FLOTATION
improve resource utilisation without relying solely on finer grinding and additional comminution capacity.
One of the most significant developments in this area has been the advancement of the HydroFloat ® coarse particle flotation technology from Eriez. Originally developed for industrial mineral applications, HydroFloat has now been operating successfully in commercial sulphide applications for more than five years, demonstrating its ability to deliver value in full-scale operations.
The opportunities being evaluated today extend beyond recovery improvements alone. In copper applications, coarse gangue rejection is attracting attention because it allows waste material to be removed before energy-intensive grinding. By reducing the amount of material reporting to downstream comminution circuits, operators have the potential to increase throughput, lower energy requirements and improve overall project economics while maintaining recovery performance. Vale Base Metals( VBM) has recently announced that it will be using CPF-300 HydroFloat cells in a coarse gangue rejection application at the Salobo copper operation in Brazil.
The CPF project is expected to add 6 Mt to the Salobo plant’ s annual ore processing capacity, bringing overall processing capacity to the aforementioned 42 Mt / y nameplate. Annual copper production is projected to increase by up to approximately 30,000 t contained in concentrate, which will also carry approximately 15,000 oz of gold as a by-product, further enhancing Salobo’ s production profile following record output in 2024 and 2025.
Shaun Usmar, CEO of VBM, said:“ The CPF Project reinforces what sets VBM apart: our ability to unlock significant value and growth from world-class assets through execution, innovation and astute capital allocation. Salobo is already one of the world’ s premier copper operations, and this project will allow us to produce more copper, more efficiently, using existing infrastructure while improving environmental performance.”
Another promising application is in tailings scavenging. Many operations have increased throughput over time, often resulting in coarser grind sizes and greater coarse particle losses. HydroFloat can be deployed to recover a portion of that material before it reports to tailings, helping offset recovery losses that may occur as plants push for higher production rates. A recent installation was commissioned last year at BHP’ s Carrapateena in Australia. The HydroFloat technology has increased overall ore throughput at Carrapateena to around 20,000 ore tonnes per day, reducing power consumption by allowing the mill to use a
46 coarser grind size, and improve overall metal recovery.
Looking ahead, HydroFloat is continuing to expand into new commodities. Eriez’ first HydroFloat iron ore installation was commissioned earlier this year at Quebec Iron Ore’ s Bloom Lake facility in Canada for floating coarse silica, opening the door for other iron ore applications.
Ultimately, mining companies are increasingly evaluating coarse particle flotation not simply as a recovery technology, but as a tool for improving throughput, reducing energy intensity, optimising flowsheets and unlocking value that may otherwise be lost. As more operations pursue these objectives, the industry’ s understanding of what is economically recoverable will likely continue to evolve.
NovaCell TM advancing towards full-scale implementation
Jord says its NovaCell™ offers a differentiated approach to CPF circuits by processing the full particle size distribution in a single device, removing the need for upstream feed classification while recovering valuable minerals across the feed. Sherwin Morgan, Jord Global Technology Manager – NovaCell™, told IM:“ Current CPF circuits require upfront classification to reject fines to remain stable and recover coarse particles. This represents an additional cost and complexity that most of our clients would like to avoid. It also requires the rejected fines to be treated elsewhere or remain lost in the process.”
In late 2024, Capstone Copper piloted Jord’ s NovaCell™ at its Mantos Blancos operation in Chile, without upfront classification, in a rougher tailings scavenging duty. The NovaCell™ pilot plant demonstrated up to 56 % copper recovery and consistently exceeded targets for upgrade ratio(> 6) and mass pull(~ 8 %). Importantly, this recovery was achieved using a single flotation unit rather than multiple cells in series. Mineralogy showed the NovaCell™ could effectively recover coarse(> 212 μm), poorly liberated particles(< 30 % surface exposure) that are typically lost in conventional flotation cells.
Sherwin adds:“ During the three-month trial, the feed to the pilot plant was highly variable; however, the plant remained stable without operator intervention, demonstrating the robustness of the NovaCell™ design.”
Brandon Akerstrom, Capstone Copper Director of Metallurgy, states:“ Capstone Copper recognises the significant value that CPF can bring to our operations. The
NovaCell™ offers a distinct advantage by recovering valuable minerals across the entire particle size distribution generated by our existing comminution circuits. Moreover, it requires smaller downstream infrastructure to produce a marketable concentrate, significantly reducing capital expenditure compared to other CPF technologies we have assessed.”
Following the successful pilot campaign, the positive results supported progression to full-scale design. A detailed engineering study for the installation of Jord’ s NovaCell™ at Mantos Blancos in a rougher scavenger duty has now been completed. The proposed full-scale circuit uses a single NovaCell™ installed at the end of the existing circuit. Capstone is also progressing broader optimisation and expansion studies at Mantos Blancos, including a potential increase in concentrator throughput from 20,000 to 27,000 t / d.
Jord’ s NovaCell™ offers a differentiated approach to CPF circuits by processing the full particle size distribution in a single device, removing the need for upstream feed classification while recovering
Sherwin closes:“ By eliminating the upfront classification circuit in the CPF circuit, Jord has been able to provide a plant solution with a capital intensity( US $/ t Cu) significantly lower than a number of recently installed CPF circuits.”
Jameson Concentrators at South32 Hermosa and Valterra Platinum
South32’ s Hermosa project is setting a new benchmark for mine design, with Glencore Technology’ s Jameson Concentrator selected to support a safer, more efficient and increasingly automated processing operation.
International Mining | OCTOBER 2026