PRE-CONCENTRATION & ORE SORTING
Demand for NextOre ’ s MR-based solutions across many different applications continue to ramp up on the back of the technology ’ s ability to provide fast and reliable bulk measurements that could lead to increased metal production from smaller process plants , it says . This all comes with lower water , electricity and chemical consumption for the same amount of production .
It was these qualities that led Gebr . Pfeiffer , a Germany-based comminution company , to make an investment in NextOre and partner on its mission to deliver sustainable breakthroughs in processing technologies .
Under a recently signed strategic cooperation agreement , NextOre and Gebr . Pfeiffer are collaborating to explore opportunities to combine their respective technologies to drive a step-change in efficient , environmentally-friendly minerals processing using : n NextOre ’ s MR sensors and real-time bulk ore sorting to allow companies to , it says , achieve more metal production from smaller plants with lower environmental impact ; and n Pfeiffer ’ s vertical roller mill technology for dry grinding , which , it says , provides a substantial benefit in energy saving , delivers a uniform size reduction with a narrow PSD , provides a high reduction size ratio of up to 1,000 and is highly flexible . Already the two companies have been in discussions with clients about combining the technologies in both the copper and iron ore space , realising the combination could provide optimum and fast adjustment of the grinding process to the incoming material , reduced concentrator size with retained metal output , and no use of resources for processing of waste materials .
Beal explained : “ Bulk ore sorting is about giving you more metal from a smaller processing plant . Dry grinding is about being able to reduce electricity and water consumption as well as giving you higher recoveries at coarse grinds . Oversimplifying this combination , you can see many projects where the two would represent a game changer – remote projects in arid environments , limited access to water and electricity , as well those facing social and environmental pressures .”
And already Gebr . Pfeiffer is working on designs for both 4,000 t / h and 10,000 t / h diverter gates as part of a joint project in Latin America that could see the companies and engineering firm Worley collaborate on a bulk ore sorting and sensing project .
Mathias Dülfer , Gebr . Pfeiffer CEO , told IM : “ This potential project shows how quickly the collaboration between the two companies has started .
“ When looking at the combination of our dry grinding solutions with NextOre ’ s bulk sensing and sorting solutions , it makes sense to start with copper and iron ore . We are frequently performing tests at our laboratory focused on these two metals and NextOre ’ s technology has also been shown to work effectively on both .”
He concluded : “ From our most recent discussions with mining clients , we are seeing projects being evaluated on not only economics but also the environmental impact their production will come with . The combination of these two technologies will provide the solutions to many of the challenges the industry is currently facing .”
PFTNA in the elemental analysis mix
Malvern Panalytical and its pulsed fast thermal neutron activation technology ( PFTNA ) based
solutions have been used by the mining industry for close to 15 years now – for measuring sulphur and calorific values in coal , sintering optimisation in iron ore , and nickel processing , among other applications .
They are now being leveraged across the commodity suite , with mining companies using the elemental analysis for grade-based readings on a bulk sorting scale .
PFTNA uses an electrical tube to provide a pulsed flow of neutrons that interacts with the nuclei of the atoms in the passing material . In response , the atoms emit gamma rays at characteristic energy levels . These gamma rays are measured with scintillation detectors and high-speed electronics to collect the spectrum of emitted gamma rays , with the spectra interpreted
MARCH 2024 | International Mining 57