Pro

ojects and leeaderrs makking a differen

nce

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 SPONSORSHIP SHOWCASE
GREENFIELDS PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
For any new project, particularly
smaller projects, financial viability
remains key and this can be enhanced
through the incorporation of new age
technologies. In the field of grinding,
Loesche has a lot to offer.
T
he African continent is home to an abundance of natural
resources – and a wide array of junior and mid-tier
mining companies looking to make their operational
mark within the industry.
Following extensive research and development, Loesche has
developed an economical, small and compact grinding plant which
is containerised and easily relocatable. “These features form the
foundation upon which our plant’s true benefits can be seen,” says
Jonathan Smith, Sales & Marketing Manager at Loesche South
Africa and Sub Saharan Africa.
“Due to the extreme remoteness of many of the new deposits
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being developed, sourcing power and water has become an even
greater hurdle than what is typically experienced. Thanks to our
plant’s small footprint, it can easily be adapted to operate using
generators or solar power and it further requires substantially lower
volumes of water as well,” he continues.
The Loesche plant (incorporating the vertical mill roller (VRM)) can be
operated in a ‘dry state’ until the recovery process is necessitated,
which can either be flotation or carbon in-leach or a combination.
Gravity separation can also be included.
Loesche has managed to identify a potential partner for the recovery
circuits. This potential partner is a specialist in the recovery circuit
component, especially in gold methods such as flotation and
carbon-in-leach in small scale processing applications. This is
achievable by adding a separate gravity separation process, which
can also be included as most of these deposits are characterised
by having available free gold.
The Loesche VRM more specifically utilises dry in-bed grinding
and therefore offers the option to be stored in product silos and
be precisely dosed into the downstream process. This enables
operations to de-couple the comminution process from the
downstream process, enabling the optimisation of both processes
individually.
“And thanks to a much more simplified maintenance regime,
the Loesche system’s power and water usage requirements are
reduced further – also contributing to improving an operation’s
expenses, which in turn improves profitability,” adds Smith.
Building on an attractive product proposition
In response to the junior (in particular) industry’s needs, Loesche
has also expanded its service offering in support of its dry grinding
equipment. “Our focus is on providing a complete and cost effective
solution that incorporates:
• Feasibility studies – from pre-feasibility through to bankable
feasibility;

• Installation of the plant; and
• Operation and maintenance of the plant.”
On the back of this full solution offering, Loesche has been
working closely with two iron ore mining projects, one in Australia
and the second in Canada, and in both cases the projects have
determined beneficial reasons to incorporate Loesche equipment
which enhances their recovery processes.
The company has also been actively busy across the African
continent working with potential customers in the fields of gold,
tin, phosphates, copper and lithium.
“Ores today are becoming complicated and are also lower in
recoverable minerals. And while a traditional wet process is specified
for almost all operations and all ore types, environmental and power
challenges being experienced within the mining sector continue
to highlight the need to move into the future by evaluating and
introducing milling and recovery circuits capable of handling these
complicated ores, without being impacted by the challenges
mentioned, and while still increasing recoveries and reducing
operational expenses,” Smith notes.
MINING ELITES IN AFRICA 2021
He continues: “Due to the resistance of change in the current
mining industry, which is hesitant to move from current tried
and tested methods, Loesche South Africa has had to adapt its
strategic business models to incorporate removing the barriers
of entry.
“We offer an experienced team of professionals now working even
more closely with identified small to medium size mining houses on
projects that will move them to the foreground of mining methods
and increase their profitability. These identified companies have
welcomed Loesche’s willingness to assist and have confidence
in Loesche to establish the best possible solution.”
We offer an experienced team
of professionals,
The start-up process
When small-scale miners are awarded a mining concession,
procurement of equipment is key: it needs to be selected carefully
as specific requirements need to be identified to suit the ore type
being mined. The comminution and recovery circuits will determine
the process flow to extract the mineral at the highest recovery
rate. Loesche can assist with basic process engineering and test
work to advise the client accordingly. The miner can also start
up with a small process plant such as Loesche’s containerised
plant and use profits from the operation to build the main process
plant at a later stage, after which the containerised plant can be
relocated to a new mining concession. By adopting this thought
process, Loesche can see profitable small-scale miners growing
into substantial operating companies attracting investors for
further growth.
“Our main focus is to prove to mining houses that in order to be
sustainable in the future, a new approach needs to be adopted
to continue the profitability of mines whilst adhering to best
practices and greener technologies that make mining more and
more difficult,” Smith concludes.
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT:
Jonathan Smith
jsmith@loeschesa.co.za
00 27 11 032 9360
www.loeschesa.com
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