ORE SORTING
The 100-400 t / h mobile bulk sorting system has an MR sensor built for analysis on a 900-mmwidth conveyor belt that can run at 0.3-1 m / sec depending on the material being fed through it
on-conveyor analysers , NextOre is now shipping magnetic resonance analyser ( MRA ) -backed mobile sorters , with one such system dispatched last month to a mine in New South Wales .
Beal explained why he was so excited about this recent addition : “ If you are looking to install anything on the main production line of a mining operation to physically separate feed – with a diverter gate , for instance – you are going to have to accept downtime and production stoppages to carry out that installation . “ As a result , the level of rigour and engineering that goes into making such a decision can be lengthy .”
The mobile bulk sorter NextOre has built leverages the magnetic resonance ( MR ) sensors the company has become known for , while allowing mining operations to “ validate the principle of bulk sorting on site ”, Beal said .
“ Miners now don ’ t have to jump straight from
the lab to the main production line to find out if ore sorting would work ; they can see it on site where we are able to show them how the
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analysis and diversion works with the rest of that mining operation .”
The 100-400 t / h bulk sorting system has an MR sensor built for analysis on a 900-mmwidth conveyor belt that can run at 0.3-1 m / sec depending on the material being fed through it .
“ The idea behind the system is we can bring it to site , unfold it , set it up and get it working , avoiding what could be 2-4 years of feasibility studies , construction planning and permitting and mine and capital approvals ,” Beal said . “ Instead , we can rent / hire the equipment for something like 6-12 months and quickly provide a reliable value case for permanent installation of the equipment .”
Beal expanded on this : “ Lots of places will
have a stockpile of sorter feed material somewhere and , at a capacity of 400 t / h , the solution even fulfils many small underground mining operator ’ s throughput needs ,” he said . NextOre says its MR technology ’ s sensing accuracy and speed have been proven in many on-conveyor belt applications across the globe – Beal mentioned a recent two-unit installation at Carmen Copper Corp ’ s operation in the Philippines through CD Processing and an analyser installed on the sulphide circuit ’ s 2,800 t / h primary crushed conveyor at First Quantum ’ s Kansanshi as recent applications – but it has not been put to the mobile mining machinery test … until now .
All the way back in December 2019 , NextOre was awarded a A $ 1.07 million ($ 771,812 ) grant by the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer through the Physical Sciences Fund to adapt its existing on-conveyor magnetic resonance analyser ( MRA ) to in-pit mobile mining machinery .
NextOre , at the time , said it had partnered with a leading global supplier of heavy mining equipment and service support to deliver an integrated system that is highly adaptable and efficient . It has since come to light that the company in question was MMD .
While Beal was unable to provide more details on the application at hand , he did say the development of an “ open-geometry ” MR sensor system , as part of the project , represented a breakthrough for the company .
“ The technology and physics principle of the open-geometry sensor are the same as the MR sensors on conveyor belts , but the actual sensor has changed a great deal ,” he said . “ You can imagine the open-geometry sensor , as compared with the on-conveyor sensor , working a bit like a metal detector . Instead of an antenna that surrounds the conveyor belt and projects inside of itself , the open-geometry sensor is a large antenna loop that projects the sensor field from one side into the ore .
“ The steps to get this open geometry sensor for mobile mining machinery built , tested and validated was one of the biggest unknowns we have faced as a company . Now , together with the fantastic R & D team at CSIRO , we have done it . It has unlocked our ability to do much more .”
Providing a win-win
If , as Beal expects , there is a tie-up between particle and bulk sorting companies in the future , one of the leading candidates in the former category is likely to be TOMRA Mining .
The company has developed sensor-based particle sorting solutions that , it says , can reduce specific energy consumption by 15 %, as well as the amount of water used by three to four cubic meters per tonne of ore . Leveraging multiple
42 International Mining | MARCH 2022