100% Mercury Free Gold Processing Plants

APT has begun 2016 by establishing, in association with their active agents in East Africa, Borassus, a number of 100% mercury free gold processing plants.  The efficiency of this particular method of processing is attracting intense local interest from local artisanal miners.  Interested miners have queued for as long as 48 hours at demonstrations of the plants and process.  Opinion has been strongly expressed by these miners that the recovery rate is far higher with APT’s 100% mercury free, processes, than from traditional methods. The plants used in the process consist of simple dry or wet milling utilizing a GoldKacha Concentrator and a GoldMasta sluice, to optimise free gold recovery.  Concentrate recovered by this process, can then be upgraded by using a GoldKonka, finally smelted using a field smelter, which is run off the same power source.

Following the success of the East African demonstration of this process, APT plans to launch this process globally. The significance of APT’s 100 percent mercury free process in an increasing environmentally fragile world cannot be over stressed.

APT welcome enquiries from all interested parties  included listed mining entities with environmental concerns, philanthropists, environmentalists, small and large mining concerns.

An existing APT equipped 100% mercury free gold proceeding plant site. Each site can service 200 to 300 artisanal miners.

Currently a 48 hour waiting line. Artisanal miners determined to get better recovery are prepared to wait. This waiting interval is being addressed and centres are currently being expanded and replicated regionally & rapidly.

The gold price is good

Gold price is a topic of concern for all miners, and right now for very many projects, the statement that the gold price is good rings absolutely true. If the cost of production is below the gold price, then a project is technically viable and the wider the margin the more so. Pretty obvious, but sentiment around a pre-conceived ‘bad’ price seems to be stalling projects when cool logic should dictate otherwise. Augment production with cheaper ounces

Green-field gold projects such as alluvials or surface oxides can indeed come into production at sub $700 per ounce, some are even quoting sub $500 per ounce, but what can be done to see through the harsh times for existing operating properties? Cutting costs is the obvious route, but there is a limit beyond which operation simply becomes too difficult to sustain. Some properties, probably most, may be sitting upon a solution literally in their back yard in the form of an upper oxide zone, surface rubble, tailings or even a small high grade reef. Generation of cheap ounces from these resources, even over a short finite life, may well make the difference between continuation or closure.

Lower capital and operating costs

Mining costs obviously need to be accounted for, but invariably the cost of surface free-dig or even a small reef operation can be a fraction of the main operation mining cost. The next hurdle towards implementation then becomes the capital cost to initiate extra production. APT has historically developed low cost modular solutions for almost all mineral processing applications and these become more important than ever in the context of cheap ounces. Not only has the capital been held to a minimum, but opex has also been addressed, particularly with low energy and manpower requirements.

Ultra-fast lead times

All good, but time is not on our side. The viability margin is being eroded daily and the sooner a remedy is put in place the better. Again APT solutions have been specifically designed to allow short lead times in construction and more importantly the pre-assembly of our plants translates into extremely fast on-site implementation. Smaller plants can be commissioned into production within just a few days with early gold pour offsetting any precious capital diverted to the sub-project.

In summary, the means exist if the resource exists and testing is available to rapidly assess candidate materials. All that remains is the will to survive and a very modest capital outlay for a dramatic result.

Hard Rock/Oxide Plant, one week on-site installation

Mini CIL Plant for high grade reef

APT TriTank Modular CIL Plant with pre gravity recovery for tailings retreatment

Solution For Listed Juniors?

APT have long since realized that there needs to be a solution for listed juniors. More than ever before the hurdles necessary to bring a new mining project on line, or to expand an existing one are daunting. Listed Juniors deserve a medal for their efforts and a good deal of recognition is owed for the often thankless task. There are many boxes to be checked, one of which is the plant; its design, its cost and the efficacy of the result. Nothing endorses a project more firmly to its investors than production on schedule, or even ahead of schedule.

APT realizes this and our plants have been brought into production for small to medium mines at literally break neck speed. For example, a 20tph gold plant was recently designed and built in just 14 weeks. It was then shipped to site and once there was erected, commissioned and in production in just 4 days! In another case a large 40tph gravity tower for gold recovery was erected on site in just 6 days! Through rigorous R&D, our designs have been evolved to allow for a single plant that can treat the softer upper oxide material and then accommodate more competent rock from the transition and deeper levels. Called Combo Plants, these units can accept up to 50% of the feed tonnage as hard competent rock and are ideal for a startup. Modules can be added as necessary to tailor the plant progressively to a deep level unit, for example by the addition of flotation and cyanidation.

The breakthrough for the Juniors is that APT have progressively expanded this tried and proven capability to a larger plant size. Our latest plant, at 120tph capacity is in fact a Combo Plant and clearly demonstrates APT’s specialist knowledge in this field. Large engineering companies frequently encounter difficulty designing their products downwards, it is not as easy as it sounds. APT on the other hand has had no trouble engineering upwards and we come from a broad base of experience of over eighty plants to grow from.

The ability now exists for a Junior Mining House to bring a project on line at reasonable cost ahead of schedule whilst reserves are expanded to justify further investment. APT would be involved throughout the entire process from testwork through to implementation of the final modules as the project matures. This can all be designed from the outset for ease of forecasting and financial planning. APT: a perfect solution for listed juniors.

40tph Gravity Tower and CIL plant

Schematic of 120tph APT Combo plant for cassiterite recovery

APT - Growing To Meet Your Expectations

Containerised Laboratory Services

The latest trend in the mining and minerals industry is a move towards the design and construction of modular or containerised laboratories in order to ensure that the client has at his disposal a full scope of capabilities for the fast turn-around of accurate and reliable data, explains Gary McFarlane, business development at APT Processing.

These laboratories (labs) are designed and operated in accordance with global quality standards, internationally recognised methods and proficiency programs that include benchmark comparisons with external labs. As more Junior and emergent mining companies are entering the exploration and mining industry- they are frequently dealing with smaller exploration areas, hence they need fast turn-around to maximize on site value, states McFarlane. Most mining activities are carried out in remote areas far from traditional laboratories, and thus require samples to be shipped across borders or transported hundreds of kilometres for analysis, which tends to be costly and time consuming. Modular or containerized laboratories now offer a number of benefits over the traditional laboratories as they can be moved at a relatively low cost, andare quick to bring on-line.

“Flexibility to react quickly is now hugely important in the new mining industry. Good decisions are made not only upon good information, but in time with changing events. containerized, convenient, fast analyses make a great partner to nimble slick operations”, adds McFarlane. whether on-site or off-site, it is imperative that one knows what elements is looking for, and if it is gold, then a system will include a bLeG with an AA. if it is base metals, then Xrf can be specified. for the cyanidation plant option, a carbon ashing furnace is also included, however if the amount of samples is large, or a programme needs to be accelerated, dual units can be ordered, placed together and then separated later for deployment at different sites, explains McFarlane.

APT Field Assay Laboratory

APT recently installed a field Assay Laboratory at the CATA operation in Tanzania, enabling exploration to proceed while the rest of the process plant is being installed. APT’s laboratories include analytical tools such as Atomic Absorption, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), as well as activated carbon analysis for monitoring cyanidation systems. The facilities are not just equipped for analysis, but also include the relevant metallurgical testing capability. They therefore also provide information upon expected extraction, a vital part of the equation. This additional capability makes the units ideal for ongoing monitoring and efficiency maintenance of APT plants or existing plants, concludes McFarlane.

Magazine Article

Lead into Gold - The APT Way

At US$0.97/lb the lead price is already good, but the great news is that it is soaring. Buoyed by strong Chinese demand, the future for this dull gray metal looks bright indeed.

The most abundant lead mineral, galena (PbS) has a few favourable characteristics that endear it to the processing world. The first is it’s density which at about 7.6g/cc puts it into the heavyweight class, one of the denser sulphides out there. The second is its cubic crystalline structure which results in it breaking into very convenient little cuboids, with low surface per unit mass. These attributes render galena a prime candidate for gravity concentration, the easiest and cheapest of the processing methods. The third is that it readily responds to flotation and can be selectively collected. What doesn’t therefore collect via gravity can be scalped off in a scavenger flotation step if appropriate and necessary.

Galena responds very well to gravity as evidenced by the recovery-mass pull graph in a Knelson centrifuge test:

Interestingly, the galena responds ahead of competing minerals like chalcopyrite, pyrite and sphalerite, an important consideration when it is specifically targeted from a polymetallic host.

Flowsheet

The appropriate APT flowsheet is depicted below, designed for throughputs in the 20tph range although larger capacity versions incorporating FLS Knelson CVD concentrators ahead of the spirals are possible. The use of a mineral jig up front may be justified if the galena occurs in massive form and is liberated at around 6mm crush size. Likewise, a small APT TriFloat cell may be included if the galena reports sufficiently to the fines.

Plant

APT manufactures and supplies modular packaged process plants in a number of sizes. Apart from the advantages of a low capital outlay and short manufacturing lead time, these plants require little on-site preparation and can be installed and commissioned in a fraction of the normal time required. A schematic representation of a plant suitable for galena production is depicted below. The same operating and design principles can be applied to recover other target minerals such as wolframite, cassiterite and tantalite, amongst others.

Testing

APT offers the services of our associate laboratory Peacocke & Simpson to evaluate your ore or products. The specific advantage of utilising the P&S laboratory is their ability to perform investigative work as well as process confirmation upon a larger bulk sample. Being au fait with APT plants, testing is geared towards practicality and generates the parameters necessary to enable rapid progression to plant selection and pricing.

Contract Awarded to APT for 16tph Wolframite Recovery Plant

APT are happy to announce the award of a contract for a 16tph wolframite recovery plant for Premier African Minerals. The award follows a thorough process of investigative and confirmatory testwork carried out by our associate laboratory Peacocke & Simpson that identified an efficient, but simple recovery process. This was then translated into a flowsheet and finally into a plant design that embodies the APT philosophy of elegant simplicity with high efficacy. The plant has been designed to incorporate APT’s signature stand-alone unit component modules that will be pre-assembled in their large 5000m2 assembly hall before being shipped to site for rapid re-assembly and commissioning.

“This order confirms APT’s advantages of excellent processing knowledge and smart design engineering, all in a competitively priced package”, said Chairman Keith Rayner.  “Capped off with rapid delivery we believe our offering sets a whole new standard for our industry and we are grateful to Premier African Minerals for placing their confidence in us”, said Rayner.

APT's 25000 tonne per month Classification and Gravity Recovery Circuit for Cata Mining enters Phase 2

APT has successfully completed the design, manufacture, installation and dry commissioning of a 25000 tonne per month (tpm) classification and gravity recovery circuit for CATA Mining at their site near Musoma in Tanzania. This is part of a three stage project which also includes a CIL leach circuit and field assay laboratory. Initial testwork by APT’s associate laboratory Peacocke & Simpson on various samples from around the mine area indicated exceptional grades and a high potential for gravity recovery to play a role in the process route chosen.

The design of the plant is based around a unit tower structure which contains parallel cyclones for classification of mill products and screening out of oversize material for regrinding. Gravity recovery takes place in an FLSmidth-Knelson CD20 concentration equipped with ICSj automation.

Knelson concentrates are treated in a fully automated Consep Acacia CS250 intensive cyanidation reactor with electro-winning circuit for highest recoveries. All reagent handling and dosing systems have been included with the plant.

Thanks to APT’s philosophy of providing complete modular solutions, the entire Phase 1 structure was installed within one week of the crew arriving on site, with electrical wiring and piping completed a couple of weeks later, as shown below.

Phase 2 of the project consists of 2 x 400m3 CIL Tritanks also designed by APT, and full carbon elution and electro-win facilities. These are currently complete and awaiting shipment to site and installation, after which the entire plant will be commissioned together with the third-party crushing and milling circuit.

In the meantime, APT’s field laboratory is already on site and operational (as shown below), carrying out sampling programs and resource estimations. The lab includes batch Knelson, bottle roll and AA facilities among other units.

The implementation of multiple phases of this project through APT and its associates is a demonstration of the client’s confidence in us to deliver a top level solution with minimal capital expenditure. Careful and methodical work by APT’s engineering, procurement, assembly and installation teams has allowed us to turn this into a reality.

Tritank TT20: A Small Scale Piloting/Concentrate Treatment 20m^3 TriTank, Launched by APT

Following on the back of the huge success of the larger Tritank, APT once again has designed a product to address the small scale start-up market and we are proud to introduce the Tritank TT20 to the mining industry. This is a 20m^3 CIP/CIL tankage and cyanidation system. With advanced mixing design and higher oxygen interaction the leach residence times are greatly reduced.

By analysing the leach curve of the materials, the operator can make an informed economic decision as to the required residence times of the ore. In some cases this may be as low as 8 hours resulting in a 1.5tph throughput.

The entire plant is modular and can be moved to a new site within 3-4 days. With inherent benefits like smaller footprint, less materials and batch carousel functionality,  the TT20 is the obvious choice for startup CIL/CIP processing. With six reaction compartments or sectors condensed into one conventional tank, not only is the environmental footprint smaller, but a whole host of advantages accrue to the user's benefit. Carbon is easier to move, a sector can easily be bypassed, and most important of all, the mixing efficiency is enhanced. Today, environmental impact of cyanidation use is of great concern, and this system reduces that concern and cyanidation is practiced a little more safely.

We know the idea of the Tritank is new to the industry, and although that is what makes it so special, we understand that you need to know more about it. That is why we have made video's on it, such as this one, as well as other articles on TriTank Leaching, for example. You are also welcome to email us on info@aptprocessing.com or phone on (0027) 11 704 6678.

This unit is perfect for tailings retreatment of small high grade dumps, for concentrate leach, or for pilot modules. With APT’s additional processing modules, the entire processing plant can be running within days of arriving on site.

APT - Simply smart, simply efficient. 

The APT GroundBreaker Division Are Proud To Introduce The GoldMasta Sluice To Our Product Range

As part of APT's GroundBreaker Division, the GoldMasta sluice was developed as an entry level device for artisanal miners to begin, and advance production in an efficient, affordable manner. “The engineering, design and rigorous test work coupled with the implementation of the latest technology has resulted in maximized recoveries and the production of a higher grade concentrate”, states the APT’s Director of the GroundBreaker Division. He continues, “the surface matting is easy to clean, making for a quick harvest cycle”.

The GoldMasta is made from a durable, non-corroding material and production can be commenced as soon as it arrives on site. The GoldMasta can be relocated with ease and a power outlet is not required. This allows for use in remote areas, often a requirement for exploration modules as you need to follow your mineral resource wherever it leads.

To obtain an even higher recovery, two or more GoldMasta’s can be placed in a series. This module was also engineered to work in combination with our GoldKacha concentrator (as seen in picture below), resulting in a compact package with extremely high recovery. If the full potential tonnage of the GoldKacha is required, two GoldMasta’s can be used in parallel on the tails, which you can just make out on the right of the picture below.

We also encourage you to read our article on the GoldKacha here, as it shows more on how it operates, why you need it and just simply- more on what it is!

APT do carry out demonstrations on all of our GroundBreaker plants in order to show exactly how they work, so please let us know if you are interested in us doing one in your area. We would be happy to oblige! If you are looking to become part of the APT team and be a distributor for the GroundBreaker range, please email us on info@aptprocessing.com and we'll let you know the process and benefits involved.

APT Awarded Contract For 120tph Cassiterite Gravity Recovery Plant

Appropriate Process Technologies is proud to announce being awarded a contract to design, build, supply and commission a Cassiterite Gravity Recovery based plant to process ore for the recovery of contained cassiterite. The plant will follow the winning APT formula of modular pre-assembled unit components to make for easy and fast assembly and commissioning on this remote site.

The formula was further enhanced by APT’s associate ISO9001:2008 certified mineral testwork laboratory, Peacocke & Simpson, having been contracted to undertake the process development testing upon bulk samples of the ore. “This capability again proved its worth by allowing us to quickly and effectively identify process enhancements that are incorporated into the plant design”, said APT Design and Sales Development Engineer Gary McFarlane.

This large new project is the eighth APT plant catering to non-precious metals and clearly underlines the company’s capability in this area. “We see this as a very important sector to the future of the company” said APT's representative. “We are seeing a strong upsurge of interest particularly from the tin, tantalite and tungsten processing sector and by applying our wide experience from the gold sector, where we are also very strong, we believe APT has something unique and special to offer”.

“Fortuitously APT recently completed an expansion to cater for another large project utilizing Knelson concentrators and APT Tritanks for gold recovery, so the company has the capacity to undertake this and other projects that we are currently negotiating towards”.

Watch this space for updates on this plant as we will be documenting the process, and let us know if you would like any other information regarding cassiterite recovery. You can either email us on info@aptprocessing.com, or give us a call on (0027) 11 704 6678 and speak to Gary McFarlane. We look forward to hearing from you!