Coarse Particle Processing Research

Aim

The overall aim of this project is to lay the groundwork (both technical and administrative) for the formation of the Coarse Particle Research program.

The demand for copper and other base metal production continues to increase. It is estimated that the consumption of copper over the next 25 years will exceed all the copper ever mined to date. In contrast, the quality of the mineral deposits continues to decline. As “easy to treat” ore bodies become increasingly depleted, deposits that were previously considered “unviable” need to be accessed to satisfy demand.
The continuous development of better mining and mineral separation technology is therefore essential for unlocking new metal sources and enabling their treatment, from both the technological and economic perspective. The development of technology for processing coarse particles by flotation has been identified as one of the foremost areas where significant improvements are possible.
One such technology is the Eriez HydroFloat™ which can recover much coarser particles than the conventional flotation tank (up to 1mm compared to less than 200 micron). Multiple mining operations are currently installing or considering installation of this new device, but many questions remain around how best to incorporate this new machine into the traditional concentrator design. SMI/JKMRC has identified an opportunity to partner with Eriez Flotation Division and develop a Collaborative Consortium for Coarse Particle Processing Research (CPR for short) program to perform the research required to derisk this technology and accelerate adoption by the mining industry.