A R20-million turnkey project was award- ed to Metso Minerals
Processing in January for Anglo Platinum Union Section’s
Mortimer concentrator.
“The order was received directly from Anglo Platinum, and
involves all work on a turnkey basis, including the design,
drawings, and construction, as well as the commissioning of the
complete plant,” says Metso Minerals project engineer Herman
Martins. He adds that the order is to replace the old conventional
cells with new cylindrical-type cells.
“The flotation cedry gold mining equipmentlls, to be used for the difficult and
highly-critical application of processing Merensky and UG2 ore, are
made up of six reactor cell system RCS50HD and six RCS10XHD
cells,” says Martins. The company is currently engaged in the
initial civil work of the pghana gold mining equipmentroject, which started in March,
following completion of the design and drawings of the
concentrator, and hopes to commission the plant by September.
“The complete range of flotation cells has been developed
specifically in South Africa to accommodate conditoutsourcing companies of mining equipmentions pertinent to
the environment in which they operate. “Heavy-duty cells were
specified for the concentrator application, due to the arduous
method that is required for processing this type of ore,”
says Martins. The RCS10XHstone crusher in uaeD cells are equipped with an oversize
mechanism for high power input to improve recovery.
“The RCS flotation machine has a patented deep-vane mechanism
impeller, consisting of an arrangement of vertical vanes with
shaped lower edges and an air-dispersion shestandard for crushing plantlf. “It produces
powerful radial slurry-pumping to the cell-wall, offering strong
return flows to the underside of the impeller to minimise sanding.
“In addition, the mechanism gives maximum slurry
recirculation to the upper part of the impeller,” says
Martins. The vertical diffuser vanes promote radial flow-patterns
and eliminate slurry rotation completely.
“Superior flotation performance is achieved by maximum
particle bubble contact within the mechanism and flotation
tank,” says Martins.
He adds that the system offers effective solids suspension during
operation and resuspension after shutdown, with air-dispersion and
distribution being highly effective throughout the complete cell
volume.
“Metso’s RCS flotation machines have been designed so
that the complete mechanism can be removed and replaced online,
ensuring full operation with no shutdown. “The application
calls for extremely tight controls with no room for error,”
says Martins. He adds that high power inputs, together with extreme
machine reliability, are essential for mass-pull control.
“The concentrate mass-pull is constant and very stable on
these cells, which is probably the most important function of the
flotation process to get the best recovery and good grades,”
says Martins.