Tag Archives: washing plant

New Weir Minerals Sand Wash Plant to boost recoveries

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Weir Minerals has released a complete sand wash solution that draws on its long experience in the sand and aggregate industry.

The Weir Minerals Sand Wash Plant comes with Linatex® lining, produces more saleable product than conventional sand screw plants, with fewer moving parts, and has an optimised process that produces a drier, higher-quality product with less fines, according to the company.

The solution has already proven effective at sites like Coimbatore Minerals in Tamil Nadu, India, Weir says, where a custom-built wash plant reduced its total cost of ownership by 51%, while offering a 23% reduction in fines that helped the company consistently meet the industry’s high standards for a saleable product.

Bruce Cooke, Global Product Manager – Sand Wash Plants for Weir, said: “We know the most important thing for quarry operators in washing is recovering as much sand as possible to maximise their sales, which is why we’ve designed an integrated solution for washing their product, with a hydrocyclone which can deliver greater recovery than sand screws. In addition, every component has been selected by our expert engineers for its long-service life, interoperability and ease of maintenance.”

The compact solution features a range of Weir Minerals equipment designed for high efficiency in sand and aggregate applications, including Warman® WGR pumps, Cavex® hydrocyclones, Enduron® dewatering screens, Linatex hoses and Isogate® knife gate valves.

The Warman WGR is a popular pump in the sand extraction industry, according to Weir, combining top of the line hydraulic design with an adjustable impeller, long bearing life and a simplified wet end, making replacement predictable and cost effective.

Precision moulded and lined, Linatex premium rubber is used for wear zones throughout the plant due to its proven wear performance in wet sand applications in operations around the world, Weir said.

Cavex hydrocyclones provide “exceptional classification efficiency” thanks to their unique 360° laminar spiral, delivering more saleable product than a sand screw solution would, the company said. Enduron dewatering screens, meanwhile, reliably separate product with a high degree of efficiency. And, finally, Isogate knife gate valves contribute to the plant’s straightforward maintenance.

Surendra Menon, President, Weir Minerals India, said: “For the new sand wash plant, we focused on making it quick and easy for quarry operators to get up and running. Its straightforward design means it can be assembled in just two days while its compact skids make it easy to drag into any operation.

“Efficient, reliable and easily integrated into flowsheets, we think the plant is a game changer for quarry owners.”

Centrex Metals looks to CDE washing plant to refine phosphate production

Energy minerals, Industrial minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Water management, , , , , , , ,

Australia-based mining company Centrex Metals has partnered with CDE Meta to deliver a state-of-the-art wet processing plant, currently in transit to the company’s Ardmore site, that will produce phosphate concentrate, according to CDE.

The plant is expected to arrive on site this month following the completion of fabrication and successful factory acceptance testing, CDE said.

Located south of Mount Isa in northwest Queensland, Centrex Metals’ Ardmore phosphate rock project is expected to produce 776,000 t/y of premium-grade phosphate rock concentrate, according to a recent feasibility study.

The pilot CDE phosphate washing plant, expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2019, will wash, scrub and de-slime free-digging ore to produce premium 35% P2O5 and ultra-low cadmium phosphate rock concentrate to be used in the manufacture of phosphoric acid, CDE said. It will progress to full-scale development in 2020.

The modular plant has a capacity of 70 t/h and has been designed to accommodate the expansion of the plant in phase two, which is expected to double the scale of the operation to process 140 t/h, equivalent to 800,000 t/y (wet).

During phase one, the pilot plant will provide up to 30,000 t (wet) concentrate to a number of Centrex Metals customers.

A digital representation of the new Centrex Metals Ardmore phosphate plant

Adam Holland, Head of Mining at CDE, said: “This 70 t/h solution, created in collaboration with Centrex, is part of a two-phase project. The pilot plant comprises the first phase and has been carefully designed using CDE’s unique modular offering in order to facilitate the simple and cost-effective transition to a 140 t/h plant in phase two.

“CDE’s modular approach solved many of the challenges presented by the remote location of the reserve, providing the flexibility required to protect that initial investment when moving from a pilot to full scale plant in 2020. This was essential for Centrex Metals to gain the necessary return on investment to make the project viable.”

To alleviate challenges presented by the remote location and its restricted access to water supplies, CDE is also supplying its AquaCycle technology, a high-efficiency water management system which recovers up to 90% of the process water for immediate recirculation in the system.

The bespoke solution designed and commissioned by CDE has contributed to Centrex Metals reducing its pre-production capital costs by 13% due to key design changes and equipment selection.

Simon Slesarewich, CEO at Centrex Metals, said: “This is an exciting development for Centrex and we look forward to receiving the first module of the start-up plant on site.

“Following a thorough feasibility study, we expect to produce 776,000 t of premium grade phosphate rock concentrate, which is equivalent to 800,000 wet tonnes per annum at the target shipping level of 3% moisture.

“To deliver this target over the estimated 10-year lifetime of the mine, we required a reliable and resilient wet processing solution to remove the fine gangue after the high-grade ore has been crushed to meet sizing specifications. Our research showed that CDE could deliver a solution that fully met our requirements.”

He continued: “Trial mining and production will enable the company to demonstrate the quality of the Ardmore product and further advance the project with offtake partners in the Asia-Pacific region that is forecast to see increased growth with this quality of material.”