Expecting the Canadian Mineral Processors Conference To Provide A “Gold Mine” of Information

You can expect a ‘gold mine’ of great information at the Annual Canadian Mineral Processor (CMP) Conference. This year’s conference, being held in Ottawa on January 17, 2017, will feature presentations on various aspects of mineral processing including comminution, flotation, gold and iron ore processing, mineralogy, mill optimization, process control and projects.

CMP aims to provide an open and friendly forum for Mineral Processing Operators throughout the world to meet, network and exchange technical information. In fact, CMP had its beginning as an operator-oriented group called the Canadian Gold Metallurgists with the same focus of obtaining the lowest cost per ton of ore milled and highest recovery. If you are looking for innovative and practical mineral processing industry information, you can be sure you will find it at this conference.

Tom Strombotne will be presenting a paper on how the Meadowbank Mine in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut in Canada uses an on-line particle size analyzer to optimize the grind size and improve gold recovery. The mine opened in 2010 and from 2010 to 2014 a total of 1.8M oz of gold was produced. The milling rate is 4.2 Mt per year with an average mill throughput of 11,900 tpd or 496 tph. Gold production in 2015 was 381,804 oz. and silver was 221,000 oz., Meadowbank was Agnico-Eagle’s largest Gold producer in 2015.

Tom Strombotne will discuss in detail how the particle size analyzer acquires its sample from a static sampler located at the primary cyclone overflow and provides particle size and percent solids analysis in real time. Continuous control of the final grinding circuit product size is important to minimize gold losses. At Meadowbank Mine, the on-line particle size analyzer has been employed successfully to achieve the targeted final grind while coping with frequent ore type changes, leading to a substantial increase in revenue by minimizing gold losses and over-grinding.

Gold plants have successfully deployed online analyzers to gain continuous, real-time accurate and reliable analysis of grind size – and have been able to achieve the targeted final grind – for many years. The live monitoring of the final product particle size leads to a maximum grinding circuit throughput every minute during the process, even as the milling conditions change due to variable mill feed conditions. The Meadowbank success story is an example of where proper installation, operation and maintenance of the analyzer led to its utilization as a trustworthy and accurate tool for grinding circuit control whereby benefits in throughput, recovery and energy utilization are achieved.

We believe the original Canadian Gold Metallurgists would be impressed at how today’s technology is helping to maximize recovery rates.

If you are going to the conference, make sure you attend the 2:00 pm presentation on the 17th. And if you have any extra time after the Conference to explore the city of Ottawa, the hotel is connected to Ottawa’s premier shopping center and is just ten minutes away from Parliament Hill, an area considered the architectural and cultural heart of the city. This Canadian capital is also home to a variety of museums, and the country’s oldest continually operating year-round farmers’ market.

If you can’t make it to the event and would like a copy of the presentation, please comment below and send your contact information to advancing.mining@thermofisher.com. For more mining and minerals information, visit our online Cement, Coal & Minerals Resource Library.

Presentation Details:

Canadian Mineral Processors Conference
January 17, 2017
2:00 Presentation
Westin Hotel, Ottawa, Canada