Modern Mining October 2021

COVER STORY

generally researched from South Africa. Axis House believes that a feasible way into a new market is through “people that are already on the ground”. The company therefore strongly believes in working with local partners, be they agents or joint ventures. “We look at what each territory requires. If it’s technical sales driven, then the market requires a lot of tech- nical support. If it’s more supply chain sales driven, then it needs warehous- ing infrastructure and people on the ground. It doesn’t really matter what the need is, we will find a fit for each market. I absolutely believe that hav- ing feet on the ground is the better way to do it,” says Stubbs. New minerology and technical products Apart from new territories, Axis House has a strong focus on expanding its products into new metal process- ing applications. Over the last year, says Heynes, the company has been focused on developing new technical

reagents, not only for its bread and butter– copper and cobalt – but also for new commodities including PGMs (platinum group metals) and gold. Traditionally, adds Stubbs, the company was more copper and cobalt focused. Going forward, flo- tation in PGMs and in gold is a big growth area for Axis House. The company has in the past 18 months introduced a range of new products to cater for these commodities. Axis House has manufactured a range of products specifically for the gold and PGMs markets, and these include primary collectors, depressants, flocculants and frothers. Axis House has brought to market its new HydroFroth™ range, which can be tailored for both gold and PGMs. Optimal froth conditions are created by effectively controlling the laminar layer develop- ment and allowing for proper gangue drainage. Combined with improved water rejection ability that promotes final concentrate grade improvements, the HydroFroth range also speeds up kinetics whilst maintaining froth mobility. In terms of flocculants, Axis House has further developed their Brontë range, which can be tailored for both PGMs and gold. Polyacrylamides with a range of different charge strengths and molecular weight improve the settling rate at various solid and liquid separation stages in mineral processing, such as thickening of flotation concentrates, recovery of pregnant leach liquors and dewatering of tailings. A range of collectors for the gold market include the DGQ4, MGQ2 and the TGQ4. The DGQ4 has

Sharing of knowledge, adds Heynes, has been absolutely important for Axis House’s growth. Leveraging a wide global footprint and a deep understanding of the global chemicals markets, the company is able to combine the collective knowledge of its experts across milling, flotation, sedimentation, leaching and analytics, with its world class R&D capabilities to tailor solutions that fully address individual client needs. Expanding footprint To unlock its next growth chapter, Axis House is looking to expand its footprint into new markets. “Looking ahead, the world is now our territory, not just Africa,” declares Stubbs. The global expansion commenced last year with a strong focus on North Africa, Middle East and Europe “South America is interesting, although it’s a con- servative market, we are confident of growth in this region,” says Stubbs, adding that Axis House has observed an increased demand for oxide collectors in South America. “Oxide collectors are one of our strong points. It is where the company’s background lies. We believe that oxide collectors are a great product to take the lead into this market, rather than other overtraded products such as flocculants and frothers, where most clients would likely prefer home grown than imported solutions,” says Stubbs. Commenting on how this territorial expansion is being rolled out, Stubbs says a new market is

The froth column test is used to compare frothers in terms of froth rise rate, stability and rate decay.

12  MODERN MINING  October 2021