We are a leader in the design of phosphate beneficiation. We have designed plants in many countries around the world.
The different types of phosphate ores and the variety of today’s beneficiation flowsheets attest to the fact that there is no universal phosphate beneficiation process. Our experience encompasses all aspects of phosphate rock beneficiation
The configuration of a phosphate mine and beneficiation plant with the related material handling facilities is important in optimization of operating cost. We have designed beneficiation plants from simple flowsheets for the removal of gangue minerals by wet or dry screening, to more complex flowsheets utilizing comminution, classification, froth flotation, heavy media separation, and sorting. In addition to the design and operation of beneficiation plants, our experience covers:
- Site selection (plant, waste disposal)
- Materials handling and transportation
- Dewatering, disposal, and reclamation of wastes
- Dewatering, preparation, and load-out of product
- Plant water, reclaim water and make-up water systems
- Dust suppression and collection
- Offsites, ancillaries and services.
In today’s global economy, phosphate rock must be produced to meet quality specifications at a competitive price. To assure high performance and low cost, we design modern phosphate beneficiation plants with the following attributes:
- High capacity to obtain economy of scale for construction
- Process technology tailored to efficiently exploit the ore deposit
- Reliable equipment for processing and materials handling
- Effective arrangement of equipment for operation and maintenance.
We specialize in integrating geology, mining, and beneficiation with the downstream facilities so that the overall economic return is optimized.
Flowsheet Development
We examine the mineralogical characteristics and the laboratory beneficiation response of the ore prior to conducting engineering studies based on process simulations and pilot plant data.
We incorporate practical experience from full-scale phosphate beneficiation plants with results obtained from laboratory and pilot plant tests to achieve cost effective designs.
Flowsheets can be very simple to complex depending on the intricacies of the phosphate ore mineralogy.
Flotation
Flotation is the most important unit operation in a phosphate beneficiation process. Since most of the ore enrichment occurs in flotation, the largest loss of phosphate typically occurs there as well.
The grade-recovery response across flotation is often a critical determinant if a phosphate project is economically feasible or not.
After ore characterization is complete, bench top testing focuses on defining the flotation parameters required to optimize the grade-recovery response of a given phosphate ore.
Once the flotation process is specified, the upstream and downstream unit operations can be defined to complete the phosphate beneficiation flowsheet development.
Our expertise and proprietary metallurgical database is utilized to define a tailored process design to accommodate the most challenging phosphate ore bodies.
