Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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PROCESSING SOLUTIONS Elias Aho, global sales and projects manager for GIW, said that a sulphide concentrator, owned by BHP Billiton and located in northern Chile, reported increased revenue due to productivity increases, with an additional savings in energy costs. "TCO for slurry pumps includes not only the initial cost of the pump, but also factors such as wear life, annual cost of parts, labor, energy and down- time for maintenance," said Aho. All of these factors are addressed by the advanced engineering, materials and technology provided by MDX pumps, according to GIW. The mine relies extensively on slurry pipelines to transport copper ore, but the slurry is hard on pumps and equip- ment. At this mine, every hour of down- time costs $150,000. To replace a slur- ry pump, the mill is offline for 10 hours. With the pump line that was previously installed, mill engineers were perform- ing pump replacement eight times per year. The company had GIW installa- tions for other applications and noticed greatly improved wear life with those pumps. Subsequently, the customer decided to replace its lower-performing pumps with GIW MDX technology. The new GIW MDX pump, with an 84-in. (2.1-m) diameter impeller and weighing 100,000 lb (45,350 kg), replaced a 150,000-lb competitor pump, providing a lighter, more durable pump that runs on significantly less energy. According to GIW, the new MDX pump has already surpassed the client's goal of doubling the wear life of the pump, and GIW engineers are now working on a program of continuous improvement, aiming to extend the pump's wear life another 40% to 50%. By cutting its maintenance down- time in half, the mine realized an $8- million increase in revenue. In addition, it has reduced its energy cost by an additional $1 million annually. Dow to Supply Resin Technology to Nickel Project The Dow Chemical Co. has signed a consulting and supply agreement with Metals Finance Ltd. (MFC) of Queensland, Australia, a company which provides financing and produc- tion services to small- or medium-sized mining and mineral companies. MFC's Lucky Break nickel project in www.e-mj.com Queensland will be used as the pilot for identifying process improvements which may be applicable to the treat- ment of nickel laterite projects on a global basis. As part of the agreement, Dow Water & Process Solutions, a business unit of Dow Chemical, will provide expertise, technical and process engineering sup- port for the use of its Ion Exchange Resin (IER) PLS separations technology at the Lucky Break ore site. The effort may also cover other lateritic nickel projects that MFC develops in the future, including the Barnes Hill pro- ject in Tasmania. "We are pleased to team with MFC to develop value creating solutions for the mining industry," said Yulee Newsome, global business development manager, Dow Water & Process Solutions. "Dow is committed to innovation, and Dow con- tinues this commitment by providing advanced IER PLS separation technolo- gy that allows our customers to develop answers for mining challenges while improving their bottom line." Tony Treasure, managing director, MFC, said, "This agreement is the first step in developing a long-term, strate- gic relationship between MFC and Dow. We have been working closely with Dow for some time now on project feasibility studies including Lucky Break and the Palabora nickel sulphate project in South Africa." MFC has an agreement with Metallica Minerals, owner of the Lucky Break ten- Vertimills for Serra Azul Iron Metso has signed a contract with Brazilian mining company MMX Mineração to deliver 14 vertical grind- ing mills needed for the expansion of the Serra Azul iron ore project in Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Installation of the VTM-3000-WB Vertimills, each powered by 2,235-kW drives, is a significant element in MMX's program to boost production capacity at Serra Azul to 24 million mt/y. According to Metso, the Vertimill technology also will provide significant power savings compared with conven- tional ball milling. MMX, part of the EBX Group, oper- ates mines in Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul states in Brazil and also holds mineral rights in Chile. Fourteen of these Metso VTM-3000 Vertimills are bound for the Serra Azul iron operations in southeastern Brazil. JUNE 2012 • E&MJ; 153 ements west of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, to determine the feasibility of operating the mine and associated pro- cessing plant. MFC has detailed the engineering work, found sources for the equipment and is seeking to secure funding. According to MFC, the project could be in full production within a year of receiving approval. Larger Pressure Filter from Outotec Outotec has expanded the physical size of a model in its popular Outotec Larox pressure filtration product line. According to the company, its Larox PF 180 series filter, used for tailings filtra- tion, fine ore concentrate production and similar applications, is now 50% larger than the previous version. Vital statistics for the new PF 180 include a weight of 160 metric tons (mt); dimensions meas- uring 9 m high x 8.9 m long; maximum filtration area of 252 m2, and individual plate size of 9 m2. The unit contains up to 28 plates with 60-mm chambers. The filter cloth used in the PF 180 is continuous, measures 200 m in length and has only one seam. Outotec provides its own cloth line, developed and designed for the PF filter and meet- ing the demands of the process. Outotec also noted that the filter's automation system has been updated, with interactive self-diagnostic fea- tures, and now also includes a user manual and electronic parts catalog with 3-D images.