April 15th, 2004

KCGM gravity circuit takes to the road as the truck departs from the premises of ConSep Pty, Knelson's Australian manufacturing licensee in Sydney, enroute to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

An aerial view of Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines "Superpit ", taken January 2003. - click image to enlarge.

AUSTRALIA - After a comprehensive review, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, a Newmont/Barrick JV, has purchased Knelson Gravity Solutions / ConSep gravity recovery equipment for both their Mt Charlotte and Fimiston processing plants.

The new gravity circuit will recover free gold from each milling circuit, with the gravity concentrate leached in a central gravity leaching plant. The gravity circuit will consist of five 300tph KC-XD48 Knelson Concentrators and a 6tpd CS6000 ConSep ACACIA Reactor .

“The installation at KCGM represents the second large scale operation in the region in the last 18 months that has selected our increased capacity 300tph XD48 units,” stated Mike McLeavy, KGS Territory Manager for Australasia . “The success of the Freeport installation with their 12 high-capacity XD48 concentrators was a key factor in the decision making process.”

Once commissioned the KCGM installation will be the largest Knelson installation in Australia and the first to select Knelson's revolutionary new FLEX*Flo cone technology. This innovative feature enables the end user to select from a wide range of fluidization profiles that can be customized to meet the specific duty.

“We understand just how important fluidization kinetics are and how they can affect recovery performance and the FLEX*Flo feature really allows us to optimize this critical process,” added McLeavy.

The gravity circuit, which is being engineered and managed by Kalgoorlie-based Worley Engineering , will be commissioned by mid 2004.

Each of the two ball mill circuits in the Fimiston plant will have two 300tph KC-XD48 concentrators installed into the cyclone underflow. The smaller Mount Charlotte Mill will require only one KC-XD48 concentrator.

KCGM undertook a thorough test work program involving both Gravity Recoverable Gold (GRG) test work and Knelson concentrator pilot trials on site. GRG testing was performed and documented in parallel by the Knelson Research and Technology Centre (KRTC) and the Parker Centre.

Extensive testing of mill streams were performed on site using ConSep's automated Knelson KC-CD12 Pilot Plant. The test work revealed that KCGM has significant quantities of free gold within their ore that can be efficiently recovered with Knelson technology.

KCGM produces up to 850,000 ounces of gold a year at the Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) and Mt Charlotte operations. The “Super Pit” is the largest open pit gold mine in the country.

Knelson Gravity Solutions (KGS) caters to global clients requiring gravity concentration expertise and turnkey processing solutions. KGS provides gravity testing, circuit modeling, process development, detail engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation and commissioning services for fully integrated modular gravity circuits.

Email this story to a friend.