HPY prides itself on being “the producer of the world’s most numerous and environment friendly ore sorting product line” and, it says, this has been confirmed within the latest technical upgrades carried out on Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet’s Fankou Mineral Processing Plant and Building Materials Plant, in China.
By way of the strategic use of all new fashions of HPY’s sensor-based sorting machines, Fankou’s Mineral Processing Plant has skilled a change within the sorting system, the corporate says. The mine can now kind coarse particle sized ores utilizing HPY’s Golden Coal Collection, elevating effectivity within the SAG mill, decreasing the power consumption of the entire system and considerably decreasing the scale of the mine’s tailings pond.
Beforehand, Fankou had registered a $2.9 million annual income enhance following the introduction of 4 HPY Basic Collection sorters. At present, one Circle Collection XRT sorter has the identical sorting capability as two conveyor belt-based sorting machines; the latest technical improve allowed Fankou to exchange 4 Basic Collection sorters with two Circle Collection sorters, decreasing electrical energy utilization by 14 occasions. These figures reveal the numerous monetary advantages that may be achieved utilizing HPY expertise, HPY says
Within the article, “Maximising the advantages of sensor-based ore sorting machines,” printed in April 2023, HPY Expertise outlined how the cooperation venture got here collectively.
Fankou’s two course of crops, the Mineral Processing Plant and the Building Materials Plant, are in Renhua County, Guangdong, China, and have an extended historical past. As soon as one in every of Asia’s largest lead-zinc mines, this mine confronted vital challenges because the years progressed. As Mr Luo, the plant’s Common Supervisor, explains, “In its peak 12 months, it might ship roughly 180,000 tons of lead-zinc. Nonetheless, after over 60 years of manufacturing, depleting sources and accumulating waste rock piles compelled the mine to take drastic measures to switch the whole processing chain.” Such circumstances underscored the need for options like HPY’s machines.
Fankou’s complete modification plan was bold; its whole funds was estimated at $27.6 million because it wanted to put the groundwork and renovate the constructing, including HPY’s ore sorting step to the method stream fitted properly inside its plan of upgrading its total mining course of.
On the finish of 2017, Fankou’s govt workforce went to HPY Expertise’s testing centre to hold out preliminary sorting checks. Mr Luo famous: “There have been few corporations in China that did sensor-based sorting on the time; as well as, Fankou’s lead-zinc was thought of by many the ‘hard-to-sort’ kind.”
Not lengthy after, HPY and Fankou’s workforce determined to strategy this venture as a analysis venture in 2018, the 2 events agreed HPY would kind a devoted workforce to conduct specialised analysis on offering essentially the most economical and technically accountable lead-zinc sorting options for the Fankou venture. It didn’t take lengthy for passable outcomes to start out coming in. HPY efficiently fulfilled its mission in 2019, and the machines have been formally added to the plant thereafter.
Fankou’s mineral processing plant initially used 4 Basic Collection P60-X1400 ore sorting machines. The machine processes the particle dimension vary of +10-90 mm, which accounts for about 50% of the uncooked ore. This accounts for two,600 tons of ore, rejecting 400-500 t/d of waste rock. After pre-concentration, the lead and zinc content material within the waste rock is beneath 0.3%, and the sulphur and iron content material is beneath 3.8%. Due to this fact, the ore sorting course of enriches the ore grade by 1.08% for lead and zinc and a couple of% for sulphur and iron.
This sorter is the standard conveyor belt steel separator in China, and comparable designs are seen elsewhere.
The venture highlighted how HPY’s boosted equipment throughput had positively impacted the security facet of the mine’s mining follow; the mine can now mine extra areas by vertical blasting, eliminating the chance of personnel working underground fully, it says.
Mr Luo commends HPY’s up to date ore sorting machine for fully altering the way in which Fankou mines: “Because of the depletion of mineral sources and the Chinese language authorities’s growing emphasis on the ESG facet of the massive mines, we did underground mining earlier than discovering the choice of HPY sensor-based sorting. Nonetheless, not solely is the manufacturing fee not excellent, however as a result of the area within the underground channels may be very slender, we want personnel to take care of the errands, which makes the mining manufacturing very low and very unsafe.” He added: “After vertical crater retreat and huge blasting, numerous tailings and the unnecessarily excessive price generated within the mills in the course of the processing will be considerably decreased with an ore sorter; all we have to do is ship in carts, have it shoveled onto the bin, and have it crushed, screened and cabled to the sorters.”
Since its set up, HPY Expertise has upgraded its complete product line. With an enhanced sensor detection system and a remodelled module design that enables for straightforward upkeep, HPY’s machines’ processing capability considerably improves in contrast with the older fashions. By March 2023, after utilizing HPY’s machines for 4 years, Fankou – now a ‘royal buyer’ – was open and excited for one more spherical of machine upgrading to extend the quantity of sorted materials.
Upon HPY’s recommendation, the Fankou Mineral Processing Plant switched its 4 Basic Collection to 2 Circle Collection and one Golden Coal Collection (See Determine 2). The Golden Coal Collection was beforehand made to kind coal; after some updates and redesign by the HPY R&D workforce, it’s now made specifically for giant particle-sized ore sorting. In Fankou’s case, +40 mm-90 mm sized ores will enter the Golden Coal Collection for pre-concentration. As for the 2 Circle Collection on the aspect, their experience lies of their accuracy in sorting and huge processing capability that would exchange two typical conveyor belt-based sorters with one machine. Their particle dimension ranges from +10-40 mm, contemplating these are the most important distribution sizes produced in the course of the preliminary screening course of in Fankou. Nonetheless, in keeping with Mr Luo, Fankou remains to be within the means of optimisation now that the upgraded machines might course of larger dimension distributions: “Previously, ores which are bigger than 90 mm will enter straight into the SAG mill course of, we plan to extend the Circle Collection particle dimension to +10-60 mm and feed the +60-150 mm to the Golden Coal Collection, this may assist us enhance the effectivity of the semi-autogenous mill course of much more.”
The ore sorting course of modification consists of first eradicating one Basic Collection and changing it with a Golden Coal Collection. The set up and coaching course of took one month, and, by June 2023, the Golden Coal Collection was operating at whole capability. The 2 Circle Collection’ implementation stretched longer because the mine might solely halt its manufacturing for set up throughout extra prolonged holidays in October 2023 and February 2024. Due to this fact, it took the whole Fankou Mineral Processing Plant a 12 months to replace all the ore sorting machines (see Determine 3).
As talked about earlier than, the processing capability previous to the replace was round 2,500-2,600 t/d; after the machine replace was accomplished, it went as much as 3,500 t/d. A good thing about this replace is that the Circle Collection has much less energy consumption; thus, extra income is generated from the sorted ore. The round vibrating materials format maximises the symmetrical mass of the disc, requiring minimal excitation drive to drive the ore towards the circumferential path evenly. This considerably reduces power consumption in contrast with conventional feeders, which depend on excitation drive to maneuver underneath their very own weight, HPY says. In contrast with belt-type ore sorting tools with a width of 1.4 m, the power consumption of this 1.5-m diameter disc feeder machine will be decreased from 7.5 kW to 0.75 kW.
| HPY Expertise | Fankou lead-zinc Mine, Mineral Processing Plant | |
| Machine used | One Golden Coal Collection | Two Circle Collection |
| Processing capability | 3,500 t/d |
| Particle dimension | +10-150 mm |
| Concentrated ore grade | (Pb+Zn) 12% (most financial ore grade) |
| Waste rock grade | (Pb+Zn) <0.3% |
| Grinding grade | (Pb+Zn) elevated by 1.08% |
| Rejection fee | 16-17% |
The Chinese language authorities has ordered Fankou to shut its tailings pond by 2025. Because of the assist of HPY Expertise Golden Coal Collection coarse particle sorters, Fankou is ready to successfully lower its tailings pond and have 58% leftover tailings for backfill, it says. Within the shut circuit of the Fankou Mineral Processing Plant, each useful resource is used and no ore has gone to waste.
“At HPY, we’re centered on exploring paths that will revolutionise the mining of pure sources and pushing ahead sustainable extraction via our experience in useful resource administration,” Coral Lin, Supervisor of HPY Branding Division, says.
