Amplats, Mintek to develop new plant
ANGLO American Platinum, the largest platinum producer, is teaming up with state-owned mineral research company Mintek for a two-year, R200m research and development project to atomise metal to improve recoveries of metals.
The technology used highpressure water jets sprayed onto a stream of molten metal to make a fine powder, improving handling and processing once the metal had been treated, Alan McKenzie, GM in charge of Mintek’s technology division, said yesterday.
It was the largest such test facility in the world and Amplats wanted to ensure the technology was rigorously tested and proved before rolling it out at its operations, said Lloyd Nelson, head of smelting and refining technology at Amplats.
The technology will be applied to slag coming from the converter process, cleaning up a waste product and extracting residual platinum group metals and base metals such as nickel, copper and cobalt, which give the company valuable by-product credits.
“With mining production costs and capital expenditure increasing drastically, commodity prices being very unpredictable and many other unfavourable influences lurking in the mining landscape today, the industry needs to focus strongly on investing in the research and development of cost-cutting innovations and other strategies which will enhance its profitability,” Mr Nelson said.
Mintek and Amplats co-funded a R44m programme to add the atomising technology to a furnace at Mintek’s facilities in Randburg, Johannesburg, and the miner will pick up the remaining operating capital of R156m to conduct the two-year test.
Amplats will not have exclusive rights to the technology, which means other mining companies can also use it.
The test plant would treat 50,000 tons of material by the end of the test and Amplats would supply material from a tailings dump, making the retreated product more environmentally friendly and reducing the company’s rehabilitation liabilities, said Mr McKenzie.
Amplats expects the technology, which is used elsewhere in the world, to improve productivity at its operations.