Australian Mining is proud to announce the finalists for the 2020 Australian Mining Prospect Awards.
The Australian Mining Prospect Awards CDE Mining Minerals Processing of the Year award recognises a mine, company, or project that has developed or carried out an innovative or unique minerals processing program that increased efficiency, productivity, or safety.
“We’re delighted to sponsor the prestigious Awards’ Minerals Processing of the Year category in 2020,” CDE Mining said.
“We share the same values as the Prospect Awards team, grounded in innovation, excellence, and sustainability. The Prospect Awards highlight the value of mining and minerals projects that contribute to the local economy every day without compromising on safety and environmental protection.
“We look forward to discovering the innovative talent showcased at the awards and the solutions each finalist brings to the global mineral processing community.”
The finalists of the CDE Mining Minerals Processing of the Year award are:
Roy Hill Holdings, wet high intensity magnetic separator plant
Iron ore miner Roy Hill Holdings built a wet high intensity magnetic separator (WHIMS) plant to capture high-grade ultrafine iron ore units that would otherwise end up as tailings waste.
First ore from the WHIMS plant was achieved in December 2019 and production commenced in January, before hitting one million tonnes produced by May.
The plant filters tailings through a series of electromagnets that extract the iron, which is recovered and placed onto stockpiles.
It also has significant environmental benefits, decreasing the amount of tailings waste by up to five million tonnes per annum.
The WHIMS plant was painted pink, honouring Roy Hill executive chairman Gina Rinehart’s long-term commitment to breast cancer research.
Tronox, Tronox Total Asset Management by weir minerals
Tronox was looking for an innovative way to improve ageing assets for its dredging pumps, which are used for its heavy mineral concentration mining at Cooljarloo mine in WA.
Weir Minerals presented a total asset management (TAM) agreement, which enabled Tronox to increase its production and reduce downtime, with an improved value proposition. TAM is an exclusive two-year service contract for maintenance planning, condition monitoring, reliability engineering and slurry pump optimisation.
Within a year, Tronox achieved a reduction in downtime of 75 per cent and increased shut intervals by 33 per cent from six months to eight months. Tronox saved 10 per cent on maintenance costs and more than 30 per cent when achieving downtime reductions.
OceanaGold, Haile gold mine
OceanaGold has launched three projects across its minerals processing operations at the Haile gold mine in South Carolina in the United States.
This includes using CIL ACE and Destruct ACE for continuous monitoring of reagents, Carbon Scout to monitor carbon management readings and Derrick’s G-Vault screens to reduce operational risks.
The three projects have allowed OceanGold’s Haile gold mine to monitor its circuits in real-time without an operator interface.
The Derrick G-Vault screens also provide more consistent run times without an operator needing to clean or handle the screens.
The Carbon Scout allows for real-time carbon density monitoring on tanks, while the Derrick screens mean reduced circuit interruptions for continued operations on site at Haile.
The full list of Australian Mining Prospect Awards finalists can be viewed here.