Pinto Valley Mine, Copper Recovery Study with the Novacell™
S Morgan1, P Amelunxen2, B Akerstrom3 and L Cooper4
1. Technology Manager - NovaCell, Jord International Pty Limited, 40 Oxley Street, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia. Email:
2. Senior Vice President – Technical Services, Capstone Copper, Suite 2100 – 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Email:
3. Director – Metallurgy, Capstone Copper, 1138 N Alma School Rd, Mesa, AZ 85201, United States. Email:
4. Technical Expert – Flotation, Jord International Pty Limited, 40 Oxley Street, St Leonards, NSW, 2065, Australia. Email:
*This paper was presented at MetPlant 2023 held 6-8 November 2023 in Adelaide, Australia. To view the full paper select download file below.
ABSTRACT
The NovaCellTM is a novel froth flotation machine, invented by Laureate Professor Graeme Jameson, that recovers valuable particles over a wider particle size range. Thus, coarse and fine valuable particles that were previously lost to tailings using traditional technologies, such as mechanically agitated flotation cells, can now be recovered by one machine, potentially increasing the plant production. Targeting coarse particle recovery in the flotation circuit also allows for greater flexibility in the comminution circuit, potentially reducing the specific energy consumption, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per tonne of valuable component, and improving the dewatering rates in mineral processing circuits. To investigate these NovaCell benefits, samples from an existing copper operation were studied under laboratory conditions.
In this case study, the response of plant feed and tailings material from the Pinto Valley mine, located in Arizona, USA, to NovaCell was investigated. The plant throughput is roughly 58 000 t/d, with a copper equivalent production of approximately 59 000 t Cu/y. The existing flotation circuit comprises both mechanical (self-aspirating) and column flotation cells.
The paper details the NovaCell test work and size-by-size recovery results for copper and other elements of interest. It also discusses the potential impact of the NovaCell technology as a substitute to the existing technologies at Pinto Valley mine, suggesting a significant increase in production, equivalent to approximately 15 000 t Cu/y in addition to a 15% reduction in equivalent carbon emissions per tonne of copper. Potential water consumption reductions are also discussed.