Global news and projects
Modular approach for Centrix
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Australian mining company Centrex Metals
has partnered with CDE Meta to deliver
a state-of-the-art wet processing plant to
the company’s Ardmore site, North West
Queensland. Ardmore produces phosphate
concentrate, a sought-after commodity in the
agricultural industry.
The Ardmore Phosphate Rock Project is
located south of Mount Isa, and focuses on
processing one of the world’s few remaining
undeveloped high-grade phosphate rock
deposits.
Phosphate rock is the main source of
phosphorus, an essential ingredient to
stimulate healthy plant development in
agriculture. Prices are forecast to continue to
Australia
Adam Holland, head of mining at CDE, and Steve Klose, general manager, projects at Centrex Metals.
of fertiliser reached 5.4 million tonnes, of
which approximately half is manufactured in
Australia.
Expected to be commissioned in the
second half of 2019, the pilot CDE phosphate
washing plant will wash, scrub and de-slime
rise until 2023 as supply begins to tighten and
production costs increase.
According to Fertilizer Australia, the industry
association representing manufacturers,
importers and distributors of fertiliser,
from 2002 to 2017 average annual sales
Centrex Metals’ new CDE wet processing plant arrived on site in June after the completion of fabrication
and successful factory acceptance testing.
www.miningmirror.co.za
cts
free-digging ore to produce premium 35%
P2O5 and ultra-low cadmium phosphate rock
concentrate to be used in the manufacture of
phosphoric acid. It will progress to full-scale
development in 2020.
The modular plant has a capacity of 70
tonnes per hour (tph) and has been designed
to accomodate the expansion of the plant in
phase two, which will double the scale of the
operation to process 140tph, equivalent to
800 000 wet tonnes per annum.
During phase one, the pilot plant will
provide about 30 000 tonnes of wet concentrate
to a number of Centrex’s customers.
According to Adam Holland, head of
mining at CDE the 70 tonne-per-hour
solution, created in collaboration with
Centrex, is part of a two-phase project. “The
pilot plant comprises the first phase and has
been carefully designed using CDE’s unique
modular offering in order to facilitate the
simple and cost-effective transition to a 140
tonne-per-hour plant in phase two.
“CDE’s modular approach solved many
of the challenges presented by the remote
location of the reserve providing the flexibility
required to protect that initial investment
when moving from a pilot to full scale plant
in 2020. This was essential for Centrex Metals
to gain the necessary return on investment to
make the project viable,” says Holland.
To alleviate challenges presented by the
remote location and its restricted access to
water supplies, CDE is also supplying its
innovative AquaCycle technology, a high-
efficiency water management system that
recovers up to 90% of the process water for
immediate recirculation in the system.
The bespoke solution designed and
commissioned by CDE has supported Centrex
Metals to reduce its pre-production capital
AUGUST 2019 MINING MIRROR [7]