Mineração Taboca – Pitinga

Project highlights

• 33% increase in capacity with same footprint
• New high capacity HC1 R/S and HC1 spirals assembled in Brazil
• Design of control system for world class automated solution
• Complete solution from testwork to design and commissioning
• Significantly improved reliability and performance

Smart engineering

Utilising innovative plant design and new advances in spiral technology, Mineral Technologies delivered a design solution that upgraded the 1,200 tph plant to a 1,600 tph plant using the same footprint.

Adding to the significance of this achievement, the solution also included the design and installation of a sophisticated control system, which replaced the laborious manual operation with a world class automated solution. Other important aspects included on-site metallurgical testwork, analysis and strengthening of the building, complete redesign of the slurry distribution system, maximum utilisation of existing equipment and complete redesign of slurry piping.

As well as upgrades to the spiral plant, Mineral Technologies designed an upgrade to the plant stockpiling and feeding system. This involved the expansion and strengthening of an underground concrete tunnel for the stockpile reclaim conveyor, along with upgrades to the existing mill feed conveyors and feeders. This plant feed system was fully integrated into the new control system to provide a reliable steady feed to the plant.

These innovative design solutions significantly improved plant reliability and process performance, thereby directly improving overall plant production. In addition to the detailed design, Mineral Technologies located a team on-site to provide coordination and technical support for the procurement, construction and commissioning of the plant upgrades. Our teams worked closely with local contractors and Mineração Taboca to ensure the plant was delivered as designed.