MINERAL SEPARATION
Holman Wilfley’ s continued shaking table successes
Cornwall, UK-based Holman Wilfley Ltd told IM it continues to export its Holman 8000 shaking tables to global mining projects. These include tin projects in Brazil and Peru plus several gold mines in both Canada and USA.
David Goldburn, Business Development Manager:“ We have also had existing customers expand their current gravity capabilities with additional tables complementing their original machines in scheelite for Saloro in Spain and tin with Century Mining in Nigeria. These markets follow the global interest in critical minerals demand.”
He added:“ We continue to supply Holman units into mineral sands markets, such as in Vietnam, where the Holman design provides superior separation to any Wilfley type alternative.”
The Holman Wilfley Laboratory 800 table also continues to be installed in mineral and university laboratories around the globe for geochronology study, as well as early-stage mining project investigations.
And the company continues to study additional applications in the critical minerals sector, which now encompasses tin- with its strategic importance in the development of Western EV growth markets.“ Gravity tin circuits have in the past been a major market for Holman technology, both historically in the UK and globally. In newer current projects we see again a positive interest in the unique proven Holman table option. A successful Brazilian supply contract was based on Holman table testing demonstrating over 86 % recovery of tin with a feed material below 100 microns.”
With the current buoyant tin and tungsten prices, Goldburn says there is a resurgence of project activity in the UK and Western Europe, for these minerals.“ Holman Wilfley tables are the time proven gravity separation machines to achieve the outstanding grades and recoveries required for all gravity projects with high reliability. We continue to advance research into machine product improvements, and to expand the market applications.” spigot accumulated 435 days of service. Replacement inspection recorded the spigot bore increasing from a design 133 mm to 142 mm( about 4.5 mm wear per side). Compared with a previous spigot at the same position with a life of around 240 days, change-out frequency was significantly reduced. Longer wear-part cycles translate directly into fewer replacements and fewer downtime disturbances- supporting a more controllable circuit.
NAIPU:“ Ultimately, the competitiveness of a hydrocyclone solution is not defined by a stronger single unit, but by whether it can widen the operating window and stabilise maintenance cadence- turning grindingcircuit stability benefits into measurable site outcomes.”
Multotec spirals and manganese
Drawing on its extensive global experience in gravity concentration, Multotec has recently supplied a modular heavy mineral beneficiation solution to a manganese producer in West Africa. Engineered from the outset as a fit-for-purpose system, it is designed to recover high-grade manganese from fines material to maintain profitability through downward commodity cycles.
Miners traditionally target the attractive lumpy manganese fraction, which is easier to beneficiate and readily saleable into the export market. The finer-1 mm fraction, however, has often been discarded or stockpiled. Yet during periods of high demand or commodity price volatility, this fine material represents a substantial opportunity to unlock additional value from the resource, particularly because the material has already been mined and crushed, meaning most of the cost has already been absorbed. By adopting the correct gravity separation technology based on feed properties of the ore, such as particle size, particle shape and feed density, miners can benefit from fine and ultra-fine
28 manganese ore into a saleable product that meets offtake requirements.
Spirals remain one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods for beneficiating manganese ore, particularly when dealing with fine, high-density material. Spirals offer a low-energy, low-maintenance solution that can be configured to target both recovery and product quality, making them well suited to the variable ore characteristics common in African manganese deposits.
Menzi Xulu, Senior Process Engineer at Multotec, explains:“ Multotec’ s SC range of spiral concentrators are suited to fine, highdensity mineral separation, which is a key requirement in manganese beneficiation. Our SC20 spirals are typically used in the roughing and scavenging stages, where the focus is on maximising recovery from the feed. The SC21 spiral is then applied in the cleaning stage to upgrade the manganese and achieve the required product specification.”
Over and above Multotec’ s SC20 and SC21 fines spirals, an UX7 spiral was developed for the beneficiation of ultrafine heavy minerals that have traditionally been lost to tailings. The UX7 is efficient in the recovery of ultra fine heavy minerals including Manganese roughing and scavenging.
This combination of roughing, scavenging, and cleaning spirals allows producers to recover more manganese from the entire orebody, including fines. To recover fine manganese cost-effectively, even during low commodity prices, Multotec deploys its modular and mobile heavy mineral test plants. The system combines several of Multotec technologies.
Wilna Hoffmann, General Manager for Business Development at Multotec says:“ Fitted with Multotec cyclones, spirals, and pumps, the unit can treat 40 tons / hour of fine material in just three stages to produce a saleable manganese product. It is also operator-friendly and designed as a basic but cost effective solution that can easily be transported and commissioned quickly.”
A manganese producer in West Africa turned to Multotec to maximise recovery from its-1 mm fine tailings, which had previously been overlooked. Although the client had purchased a Multotec heavyminerals unit years earlier, it remained idle for nearly three years. Multotec recommissioned and optimised the unit in just four days. Following this, the unit ran at full capacity, efficiently recovering a 47 % high-grade manganese super-concentrate from the 26 % manganese in the feed, unlocking significant additional value.
Across Africa, the potential for deploying these modular test units continues to grow, thanks to their low capital and operating cost, ease of use and ability to recover value from fines, offering a practical way to unlock the continent’ s mineral resources and strengthen mineral value chains.
Multotec says its fine material spiral concentrators strengthen manganese value chains
International Mining | MARCH 2026