COPPER PROCESSING
with the company constantly seeking innovations in digital , equipment efficiency and product enhancements , according to Pelayo .
“ Copper is a key industry for our business , which is reflected in our 2020 numbers , for instance , where copper accounts for over 35 % of the entire mining order intake , well ahead of gold and iron ore ,” he said .
On top of the need to provide sustainable tailings management with a more holistic approach , the company is addressing the issue of declining copper grades in orebodies , according to Pelayo .
“ This is particularly the case with oxide orebodies , which is causing a big transition from oxides to sulphides where the copper concentrates are also dropping in grade ,” he said . “ To meet this problem , we developed the innovative processing technology , ROL , which is amenable to low-to-mid-grade copper concentrates operating at atmospheric pressure and bypassing the smelter .
“ This has a huge impact on greenhouse gas emission , which helps our customer to meet their ESG targets .”
On top of tackling declining ore grades , ROL also addresses the increasing levels of arsenic and other impurities in copper orebodies , and reduced production from existing solvent extraction and electrowinning facilities due to falling recoveries from heap leaching operations when transitioning from oxide to sulphide ores .
Pelayo mentioned concentrators for copper flotation as one specific example of copperfocused R & D .
“ We are developing efficient flotation options with maximum recovery for conventional flotation ( eg mixedROW™ ), novel flotation technologies such as the REFLUX Flotation Cell , and coarseAIR™ , which offers improved recovery at coarser grind sizes ,” he said .
Other R & D priority areas include lowering the copper footprint when it comes to energy , water consumption and grinding energy .
“ As a full flowsheet provider , we integrate our equipment at the process level , taking into account both upstream and downstream operations , in order to provide the best solution for our copper customers when it comes to productivity optimisation ,” Pelayo said . “ To this end , we provide lifecycle solutions , including process optimisation , through advanced wear parts and digital solutions . The goal is always to optimise the uptime , throughput , recovery and grades , to deliver increased sustainable productivity gains and total cost of ownership benefits .”
This sustainable productivity focus extends to the company ’ s participation in the Copper Mark Assurance Framework .
This framework seeks to demonstrate the copper industry ’ s responsible production practices and contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals .
William Leahy , Mining Thought Leadership at FLSmidth , explained : “ Our mining customers are joining the framework as Participants , so we took the opportunity to join as a Partner , which allows us to be involved in the conversation and to support improvements in environmental , social and governance outcomes in all aspects of the copper value chain . It fits well with our MissionZero sustainability ambition – we are a global provider of equipment , technology and knowledge to the copper industry , and , as such , we have a clear role in enabling best practices in the responsible production of copper .”
There is growing belief around the need for standardisation and industry guidelines related to responsible sourcing and sustainable production across commodities , according to Leahy , with the mining industry also adopting more of a “ consumer mindset ”. This , Leahy says , means miners will need to assure end users and other stakeholders that the copper in their cars and mobile phones is mined ethically and sustainably .
“ The Copper Mark framework , and similar initiatives in other areas , are central in providing this assurance ,” he said .
On a practical level for FLSmidth , this means its suppliers providing copper may be requested to participate in specific initiatives that support responsible sourcing policy and efforts .
“ We also actively encourage suppliers to consider participating in the Copper Mark Assurance Framework and will seek ways to engage further with customers and the Copper Mark in the pursuit of responsible sourcing goals ,” Leahy said .
Planet Positive pay off
Around a third of Metso Outotec ’ s sales in 2020 were tied to copper , so it is no surprise it has focused some of its R & D budget ( around € 70 million ($ 79 million ) in 2021 ) on developing new solutions tied to the solving problems in red metal mining flowsheet .
With the market in search of new technologies
By using the dead-roasting process for arsenicbearing concentrate , currently operating copper hydrometallurgical plants could be transformed into sulphidic operations , according to Metso Outotec ’ s Kim Fagerlund
to keep up with various stakeholder demands , Fagerlund says the company ’ s Planet Positive offering is being well received by industry . Planet Positive is the company ’ s allencompassing approach to sustainability , covering the environmental , social and financial aspects of sustainability , to , Metso Outotec says , enforce the company ’ s purpose to enable sustainable modern life .
Planet Positive focuses on the most environmentally efficient technologies in the company ’ s portfolio , responding to the sustainability requirements of its customers in industries including mining and metals refining . The customer requirements relate to energy or water efficiency , reduction of emissions , circularity and safety . It also aims to have 100 % of R & D spend on projects with annual energy efficiency , emissions , circularity , water , or safety targets . Some 95 % of projects qualified under these criteria in 2021 .
The sales of Planet Positive products totalled € 592 million in 2021 , and this is targeted to grow faster than the company ’ s overall sales going forward , Pekka Vauramo , CEO of Metso Outotec , said recently .
Examples within the offering include its Premier™ horizontal grinding mills , VSF ® X solvent extraction technology and Concorde Cell™ flotation technology , to name a few .
Specific R & D work the company is carrying out includes the ability to tackle more metallurgically-complex deposits .
“ There are continuous challenges for mines to be able to utilise high-grade copper deposits with high arsenic content ,” Fagerlund said . “ In addition , the existing oxide-based deposits are
26 International Mining | MARCH 2022