DELKOR BQR Flotation Cells with MAXGen mechanism
FLOTATION TECHNOLOGY reduce the installed cost of CPF, Eriez has focused with engineering companies and miners on three themes; flowsheet optimisation and simplification, adoption of maintenance and material improvements and increasing unit size without sacrificing efficiency.
As an example, the adoption of hydrocyclones to replace teeter bed separators in the HydroFloat feed preparation step reduced the total capex of a standalone CPF plant by about 20 %. And a paper by DRA Toronto at Extraction 2025 in November this year will show that the next generation of higher capacity HydroFloats( NexGen HydroFloat CPF) can reduce the total capex by a further 20 %, simplifying the flowsheet, as well as improving constructability, operability and maintainability of future CPF plants. At the same time, working in collaboration with a leading Canadian-based fluids modelling company, Eriez has developed and tested an improved fluidisation manifold that it says will improve uniformity, simplify scalability, and greatly reduce downtime for maintenance. Eriez is also working with the Australian NGO CEEC, Whittle Consulting and Anglo American to model and benchmark synergistic combinations of technology such as CPF and Anglo’ s Hydraulic Dry Stacking( HDS) on the Neo- Marvin copper gold model resource. The
idea is to identify the economic benefits of combining these technologies to improve overall capital and operating costs as well as water recovery, energy optimisation, metallurgical performance and tailings management.
It adds:“ These examples show that Eriez is actively pushing the limits of CPF adoption, which includes a sensitivity to the realities of our customers, and engaging with partners to improve operability, achieve the best metallurgical efficiency, optimise capital and operating costs and improve resource stewardship.”
In September 2025, BHP and Eriez announced the successful commissioning of a HydroFloat CPF plant at BHP’ s Carrapateena mine. They state that this milestone represents a significant advance in sustainable, high-efficiency mineral recovery for the worldwide mining industry. Completed through close collaboration among BHP, Eriez, VOLPRO Pty Ltd, and Paradocs Metallurgy, the CPF project integrated HydroFloat technology into the existing processing circuit. From installation through commissioning and optimisation, the teams worked together, meeting performance targets on an accelerated schedule and within budget.
HydroFloat CPF recovers coarse, high-value particles that conventional flotation often loses to tailings, increasing metal recovery and plant throughput while supporting more sustainable operations and better tailings management. The HydroFloat technology will increase overall ore throughput at Carrapateena to around 20,000 ore tonnes per day, reduce power consumption by allowing the mill to use a coarser grind size, and improve overall metal recovery.
Anna Wiley, Asset President, BHP Copper South Australia, said:“ We are making great progress in building our South Australian copper province. This is a massive achievement for our team and a significant step forward for our Copper SA operations. The HydroFloat is a compelling example of the smart technology, innovative thinking and investment in productivity that will carry our business forward in South Australia. As a first-of-its-kind for BHP, this breakthrough will substantially increase Carrapateena’ s processing capacity while maintaining recovery.”
“ BHP’ s focus on innovation and operational excellence was critical to the success of this project,” said Jose Concha, Global Director of Mining Products at Eriez.“ The trust, transparency, and teamwork with the Carrapateena operations team, VOLPRO Pty Ltd and Paradocs Metallurgy have raised the bar for future HydroFloat deployments.”
The plant is fully operational and producing results in line with expectations,
DELKOR BQR Flotation Cells with MAXGen mechanism
New generation of DELKOR BQR Flotation Cells with MAXGen mechanism in Africa.
Superior metallurgical performance and increased metal recovery at lower cost of ownership. Improved particle-bubble interaction, faster flotation kinetics and precise froth level controls. Cell bypass ready provision for improved flexibility and ease of maintenance.
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