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By A Batnasan, K Haga, A Shibayama, K Higuchi, H Takeuchi

High silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), and phosphorus (P) contents in iron ore adversely affect the quality of iron products. The removal of those impurities from iron ore is an essential point in further iron ore processing. In this paper, the removal of P, SiO2 and Al2O3 impurities from iron ore by alkaline drying followed by reverse cationic flotation is discussed. The reverse cationic flotation experiments are performed using the iron ore samples without and with alkaline drying pretreatment. All other flotation conditions except pulp pH (4–12) and particle size distributions (-45 to -250 μm) are held constant. A typical collector and frother, such as dodecylamine acetate (DAA) and methylisobutylcarbinol (MIBC), are used in the flotation experiments. Alkaline treatment is conducted before flotation using sodium hydroxide at fixed conditions. The impact of alkaline drying on the performance of iron ore flotation is evaluated based on the removal rates of P and SiO2 + Al2O3, iron grade, and iron recovery compared with the iron ore flotation without alkaline drying (direct flotation). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates hematite and goethite are the main minerals in the iron ore, which assays 62.8 mass per cent Fe, 0.232 mass per cent P, 7.1 mass per cent SiO2 + Al2O3 (total) determined by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF). Results indicate that a combined approach is more effective for removing P and SiO2 + Al2O3 impurities from iron ore than the direct processing technique because the maximum removal rates of P and SiO2 + Al2O3 are 48.2 per cent and 66.5 per cent from the alkaline dried iron ore when 8.4 per cent and 13.1 per cent from the non-alkaline dried iron ore.

Sep 18, 2023

By M I. Pownceby, N Karimian, A Frierdich

These may be found with goethite through mechanisms including direct substitution or coprecipitation of nanocrystalline phases. Understanding P incorporation in goethite has significant implications for Australia’s iron ore industry as it lowers their commodity value. The current study tests a novel low-temperature technique to extract P impurities from synthetic goethite phases under O2-free ambient conditions by utilising Fe(II)-catalysed recrystallisation. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of the Fe(II)-catalysed recrystallisation of goethite on the geochemical behaviour (mobility and speciation) of co-associated P. To achieve this, we tracked changes in labile P (aqueous and 1M NaOH extractable) concentrations over time in goethite suspensions which were reacted with Fe(II)aq for 14 days under circumneutral pH conditions and room temperature conditions. Temporal changes in Fe mineralogy were investigated via synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Iron K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy confirmed goethite as the only mineral phase in P-free treatments while goethite (~86 per cent) and feroxyhyte (~14 per cent) were the main phases in 1.0 per cent P-containing treatments after a 14- day reaction with Fe(II)aq. According to our findings, the treatment of P-goethite with Fe(II) for a duration of 7–14 days, followed by a 24-hour extraction of the reacted solids using 1M NaOH, results in the removal of approximately 79.5 per cent of the initial P content. This removal encompasses both the aqueous fraction (~4.5 per cent) and the surface adsorbed fraction (~75 per cent) from the 1 per cent P-bearing mineral phase. Notably, this approach demonstrates an improvement in P extractability, with approximately a 10 per cent increase compared to the 1 per cent P-goethite sample that was not reacted with Fe(II).

Sep 18, 2023

By D Lalor, N Goodman

The increasing demand for batteries is resulting in the development of large-scale projects for the production of key battery metals such as nickel and vanadium. Several of these projects plan to extract the battery metals from the ore via chemical roasting, leaving large volumes of waste iron oxides after fuming and/or leaching of the battery metals. These iron oxide wastes can be smelted in a HIsmelt furnace using biochar as the reductant, to produce clean, green pig iron with net zero carbon emissions. This green pig iron can then be added to basic oxygen or electric arc steelmaking furnaces to produce green, net zero carbon, steel. This paper describes the flow sheets and the economics for potential projects producing green pig iron via HIsmelt using waste iron oxides from nickel and vanadium production plants.

Sep 18, 2023

By G Zhao, S Hapugoda, E R. Ramanaidou, P Hapugoda, Y Jin, G O’Brien

In 2021 the ports of Port Hedland and Dampier in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia handled 900 Mt of iron ore. This ore was produced in the Hamersley’s mines and transported by trains to the ports for subsequent export. Dust, which is generally considered to be particles less than 100 μm in diameter, is generated at all steps in the supply chain. Whilst all dust may have potential impacts on human health and mangroves and buildings a proportion of the dust is classed as respirable (PM10) dust, which consists of particles <10 μm in diameter. In 2021, in response to the community concern with iron ore dust, CSIRO commissioned an internal study to characterise and benchmark the dustiness of the different ores and to develop targeted strategies to minimise dust impacts, without affecting other iron properties, such as stickiness during transportation. A specific concern is that that the dust in the PM10 fraction may contain significant amounts of particulates, such as free silicates which may have health implications for the workers and residents. This study provided detailed mineral and chemical characterisation of the dust generated from the railed fine ore products for five generic Australian ore types: Australian Channel iron Deposit (ACID), Australian Brockman (AB), Australian Marra Mamba (AMM), Australian Pilbara (AP) and Australian magnetite (AM). The dust from these fine ore products were compared to that generated from a sample of Brazilian Hematite (BH) type ore fines. The ores were evaluated for their physical, chemical and mineralogy properties, dust generating potential and understandings of the relationship between the dustiness of iron ores and their physiochemical properties. The size distributions of the railed fine ore products were determined and a suite of analyses were conducted on subsamples of total (-106 μm) and fine (-38 μm) dust. For all the ores, the total dust fraction contains less Fe and more contaminants (SiO2 and Al2O3) than did the bulk ore. The fine dust fraction contained even less Fe and more contaminants (SiO2 and Al2O3) than the total dust fraction. This suggests that the iron ore dust contains more clay and potentially free silica than does the bulk ore. These findings were supported by optical and Scanning electron microscopy analyses of the samples. Dustiness measurements were made for each of the different ores (-106 μm) to investigate the relationship of dustiness of various iron ores with their physiochemical properties and assess their responses to dust suppression by the application of water sprays.

Sep 18, 2023

By G Reynolds, L Lu

Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) is developing its flagship Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) facility to produce nickel and cobalt sulfates from imported high-grade nickel laterite ore for nickel-cobalt-aluminium and nickel-cobalt-manganese Li-ion batteries. The TECH facility is expected to use a patented leaching, recovery and recycling process called the DNi Process™. It uses the nitric acid leaching process for extracting nickel, cobalt and other valuable metals from laterite ore. Apart from the nickel and cobalt sulfates, the TECH Project will also produce high purity alumina, hematite (~640 ktpa) and other by-products. The hematite by-product precipitated from the DNi Process™ (hematite precipitate hereafter), is high in Fe and particularly low in impurities. QPM is working to identify potential applications for these high-purity by-products to generate additional revenue and to achieve its zero-waste ambition. As such, QPM has engaged CSIRO to evaluate various agglomeration options to produce low-cost, hematitic products suitable as ironmaking feed materials. This paper will first reveal the unique characteristics of the hematite precipitate arising from the TECH Project and then examine the sintering and pelletising processes for preparing the hematite precipitate as an ironmaking feed.

Sep 18, 2023

By G Reynolds, N A. Ware, L Lu

Queensland Pacific Metals (QPM) is progressing its Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) project to produce nickel and cobalt sulfates for advanced battery materials. Apart from the nickel and cobalt sulfates, the process also generates a hematite by-product (~640 ktpa). The hematite byproduct precipitated from the process, hereafter ‘hematite precipitate’, is high in Fe and particularly low in impurities. However, it is a fine <20 μm crystalline, hydrometallurgical precipitate and is produced as a filter cake containing a high moisture content of about 15 per cent. This is considerably different from natural hematite ore and is expected to change its performance during sintering. In the present study, laboratory scale sintering tests were undertaken to evaluate the potential impacts of substitution of the hematite precipitate for traditional magnetite concentrates and further for Australian hematite-goethite ores in a simulated industry base blend. Substitution of hematite precipitate for magnetite concentrates was found to slightly increase the sintering temperature required to achieve the strength of laboratory sinters. However, further substitution of hematite precipitate for Australian hematite-goethite ores slightly reduced the sintering temperature required to achieve the laboratory sinter strength. These results reflect the reduction in Al2O3 contents of the blends and are consistent with the trend observed in industry and pilot scale facilities. The reduction in sintering temperature generally correlates to a reduction in fuel rate in the larger scale sintering process. The pore structure of selected laboratory sinters was further examined and discussed in conjunction with sinter strength. The pore structure images highlighted the relative difference between the blends with the most obvious difference being seen at 1290°C which correlates well with the laboratory tumble index (TI). The laboratory sinter samples showed an increase in porosity and irregularity of pore shape, as hematite substitution increased demonstrating the correlation between a more porous structure and a lower TI.

Sep 18, 2023

By G McCullough, J Els, J Bassan

Integrated Remote Operations Centres (IROCs) have a crucial role in optimising a mine’s carbon emissions, especially as industry faces an imperative to achieve net-zero emissions on an accelerated timeline. To meet this time pressure, operations must adopt a comprehensive approach to energy-related carbon management and history has proven that modern technologies cannot be simply bolted into existing operations. An IROC is the most dependable solution to enable a swift transition from strategy to operational tactics that support carbon optimisation. Achieving net-zero emissions requires addressing significant energy management challenges such as fleet electrification, integration of renewable energy sources and large-scale energy storage. These challenges demand a profound change in planning, managing and executing work at large operations. The key to overcoming these challenges is an integrated approach incorporating collaborative decision-making across the value chain and more sophisticated planning approaches. Additionally, closer integration with downstream processing offers opportunities for carbon optimisation across the value chain. This includes the ability to supply tailored products that meet more varied feed-requirements of customers transitioning to less carbon-intensive processes and developing collaborative decision-making across the entire steelmaking value chain (by incorporating steelmakers, transport, coal/natural-gas/hydrogen supply, energy supply and iron-ore supply). However, this requires significant improvement in collaborative maturity and integrated decision-making capability. Finally, the imperative to reduce carbon emission demands the introduction of a range of new technologies into existing operations. The new technologies will increase the operational complexity of the mines and IROCs will need to evolve capabilities to manage the increase complexity and support the effective operationalisation and integration of these new mining technologies. This paper outlines the new capabilities required and the role of IROCs in effective integration across the demand value chain. The focus is on building on the mining industries’ existing IROC experience and augmenting with processes, technologies and lessons from other industries.

Sep 18, 2023

By S J. Loach

F-Series reconciliations are formal comparisons of estimates and measurements of ore quantity and quality made at pre-determined points along the mining value chain. F1 is the ratio of ‘Depleted Grade Control Ore/Depleted Long-term Model Ore’ and validates the models upon which Resource and Reserve statements are based. F2 is the ratio of ‘Produced Tonnes and Grade/Depleted Grade Control Ore (-) Changes in Pre-Crusher Stockpiles’ and validates that the ore tonnes and grade delineated in the pit are being accurately extracted and correctly delivered to the processing plant. These factors provide important corporate assurance for a mining company by providing quantitative feedback on model-predicted tonnes and block grade estimates. Since 2009, BHPs Western Australian Iron Ore F-Series reconciliations have been calculated in a single, centralised sequel-server database. This software routinely collates data regarding mineral resource block model depletions, grade control model depletions, pre-crusher stockpile inventories and production tonnes and grade measurements and then calculates F-Series factors for both tonnes and product quality. This paper will present case studies where reconciliation factors were used to identify improvement opportunities leading to projects that improved our models and subsequent forecasts of production tonnes and quality. In addition, it will show how reconciliation factors are tools that monitor control during periods of rapid change and provide feedback on the effectiveness of improvement projects.

Sep 18, 2023

By R Peiffer, L van Wyk

The Port of Port Hedland is the largest bulk export terminal in the world and is one of Australia’s most important pieces of economic infrastructure. BHP is the largest Port user to support the export of iron ore products from mines located within the Pilbara region of Western Australia (WA). BHP’s priority is the safety and well-being of its workforce and the communities where it operates. In a recent regulatory application to increase export capacity, BHP committed to the deployment of wind fences to reduce wind erosion from stockpiled ore. Wind erosion from stockpiles was identified through inverse modelling as the most significant dust source compared to other sources such as stackers, reclaimers, shiploaders and transfer stations. The primary cause of dust emissions from stockpiles is dust lift-off during high wind conditions. BHP proposed the installation of wind fences across its Port Hedland operations, targeted at reducing emissions from wind dependent sources, primarily stockpiles, by reducing the wind speed downwind of the wind fence. Modelling predicts that installation of the wind fence will significantly reduce emissions from stockpiles, particularly at BHP’s western operations (Finucane Island). To be effective in shielding stockyards and reducing wind speeds, the wind fences are located upwind and as close as practical to the open stockyards. BHP’s wind fence design incorporates learnings from other existing installations and has been tailored for Port Hedland’s cyclonic conditions. The wind fence will be higher than the stockpile height, with a mesh porosity of approximately 50 per cent. The mesh porosity allows some of the wind to pass through the mesh. This reduces the wind turbulence downstream of the wind fence, as opposed to a solid wind fence, which increases downwind turbulence, resulting in increased dust.

Sep 18, 2023

By M I. Pownceby, N Karimian, J R. Manuel, M J. Peterson

The CSIRO ore classification scheme for Pilbara ores was used as a reference frame to target recognisable ore types/textures with potentially elevated phosphorus content for detailed analysis. Particles of each individual ore texture were separated from a Brockman high-P ore and each class was characterised using methods including XRF, XRD, EPMA and synchrotron-based XAS. Results were then correlated with optical microscopy and hand specimen identification to establish any relevant associated mineralogical phases and/or textures. This represents a more systematic approach to identification of high-P ore components based on particle and goethite type and texture. The information can then provide the basis for more targeted P-removal strategies factoring in the relationship between particle/ore texture and phosphorus deportment

Sep 18, 2023

By S Hapugoda, H Han, L Lu

Charcoal produced from Syzygium Zeylanicum trees was widely used in ancient Sri Lankan iron smelting practices. Charcoal made from Syzygium Zeylanicum tree trunks, branches and leaves were analysed by optical mineralogy and SEM and found to contain unusually high concentrations of calcium oxalate (CaC2O4.H2O – CaOx) crystals in plant cells. Partial and full reduction tests of a high-P Brockman ore were conducted at several temperatures with coke and coke doped with CaOx and CaCO3. It was observed that CaOx promoted reduction and generated comparatively more metallic iron in reduced samples. Furthermore, CaOx encouraged phosphorous partition into slag phases than into the metallic iron, suggesting CaOx can a potential alternative fluxing material to calcium carbonate for treating high-P iron ores in ironmaking processes.

Sep 18, 2023

By M Steinberg, M Amarant

Upstream Classifier are well-known in the iron ore industry for at least 15 years. At present, more than 60 units are in operation in Western Australia. The advantage of this technology is their capability to produce three products with one equipment – iron ore concentrate, iron ore middlings for further processing and slimes (tailings). The principal of this beneficiation process – upstream classification and upstream separation – will always remain. However, the optimisation of the classification and separation efficiency of the equipment itself is a continuous process driven by enhanced automation and instrumentation, design changes and the use of upstream and downstream information and requirements. Besides efficiency, the safety, maintenance and replacement conditions are very important subjects for the operation of an iron ore mine. The aim of this paper is to present a new allflux® upstream classifier design, which has been developed together with several iron ore producer from Western Australia. The new design benefits from its sustainability approach by dividing the entire equipment into small reusable parts. As a result, maintenance is minor, replacement much faster, lifetime much longer and costs much lower. Furthermore, it demonstrates new features to prevent hazardous working conditions such as confined space as well as new fixing devices to speed up the replacement of certain items and parts.

Sep 18, 2023

By M McCurd, M Lynch, B H. Yin, S Mendoza, C W. Bumby, Y Iwasaki, B Rumsey

Iron and steel production is responsible for approximately 6.3 per cent of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Direct reduction of iron with hydrogen is a potential route for decarbonising the iron and steel industry. Extensive small-scale laboratory experiments have been performed to test the feasibility of hydrogen-direct reduction of iron ores sourced from diverse geographical locations. However, test results from the batch reduction of small-sample do not necessarily translate to continuous commercial-scale processes. Establishing a small-scale continuous test reactor for H2- DRI process is challenging, requiring substantial resources and investment. The limited availability of small-scale reactors that enable testing under relevant conditions has become a major obstacle for H2-DRI development, leaving a big gap between laboratory success and proof of commercial feasibility. Here, we report on the recent commissioning of a continuous counter-flow vertical shaft reactor, which has a processing capacity of 6 kg/hr iron ore pellets at up to 100 NL/min H2 flow. We believe this to currently be the largest H2-DRI facility in the Southern Hemisphere. In this talk, we will discuss the design and construction journey for this reactor, starting from the initial system design to the initial demonstration of H2 reduction of titanomagnetite ironsand pellets. This reactor now enables a range of research capacities, including the validation of laboratory results on a larger scale with practical operational variables, feasibility assessment of hydrogen direct reduction of different iron ores on a commercial scale; identification of scalability, sticking, and other potential issues before building a full-scale plant; and a viable solution for producing small-quantity DRIs for downstream melting investigations. Overall, this new research facility offers significant benefits for assisting the transformation of iron and steel production to a more sustainable and green industry.

Sep 18, 2023

By M Camarda, A Pirson, F Vasconcelos, J Mesquita

ArcelorMittal Prijedor is a goethitic iron ore mine located in the north-west of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which mainly supplies ArcelorMittal’s European subsidiaries. Annual production of the asset stands at the level of 1.5–2.1 million tons of iron ore product which is sent to ArcelorMittal Zenica steelmaking plant. Two types of products with approximately 50 per cent Fe are generated in Prijedor through a process composed by crushing, screening, and magnetic separation stages. Within this process one of the tailings produced is called ‘ultrafines’. The ‘ultrafines’ product corresponds to the desliming hydrocyclones overflow in Prijedor plant, which is classified in a size fraction below 25 μm and corresponds to about 5 per cent of feed. This material is richer in iron than the coarser size fractions of the ore but do not present a good performance in concentration processes. In this way, several studies have been carried out during the last years to find solutions to use the ‘ultrafines’ material without success. In this context, the possibility of dehydroxylate the goethite contained in the material transforming the mineral into hematite and thus increasing the iron grade of the final product was investigated. During the research, several dehydroxylation tests with different temperatures and time of exposure were performed. Using dihydroxylation process at temperatures higher than 800°C it was possible to produce a material with 43 per cent Fe from the original 39 per cent Fe ‘ultrafines’ sample. In addition, the dehydroxylation tests confirmed that goethite becomes completely transformed into hematite at 400°C (with an exposure time of 60 mins) and material is completely sintered at 1200°C. A simulation study based on dehydroxylation tests results showed that it would be possible to use a ‘ultrafines’ product with Fe grade higher than 45 per cent to produce a material with 50 per cent Fe through a complete dehydroxylation process.

Sep 18, 2023

By Q Zhou, J Pan, D Q. Zhu, C C. Yang

Oxidised pellets have become an indispensable high-quality charge for blast furnaces (BF) due to their uniform particle size, high iron grade, high mechanical strength, good metallurgical performance, as well as relatively low energy consumption and gaseous pollutant emissions in pellet production. Nevertheless, due to the rapid development of the global steel industry, highquality pellet feeds are becoming more and more scarce. In order to broaden the source of pellet feeds and reduce the production cost of pellets, more and more steel mills are going to use coarse iron ore fines with relatively low iron grade and low impurities for preparation of desirable pellet feeds through a typical wet grinding-settling-filtering process. In this work, the grinding, settling and filtering behaviour of Brazilian and Australian iron ore fines are studied and compared, aiming at finding out the internal relationship between the mineralogical characteristics of different iron ore types and their grinding-settling-filtering performance. The results show that the grindability is heavily dependent on the hardness of iron ores, which is governed by the mineralogical characteristics of the raw materials. Usually the higher the hardness, the more grinding energy is required. Except for Brazilian specularite, Australian hematite-goethite type iron ore fines and Brazilian hematite ore fines exhibit good grindability with a Bond Work Index of about 10–15 kW•h/t. In addition, the settling and filtering performance of ground iron ores are largely affected by the density, mineralogical characteristics of iron ore fines (eg, quantity of clay minerals and goethite and porosity of ore particles), grinding fineness, etc. Generally, iron ore fines with higher density, lower quantity of soft minerals (clay and goethite) and larger particle size give superior settling and filtering performance. For iron ore fines with inferior grinding, settling and filtering performance, applying more energy-efficient grinding techniques, blending with ore types with good settling and filtering performance can reduce grinding energy consumption and improve settling and filtration rates to maximise the productivity of equipment and lower the operational cost

Sep 18, 2023

By Y M. Lee, Y Hong, B C. Kim

Since sintered ore is the primary source for producing molten iron in the blast furnace process, maintaining stable quality despite the utilisation of low-grade iron ore is crucial. However, conventional analysis methods, such as chemical composition, ore size distribution and types of iron ore, have limitations in developing the utilisation of new low-grade iron ore and predicting sintered ore properties. Sintered ores are formed through a complex melting process of granule particles consisting of iron ore, flux and fuel. Consequently, it has been investigated that analysis methods which apply the reactive properties of iron ore to predict sintered ore characteristics. In this study, we estimated the properties of iron ore by simulating the assimilation process of coarse ore, which influences the bonding strength of sintered ores and quantifying the degree of assimilation reaction. Pseudo particles were formed by granulating coarse ore (1–3 mm) with adhering fines, which act as primary melts and sintered at 1623 K. The bonding strength of individual sintered ores, formed from 11 different types of iron ore, was measured using a simplified Tumbler Index (TI) test and each value was indexed as the Iron ore Reactivity Index (IRI). By investigating the relationship between the degree of assimilation depending on iron ore properties and the characteristics of sintered ore, we demonstrated that sintered ores formed from more reactive iron ore exhibited stronger bonding strength. Moreover, when blending conditions resulted in a higher Iron Blending ore Reactivity Index (IBRI), the physical properties of sintered ore improved. The development of this analysis method is expected to not only enable careful consideration of iron ore usability but also allow for the advance prediction of sintered ore qualities by deriving the IBRI.

Sep 18, 2023

By M I. Pownceby, N A. S Webster, J R. Manuel, J M. F Clout, E Donskoi, N A. Ware

The relative influences of sinter mineralogy, sintering temperature, solid and pore macro- and microstructure on iron ore sinter physical strength are not yet fully understood. Whilst a range of analysis techniques have been used by researchers to evaluate sinter physical properties and sinter mineralogy, none have been able to directly link sinter mineralogy and physical strength under controlled conditions. CSIRO has developed a unique laboratory method to study the fundamental melting properties of fine iron ores in a laboratory furnace under a controlled temperature and gas atmosphere environment designed to simulate the industrial sintering process. Compacted tablet samples for a 0.41 per cent and a 2.5 per cent Al2O3 series were fired in a tube furnace at various temperatures, cooled, then tumbled using a modified Bond abrasion test apparatus to determine a relative tumble index (TI) at each temperature. Quantitative XRD (QXRD) analysis was then carried out on the tumbled samples and optical image analysis (OIA) was conducted on polished sections of a separately fired compact in each case. The amount of total SFCA was found to decrease with increasing firing temperature for both alumina series with the total amount of SFCA higher in the 2.5 per cent Al2O3 series compared to 0.41 per cent Al2O3 series samples. The increase in the amount of magnetite and hematite with increasing firing temperature was largely at the expense of a decrease in total SFCA. Overall, there was good agreement between the quantitative mineralogy determined from QXRD versus OIA for SFCA, hematite and magnetite. Qualitative analysis of high magnification images of the sinter correlated with both the OIA and QXRD results.

Sep 18, 2023

By W Malone, J Garrett

FLSmidth (FLS) has spent the last 15 years, working with customers and engineering houses to deliver innovative improvements in crusher safety, coupled with the latest, maintenance friendly, crusher design. The key focus being to prevent service personnel from working underneath the crusher during maintenance and obviate the need for personnel to be exposed to suspended loads when performing tasks such as, main shaft installation, for example. Improvements include: full top-service capability to ensure the safest and fastest way to disassemble the crusher for maintenance purposes, which also removes the requirement for a service cart; a selfaligning main shaft which ensures remote assembly is now possible, keeping service personnel well out of harm’s way; And rotable shells, or the ability to perform relines off-station, allows for quick shell ‘swap-over’ without the downtime associated with removing, refitting and curing time associated with epoxy backing. The high flow spider improves large material entry into the crusher, reducing blockages and downtime and therefore maintains crusher capacity. Each size of crusher in the range comes with an option to increase the standard feed opening to a larger one if desired to compensate for ‘blocky’ or ‘elongated’ feed material, a common problem for Pilbara hematite iron ores. Power capability has also been increased with a maximum of 1500 kW, to match the higher throughput capacities being achieved. This due to uprated eccentric speeds and larger discharge annulus. Increased eccentric throws and mantle diameters are also now a reality, when compared to more traditional designed gyratory crushers. To keep up with the improved design features of the Mk V, digitalisation has also been upgraded to maximise performance capabilities to ensure that the most efficient reduction and throughput capacities are achieved, whilst utilising the higher powers now available as standard. Condition monitoring ensures that the crusher is at its optimum operating capability by monitoring and adjusting the crusher settings via feedback from additional sensors, ie main shaft spin, temperature and vibration. Camera monitoring capabilities are available as is an advanced oil contamination monitoring system. As a result of the above design improvements, it will be shown that the Mk V range offers benefits such as: enhanced safety features, increased availability, faster maintenance turnarounds, higher power utilisation, equivalent product size at higher throughput capacities and with Remote operation capabilities. All of which result in a gyratory crusher with higher levels of safety and a lower per tonne operating cost.

Sep 18, 2023

By E Nunes, R Mendes, D Jacobson, G Cota, T Machado, E Santos, J Almeida, E Pereira9, B Raso

Grinding circuits are known to be the highest consumer of energy used in the ore comminution process, with high operational costs and sensitivity to ore conditions. The mining industry is being encouraged to look for more energy efficient processes while increasing the mass and metallurgical recovery; a specific example is projects with lower iron ore grades, which demands a higher level of liberation and resulting higher energy consumption. This has led to increased usage of high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technology as an alternative design within the comminution circuit. A growing use of the HRC™ HPGR technology has been used to generate concentrate through a more sustainable process. In the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, the readaptation of iron ore beneficiation circuits has been initiated, replacing the traditional crushing-to-grinding flow sheet with circuits using crushing-to-HPGR flow sheets, with the main driver being reduced energy consumption. Utilising results from sampling campaigns and analysis of experimental data collected in an industrial plant, the work herein presents a case study from the JMN Mineração operating plant, where the HRC™ HPGR was used as an alternative to traditional grinding using horizontal mills. The results show that the HRC™ HPGR performance in this iron ore processing plant showed benefits in terms of reduced energy consumption as compared to the projected performance with a traditional grinding circuit.

Sep 18, 2023

By CIM Environmental, Social Responsibility Society

Within the mining industry, the pathway from exploration, to planning, construction, operation and closure has become more complex over the last few decades. The current financial, environmental and social influences present the mining industry with unprecedented challenges and opportunities. In addition, international environmental and social reporting standards and codes are becoming increasingly robust. The reporting requirements provide an added impetus for issuers to effectively manage environmental and social impacts and risks. Reporting requirements also provide the opportunity to be transparent. The intended audience for these Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Guidelines for Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimation includes practitioners, industry participants at all levels of skill and experience, corporate management and board members, government agencies, academic institutions and interested parties. For practitioners, this document provides underlying key principles of environmental, social and governance practices. The ESG Guidelines provide guidance for those using environmental, social, governmental and governance information when preparing and implementing mineral exploration programs and contributing to the preparation of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates for mineral properties that are either at the study stage (i.e., scoping / preliminary economic assessment, pre-feasibility, or feasibility studies) or in operation. The guidelines can also be used to help mineral resource and mining companies apply good practice to manage their environmental and social risks and opportunities. Companies can identify and retain appropriate professionals to prepare environmental and social materials to support company studies. The guidelines are also a resource for companies developing effective environmental and social management strategies at any project stage. This document is not intended to be prescriptive and is not intended to provide exhaustive guidance on what to consider in terms of environmental, social, legal and governmental modifying factors in the preparation of MRMR estimates. Rather, it is intended as general guidance to assist companies and practitioners in considering and applying these modifying factors for MRMR estimates. This document is also not intended to guide environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA); however, the measures needed to manage impacts help inform the constraints and costs for defining mineral resources and mineral reserves and inform the costs and schedules of mineral project studies. All documentation of MRMR estimates made by an issuer and intended to be, or reasonably likely to be, made available to the public in a jurisdiction of Canada must comply with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), as amended from time to time (Canadian Securities Administrators, 2016a and 2016b). Disclosure is not addressed in these ESG Guidelines. Determination of what to include in disclosures is defined in the applicable Securities’ legal frameworks. Appendix A presents a summary table showing the linkage of the principles and topics in these ESG Guidelines to the potential effects on project costs, schedules, government permits and approvals, social licence to operate and financing.

Sep 8, 2023