WORLD PROSPECTS
Anglo lives up to Latin American renewables commitment
Anglo American says it has now delivered on its commitment to source 100 % renewable energy for all its operations in Brazil , Chile and Peru . Having already secured renewable energy to meet all its power requirements for its iron ore and nickel operations in Brazil from 2022 , and for its copper operations in Chile from 2021 , Anglo American has now signed an agreement with Engie Energía Perú to provide 100 % renewable energy for the Quellaveco copper operation in Peru that is expected to begin production in 2022 .
Tom McCulley , CEO of Anglo American in Peru , said : “ Copper has such an important role to play in enabling the global transition to a low carbon economy , so it is important for Anglo American ’ s new world-class copper mine in Peru – Quellaveco – to lead the way by minimising its own carbon and broader environmental footprint . The combination of renewable energy and our FutureSmart Mining™ programme ’ s higher precision technologies which target the required metals and minerals more precisely , with reduced water , energy and capital intensity , is changing the very nature of mining and how our stakeholders experience our business – for the better .”
Anik Michaud , Group Director of Corporate Relations & Sustainable Impact at Anglo American , added : “ It is our duty to produce the metals and minerals that society needs as responsibly as current technologies allow , while continuing to stretch ourselves and our business partners to improve our performance even further . Our sourcing of only renewable energy to power our operations across South America marks another step towards our 2030 GHG reduction target of 30 % that is embedded in our Sustainable Mining Plan and towards our commitment to be carbon neutral across our global operational footprint by 2040 .” www . angloamerican . com
Schenck starts on Cobre Panama mega screens project
In 2017 , First Quantum approached Schenck Process regarding the supply of mill discharge screens for Cobre Panama ’ s SAG mills , which are among the biggest in the world . The resulting design was a monster mill discharge screen , that was later dubbed the ‘ Beast .’ Commenting on his company ’ s involvement in the project , Vice President for Original Equipment at Schenck Process – Amit Parimoo said : “ By the time we got involved , they were already quite advanced with the design and construction of the plant . As well as designing a screen that could handle the throughput volume from the mills , it also had to fit within a tight footprint . That was the most challenging part for us .” Schenck Process delivered three of these screens to Cobre Panama in 2018 and the processing plant went into commercial production in mid-2019 . The same screens were subsequently retrofitted at First Quantum ’ s Sentinel operations in Zambia .
Based within FQML ’ s Projects Group in West Perth , Project Manager Aaron Fields is a professional mechanical engineer with more than 25 years of experience managing mineral processing projects in both Australia and overseas . Having joined FQML in 2017 , Fields became involved in the Cobre Panama development and remains part of the team responsible for the mine ’ s ongoing success . Thinking back to the start of the project , Fields recalls the initial stages of the plant ’ s design : “ When First Quantum bought the Cobre Panama mine and restructured the project , it was conceived for a 74 Mt per annum throughput . Mid-project , we increased that to 85 Mt / y by making some changes to the milling and flotation circuits , but there were already elements of the plant that were capable of 100 Mt / y . We always had the intention to ramp up quickly to 85 Mt / y and then stretch beyond that to 100 Mt / y ,” he said .
“ Despite the challenges of COVID , we are currently doing well as we work towards our 85 Mt / y continuous throughput target . Also , over the last 6-12 months we have scoped some concurrent , complementary projects that should allow us to reach 100 Mt / y and beyond .” One of these improvement projects involves the installation of a new screening facility between the complex ’ s primary and secondary crushers . The intention is to minimise fines in the feed to the secondary crushers , freeing up valuable crusher capacity . The installation of a third secondary crusher is also planned .
The new screening facility will require three screens each capable of handling up to 8,000 t / h of primary crushed ore , with the oversized material feeding the secondary crushers and the undersized material bypassing the crushers and heading directly to the grinding mills . Based on the positive experience that they had with the supply and performance of their mill discharge screens , FQML once again approached Schenck
Process for assistance . Aaron Fields comments : “ When we develop a good relationship with a supplier and they prove to be what we would like them to be in terms of technical innovation and support , we tend to go back and work with the same people . This was definitely a factor in our decision to work with Schenck Process on this project .”
Responding to FQML ’ s requirements , Schenck Process ’ Australian based engineering team created a new hybrid design which it says will be the largest multi-slope banana screen ever to be built . The result is a screen that measures 4.3 m wide and 9.7 m long . Like Schenck Prosses Beast SAG mill screens , the excitation force of the new SLD4397DXX ‘ mega ’ screen is delivered by four DF704 exciters mounted on 2 unitary beams . But unlike the Beast , the new screen ’ s drive assembly incorporates a unique twin gearbox arrangement driven via a single motor , ensuring effective exciter phasing . www . schenckprocess . com
6 International Mining | MAY 2021