PRE-CONCENTRATION AND ORE SORTING
product out there that can be used in all scenarios – on ShovelSense and BeltSense – so we are being very deliberate in how we are pursuing this technology,” he said.
TOMRA highlights sorting benefits, capacity
TOMRA Mining’ s advanced sorting technology is helping improve ore recovery and reduce energy consumption through early and effective waste reduction at Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora operation in Western Australia.
The sorting installation, part of Pilbara Minerals’ P680 Expansion Project, has a capacity of more than 1,000 t / h, and, TOMRA says, demonstrates the power of its cutting-edge technology.
Pilbara Minerals successfully commissioned the world’ s largest lithium ore sorting plant last year, with TOMRA announcing the installation plans back in 2023.
The large-scale project for the design and installation of the new crushing and ore sorting plant was delivered on schedule, within the deadlines set by Pilbara Minerals, TOMRA claims.
Gavin Rech, Area Sales and Technical Manager Australia at TOMRA Mining, said:“ The success of this project is a testament to TOMRA Mining’ s collaborative approach and capacity to deliver innovative, large-scale, high-capacity sorting solutions tailored to the unique demands of our clients, providing continuous support from the testing and design phases right through to installation, commissioning and beyond. What’ s more, the scale and success of this plant have demonstrated to the mining industry the benefits and capacity of sorting.”
One of the challenges in lithium mining is managing spodumene ore within barren host rock. These non-lithium-bearing materials, some with densities similar to lithium-rich spodumene, complicate traditional metallurgical methods and can reduce the efficiency of downstream processes.
TOMRA Mining tackled this challenge with its high-precision sensor-based sorting technology, including X-ray Transmission( XRT) sensors: 10 sorters – four TOMRA XRT COM TER for fines, three TOMRA XRT COM2.0 for mid-sized particles, and three TOMRA PRO Primary Color for coarsesized particles – are in the circuit.
The facility’ s ability to remove barren material upstream enhances the efficiency of downstream processes, reducing energy consumption by 8-15 GWh annually and ensuring consistent product quality, the company says.
Rech added:“ The ore sorters enable a better utilisation of the resource as they remove contamination from the ore upstream. This means that the wet plant does not use energy, water and reagents to process barren ore, and that the contamination doesn’ t reduce the efficiencies and recovery of the downstream plant. In addition, our sorters’ high availability and efficiency ensure consistent quality feed for the processing plant.”
TOMRA’ s involvement began in 2017 with geological assessments and bulk test work conducted at its Sydney Test Center. These tests validated the performance of the sorting equipment under operational conditions and formed the basis of the sorting plant design, it explains.
The TOMRA team worked closely with Pilbara Minerals and engineering partner DRA Global on every aspect of the project from equipment testing to plant layout and operational integration.
During installation and commissioning, TOMRA mobilised a global team of specialists from Australia, South Africa, Germany and beyond to ensure the project met the deadlines. This effort culminated in a seamless ramp-up to full operation.
This hands-on support continues with a 24- month service contract, providing on-site support seven days a week, 365 days a year to optimise sorter performance and address any operational challenges.
GEOSCAN-M makes Kazakh mining debut
Eurasian Resources Group( ERG) says it will be able to monitor moisture content and the chemical composition of the chromium ore extracted at its Kazchrome’ s Donskoy Ore Mining and Processing Plant( Donskoy GOK) in a matter of seconds, on the conveyor belt, thanks to the recent installation of a GEOSCAN-M flow analysis system.
The new system, the first such system installed in Kazakhstan’ s mining and metals industry, enables the real-time monitoring of moisture content and the concentration of five chemical elements( chromium, iron, calcium, silicon and aluminium) in ore, according to ERG. The margin of error does not exceed 1 %, while the analyser can process up to 1,200 t / h of ore at a conveyor belt speed of up to 2 m / s.
Scantech International says the GEOSCAN-M is a high-performance elemental analyser using Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis( PGNAA) to measure the elemental composition continuously in real time, through the full conveyed cross section so that the entire flow can be representatively measured.
Traditionally, the chemical composition of the
feed on the conveyor belt at Donskoy GOK is monitored through chemical analysis of samples taken from the belt, with the procedure taking several hours. ERG has decided to automate this process at Donskoy GOK as much as possible.
Late last year, ERG equipped the conveyor belt of crushing and processing plant No. 1 with the Bashnya Prob sampling system, eliminating the need for manual sample taking. With this system, the company’ s specialists no longer have to move heavy samples, and there is no need to stop the belt line, leading to a throughput increase. Now the GEOSCAN-M flow analysis system further streamlines the processing of raw materials.
Alexey Ganyushkin, Project Manager for the GEOSCAN-M chromium ore flow analysis system installation, said:“ The system is automated, and all the data is immediately sent to the information system of Donskoy GOK. Process engineers, miners and other specialists can monitor the chromium content in the ore in real time and adjust its processing accordingly. The system minimises technological errors and will help improve the accuracy of warehouse inventory control.”
While ERG is looking to use GEOSCAN data to monitor moisture content and the concentration of chemical elements in ore, Henry Kurth, Chief Marketing Officer of Scantech International, says the system itself is effectively a“ digitalisation tool” converting conveyed rocks into quality measurement data.
He told IM:“ The data can be used in many ways and therefore GEOSCAN is not a point solution for bulk ore sorting, like most of the other technologies used in sorting applications, eg particle sorters, magnets, electro-magnetic, dense medium separation, etc.
“ The adaptability of the GEOSCAN system is that it can be configured and customised to suit specific responses to the data without detracting from the use of the data for other benefits. These include ore reconciliation, ore blending, metal accounting, feed forward control to processors, etc. These applications have the potential to add more benefit than bulk ore sorting alone.”
RADOS’ ore sorting optionality
RADOS says the ability to leverage a precise multi-element approach to ore sorting enables its RADOS XRF + ore sorting technologies to reliably identify and separate valuable minerals from waste rock, as well as remove specific minerals that hamper the efficiency of downstream processes. The company achieves this through an integrated bulk and particle sorting approach.
“ The RADOS RAPBOS( Rapid Bulk Ore Scanner) delivers a data signal every 0.06 seconds to enhance the bulk ore sorting roughing stage to a high precision smaller sorting parcel, further amplifying the efficiency of early-stage high volume waste rejection,” RADOS says.“ Complementing this with the new generation( up to seven times higher capacity and 63 % lower energy requirement) of RADOS
74 International Mining | APRIL 2025