Modern Mining April 2017

feature MODULAR PLANTS An example of a modular plant with FLSmidth’s REFLUX™ Classifier (RC™).

Modular REFLUX Classifier boosts

automated control units under factory condi- tions, before being fully tested and sent to site for quick and easy assembly of the various modules.” The modules themselves, which have a small footprint of only about 30 m 2 , are designed to international engineering standards in terms of safety, access and maintenance, so they will comply with requirements on any customer’s site. The modular RC™ can be installed either in an interstage or tailings treatment applica- tion, and can also be inserted as an add-on to existing sites. As the feed to the plant and the recovered product can be piped as a slurry, the modular plant can even be located ‘across the fence’ from the main plant. “An added advantage of the RC™ technol- ogy is that it is able to easily manage variations in feed and is far more forgiving as the feed con- ditions change,” says Hazell. FLSmidth’s modular offering focuses on 100 tonne per hour (tph) throughput, as this is the size best suited to fines recovery across a broad spectrum of commodities; however, the largest RC™ – the 3000 model – can process through- puts of up to 200 tph. “The technology works well on any applica- tion where specific gravity differences between product and reject are apparent,” he says. “It is already established in chromite recovery, espe- cially with platinum group metals from the

As Africa’s mining commodity focus has changed over the years, smaller mines with relatively low throughputs have come on stream, opening the door for FLSmidth’s REFLUX™ Classifier (RC™) with its superior fines recovery and modular construction.

A ccording to Roy Hazell, Sales Director for FLSmidth Sub- Sahara Africa, the RC™ has already proved itself in fines beneficiation in North America, Australia, Asia and parts of Africa, including South Africa. “This will increasingly become the technol- ogy of choice and will eventually replace other conventional technologies,” says Hazell. “It has successfully demonstrated its superiority in fines recovery over traditional technology such as spiral plants and teeter bed separators.” The modularisation of this solution also enhances its suitability for mine sites in remote areas, where many of the smaller mining opera- tions in Africa are located, he says. “The modular plant consists of modules of standard container sizes for each of the vari- ous stages of the process – from the oversize protection screens and feed tanks to the reflux classifier, dewatering screen, pumps and cyclone cluster,” he says. “The modules can be fabricated and fitted with the equipment and

38  MODERN MINING  April 2017