Tag Archives: Weir Minerals

Weir Minerals heralds 100 years of Linatex Premium Rubber

Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Linatex® Premium Rubber, manufactured solely by Weir Minerals Malaysia, is celebrating its 100-year anniversary as an industry leader in defence against abrasion.

The distinctive red rubber, renowned for its resilience, strength, resistance to wear and abrasion, offers exceptional performance in the harshest of mining and aggregate environments, according to Weir Minerals.

It has been field-tested in mine sites for a century, starting with the tin industry in Malaysia in the 1920s and continuing to the present day.

“Found in all the leading operations globally, it is the mining industry’s preferred first line of defence and protection against abrasion for expensive capital equipment – delivering best-in-class wear life and overall total cost of ownership,” the company says.

Brandon Greer – Processing Maintenance Supervisor, Pinto Valley Mine, Capstone, said: “I would definitely recommend the Linatex rubbers to really any mine. The life that we’ve seen is just phenomenal in comparison to what we’ve had in the past.”

Akhbayar Enkhsaikhan – Concentrator Maintenance Manager, Oyu Tolgoi Mine, added: “It significantly reduces material costs associated with changing out too frequently. On the cost side, most importantly, it enabled us to produce more copper.”

Dedicated to meeting customer demand and providing the most advanced solutions, Weir Minerals says it is continually working to modernise the manufacturing process for Linatex. The rubber manufacturing facility, located in Batu Caves, Malaysia, has recently been expanded to include a new Continuous Rubber Process (CRP2) facility, a new Banbury mixer to manufacture masticated dry rubber and additional rubber presses to support the growth within this area of the business.

The proprietary formula of Linatex Premium Rubber includes a unique liquid compounding phase which maintains the natural state and characteristics of the 95% natural rubber product, the company explains. The formula has remained unchanged since it was developed and patented in 1923 by Bernard Wilkinson. To ensure a consistent high-quality product, Linatex Premium Rubber routinely undergoes rigorous testing throughout the entire manufacturing and delivery process.

“Linatex Premium Rubber is the most sustainably manufactured rubber on the market,” Weir Minerals says. “The natural and renewable resource (pure latex is 100% sap of the rubber tree) is complemented by sustainable processes, minimal waste and a renewable solar energy system at the site.”

Brownfield expansions and sustainable mining projects boost Weir Group Q1 orders

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining finance, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

Weir Group continued to benefit from relatively high commodity prices, tightness in physical inventories of metals and minerals, and strong end market demand for commodities in the March quarter, registering a 22% boost in original equipment order growth in the three-month period.

The company said brownfield activity and sustainability projects were behind this leap in orders.

“Customers are ordering Weir solutions to debottleneck, expand and improve the sustainability of existing mines, while also increasingly engaging on new sustainability driven technologies, such as our redefined mill circuit and the Motion Metrics digital offering,” the company said in its results.

Weir Group’s “redefined mill circuit” encompasses Weir Minerals’ Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls, along with the additions of technologies from Eriez and Swiss Tower Mills (STM) Minerals, which are part of specific partnerships. These solutions are enabling it to redefine the mining mill circuit so customers can use less energy, use water wisely and create less waste during minerals processing, it says.

Weir Minerals recently announced the completion of the STM Minerals AG vertical stirred mill commissioning at the Weir Technology Hub in the Netherland. Regarding Eriez, the combination of pumps, cyclones, classification equipment, and other mill circuit products supplied by Weir Minerals, along with Eriez’s HydroFloat, StackCell®, columns and sparging systems, allows owners to take advantage of well-matched equipment designed and tested as a system, Weir says. This makes Weir a natural fit for contributing to Coarse Particle Flotation flowsheets, it added.

In terms of the Weir’s outlook, it said in its March quarter results: “The business is executing well and conditions in our mining markets are positive. High levels of activity and demand for our aftermarket spares and brownfield original equipment solutions are driving order book growth. Our guidance for 2023 is reiterated and we expect to deliver growth in constant currency revenue, profit and operating margin. We are on track to deliver our target of 17% operating margin in 2023, supported by operational efficiencies and early benefits from Performance Excellence.

“Further out, the long-term fundamentals for mining and our business are highly attractive, underpinned by decarbonisation, GDP growth and the transition to sustainable mining. We have a clear strategy to grow ahead of our markets, with specific growth initiatives underpinning our ambition to deliver through-cycle mid-to-high single digit percentage revenue growth.”

MotionMetrics-BeltMetrics

Weir eyes game-changing energy intensity reductions with ore characterisation project

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Environmental, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With an extensive footprint from the rock face all the way through to tailings, it was only a matter of time before the Weir Group decided to enter the ore sorting game.

In recent years, the company has re-focused as a pureplay mining and aggregates company that can provide value throughout the flowsheet.

The company ditched its oil & gas exposure and added to its process plant and tailings remit with the acquisition of ESCO, a front-end-focused mining technology company with leading market share in the ground engaging tool (GET) segment.

Having more recently incorporated Motion Metrics into the mix – now within the ESCO division – it is embarking on a project that could have positive ramifications throughout the wider Weir Group offering.

Motion Metrics is a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D rugged machine vision technology. Its smart, rugged cameras monitor and provide data on equipment performance, faults, payloads and rock fragmentation (read: particle size distribution (PSD)). This data is then analysed using embedded and cloud-based AI to provide real-time feedback to the mining operation.

Initially developed for GET applications, these technologies have recently been extended into a suite of products and solutions that can be applied from drill and blast through to primary processing. Motion Metrics has, in the process, built up an impressive customer base and income stream, performing well since the acquisition.

Weir has outlined a £500 million-plus ($604 million-plus) emerging digital market opportunity for the entity, with much of this hinged on rugged machine vision technology, its sophisticated digital platform and the ability to add ore sensing to its offering.

This became clear at the company’s recent Capital Markets Day during a presentation from Chris Carpenter, VP of Technology for Weir ESCO.

Sensing, not sorting

At this event, Carpenter said the company was combining Motion Metrics’ PSD capability with ore characterisation technology to explore high-value opportunities for its clients.

“Looking further out, we believe ore characterisation…has the potential to transform mining by moving less rock, using less energy and creating less waste,” he said during his presentation. “Ore characterisation technology, which is underpinned by sophisticated sensing systems, captures critical data on properties and composition of rock, including rock hardness and mineral and moisture content.”

“When coupled with Motion Metrics fragmentation analysis technology, it has the potential to be a game changer, giving miners a full picture of the size and characteristics of rocks.”

Weir has outlined a £500 million-plus emerging digital market opportunity for Motion Metrics, with much of this hinged on rugged machine vision technology, its sophisticated digital platform and the ability to add ore sensing to its offering

This concept is not new. Measuring the quality of ore has been spoken of for decades and, more recently, has become a reality with the likes of MineSense, NextOre, IMA Engineering, Scantech, Malvern Panalytical and Rados International, among others, all having trialled technology or deployed commercial solutions across multiple commodities and sites.

Metso Outotec, one of Weir Minerals’ big competitors in the plant and tailings arena, has also spoken of the potential for bulk ore sorting by using its existing portfolio of material handling modules, crushing stations, mobile crushing equipment and bulk material handling solutions as the basis, while incorporating sensors from other vendors.

Weir believes it is one step ahead of its OEM counterpart in its pursuit of ore sorting, even if Carpenter is only referring to the trials currently being conducted at an unnamed copper mine as “ore characterisation” studies.

“With the acquisition of Motion Metrics, what we essentially bought was the ruggedised vision systems used in both mobile and fixed applications,” he told IM in January. “While the ore sensing piece is by no means trivial, the integrated AI capabilities and digital infrastructure that allows the data to be transported via a variety of avenues is incredibly important.

“Being able to pick up the data is one thing but being able to transport that data to the right people in a secure, accurate and timely manner is something different altogether.”

With a portfolio that includes LoaderMetrics™, BeltMetrics™, TruckMetrics™ and CrusherMetrics™, Motion Metrics and the Weir ESCO R&D team had several potential applications to start its ore characterisation journey with.

The company has settled on a BeltMetrics installation for its first trial, with Carpenter confirming the sensing solution under the microscope is currently positioned above a conveyor that is directly after the crusher in the flowsheet.

“We feel we will learn quickest over a conveyor belt, so it is really an expansion of the existing BeltMetrics solution that we will start with,” he said.

The sensing options open to Motion Metrics for this trial were also vast, with the aforementioned ore sorting vendors using the likes of X-ray Fluorescence, magnetic resonance, prompt gamma neutron activation analysis, pulsed fast thermal neutron activation, and others within their solutions.

Motion Metrics has chosen to incorporate hyperspectral imaging into its PSD mix.

Carpenter explained: “When you think about ore characterisation, we are just moving from a visual spectrum base with Motion Metrics vision-based systems to the expanded light spectrum for gathering data and making decisions. This is all being built on the established digital platform the company has.”

The company is not alone in using this type of technology. MineSense has spoken of trials using multispectral sensing technologies, while Australia-based Plotlogic has been tapping hyperspectral imaging to provide precision orebody knowledge prior to mining.

Collaborating on energy intensity reductions

Safety, scalability and flexibility were three factors taken into account with the hyperspectral imaging decision, but Carpenter was also aware of the potential limitations in using such technology.

Mines will need to be willing to make some changes and invest in alternative infrastructure to leverage the most value out of the solution the company is putting forward.

“That is where productivity partnerships that we spoke about on the Capital Markets Day are going to be really important,” he said. “It is going to be essential to collaborate with customers.”

The initial collaboration with the trial mine site looks to be extensive, stretching from the back end of December throughout 2023.

The site is already equipped with a significant amount of Weir Minerals and ESCO equipment, so the collaboration appears to have started well before this trial.

“Throughout the year, we will have the opportunity to make enhancements; starting out with an initial system that is upgraded,” Carpenter said. “By the end of the year, we should have high confidence of having something ready to commercialise. It could also be that we have other trials running concurrently with this one to extend the learnings.”

The two primary key performance indicators for the trial surround accuracy and speed, with Carpenter saying the company is targeting to at least meet the metrics competing technologies have been promoting over recent years.

“In both cases, we are well equipped to measure both and – in the initial phase – we are performing well,” Carpenter said.

“Right now, when they (the mine site) carry out an assay, they have to stop the conveyor belt, take a sample off and send it to a lab. At best, the feedback takes hours, if not days. Motion Metrics has done a really good job of building the sensors, algorithms and platforms to process the data coming from above that belt very quickly.”

There are a team of very experienced, PhD-equipped personnel currently working on this trial, monitoring the real-time results from Motion Metrics’ base in Vancouver, however there is a Weir network across the globe watching and waiting for news.

A sensor above a conveyor belt able to provide ore characterisation data is step one. Step two will most likely involve leveraging this data to provide insights as well as initiate downstream actions.

Then, there is the potential to equip these sensors for the pit on an excavator or wheel loader – which introduces many additional challenges both Motion Metrics and ESCO are aware of. Understanding exactly what is in the bank or going in the bucket will be critical to improving operational efficiencies.

These are longer-term goals that Motion Metrics, ESCO, Weir Minerals and Carpenter are cognisant of – and excited about – that may provide the true value to customers throughout the flowsheet.

“What is exciting for us is that – as may be obvious – the further upstream you can make some good decisions, the more energy you can save downstream,” he said. “As you get into some of the other processing elements in the plant, there are sustainability benefits to be had – a more efficient use of reagents to liberate the elements, a more efficient grinding setup based on ore characteristics, a reduction in water use, etc.

“The driver for this has really been sustainability and energy reduction. It is all about reducing the energy intensity associated with ore.

“We feel we are well equipped and in a good position to deliver on this and provide the industry with the step change in sustainability that it requires.”

Weir Minerals offers up slurry pumping advice with updated Warman handbook

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , , , ,

Weir Minerals, manufacturer of the Warman® slurry pump, has released the latest edition of its Warman Slurry Pumping Handbook, with the sixth edition, the company says, featuring detailed engineering data required for most slurry pumping applications.

Drawing on decades of Weir Minerals’ in-house expertise in engineering and slurry pumping technology, the new handbook has updated reference material based on new learnings, improved understanding and technological developments within the mining industry, Weir Minerals says. The handbook aims to empower engineers to achieve optimal performance from their Warman slurry pumps.

An increased global focus on the environment, energy consumption and water conservation will influence slurry pump design and considerations – making this latest handbook an essential tool for all current and future pump engineers, the company added.

Marcus Lane, Director, Slurry Pumping Technology Group, said: “Pumping slurry has many challenges and I’m excited to publish our latest handbook, packed with fundamental theory, application advice, standard practices and latest Warman learnings from the field; all aimed to help our customers, present and future, deliver with excellence.”

Weir Minerals says it is looking to shape the next generation of smart, efficient and sustainable solutions with cutting-edge science and innovation. The handbook includes over 140 pages of detailed information, including performance charts, impeller design, part configuration, assembly and slurry considerations – supported by accurate technical renders and specifications.

John McNulty, Vice President Global Engineering & Technology, said: “The high quality of the reference material in this essential resource reflects the leading status of the Warman slurry pumps. As the industry leader, we have a responsibility to develop our future engineers; we will make the latest version of the Warman Slurry Pumping Handbook available not only to our customers, but also to the leading schools worldwide, so they can learn from the best in the industry.”

As part of Weir Minerals’ commitment to investing in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education and developing the next generation of engineers, copies of this resource will be gifted to the leading mining and engineering educational facilities around the world, including the winner of the 2022 Warman Design & Build competition, Deakin University in Australia.

Weir preparing to trial proprietary ore sorting tech by the end of 2022

Automation, Comminution of minerals, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the Weir Group Capital Markets Event presentation last week, Chris Carpenter revealed that the company was collaborating within its divisions on trials of ore sorting technology in an effort to move less rock at mine sites and optimise processing within the plant.

Carpenter, Vice President of Technology at Weir ESCO, said the company was combining Motion Metrics’ particle size distribution (PSD) capability with ore characterisation technology to explore “in-pit sorting” opportunities for its clients.

“Looking further out, we believe ore characterisation and in-pit ore sorting has the potential to transform mining by moving less rock, using less energy and creating less waste,” he said during his presentation. “Ore characterisation technology, which is underpinned by sophisticated sensing systems, captures critical data on properties and composition of rock, including rock hardness and mineral and moisture content.

“When coupled with Motion Metrics fragmentation analysis technology, it has the potential to be a game changer, giving miners a full picture of the size and characteristics of rocks.”

Motion Metrics, a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D rugged machine vision technology, was acquired by Weir almost a year ago, with the business incorporated into the Weir ESCO division. Its smart, rugged cameras monitor and provide data on equipment performance, faults, payloads and rock fragmentation. This data is then analysed using embedded and cloud-based AI to provide real-time feedback to the mining operation.

These technologies were initially developed for ground engaging tool applications but have recently been extended into a suite of products and solutions that can be applied from drill and blast through to primary processing.

Carpenter said the added PSD capability from Motion Metrics was expanding the company’s value presence across the mine to the processing plant, where Weir Minerals operates.

“Results from early adoption of Motion Metrics PSD solutions have been extremely encouraging,” he said. “Feedback from customers is positive; data sharing and collaboration have increased.

“Given this early progress, we are really excited about the opportunity and expect fragmentation analysis to be a key growth driver for Motion Metrics in the years to come.”

On the in-pit sorting potential, Carpenter said Weir ESCO had laboratory-validated equipment and field trials of its proprietary solution that were due to start at customer sites before the end of the year tied to these developments.

“If successful, this technology opens the door to in-pit sorting, where miners complete the first stage of crushing in the pit and analyse the outputs to make real-time decisions about which rocks have sufficient mineral content to be moved,” he said. “This is a step change from the current process, where energy is expended in transporting and processing all of the rocks, regardless of mineral content, and with significant waste generated from zero- and low-grade material.”

He concluded: “Our vision is to move less rock, moving only the rocks with sufficient mineral content and using the data that is captured on size and hardness to optimise processing. The natural evolution thereafter will be towards real-time automation control of processing equipment, ensuring the right rocks are processed in the most efficient way, using less energy and creating less waste.”

Weir Minerals expands local presence in Kazakhstan with new service ‘Supercentre’

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , ,

Weir Minerals says it has opened a new service “Supercentre” in Almaty, Kazakhstan, marking a strategically important milestone that expands local capabilities of its engineering and service expertise to accelerate customer support in the region.

The new facility includes a customer service office; a workshop for maintenance, repair and assembly of Warman® pumps, Cavex® hydrocyclones and Isogate® knife-gate valves; and a warehouse holding strategic equipment and spare parts under Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) contracts. The 3,300 sq.m Weir Minerals Supercentre is fully equipped to perform rubber lining with premium Linatex® rubber in both cold and hot bonding, the company added.

Weir Minerals service capabilities in Kazakhstan include a complete range of services, such as installation supervision and commissioning, operational support, maintenance and troubleshooting, assistance in developing a maintenance strategy and equipment condition monitoring and analysis.

The official opening of the Supercentre was carried out by Carola Schulz, Managing Director of Weir Minerals NATCA (North Africa, Turkey and Central Asia); Gavin Dyer, Regional Managing Director of Weir Minerals ENACA (Europe and NATCA); and key customers and partners of Weir Minerals in Central Asia.

Schulz said: “Our new Supercentre in Kazakhstan will support our key customers in the region, as well as manufacture Linatex hoses and execute rubber-lining activities. This £1 million ($1.1 million) investment is core to our localisation strategy and we will continue to invest to support our ambitious growth plans in Central Asia. We have a very close strategic partnership with our customers in Kazakhstan; and we have recently been very successful with new projects in Uzbekistan. This facility will initially be supporting our customers in Uzbekistan.”

Dyer continued: “We are guided by the philosophy of supporting the local economy and always being located close to our customers. We strive to be able to contribute to our customers’ value chain and support their success; and for me the local employees are the main pillar ensuring that we are successful. It is our people that create our legacy, and we are heavily investing in the development of our employees to support our growth and the growth of our customers.”

George Sweiha, Group Procurement Director at KAZ Minerals Group, said: “From the very beginning of the mineral extraction projects at the Bozshakol and Aktogay sites, KAZ Minerals Group has been striving to ensure that original equipment manufacturers are represented in Kazakhstan to develop local capabilities; by this I mean hiring and developing local specialists and building best-in-class facilities. I am glad to see that Weir Minerals shares our vision and recognises the huge benefits of localisation for business partners, but most importantly for the country and society in which we operate.”

RG Gold looks to quadruple yellow metal output with new processing plant

Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

RG Gold, majority owned Kazakh private equity group Verny Capital, has launched a new processing plant at its operations in Kazakhstan that is expected to enable the company to quadruple its gold output to circa-190,000 oz in 2023.

The new carbon in pulp plant, worth more than $420 million, has an annual processing capacity of around 5 Mt/y.

The new processing plant deploys modern equipment from global industry leaders, including Metso Outotec, thyssenkrupp, FLSmidth, Weir Minerals, Roytec and Kemix, RG Gold said.

RG Gold operates the RayGorodok deposit in northern Kazakhstan, one of the country’s largest mines with 5.9 Moz of JORC Code gold reserves. Its output is set to exceed 50,000 oz this year.

Bulat Utemuratov, the key investor in Verny Capital projects, said: “The launch of the new processing plant is a key milestone for RG Gold. It is underpinned by the highest global industry standards using the latest innovation and technical expertise from Resource Capital Funds, our strategic partner. The new plant allows us not only to quadruple RG Gold’s overall output, but importantly, it also provides the opportunity to boost investment in the region.”

Weir Minerals expands Linatex rubber manufacturing facility in Malaysia

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Weir Minerals, the sole producer of Linatex® premium rubber products, has expanded its rubber manufacturing facility in Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, doubling production capacity and enabling faster delivery times to customers.

The site, which sits on 18 acres (7.3 ha), has been expanded to include a new Continuous Rubber Process (CRP2) facility, a new Banbury mixer to manufacture masticated dry rubber and additional rubber presses to support the growth within this area of the business.

The modern manufacturing facility features state-of-the-art equipment that produces Linatex rubber products, a leading rubber used to protect equipment in mining, minerals processing and industrial applications for the global Weir Minerals network. The £13 million ($14 million) investment enhances Weir Minerals’ position as a global supplier, enabling the company to meet the increasing demand for premium rubber products and support its worldwide customer base, it said.

The new facilities were inaugurated by the President of Weir Minerals, Ricardo Garib, Vice President Operations of Weir Minerals, Richard Hinsley, and Managing Director of Weir Minerals Malaysia, Stephen Frendt.

Frendt said: “Our site manufactures Linatex rubber sheet and moulded rubber products for process equipment used in mining and industrial applications. This expansion will allow us to service the growing demand in the market – not just now but for years to come.

“The investment in the CRP2 allows us to increase the production capacity for the high wear and abrasion resistant Linatex rubber sheet. The Rubber Mixing Process expansion, on the other hand, is an upstream vertical integration of the supply chain in which masticated dry rubber compounds such as R55 are manufactured and distributed worldwide from the facility here at Weir Minerals Malaysia.”

The investment is a testament to the company’s focus on material technology, it says, ensuring that Weir Minerals’ customers have access to the best elastomers and supporting continuous product development.

The CRP2 control room at Weir Minerals Malaysia

Garib added: “Linatex is a vulcanised natural gum rubber, which is produced through a unique liquid phase proprietary process. Manufactured from a renewable resource, the final product is 95% natural rubber made from the highest-quality latex. Our rubber manufacturing facility is
very significant to Malaysia and to Weir Minerals globally, and continues to showcase our dedication to the environment and sustainable practices.”

In line with Weir Minerals’ dedication to sustainable solutions and practices, the Linatex rubber manufacturing process already has the lowest energy consumption compared with other rubber suppliers to the industry, it claims. A new renewable solar energy system has been installed on site in Batu Caves to further lower the power used in the rubber production process. The solar panels will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 900 t CO2e/y, the company estimates.

Weir Minerals says it is also committed to further sequestering carbon by planting new trees on site and ensuring the natural surroundings are rehabilitated and preserved. All-local tree species were selected for this project after consultation with the local town council.

Hinsley said: “Sustainability is an inherent part of Linatex production, starting with latex being a natural and renewable resource sourced directly from the Hevea Brasiliensis trees, to working with ‘green’ suppliers, to manufacturing. The Continuous Rubber Process has minimal waste, and even mixing requires less energy compared to other rubbers.

“Sustainability is also an important part of our supply chain: we have been investing in Malaysia for a long time, employing local workers, providing community support and partnering with local suppliers, some of whom have been with us for over 30 years.”

Weir and Swiss Tower Mills align on energy efficient comminution pathway

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

The Weir Group has announced a new alliance with Swiss Tower Mills Minerals (STM) in which Weir will market STM’s vertical stirred grinding mills for coarse grinding applications worldwide.

Integrating vertical stirred grinding mills into Weir’s minerals processing flowsheet will provide customers substantial improvements in throughput and energy efficiency, helping them to meet their productivity and sustainability goals, Weir says.

STM’s vertical stirred grinding technology is proven for energy efficient comminution in the mining market with more than 80 units currently operating in the hard-rock mineral processing industry across the globe, according to the company. It is used within the comminution segment of the minerals processing circuit as part of a series of crushing and grinding processes that create the fine particles from which minerals can be extracted through flotation.

Comminution, as has been well documented, is one of the most energy intensive parts of the mine, accounting for 25% of the final energy consumption of an average mine site.

Weir says it is already a leader in comminution technologies, offering solutions such as Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) to drive down energy consumption by around 40% for customers.

This new alliance with STM takes things to the next level, offering the mining and minerals industry a proven low energy alternative to traditional high energy consuming tumbling mills, it said. Combining and integrating these energy-efficient technologies into a single, optimised flowsheet will deliver significant reductions in energy use, driving down costs and carbon emissions.

In order to prove the most beneficial flowsheet for specific projects, STM has already supplied two vertical test mills to the Weir Minerals HPGR test facility in Venlo (Netherlands). This will put Weir and STM in the unique position to provide clients combined energy efficient grinding test work of HPGR followed by STM’s vertical stirred mill, they said.

Ricardo Garib, Weir Minerals Divisional President, said: “Weir and STM share the same vision of enabling primary resource providers to produce resources in the most sustainable manner. This is a perfect match of best-in-class technology providers. Integrating STM mills with Weir’s comminution products, which includes Enduron HPGRs and Enduron screens, will improve throughput and help bring substantial reductions in carbon emissions.

“This is a real win-win.”

Fritz Moser, STM Chairman, said “Both the HPGR and the STM vertical stirred mills provide significant energy savings compared to conventional grinding technologies. Our new supply agreement with Weir will enable us to fast track the roll out of an innovative flowsheet using STM mills in conjunction with Weir’s Enduron HPGR.”

Weir Minerals and Eriez Flotation team up to expand coarse particle flotation market reach

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

Weir Minerals and Eriez Flotation have announced a cooperative agreement to design and develop coarse particle flotation (CPF) systems.

Coarse particle flotation facilitates more efficient separation, while also reducing water and energy consumption and producing safer tailings. It has been proven at the likes of Anglo American’s El Soldado mine, Newcrest’s Cadia operation and Capstone Mining’s Pinto Valley operation, among others.

“This cutting-edge technology is a step-change improvement over conventional flotation systems,” Eric Bain Wasmund, Ph.D., Professional Engineer, Vice President of Eriez Global Flotation Business, said.

The cooperation allows both companies to better connect the Eriez equipment with the slurry classification and conveying expertise of Weir Minerals, according to Ricardo Garib, Division President of Weir Minerals.

“As mining companies look to optimise their plant and processes while also reducing their carbon footprint, we’ll see CPF being more widely adopted,” he said.

“We have an Integrated Solutions team – made up of a diverse range of product experts, process engineers, design engineers and materials scientists, among others – that works closely with miners to deliver reliable solutions that help solve their specific problems. In the current regulatory environment and with an increased focus on ESG issues, miners are being asked to produce more with less and CPF systems are a vital technology that allows them to do that.”

Eriez’s leading products include the HydroFloat® Separator for coarse particle mineral concentration, which delivers the capacity of a density separator while maintaining the selectivity of a flotation device. Using a novel aeration system to disperse fine bubbles into a fluidised-bed environment, the HydroFloat Separator significantly increases the selective recovery of coarse particles by applying flotation fundamentals to gravity separation.

Garib added: “Weir Minerals has a long history of innovative engineering and we’re excited to partner with a company like Eriez because its technology perfectly complements the solutions Weir Minerals currently provides. Ultimately, it’s about delivering the best outcomes for our customers.

“We’re proud of the work we do to harness the latest technologies to efficiently process the minerals that will be essential for a future in which mass electrification will play a vital role in the transition to a low carbon economy.”