ORE SORTING
Whether it is particle or bulk ore sorting , the mining sector is fast becoming a key market for the newest generation of pre-concentration technology . Dan Gleeson speaks to some of the sector ’ s major protagonists to get the latest
IMA Engineering ’ s bulk ore sorting system technology sorts ore and waste rock and / or different grades of ore by analysing the mill feed on primary crushed ore conveyors in short time batches
The accept stream
More and more companies are realising
the numerous benefits that could come with the adoption of ore sorting solutions in their mineral processing plans .
Whether it is increased orebody knowledge , reduced energy consumption , water use rationalisation , higher metal recoveries , a lower tailings footprint , or simply higher profitability , the business case for employing these solutions is strengthening with every technological advance .
Integrating thinking and solutions
One of four new technology consortia projects to be created by the Canada Mining Innovation Council ( CMIC ) in 2020 focused specifically on sensor-based ore sorting .
The company-led consortium has attracted representation from mining companies across multiple commodities including base metals , precious metals , and oil sands .
“ The purpose of this consortium is to share experiences , identify gaps and ultimately align sensor and sorter vendors / technology developers to accelerate the implementation of ore sorting solutions ( within the next two-tothree years ) that respond to the mining industry ’ s greatest challenges ,” CMIC explains .
Gillian Holcroft , CMIC Innovation Manager , Processing , said CMIC deliberately limited the consortium to mining companies in the project ’ s first phase .
“ We had the idea that this first phase would be a level-setting process where the consortium opens up to describe successes and failures and listen to and understand where the common gaps are with ore sorting projects ,” she said . “ We were pleasantly surprised by the experiences these nine companies had and how willing they were to share .”
As with all CMIC projects , the organisation has remained technology- and vendor-agnostic throughout the process .
“ I think everyone recognises that CMIC ’ s role is not to push a technology or solution ,” Holcroft said . “ We don ’ t have a hidden agenda ; that is appreciated by the members .”
The first phase of the project , due to conclude by the end of March , will set the baseline for future sub-projects on sensor-based ore sorting .
Despite many positive success stories , CMIC has heard – loud and clear – the common themes and issues the industry has encountered when using or contemplating the use of sensor-based ore sorters .
Holcroft lists a few of them : “ Robustness and ruggedness of equipment and sensors ; speed of sensor analysis ; improved detection limit for some of the key elements ; in-situ mineral analysis to cross check if the unit is working properly .”
Trevor Kelly , CMIC Innovation Manager for Mining , added : “ In general , the operators want to continue to assess the heterogeneity and gain more knowledge on their orebodies ; they have also communicated the importance of material treatment , sampling up- and down-stream of the sorter , and the implementation of a more unified system .
“ That includes reliability , accuracy and dependability in a full-scale mining context .”
A recognition of the business case for installing these ore sorters in certain applications is also on the list of industry pain points , although this is a challenging proposition as , in many cases , the technology does not have several obvious case studies of success that can be used to justify the benefits , Kelly added .
“ Even though this technology has been in the industry for many years , they ( the miners ) want to have justifiable assumptions to feed the business case ,” he said . “ They want proof that this will consistently work .”
All participants acknowledged ore sorting solutions have come a long way in the last fourto-five years , Holcroft said . Indeed , there are positive case studies included in this article highlighting that fact .
Yet , such a list can form an R & D base for the next generation of technology coming to the market .
Holcroft and Kelly are currently in the process of collating a list of questions and requirements that could be distributed to ore sorting companies ahead of a potential “ transparent and direct vendor engagement ” session with interested parties .
Presenting one unified voice to the vendor community could go some way to helping these suppliers develop a mining-ready solution , according to CMIC CEO , Carl Weatherell .
“ It is about behavioural change ,” he said . “ A
48 International Mining | MARCH 2021