MINING CHEMICALS
Solvay’s recently launched frother dosing
equipment that enables customers to fine tune
Solvay’s tailored formulations to achieve
desired plant performance
This achieved a 40% reduction of total collector
consumption with frother consumption
decreased by 25%. With copper and gold
metallurgical recoveries equivalent to that of the
xanthate collector, it is now the reagent of choice
to replace potassium amyl xanthate.
In Chile, two further companies trialled the
product, one using it as a primary collector, the
other as a secondary collector. Clariant’s
application experts developed and conducted in-
house lab experiments to produce a liquid
collector that exhibited the same mineral
collection performance as SIPX. HOSTAFLOT
produced the same copper and molybdenum
recovery levels, as well as identical copper
concentrate grade, to those cultivated by a
xanthate collector. By switching to HOSTAFLOT,
these companies are projected to save hundreds
of thousands of dollars annually based on their
annual collector consumption.
Currently, the product is available in Brazil and
Chile and is being introduced in Australia, Sub
Saharan Africa, Europe and Peru. “HOSTAFLOT is
not an off the shelf product,” says Wagner Silva,
Head of Technology – Mining Solutions. “For
these two diverse projects, we delivered a
customised solution to meet the individual
requirements of the mine and the ore they
produced. As a company, we have the experience
and capabilities to provide a sustainable solution
that is achieved through close collaboration with
our customers.”
Frother innovations
Frothers and the froth phase have been
neglected in the past, but have a significant
impact on metallurgical performance and
optimising the frother scheme in a flotation
operation is critical to enable value creation.
Solvay told IM that it has a
novel, advanced way to
adjust the froth formulation
in real time based on the ore
being treated and the plant
characteristics.
These capabilities are
linked to Solvay’s emerging
focus on digital solutions.
“Solvay is uniquely
positioned to improve plant
performance through its
holistic offering: custom-
tailored reagent schemes,
applications expertise and
enabling digital
technologies based on
connected chemistry.”
Solvay says it is taking a “back to basics”
approach to frother innovation. “Leveraging
decades of experience in frother development,
Solvay’s back to basics approach enables our
technical experts to combine basic frother
building block chemistries (eg alcohol and
glycol-based frothers) into custom-tailored
reagent schemes that address operation-specific
needs.”
Solvay’s latest innovation in frother
optimisation involves on-site blending, novel
dosing units and remote monitoring called “the
cube.” Specifically, Solvay’s new dosing
equipment allows for more precise blending and
control of frother building block chemicals and
“real-time” adjustments based on plant results.
As a result, plants benefit from improved
operational stability and metallurgical
performance. This holistic approach is a
departure from the conventional use of one-size-
fits-all commodity frothers, which can be
ineffective in treating today’s complex ore feeds.
“By evaluating frothers in the laboratory,
operators gain insight as to expected
performance. However, lab testing frothers
cannot capture the complexity of the full flotation
circuit, making it critically important to run trials
to accurately predict plant performance,” said
Paulo Martins – Frother Business Development
Manager.
“In our experience, it’s best to run a short,
initial laboratory evaluation and move on to a
controlled plant trial as soon as possible.
Adjusting or fine tuning the frother formulation
can be done in real time with the support of plant
data, as well as plant staff. The ultimate goal is
to find a frother solution that is robust in
responding to the dynamic needs of the plant as
quickly as possible,” continued Martins.
Several prototype dosing units have been
tested globally, and the results have been
positive, leading to commercialisations of new
frother formulations under the OREPREP ® and
AXIS HOUSE
BECAUSE WE BELIEVE
THAT GOLD IS
(AU)SOME!
At Axis House we believe in going
for gold all the way, and that is why
we have developed cutting edge
technology that optimises flotation
behaviour resulting in (Au)some
grade, recovery and kinetics.
Our experts will evaluate the specific
mineralogy of the gold ore that you
need processed, as well as survey
your plant and run laboratory
optimisation tests onsite or at our
Laboratory – offering you the best
flotation solutions, consisting of
specialised proprietary chemicals.
With a tailored understanding of
your exact needs, we will come back
to you and assist with optimum
application processes.
INNOVATING MINING
REAGENTS FOR THE
FUTURE
Africa
Australia
Europe
Central Asia
Southern America
+27 11 463 4888
[email protected]
Visit us today
www.axishouse.co.za
MAY 2019 | International Mining 45