Bringing profits for miners
THE Cooperative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction ( CRC ORE) is disrupting the industry one mine at a time, with impressive results flooding in from operations both here and abroad, including an estimated $450m profit increase for a zinc, lead and silver operation in Bolivia.
Its success is driven by one of its state-of-the-art headline solutions, Grade Engineering, which deploys a range of waste rejection technologies that integrate with a suite of separation technologies relevant to ore specific characteristics.
A deeper understanding of the orebody enables miners to exploit inherent ore deposit heterogeneity and variability.
In 2017, the technology and innovation company teamed up with Sumitomo’s South American mine Minera San Cristóbal (MSC) to assess the level of opportunity available at the mine to deploy its Grade Engineering solution.
Since late 2018, CRC ORE and Sumitomo have been working together on a full-scale production trial of the solution using a Metso Lokotrack ST2.8 mobile screening plant that can process up to 450t per hour.
CRC ORE chief executive Ben Adair said initial results of the trial were exciting, with 66pc of value now contained in just 25pc of the grade engineered mass.
“So far, results show that by applying grade engineering to areas previously designated as ‘mineralised waste’, the value of grade engineered feed to the mill can be increased by over 2.5 times,” Dr Adair said.
“This has the potential to convert this waste material into high grade ore-feed with associated opportunity to increase metal production and reduce process power and water intensities.”
It’s an impressive result, which is underpinned by CRC ORE’s collaborative approach to solving mining’s biggest problems.
A similar project is now underway at Newcrest’s Telfer mine in Australia.
As a cooperative research centre, CRC ORE is linked to several leading universities and research organisations and brings together mining and METS companies to develop innovative solutions that improve productivity and sustainability for the mining industry.
At the commencement of its second funding term in July 2015, CRC ORE was originally targeting to achieve $112m of contributions over its six year term.
Due to the significant interest in its technologies, that target has been well exceeded with the centre now anticipating receiving more than $150m in cash funding and in-kind support by miners, METS companies, research institutions and the Australian Government to optimise resource extraction.
CRC ORE invites parties interested in its technology to get in touch.
For those attending this year’s IMARC conference, CRC ORE will have chief executive Dr Adair attending as a keynote speaker.
More information can be found at https:// crcore.org.au or by visiting the team at their IMARC stand F5.