FILTRATION & THICKENING
separation capacity required to process the project’ s residue and produce a filter cake at the required moisture specification for return to the mine as part of progressive rehabilitation. The package has been specifically sized around the design throughput and operating requirements of the 5 Mt / y Colossus processing facility.
Dewater has received four international patents on its innovations in filter press designs
and tailings filtration, Dewater’ s product range includes a fast simultaneous opening system, automatic shaking system, automatic double cloth washing system, patented automatic cloth replacement system, patented cloth damage detection system, plus smart IIoT with remote support etc.
A global copper giant will soon receive a Dewater membrane filter press with all of the patented technology for filtering their copper concentrate. With filtration test work capabilities in Italy, Australia and Canada, Dewater says it is placing itself to closely serve all major mining markets.
Recently, Dewater also commissioned one of its large FAST HP 6x6 models in a quarry in Italy. The customer is a renowned Italian construction company with a large quarry where they were disposing their thickened tailing slurry in a TSF. After excavation the material goes through multiple stages for crushing, screening, washing and hydrocyclone separation.
The finest fraction of the clay tailings was going to the TSF as thickened slurry disposal. Due to their continuous plant capacity increase the mine was looking for an affordable and environment friendly solution for dry filtered cake disposal. The mine approached Dewater and after a 6-month evaluation period including test works, decided to partner with Dewater and agreed to install one Dewater FAST HP 6x6 filter press with fully automatic functionality complying to Industry 4.0. Dewater built the machine at their state-of-the art 15,000 m 2 manufacturing facility in Terre Roveresche, a region famous for fine metal fabrication work for oil and gas sector. Dewater supplied basic and detail engineering, filter press and all associated ancillaries like pumps and compressors. The filter press has been in operation for over six months achieving all process guarantee parameters and delivering a dry, compact, transportable filtered cake suitable for dry disposal.
Following up on that initial success with FAST HP 6x6 technology, Dewater secured a large mine tailings dewatering project award where it will supply multiple numbers of its largest HP 6x6 filter presses to the Minas Gerais region in Brazil. Dewater was selected after a rigorous 12-month evaluation period by its Australian client and a globally renowned EPCM firm which included inspection of the manufacturing facility, engineering capability assessment, and a visit to the operating FAST HP 6x6 filter press site.
The client is Viridis Mining and Minerals Ltd and the filters are the first major equipment purchase order for the Colossus Rare Earth Project. The purchase order covers the design, manufacture, fabrication, testing and supply of the residue pressure filtration package, a critical component of the Colossus processing flowsheet that will undertake solid-liquid separation of the processed clay prior to its return for mine rehabilitation.
The residue pressure filters are a major long-lead equipment package, with manufacturing expected to take approximately 52-56 weeks prior to transport to Brazil. Early placement of the order allows Viridis to secure manufacturing capacity, commence vendor engineering and fabrication and align equipment delivery with the planned construction and commissioning sequence. The long lead times associated with major equipment packages highlight the importance of advancing critical-path equipment orders well in advance of construction to protect the targeted 2028 production schedule.
The residue pressure filtration package is one of the most important of these criticalpath packages and Viridis says represents the heartbeat of the Colossus flowsheet. The pressure filters provide the solid-liquid
GKD Mining building on global project success
Sticking with important new players, the past 12 months have seen significant activity for GKD Mining, with new equipment commissioned, major projects progressing across Africa and North America, and continued investment in mineral processing technologies.
In South Africa, where GKD has a longestablished mining presence, the company has successfully commissioned a tailings thickener and horizontal vacuum belt filter( HBF) for Upward Spiral. Both units are operational and performing extremely well. GKD is also currently manufacturing two 25 m diameter tailings thickeners, further strengthening its installed base of thickening equipment.
Elsewhere in Africa, GKD has supplied a fully automated tailings filter press to a gold mine in Zimbabwe. The company has also supplied 10 linear screens for gold applications, ranging from 3 m ² to 25 m ², demonstrating the breadth of its mineral processing portfolio.
Activity in North America continues to accelerate. GKD has supplied a rotary drum vacuum filter and HBF to a key US customer for a proprietary process and delivered a 1,500 mm tailings filter press and tailings thickener to a key customer in Wyoming. A further tailings thickener is being prepared for delivery to a mining operation in northern Idaho, while another is approaching delivery for a gold mine in Nevada.
Product development has been equally active. GKD has been developing a new vacuum disc filter specifically for the demands of the mining industry, with its official launch expected in the coming months. GKD is already supporting major mining companies with replacement parts for disc filters supplied by other OEMs, providing valuable field experience across a broad installed base as the company prepares to introduce its own machine.
However, it says perhaps the most exciting developments are taking place within its thickener technology. A new generation of feedwell technology, developed through extensive CFD modelling, takes a fundamentally different approach to slurry conditioning, flocculation and distribution and has already been retrofitted and tested on multiple operating thickeners with positive results. In parallel,
International Mining | OCTOBER 2026 69