FILTRATION & THICKENING
GKD Mining recently also received an order for a large Horizontal Belt Filter for a key US mining customer
GKD has developed a machine-learningbased thickener control system, with its first commissioning planned this year. Seamlessly incorporating the PLA Mud Diver alongside other key instrumentation, the system provides operators with real-time insight into conditions within the thickener while optimising and stabilising underflow density and flocculation. Integration with GKD’ s automated flocculant make-down and dosing systems will allow dosage to respond dynamically to changing process conditions.
With a growing global project portfolio and significant new technologies moving from development into full-scale operation, GKD Mining says it continues to expand its mineral processing capabilities while investing in the next generation of equipment, automation and process control for the mining industry.
McLanahan’ s full suite of solutions
In March 2025, Hollidaysburg, PAheadquartered McLanahan Corporation, in collaboration with its sister company Diefenbach in Medolago, Italy, which it acquired in 2023, introduced the QUICKCHANGE™ system – a patent-pending innovation that is said was set to transform filter press maintenance.
Engineered for speed, simplicity and safety, this was described as a groundbreaking technology, streamlining filter cloth replacement and filter plate
70 inspection, slashing downtime and boosting operational efficiency.
QUICKCHANGE enables operators to perform maintenance at ground level in minutes – reducing McLanahan stated the industry-standard replacement time of 10-20 minutes per cloth can be cut to just 1-2 minutes.“ Traditional systems require replacing filter cloths on both sides of a plate when one fails, but QUICKCHANGE allows operators to replace only the damaged side, cutting material waste and long-term maintenance costs. A specially designed feed shoe protects high-wear areas around the feed hole, extending cloth lifespan and ensuring consistent, high-performance filtration.”
At CONEXPO-CONAGG earlier this year, IM Editorial Director Paul Moore sat down with McLanahan’ s Cory Jenson, Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development, to understand more about why it sees the solution as a gamechanger and what progress had been made to date; plus its general filter press design attributes; and also its strengths in thickener design and supply for mining.
On QUICKCHANGE, Jenson stated:“ The response has been very good – we have several systems already sold in mining, and we welcome the opportunity to take prospective customers to see the QUICKCHANGE in action. Almost every mining site has a filter press or presses whether its in the tailings circuit or for concentrate. So, most mining maintenance teams are well aware how laborious it is to change a filter cloth – they don’ t like having to get inside and on top of the presses plus having to use cranes. Most of the demos we have done either at mining shows or taking people to an existing site have either resulted in advanced discussions or actual purchase commitments from engineering houses or owner operators.”
He added:“ For us, the technology is also driving up demand for our own filter presses that are equipped with QUICKCHANGE. The way our filter press is designed means we can fill up almost the entire footprint with plates – only using about two metres for the stroke of the cylinder. With many existing mines wanting to increase capacity – this also means increases are required for tailings and concentrate – our system allows them to achieve significant capacity upside in the footprint of their existing filter press plus we can equip our press with QUICKCHANGE, with cloth changes using the conventional system being the biggest cause of downtime for the machine.”
Jenson said McLanahan is working on a system in South America at a copper concentrate plant that will allow them to have 60 % more plates than their current press. A lot of filter presses open with an accordion type movement – so the plates when they are dewatering only take up about half of the footprint; with the other 50 % only used when discharging the cakes.“ With a McLanahan filter press, with only about two metres of space for a 20 metre long or even larger machine, the capacity is much higher – it depends on the application and how fast the cycles are but it could be as much as 50-70 % higher. In many cases this means planned expansions can be accommodated without adding new presses.”
Is QUICKCHANGE only available for McLanahan presses or can it be retrofitted to competitor machines? Jenson:“ It depends on the style of the filter press, but if it is an overhead beam design then we can do it; but not with a side beam type of machine. Our machine is popular because there is nothing on the side of the press to get in the way so you have optimal access to be able to pull the cloths out plus when you do that you can inspect the plate right in front of you. With a side beam machine, you are standing on top, and having to inspect the plate through a small opening of 75 mm or so – as the plates are two metres long it is very difficult to see everything. As a result they have to take the plates out with cranes and all the suspended load risks that comes with that.”
McLanahan and Diefenbach filter presses have a similar design – both supply a version of the OH2500 that has 2.5 m by 2.5
International Mining | OCTOBER 2026