I called in at the mineral processing laboratory of Wardell Armstrong International (WAI) this morning, only 9 miles from the MEI Office. WAI has extensive experience of ore testing and has a comprehensive client base, having undertaken metallurgical testwork for clients in over 50 countries on samples from areas including Europe, Africa, Russia, Canada and Australia.
As a result of client demand for a current copper porphyry project in Kazakhstan WAI has purchased a SAGDesign test mill from Comminution '16 sponsors Starkey & Associates of Canada. All this week, Jenna Hedderson of S&A has been at the lab near Truro to commission the mill with process engineer Ben Simpson.
 |
| Jenna and Ben explain the SAGDesign mill to me |
The mill is the SAG equivalent of the Bond Mill for steel ball mills, and the design, based on John Starkey's equations for mill scale-up, has proved very succesful worldwide, and certainly comparable to the JK Drop Weight Tester, also used to design full scale SAG mills, the SAGDesign mill requiring much smaller sample sizes while providing a wealth of data. WAI has had a Drop Weight Tester since mid 2013, so can now offer both industry standard solutions for laboratory scale testing, obviating the need for pilot-scale testwork.
This is Jemma's first trip to Europe, so it is a great shame that she has seen very little of Cornwall during this commissioning period. She has been a metallurgist with S&A for nearly 3 years, after graduating as a chemical engineer from Lakehead University, Ontario. WAI has 20 mineral processors on site, virtually all graduates from nearby Camborne School of Mines.
 |
| Jenna with WAI mineral processors Joe Marley, Garfield Stuart, Phil King, Barrie O'Connell and Ben Simpson |
.jpg)
Barry, thank you for taking time to meet Jenna and to prepare such a relevant explanation of the commissioning of the new SAGDesign test mill. There are now 6 operating plants, designed using SAGDesign technology, and all have achieved design tonnage without modification. Avoiding added capital expense after start up and achieving design production at startup, are two extremely important things that need to be corrected by proper SAG mill design. We are delighted to have a business partner in the UK (WAI) and look forward to visiting Cornwall in the near future.
ReplyDelete