Modern Mining June 2018

COMPANIES

can walk the plants with clients and see first- hand the conditions that they face.” Axis House has the capacity to introduce some novel chemistry where this is suitable, but also has other development work that can source similar products from other industries or from waste streams on site that are not being utilised. “This can allow us to introduce a reduction in pricing, or even bring previously unafford- able chemicals more within reach of a mine’s budget,” she said. As a result of its years of experience in the DRC and Zambia, the company specialises in the flotation of copper and cobalt; but other minerals have not been ignored. “We are growing to become a global brand in areas that include commodities like gold and platinum – among a range of miner- als that can be floated,” said Stubbs. “While constantly extending our product mix in our existing markets, we are also getting this mix into other regions – such as the gold segment in West Africa. Gold is a natural progression for us and we are busy leveraging our secure footprint in Africa – which is a market where our years of experience allow us to operate very comfortably.” She highlighted that there were currently more flotation plants coming on stream in the gold sector than in any other mineral. “Our testwork has indicated that much of our current product mix can be applied to other minerals such as gold,” she said. “Many mines would like to steer away from the expense and potential environmental hazard of cyanide in leaching so we are actively researching alterna- tives; we hope to have progress to roll out to the market in about six months.” The research collaboration with mining companies allows Axis House to work together with the mine’s technical team to decide which tests – and how many – will be conducted at the Cape Town laboratory. “We then present an interim report to the cli- ent with our findings and proposals,” she says. “They then respond, giving feedback on issues such as their required grades, cut-off levels, or cost-effectiveness of the proposed solutions.” This constant interaction with the client is the hallmark of Axis House, where R&D is conducted until a solution can be found that is mutually sustainable. This generally involves a pilot plant trial, following by trials on at least three different mine sites within a period of about three months – to generate sufficient data on which to base a roll-out. “Only at this stage is the solution considered

for a territorial or total market roll-out,” said Stubbs. “We don’t roll-out solutions based on one success; what works with one client may not work somewhere else.” When conducting trials on site, Axis House sends in experts to collect data from the flota- tion tanks for two weeks to a month beforehand – using the client’s system or its own flotation matrix probe to set the parameters for the trial. “Only by fully understanding and filtering out the ‘background noise’ in the plant opera- tion can we be confident of any performance improvement that we predict,” she said. “Our aim is to propose a solution that raises recover- ies 3-4% or more.” Platinum is another important mineral in which Axis House will be exploring potential. Geographically, it is also looking beyond Africa, to where there is also scope for expan- sion in the main copper-producing regions. “We have already begun our growth into South America, where we have been active for over a year and a half – with an office in Peru,” said Stubbs. “Our next target is Chile, where we plan to open an office in a year or two. Our approach to customer service makes it important that we have an office presence in the countries where we are active.” The Axis House range includes mining chemicals for flotation – including proprietary flotation technology, primary and secondary collectors, the Hydrofroth range of frothers, and sulphidising agents – as well as depres- sants, thickeners, hydrometallurgical reagents and laboratory chemicals. Report by Paul Crankshaw, photos courtesy of Axis House

Rinkalore Booster, an oxide and industrial minerals collector, being inspected at the company’s warehouse.

“We don’t roll-out solutions based on one success; what works with one client may not work somewhere else.”

June 2018  MODERN MINING  47