AnStat-330 Online Sampling and Elemental Analysis Station

Integrating sampling and analysis into one product is the best solution. Placing the analyzer within the sampler eliminates any scope for settling or sedimentation. This approach ensures dedicated real-time measurement with minimal risk of blockage. On the CAPEX front, this approach reduces piping design hours and expenditures on pumping. On an ongoing basis, integration minimizes maintenance and operation costs. The off-the-shelf solution, Thermo Scientific AnStat-330 Sampling and Analysis Station, encapsulates this approach. As a low head loss system, it offers market-leading availability and is well-matched to applications requiring high frequency dedicated measurement.

Thermo Scientific samplers and analyzers have the lowest head loss on the market. This helps minimizing the need for additional piping and pumps. Our solutions can help reduce costs of new plants by sensing and sorting waste and ore prior to stockpiles and plant feed. This diversion of below cut-off grade ore and waste enables a smaller plant footprint.

Dedicated analyzers can be placed close to the sample point to minimize the need for additional piping and often avoids the need for a pump. The Thermo Scientific AnStat-330 Sampling and Analysis Station is a dedicated analyzer that also incorporates an industry leading statistically representative sampling station. It has the lowest head loss of any analyzer on the market which enables its placement downstream of the sample point thereby using gravity to take the sample to the analyzer.

To fully monitor the recirculating load, it is also necessary to monitor the rougher and scavenger concentrates and cleaner tailing streams. As recirculating loads tend to build up slowly with time, these analyses are not required on a minute-by-minute basis so these streams can be monitored with a lower cost-per-stream centralized analyzer.

If the critical streams are monitored frequently operators should be able to control the plant to achieve overall stability and best metallurgical results at minimum cost. The less critical intermediate streams can then be monitored at a lower frequency for the fine tuning of the circuit.

The degree of confidence required in the assay-based control decisions and the rate of change in the process must be known. Streams that are more critical for control of the plant need to be monitored more frequently. Trends in plant performance will then be shown in more detail, showing effect of feed grade changes or control actions on grade in real-time and giving greater confidence in control decisions. For example, in a base metal concentrator, the main objective might be to adjust target tails based on varying feed grade while producing a particular concentrate grade in the cleaners. Dedicated online sampling and analysis with AnStat-430 stations on the rougher feed, final tails and final concentrate, coupled with an MSA-430 Multiplexed analyser on intermediate streams such as rougher concentrate and in the cleaner circuit, provides a balance of capital cost with optimized assay update frequency to achieve good control of plant processes.