Lead and zinc concentrate filtration plant

Description

Mount Isa Mines, which is one of Australia's largest mining companies and is owned by Glencore, the country's second biggest producer of copper (6 million tpa) and also holds the biggest zinc reserves in the world (4.5 million tpa). Its facilities include plants for processing zinc and lead concentrates.

TH first worked with Mt Isa Mines in 2012, when it was awarded the contract for an initial filtration plant with an APN18 SL40 filter press and an APN SIX40C slurry feed pump. The plant, which went into operation that same year, guarantees the production of concentrate with moisture levels of less than 9 per cent.

The customer sought to ensure the output and moisture levels required in the process and to reduce operating and maintenance costs.
The goals set were achieved, so Mt Isa Mines once again put its trust in TH with the commissioning in 2015 of another APN18 SL40 filter press, enabling output at the new filtration plant to be doubled. Installing and commissioning this filter press was achieved in record time, with the filter press producing zinc concentrate to specification less than two weeks after the filter press was delivered to the site.