Modern Mining December 2023

MATERIALS HANDLING

Aside from developing innovative ways to re-use water in the processing plant and overall operations, FLSmidth’s technologies are targeting water savings in tailings storage facilities (TSF). According to McKay, given the drive for safer tailings dams, there has been a move away from tra ditional wet tailings dams to “more dry state TSFs”. “As mines are huge consumers of water and energy, especially at their processing facilities, min ing houses actively seek out efficient solutions and technologies such as HPGR, which aids in reducing water and power consumption dramatically.” Targeting carbon neutrality itself by 2030, the technology specialist is actively tracking its own performance at its upstream and downstream operations. “We are focused on turning our operations around to meet our MissionZero agenda and are working closely with our clients to achieve their net zero emissions agenda as well,” explained McKay. He concluded: “From a social impact perspec tive, we concentrate on our employees and those of our clients and suppliers, and work consciously to ensure a safe environment. No matter where we operate, be it in the office, the plant or the mine itself, we look towards bringing people home safely, every single day.” 

– which increase productivity by a further 20% while simultaneously reducing energy consumption by 15%,” explained McKay. “We can deliver innovations to help lower the CO₂ footprint within mine pits and in product transport via conveyor-belt systems. In fact, simply by installing an overland conveyor system, a client which operates a copper mine in Zambia, recently achieved an energy saving of roughly 33 000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year.”

feature Stockholding at the FLSmidth Stormill Service Centre in South Africa.

26  MODERN MINING  December 2023