• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Tech
TOMRA Mining’s XRT Ore Sorting Technology Delivers Value and Sustainability at Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine

TOMRA Mining’s XRT Ore Sorting Technology Delivers Value and Sustainability at Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine

September 16, 2022
Kleemann │ Interlinked PRO plant train impresses in the Caribbean

Kleemann │ Interlinked PRO plant train impresses in the Caribbean

January 27, 2023
EXPANDING THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF THE PDS

EXPANDING THE VALUE PROPOSITION OF THE PDS

January 19, 2023
advertisement
ADVERTISEMENT
2023 to Usher in Strong Growth in Mining and Industrial Private LTE Networks

2023 to Usher in Strong Growth in Mining and Industrial Private LTE Networks

January 19, 2023

Wirtgen South Africa holds annual dealer conference

January 17, 2023
Eriez-India Granted ISO 9001:2015 Certification

Eriez-India Granted ISO 9001:2015 Certification

January 13, 2023

Eurasian Resources Group and the University of Kolwezi develop curriculum to meet mining skills demand in the DRC

December 13, 2022

Another successful turnkey modular construction and transit solution from thyssenkrupp Uhde delivered to a key customer

December 13, 2022
Epiroc to acquire leading provider of collision avoidance systems for mines

Epiroc to acquire leading provider of collision avoidance systems for mines

December 13, 2022
New Cat® bolt-together buckets for underground loaders lower costs for assembly and transportation, reduce machine downtime

New Cat® bolt-together buckets for underground loaders lower costs for assembly and transportation, reduce machine downtime

December 11, 2022

EPSA and Immersive Technologies Partner in Global Mining Workforce Development

December 11, 2022

THE JUNIOR INDABA 2023

December 11, 2022
Atlas Copco and Reality Wellness celebrate their 20-year journey in putting employee well-being first

Atlas Copco and Reality Wellness celebrate their 20-year journey in putting employee well-being first

December 10, 2022
  • About AMB
  • Magazine Archive
  • Contacts
Sunday, February 5, 2023
African Mining Brief
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Industry
  • People
  • Projects
  • Press Releases
  • Magazine Archive
MAGAZINE ARCHIVE
ADVERTISE
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Industry
  • People
  • Projects
  • Press Releases
  • Magazine Archive
No Result
View All Result
African Mining Brief
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Industry
  • People
  • Projects
  • Press Releases
  • Magazine Archive
Home Press Releases

TOMRA Mining’s XRT Ore Sorting Technology Delivers Value and Sustainability at Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine

TOMRA X-Ray Transmission (XRT) sorters provide a game-changing solution for the Mt Carbine mine in Queensland, Australia. On the one hand, they deliver remarkable cost savings while achieving high-purity Tungsten for the processing plant. On the other hand, they contribute to a circular economy by effectively eliminating contaminants from the waste rock, which is used to produce green aggregates for sale – also creating an additional revenue stream for owner EQ Resources.

by Dennis Ayemba
September 16, 2022
in Press Releases
0
TOMRA Mining’s XRT Ore Sorting Technology Delivers Value and Sustainability at Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine
494
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The Mt Carbine mine, located Northwest of Cairns, in the Far North Queensland region of Australia, was acquired by EQ Resources in 2019. The company entered a joint venture with Cronimet Group to set up Tungsten extraction from the mine’s large waste dump and tailings. It is also planning to operate the open pit and underground mine, of which it has full ownership.
EQ Resources Management has a long-standing relationship with TOMRA, having used its sorters with success on a variety of projects since 2011. Based on this experience, the company turned to TOMRA once again for the Mt Carbine mine. Test work conducted at TOMRA’s Test Center in Wedel, Germany confirmed that its XRT technology would provide the solution for the project:
“We were confident it would work, but we sent a small sample for testing to make sure,” says Kevin MacNeill, CEO of Mt Carbine mine, EQ Resources. “The advantage of TOMRA’s sorters compared to others is in the image resolution: it is able to resolve the finer inclusions in the Tungsten. This high resolution gives us better recovery and more control over the sorting process.”

High recovery rates with considerable savings with TOMRA’s XRT sorting technology

Mt Carbine is currently mining the 12 million tons of low-grade historical stockpiles. The ore is crushed and screened at 6 and 40mm. Two TOMRA XRT sorters are used to pre-concentrate the feed in the 6-40mm size range before processing in the wet plant. Approximately 10% of the sorters’ feed mass is ejected as product with a high recovery of Tungsten well over 90%. This means that only 10% of the mass is processed in the wet plant, dramatically cutting running costs, reducing the required size of the wet plant, as well as saving water and energy.
Read: Fabrication of World’s Largest HydroFloat® Coarse Particle Flotation Project Completed
“We let the technology do the work for us and take out all the rubbish and we’re left with just the pure Tungsten to send to the processing plant – and we do that very cheaply using the sorters,” explains Kevin MacNeill.
“One of the best things about the TOMRA XRT is the cost savings to the operation. It costs approximately $1.5 Australian dollars/ton to sort and then it costs 14 Australian dollars/ton for wet processing: as we take out 90% of the sortable fraction mass, we only have to process 10% of the higher grade concentrate and natural -6mm material while maintaining recovery, so our cost benefit is obvious. We couldn’t afford to run this waste dump if we had to crush everything to 6mm and process it through the wet plant, it would be too low grade and costly.”

Creating an additional revenue stream in a circular economy

EQ Resources is also taking advantage of the TOMRA XRT sorters to create an additional revenue stream from the waste material. “Normally you would grind the waste down to 6mm and put it through the jigs, but by putting it through the TOMRA sorters, we are able to keep a whole range of aggregates on the coarser size fractions. The sorters remove any material containing acid-forming sulphides and the waste rock that comes out is incredibly clean. We are therefore able to use it in making all kinds of different quarry products – from road bases to concrete aggregates. It’s a perfect example of a circular economy.”
“Selling these green aggregates adds a significant portion to our business – about 5 million Australian Dollars a year – and that’s all because of the TOMRA sorters. In fact, we’ve probably paid for each machine from this revenue 5 times over.”
The TOMRA XRT sorters are delivering both environmental and business benefits to the Mt Carbine operation, to the satisfaction of Kevin MacNeill: “They’re dry, they create no water usage, they require very little power compared to what we use in the processing plant, so it’s a real advantage to us to have these, and we’re looking at purchasing a third one in the near future. From an environmental point of view, I think the TOMRA sorters will play a huge role in the future because of their capability of removing sulphides. If you remove sulphide before stockpiling waste rock, you will have the benefit of no acid creation and drainage – and it would reduce your footprint in your closure plans.”

Tags: Kevin MacNeillMt Carbine mineTOMRA XRT
Share198Tweet124Share49
Dennis Ayemba

Dennis Ayemba

Oct - Dec 2022 Magazine

  • About AMB
  • Magazine Archive
  • Contacts

© 2022 African Mining Brief I All Rights Reserved Powered by Clivo.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Events
  • Industry
  • People
  • Projects
  • Press Releases
  • Magazine Archive

© 2022 African Mining Brief I All Rights Reserved Powered by Clivo.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In