engineered to minimise creation of tungsten fines and is designed to process 350 t/h of ore, W said. It is made up of a C130 jaw crusher and secondary cone crusher, both with vibrating grizzlies prior to size reduction, and two tertiary cone crushers in closed circuit with a double deck banana screen.

This milestone follows delivery of the majority of the plant in September.

“The circuit has been designed for modular expansion to 700 t/h, requiring no modifications to the installed infrastructure in the future, and is currently configured to feed X-ray ore sorting going forwards,” W said. “The high level of automation in the design and robust wear liner packages will permit strong operational control and minimise maintenance requirements going forwards.”

Michael Masterman, Chairman of W Resources, said: “The crusher is the first of the three La Parrilla plants to be completed and it’s a great credit to the team to complete it ahead of schedule and on budget.

“We are looking forward to first mined ore into the crusher early in the new year which will contribute to an increase in production rates from La Parrilla in line with the planned ramp-up programme.”

La Parrilla is envisaged as a scalable project, starting up at 2 Mt/y to produce some 2,700 t/y of tungsten concentrate and 500 t/y of tin concentrate, before an expansion to 3.5 Mt/y and beyond.

Avalon, Cronimet proving sensor-based ore sorting thesis for East Kemptville tin project

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Avalon Advanced Materials has moved a step closer to incorporating sensor-based ore sorting into its plans at the East Kemptville tin project in Nova Scotia, Canada, after the latest testwork came back with positive results.

As recently as July, the company said ore-sorting technology had the potential to upgrade the feed material to the processing plant, thereby reducing both capital and operating costs and the volume of tailings generated, and it has stuck by that assessment after the latest batch of work.

Sensor-based ore-sorting (an example from Outotec shown above) is an emerging technology seeing increasing application in the mining industry. It involves the scanning of individual rock particles on a conveyor using various types of available sensor technologies.

Depending on the chemical, mineralogical or physical characteristics, the particles of value are individually identified and separated from the ‘rejects’ by applying either a mechanical, hydraulic or, in the case of East Kemptville, pneumatic process.

The most recent work, which comes on the back of similar preliminary work in 2017, was conducted by Cronimet Mining Processing, which is providing technical and metallurgical services to Avalon.

Drill core samples from the in-ground resources at East Kemptville were delivered in July to a test facility in Kentucky, US, in order to determine the amenability of East Kemptville tin mineralisation for beneficiation using sorting technology.

Samples varying from relatively high-grade to low-grade tin concentrations were scanned using a multisensory sorter platform. Based on these scans, an algorithm was developed to allow for the separation of the material during tests.

The feedstock used during the test campaign contained 0.11% Sn, 0.06% Cu and 0.11% Zn. The first step of the testwork produced an upgraded product containing 0.47% Sn and a product mass yield of 12%.

Recovery versus grade data also showed ore sorting can be used to recover the zinc ore mineral sphalerite (which also contains indium) from this resource. The zinc-indium feed was successfully upgraded to 0.23% Zn in the first step, while copper content remained low.

Similar positive results were achieved in a preliminary ore sorting test programme conducted in 2017 using material from the low-grade stockpile, Avalon said. This confirms the technology can be successfully employed to upgrade both the in-ground tin resource as well as the stockpiled material.

Based on these results, Cronimet has recommend a detailed sampling campaign be conducted on the low-grade stockpile, followed by an extensive bulk testwork programme using a pilot-scale ore sorting plant to test the recovery of valuable minerals on a pilot scale.

Cronimet will be visiting the East Kemptville site in September to meet with Avalon and site representatives in order to design and schedule the sampling programme likely to involve the extraction of a bulk (circa-10 t) composite sample sometime in October.

The test programme, including writing of the technical report, is expected to take five to six months to complete. This will be combined with a confirmation drilling programme on the stockpile, which will be used to finalise the small-scale site re-development model to the feasibility level of confidence, following which it is contemplated Avalon and Cronimet would enter into a partnership for the joint development of the project.

In July, Cronimet started carrying out the installation of ore sorting equipment at Almonty Industries’ Panasqueira mine in Portugal. This particular installation was aimed at reclaiming coarse fraction tailings and would result in a production increase of about 10%, according to Almomty.

Metso and allmineral equipment arrives at La Parrilla tungsten project

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W Resources is on course to hit its production goal at the La Parrilla tungsten project in the southwest of Spain, with crushing equipment arriving on site.

In a project update, the company said overall La Parrilla construction had accelerated during the summer months with construction completion of the crusher, jig and mill on schedule for the December quarter, and completion of the concentrator in the March quarter of next year – the same quarter it plans to start production.

La Parrilla is envisaged as a scalable project, starting up at 2 Mt/y to produce some 2,700 t/y of tungsten concentrate and 500 t/y of tin concentrate, before an expansion to 3.5 Mt/y and beyond.

W’s latest update said capital expenditure was tracking below budget, with engineering and procurement now both over 90% complete.

All major contracts have been placed, with 81.3% of the planned €27.1 million ($31.5 million) spend committed. The company also noted plant civil works were complete, concrete works for the crusher had been laid and works for the jig were underway.

Steel erection for the crusher was advancing quickly, the company said.

The primary Metso equipment for the 350 t/h crushing and screening circuit, which includes four HP300 cone crushers, a C130 jaw crusher, a VF500 vibrating feeder, MB352 rock breaker and MF2473 screen, were on site for “just in time installation”, W said.

W noted that primary allmineral equipment for the jig is arriving on site and allmineral confirmed the jig project was on schedule.

With a throughput of 350 t/h, the two alljig® jigs (one, pictured arriving on site) will provide grading, enrichment and cleaning of the pre-ground ore.

The alljig process involves the feed material initially being fluidised with pulsed water, with the grains graded according to density. The jigs separate the specifically lighter scheelite-poor yield from the specifically heavier scheelite-rich ore from the stratified material bed, allmineral said.

The processing plant, with a capacity of 155 t/h connected to the pre-concentration stage through the alljig jigs, will ensure tailings are separated from the valuable material, thereby achieving a 65% WO3 recovery, the company said.

The fines produced in several processing stages are to be recovered in a separate circuit.