Recover Gold On The Move! Hard Rock Mining Equipment On A Trailer

We are proud to introduce the RDGK mining equipment trailer for hard rock gravity gold processing. 

Our first ‘plant on wheels’ was the RG30-T, a trailer version of the RG30 mobile wash plant and concentrator, which was neatly and cleverly designed to allow you to simply unfold the required components and get into production quickly and efficiently. Following its success we wanted to do the same but, this time, with a hard rock plant. We are finished with the engineering, research and development and are proud to bring you the RDGK-T, a small scale hard rock plant on wheels!

Rated at approximately 1t/hr to 1.5t/hr feed in field the RD15 wet impact fines grinder is driven by a 15KW Diesel engine. Accompanied by the GoldKacha Concentrator run by a  5.5KVA Generator which can also be used to run lights and electricity if a camp is set up.

All of the above is set up on a 15inch two wheeled heavy duty fully braked trailer with spare wheel fully equipped with stabilisers and jockey wheel. There is a  hand winch system to lower the GoldKacha to operating height on scissor frame.

A great mobile exploration or production plant for gold from hard rock feed  of less then -30mm (feed can have up to 45 % fines inclusion) at approximately 1t/hr. (You can pre-crush feed rock with a Jaw Crusher /we have the JC25 Jaw Crusher with diesel drive on skid base available). Just hook up a 2inch petrol or diesel drive  water pump to the system and you are away. (fuel consumption:- approx. 3.8lt hr diesel and 500ml petrol on genset per hour).

This mining equipment trailer hard rock plant is available in Southern Africa right now at $19950 plus VAT. Please contact us for details. 

If you would like to see this plant in action before purchase, we can arrange to do a demonstration at various sites. Videos will be released online too! For the moment, please see a very basic and short video of our RDGK standalone plant video here. Please take note, this video is simply the standalone version and not the trailer version.

Please contact us for further information on any equipment. We often hold plant sales and perform demonstrations so if you would be interested in receiving this information, please email us and we will add you to our mailing list.

Modular Flotation System: TriFloat® is here!

Aimed specifically at the smaller to medium flotation market, APT has designed a modular flotation system that offers a number of unique advantages over conventional systems. Based upon APT's tried and tested triangular configuration mixing vessel, TriFloat® utilizes the same high efficiency mixing to enhance flotation physics and hence rate. Watch the video for the TriFloat® here! Configuration advantages 

In a TriFloat® system, six flotation stages are arranged in a circle for a neat and tidy arrangement. One distinct advantage of this arrangement is that at a small scale, all six mechanisms are driven from a single central drive motor, resulting in significant space and cost savings. Another advantage is that the six sectors can be separated flow-wise and allocated to roughing, scavenging and cleaning all in one compact arrangement. APT's process engineer, Hannah Peacocke, continues "for example, the first three sectors could be roughers, the second two scavengers and the final one a cleaner. This makes the system truly modular and highly attractive to smaller operators who need flexabililty". Alternatively, a complete TriFloat® module of six sectors could be allocated to each duty as seen in the schematic below.

Schematic representation of APT TriFloat® as Rougher, Scavenger and Cleaner modules

Flow advantages 

Products are easily moved around the circuit by pumps arranged radially, making for a very user friendly set up. Stage tailings simply flow through the wall to the next sector, making for a logical arrangement. With a high lip length to volume ratio, and the advantageous placement of the mixing mechanism, froth is removed easily and efficiently.

Piloting 

APT has developed a bench scale system for testing as well as for making comparisons against conventional laboratory tests. A larger batch pilot unit has also been developed and tested for batch pilot testing. Initial results show APT TriFloat® to be superior to conventional square section lab flotation cells and particularly suitable for high yield materials like graphite and high sulphide materials.

Applicability testing 

APT are able to test client's material through associate mineral testwork laboratory Peacocke & Simpson. Batch laboratory tests as well as locked cycle can be performed and as a subsequent phase 60kg batch pilot tests can also be conducted.

Contact us today! 

Please contact us for more information on APT's modular flotation system and let us know your specific needs, as always we are happy to help and get you going on your mining journey today!

Small Scale Hard Rock Grinder and Upgrade Plant: APT RocSmasha

APT  have added an innovative, cost effective  new product to their Groundbreaker Range with this small scale hard rock grinder, the Roc Smasha. This small scale hard rock grinder offers a much larger range of miners the option of mechanical grinding. This means that more material can be processed increasing the probability for successful results. Its simple but functional design ensures easy use and maintenance features. The RocSmasha is portable and offers dry and wet grinding options, wet grinding ensuring no dust contamination on the environment following APT’s environmentally conscience philosophy. The RocSmasha is sold alongside the APT GoldMasta gold sluice as well as 2 panning dishes, making this a complete, affordable gold liberation kit. Interchangeable screen cartridge for ware replacement and tuning is provided. This small scale hard rock grinder plant can be purchased on APT's online store here, and more can be read about it on our website here. The RocSmasha small scale hard rock grinder has a maximum feed size of 20mm with a throughput of 50-100kg/h. Portability makes it perfect for moving from site to site either for small scale production or exploration. A 3kW Gasoline engine drive means low energy consumption. The hard rock material is fed through the feed chute using a small shovel or by hand, it is then crushed to size. The hard rock is reduced by RocSmasha’s unique offset blade hammers ensuring a high  kinetic impact and “early liberation” of free gold  from the inherent fracture planes, further reduction grind is imparted through the grinding path within the easy change screen plate cassette.

The wet slurry discharge  is fed onto a GoldMasta Sluice over the unique APT GoldMatt ensuring very efficient recovery of free gold, (the APT GoldMatt being washed out at intervals for  free gold collection). This small scale hard rock grinder plant is the perfect affordable mining solution.

For minerals such as tantalite, tin, tungsten etc. the screen plate cassette aperture can be changed easily to suit mineral type and a special type of vortex matting is placed in the sluice tray for best recovery of  these minerals.

Entry level mining’s new dynamics: An artisanal approach

Mining across the globe has for very many years been stuck in a time warp at entry level. Most entry level artisanal miners are still relying on archaic methods of processing despite major technological advancement in this field. This is due to many factors. These artisanals have little spare means and in many cases may rely on milling centres that may employ low recovery up front methods. Of course there are other parameters that dictate mineral processing at this level. Such as seasonal mining, to suit climatic and agricultural needs. Often we see that artisanal miners drop mining for agriculture or vice versa, as and when the season suits. If they do it is usually because they may not have time to undertake both. With this in mind, APT have developed a range of entry level mineral processing systems that can save the artisanal miner much time and thus ensure that both mining and agricultural practice can be employed concurrently. Not only is this vital aspect is addressed, but also the mineral processing will be cleaner and more efficient. Sure there is the cost factor up front for such new processing that could balk artisanal miners. They do quickly grasp the benefits in recovery and time, and with correct guidance are able to embrace the new methods.

There are a number of ways where the APT Groundbreaker technology can be incorporated into Artisanal Mining operations, which will benefit communities and the environment as a whole. Let’s go over these briefly; enter the junior mining companies that require good corporate social responsibility programmes. And, the entrepreneur who has access to means, who may well be in a position to assist and offer a synergistic arrangement that benefits both the entrepreneur and the artisanal miners. Or, environmental and aid organisations, that are looking at best practices in the field. Equally, the artisanal miners can, themselves, consider forming cooperatives to offer best practice processing centres on a combined level.

APT are always available to discuss the benefits of their product range, which can be configured to each miners particular needs. This includes gravity gold and silver processing, on surface oxides (mercury free), or coltan in surface resource, tin, chromite and gemstones. We want interact with the miners for the benefit of mining communities as a whole. We assure you of our whole hearted effort to ensure correct and optimum processes are delivered.

Obviously all the aspects mentioned above require commitment in the form of financial input and in, field participation and work. APT are open to discussing your needs. Foremost is the fact that the entry level miner usually exists on both agricultural and mining for a living, moving between one or the other as the weather dictates.

Over the past few years, APT has been steadily proving up and entering into the market a range of innovative minerals processing equipment, specifically aimed at artisanal miners which will improve the efficiency, profitability and environments efficacy of their operations. Having identified the need for this technology, APT have done numerous field and laboratory trials ensuring optimum environmental and recovery methods.

CATA Mine Tanzania Pours First Gold

CATA Mine in Tanzania, has produced their first gold pour and we at APT send them a hearty congratulations! The CATA gravity and cyanidation plant was supplied and installed by APT in response to the mine’s request to have the best technology available. APT responded with the supply of a gravity tower including the renowned Knelson concentrator coupled with a top of the range Consep Acacia reactor to treat gravity the Knelson gravity concentrates. The gravity tailings are then treated in two of APT’s state of the art TriTank reactors in CIL mode. Reagent dosing, elution and smelting completes the package. At a startup capacity of 40tph and further modules can be added to double that throughput.

“We believe this is the most advanced gravity/cyanidation package operating in Tanzania”, said business development officer Gary McFarlane. “It is a flagship APT installation that both we and the client can be justifiably proud of”, he said. The plant was also supplied with one of APT’s Field Laboratories with facilities to monitor plant performance as well as undertake analysis of exploration samples.

“We are currently in the process of supplying the much smaller APT TriTank20, especially designed to offer the same advanced technology to small scale operators. This not only demonstrates our commitment to the smaller players, but also offers a means for larger mining houses to pilot this advanced system”, said McFarlane.

We wish CATA every success in their future operations, it is a pleasure to have been of service to this forward thinking mining company.

   

Fig 1 CATA tower and tanks under construction in record time

Figure 2 The completed installation – neat, tidy, functional and efficient

Should you wish to know anything more about APT's gravity/cyanidation plants, please give us a phone call on (0027) 11 704 6678 or email us on info@aptprocessing.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Mining Equipment That Is Simple, Clean and Efficient: the signature of tomorrow’s plants

Mine Equipment That Is Simple, Clean and Efficient – the signature of tomorrow’s modular mineral processing plants

Have you ever walked through the set-up of a large minerals processing plant and seen obvious flaws like mis-routed piping, stairways climbing over and around obstacles, etc? Chances are that it was also a mess with slurry all over the place and puddles here and there.

Apart from the difficulty of working with and in such an environment, you can bet your bottom dollar that there is a real cost to be paid for this, because inefficient engineering means inefficient operation.

Nothing is perfect, but we at APT are constantly striving to get closer and closer to it. APT’s plants incorporate surge capacity at critical points and planning for overflows, should they happen. Logical flow is as important as flow logic, carefully planning routings from the 2-D flowsheet to the 3-D installation.

Ergonomics, ease of maintenance and, and yes, a good looking plant are all objectives of the process. If it looks good it is invariably pleasant to work in and believe it or not, studies have shown that a pleasant environment results in higher productivity from the workers. Clean, neat and tidy unit operations are also much easier to automate, should that be required at build or in a subsequent phase. APT’s designers pay particular attention to spacial arrangement and pleasing aspect. Our plants are colourful, good looking and inviting to operate in. All plants should be functional, but APT is looking to go well beyond that to another level of operability.

Fig 1 Alluvial + Hard Rock Mine Equipment; an APT RD50 Combo plant. A clean and tidy arrangement.

 

Fig 2 APT complete (12 sector) CIL TriTank plant, extremely neat and tidy and the benefits of this design go well beyond aesthetics

Fig 3 The mine equipment shown here is the same plant as the above, here you can see an adjacent gravity tower with intensive cyanidation module in the base.

Gem Stone Recovery Plants From APT

Already well renowned for gold as well as gravity recovery of base metals, APT has designed and launched a series of plant designs for gem stone recovery.

“Gemstones have various properties that enable separation and recovery, some have a higher SG than the gangue, like diamonds and rubies and can be separated by gravity techniques. Some fluoresce and can be sorted under UV light, like diamonds, and in some cases it is down to simple eye recognition with hand sorting, like amethyst,” said CEO and chief technical adviser Kevin Peacocke.  Whatever the recovery system dictated, the first requirement is to thoroughly disintegrate the host to liberate the gem and in the process remove the fine silt and clay. The physical properties of the gems in the resulting gravel can then be utilized to the full extent to make the separation.

This first stage is typically achieved in one of APT’s renowned RG scrubbers which are legendary in breaking up tough clays as well as loose agglomerates. The deep drum design of the scrubber means that autogenous attritioning takes place and the tumbling action thoroughly cleans the surface of the gems without mechanically breaking them. Drum speed can be varied to obtain the most optimal action for each case.

The resulting slurry is then screened on the in-built trammel to recover the gem containing gravels to the oversize whilst discarding the fines. Spray jets complete the cleaning process and the gravels are ready for the next step. If the gem has a high SG, this will typically utilize a jig, and sometimes an extra jig is added to treat the coarse oversize as there may just be a few large bonus stones to be recovered.

In its simplest form the screened gravels are directed to a picking belt where practiced eyes scalp off the coloured gems, as is the case with amethyst or other silica crystal species.

 

Figure 1  APT RG200 scrubber suitable for 20tph operation 

Piloting and small scale production

Being APT, the smaller scale has not been neglected. A small scrubbing , screening and jigging plant is available for the 1-3tph scale which greatly enhances the capability of the artisanal sector. “The same unit can of course be used as a pilot plant for large operations, or as an exploration tool”, said Peacocke, who explains that a similar unit has recently been commissioned in Mozambique for this purpose.

Figure 2  APT RG30 pilot plant for 1-3tph, with jig separation

Testing

APT can test your samples through their associate laboratory Peacocke & Simpson, fully equipped to handle large bulk samples of up to one tonne.

Contact info@aptprocessing.com for more details.

Scotland Mining: Scotgold Commissioned In Record Time

Scotland mining recently took a step forward with the successful installation and commission of a pilot plant APT engineered and built for Scotgold Resources Limited, a mine located near the picturesque Scottish village of Tyndrum. Although small, the plant marks a significant milestone for the company in that actual production is envisaged. The plant was built by APT South Africa in a record time of just four weeks and even more remarkable was that assembly on site and commissioning through to operation was achieved in just two days. “This project was of significant importance to both APT and our client”, said Business Development exec Gary McFarlane who participated on site himself. “We are acutely aware, as are our clients, of the difficulty in raising capital for project funding and the demonstration of actual production even at small scale should greatly assist the process”, he said. APT produces a range of standard small plants suitable for rapid implementation for either piloting or actual production from high-grade ore bodies.

“APT is proud to have been of service to Scotgold Resources and wishes the company every success”, said McFarlane.

Starting Mining? Here's How: Everything You Need To Know!

Starting mining can at first thought seem to be a daunting process if you are entirely new to the industry, and if you do have some experience you may have an idea of what you want but require some expertise and guidance from people who are willing to share their experience and knowledge to help you advance. Here we have developed a general guide when it comes to starting mining, specifically for the small scale entrepreneur. This article is targeted at the upper oxide near surface occurences, alluvial (surface level) or elluvial deposits that would be amenable to free dig.

NOTE! This article is not intended to be a rigorous guide to mining/processing and the opinions expressed are those of the author only. APT takes no responsibility for the outcome of your project from utilizing some or all of this information.

1. What to produce?

• Establish what mineral or metal you want to produce, for example gold metal or chromite concentrate. You may already have this established because you know an area where it can be produced, but don’t rush in too early.

• Look at the potential rewards in making your decision. Look at the price now, and the trends. For example chromite today may have only a marginal price, but on internet you can see that the price curve is going up and has been doing so steadily for some time. So if it makes sense now, it should get much better with time.

• Is there an easy market for what you want to produce? How much will it cost to transport the final product to the buyer? For example a tonne of chromite concentrate will need to be bagged at the mine, trucked to a port, loaded on board, shipped to destination port and maybe even trucked to the buyer. A kilogram of gold, however, can normally be carried personally to a buying center nearby.

• Is the process well known and easy, or will you have to start something completely new? The easier to do, the less risk, but if you are up to learning the ropes a lesser known product may entail less market opposition and maybe put you ahead of the pack. For example, a deposit with fine tantalite as the target is more difficult to extract than chromite, but less people can do it.

• Are there any rules or laws in place that could get in the way? For example, there may be a ban on the export of chromite concentrates.

1. Do I have a target area?

   • The general proximity of most minerals is usually known, but the geology dictates that there will be zones of concentration and it is finding these that makes the difference between a good and a bad project. For example an erosional deposit that has collected into a depression will be far more productive than a thin occurrence on the back of a saddle. This is normally a job for an expert geologist and it is worth the time and money to seek their advice. We are not talking about a broad exploration programme here which is aimed at finding a large, new mineral deposit, but rather zoning in upon an area that is known to be productive from past production, or even your own prospecting.

   • Is there any history? Checking historical records in the local mining office will give insight to the grades they found and the production. You may also find some local knowledge from someone who once worked there. Take it all in with an open mind, you can sort out the important facts later.

   • Is there current production in the area? If there is, can you ascertain who is doing well and who is not? It is very easy to generate a Google Earth image of the area and you can then plot all the producers on it and then grade them by colour – red for the best going to blue for the worst, or diggings you can see have been abandoned. A line of red dots is a strong indicator of where you should be, especially if you can pick up some geological feature that corresponds to it. Look for the same feature some distance away that may have been displaced by a fault or an intrusion, and if there is no working there it becomes a strong target for you to explore.

2. Is this a good spot in the area?

   • Once you have a general area in mind, you will need to explore more closely to find the best spot. In small mining this is closing down to a few hundred square metres.

   • Before you can begin this process you will need to secure title to the area which can involve anything from registering claims to purchasing rights. This varies so much from country to country that it cannot be defined here, but needless to say make sure you are legal and empowered or it may all be for someone else.

   • Pinpoint exploration or prospecting can now begin in earnest, which as the first step usually involves panning soil samples or hand pulverized rocks on site. Only when you are sure you are zoned in is it worth submitting samples to a laboratory to quantify your findings. Submitting large numbers of blank samples is an expensive game, in terms of time as well as money. A simple field pulveriser and a set of pans should be good enough to achieve this target.

• The next step is to ascertain whether you can recover the target well enough in simple processing. This usually translates into gravimetric methods to minimize environmental impact. The best way to do this is to take a few hundred kilograms of as representative a sample as possible. Include what you would actually be digging in practice, but do not include random blank gangue ‘to be conservative’. You can always bring in your factors later, but for now we need the straight facts. Give the lab clear instructions that they are to test recovery with the minimum of complexity possible. They should begin with the easy steps, like scrubbing to see what is free and liberated naturally. They can then progressively crush to see what more comes out, and finally resort to ball mill grinding to get the ultimate liberation. By plotting the recovery at each stage it is obvious where the best return comes from and that is usually in the initial scrubbing stage. APT have developed a system whereby the secondary crushing of the competent rock as well as some of the milling stage are combined in wet impacting using our own proprietary RD series impactors. One normally achieves the majority of the ultimate recovery in this simple system. The Peacocke & Simpson laboratory is equipped with all of these unit operations at bench scape to test all scenarios.

• A typical test recovery result is summarized below:

• Clearly in this case the majority of the recovery comes from the scrubbing (52%), but there is definitely a worthwhile target left in the competent rock, and impacting this adds a further 27% to the recovery. Ball milling the impact gravity tails to a very fine state (75 microns) only adds a further 7% recovery, so it is unlikely that that step would be warranted.

• So in this hypothetical case the target flowsheet would look like this:

1. What sort of plant will I need when starting mining?

   • The flowsheet defines the optimal steps, but the next question is what scale? This is dictated by capital constraint, the rate one can dig and feed the ore, water availability and sometimes market capacity.

   • If it is gold you are after, the latter doesn’t arise, but just for the exercise, lets consider a tantalite case: A tantalite buyer may only want 2.5 tonnes of concentrate a month for example. So if you anticipate working 8 hrs per day, 24 days per month and the indicated recovery is 70% from an ore feed grading 0.1% Ta2O5, then the calculation looks like this: Tonnes per hour = 5tonnes/0.1%/70%/24days/8hrs = 37 tonnes per hour = 18.6 tph.

   • Back to gold. In this case market is infinite, and the scale is down to choices like resource size, mining capacity and capital. Keep things modest and conservative, there is absolutely no sense in going big out of the gate.

   • Once you have a scale in mind, contact APT for a budget price for a plant of that size to match with the flowsheet requirements. You will also receive back a very elementary 3-D schematic of what your plant would look like.

• Mining equipment costs can be easily come by and APT will provide budget estimates for plants in a few size categories, all catering to those starting mining or those well-versed in the mining field. Plug these into a simple financial model, or access a simple financial model on the APT website. This will give you an idea of the viability of the project given your ore grade and expected recovery, together with input costs and of course the gold price. Go for the minimum scale that makes money, you can always grow from the returns.

• Once you have narrowed down the scale you may request a formal quotation from APT.

1. Water

   • Your flowsheet and even your quotation will specify the water requirement in cubic metres of water per tonne of solid feed, usually about 2 m3 water per tonne solid.

   • By multiplying out the daily working hours you will know your requirement.

   • If you need to drill boreholes, you should get them sited, drilled and tested because if there is no water, there is no hope of mining. You may be lucky enough to have an old shaft on site to pump from, but test its replenishment.

   • Your water production rate from a borehole, for instance, may be less if you are processing for only 8 hours for example, but can pump for 24hrs.

   • If this is the case, you will need at-plant water storage. APT usually supplies one or two 70000 litre ponds. One of these can be used for recycle from the tailings pond, and one for clean water makeup from a borehole etc.

   • The clean water pond is then reserved for clean water users, like your Knelson concentrator if you have one, or the upgrading table.

1. Tailings disposal

   • Each country has rules governing the disposal of tailings, but it is always made easier if you are starting out with a chemistry-free gravity processing route.

   • Even so it is sometimes necessary to line the deposition area anyway, and in this case you need to consider a life-of-mine, calculate the tailings volume from that and hence the tailings area to be put down.

   • The tailings placement site should be chosen taking cognisance of the surrounding topography. The optimum situation is to choose a gentle slope with plant feed at the top, then the plant, then the tailings outwash area, then water reclamation ponds below that.

   • There should be three reclamation ponds; two central ones left and right with the muddy flow going into one, and then switched to the other when it is time to scoop out the accumulated mud from the first.

   • The far side of each of the two primary settlement ponds then overflow into the recycle water pond and the recycle pump is placed at the far side of this pond.

   • The recycle water should be pumped to the process water pond right at the site, as mentioned previously.

   • All ponds should have berms around them so that no muddy water flows in from the general surroundings when it rains.

1. Digging and mining equipment

   • Our case study is based upon surface free dig, which in the case of an elluvial deposit like chromite may involve surface scraping and loading into a tractor trailer. In this case a digger such as a backhoe may suffice. You may need two of each to make the system workable.

   • For an alluvial deposit, the digging may need to be more localized.

   • If the dig is on exposed reef along the strike then the digging may require an excavator matched to the mining rate.

   • In any event, APT are not mining experts and you are recommended to seek the advice of such a person or company to recommend the proper system.

2. Personnel

   • Apart from the very smallest of operations, all mining ventures require staff.

   • Choose people who are interested and have stamina before looking to qualifications. This is hard work with long hours and not just a job.

   • Make sure you get a well experienced mechanical person with some electrical knowledge to maintain and repair the equipment.

   • Once you have chosen your APT plant, APT can advise upon the number and grade of the necessary staff. They can also advise upon the level of expertise of the mechanical person.

3. Putting it all together

   • Now that you have defined the scale, it is time to put a plan together with a time frame and a check list of items to tick off:

• Specification and selection of mining equipment

• Plant siting plan. APT supplies you with a layout of the immediate plant area, so it is easy to superimpose this over your claims plan. This plan is sometimes necessary for permiting purposes.

• Digging and mining equipment.

• Tailings placement site.

• Minimum on-site infrastructure required (an APT plant comes with an elementary workshop and one or two of the containers can be retained to turn into a site office, restroom, etc.)

• Is there a road or will you need to clear one?

• Operating capital to see you clear to the first product payment, or beyond.

• Personnel

• The time frame will look like a project GANTT chart, nothing more than weeks blocked out in sequence with the necessary tasks. The final task is commissioning and startup. Be reasonable with the timing and leave blocks for rest or catchup. There is nothing worse that falsely generated pressure that normally results in mistakes.

1. Initiation

   • Generally this is the fun part and where starting mining feels like a reality. Place your orders for all the requirements leaving contingency time for arrival.

   • Engage the contractors to prepare the site and any roads.

   • Get the boreholes dug and equipped if appropriate.

   • Engage your staff just before the plant arrives as APT will use them in the construction phase which is very good training.

   • Begin mining ahead of time to accumulate a stockpile.

   • Begin to feed your plant with the assistance and guidance of APT. This is the break-inn phase where any problems come to light and are jointly corrected with APT and your staff, again good training.

   • The plant will then be signed-off and you are on your way to a hopefully prosperous project future.

APT wishes you all the best starting mining from project planning to implementation – please don’t hesitate to call upon us to assist with your special project! 

Modular: Smart Not Small!

APT are specialists in the engineering and supply of modular mineral processing plants that begin at a very small mining scale, and increase in size and capacity to suit mid-tier and larger mining developments. A common misconception that we come across is that the term ‘modular’ means small in size and capacity, when in actuality, modular is simply providing an efficient, effective and enhanced solution in a compact and neat package, without any unnecessary extras. Engineering and design of these plants is done with precision, and we have been doing this for many years to date. Winston Churchill once said “if I had more time I would have written a shorter letter”, and we share in his sentiments. Today, equipment has to be effective in the optimum size package possible, with increased quality and efficiency. Time is of the essence, and waiting years to begin production is simply no longer feasible. The market changes, prices and currencies fluctuate which increase the risk. With innovation, precise attention to detail and engineering smarts, we are able to provide you with modular mineral processing plants starting with a throughput of only 3tph, right through to 250tph and numerous sizes in between. While we do have standard equipment, we always take into account our clients’ needs

It is well-known that APT is very well established for its economic, entry level plants, but the company is equally at home producing far larger capacity offerings, within the modular design. In many instances, the entry level plants simply help you to start somewhere in a feasible manner, and grow more easily from that point. It does not mean you have to start small in any way, you can begin at a much larger scale too.

       

A case in point is the recently secured 120tph cassiterite processing plant, in which a milestone was reached launching the company to the next level. Cyanidation plants have also grown, as attested by the photographs above of an APT gravity tower with Knelson concentrator and Acacia Reactor, alongside 2 x 450 cubic meter CIL tanks. These CIL tanks are the epitome of our modular design, as conventional cyanidation tanks are more exploitive of the environment, use more building materials and others, you can read up on the benefits of these modular tanks here. The above plant also includes elution and smelting facilities to complete the package.

Below is a large 80tph capacity RG800 scrubber being delivered to site, the third largest in the APT range behind the RG800HD 120tph capacity and the RG2500 250tph capacity. Modular, simple, efficient and all designed with smarts.