Weir Minerals and Eriez have joined forces to cooperatively design and develop coarse particle flotation (CPF) systems as both seek to boost separation efficiency while also reducing customers’ water and energy consumption.
Eric Bain Wasmund, vice president of Eriez global flotation business, said the technology, which also has the benefit of producing safer tailings, is a “step-change improvement” versus the conventional flotation system.
“The cooperation allows both companies to better connect the Eriez equipment with the slurry classification and conveying expertise of Weir Minerals,” Weir Minerals division president Ricardo Garib added.
“As mining companies look to optimize their plant and processes while also reducing their carbon footprint, we’ll see CPF being more widely adopted.”
Eriez’s products include the HydroFloat Separator for coarse particle mineral concentration, delivering the capacity of a density separator while maintaining the selectivity of a flotation device. Using a novel aeration system to disperse fine bubbles into a fluidized-bed environment, the HydroFloat Separator significantly increases the selective recovery of coarse particles by applying flotation fundamentals to gravity separation.
Garib said the new collaboration is an enhancement of Weir’s all-of-mine capabilities. The company’s existing line-up for plant and processing needs includes Warman pumps, Cavex hydrocyclones, GEHO positive displacement pumps, Linatex rubber products and Enduron HPGRs.
“We have an Integrated Solutions team – made up of a diverse range of product experts, process engineers, design engineers and materials scientists, among others – that works closely with miners to deliver reliable solutions that help solve their specific problems,” Garib noted.
“In the current regulatory environment and with an increased focus on ESG issues, miners are being asked to produce more with less and CPF systems are a vital technology that allows them to do that. We’re excited to partner with a company like Eriez because its technology perfectly complements the solutions Weir Minerals currently provides.”