Research and Development
The group performs research in a wide range of research topics related to precious metals such as pre-concentration, comminution for optimal liberation and mineral exposure, flotation and flash flotation, gravity recovery, dense media separation, pyrometallurgical processing (roasting and smelting), leaching (heap, in-situ, vat, tank and autoclave), and recovery from solution through adsorption onto and elution from activated carbon, ion exchange, solvent extraction, and final recovery processes through electrowinning, cementation and precipitation. It has access to a large range of characterisation equipment to characterise minerals, species in solution, mineral interfaces and surfaces, as discussed under facilities below. Many PhD projects have been completed by research students associated with the GTG.
New sensors and devices are also included within group, such as the recent “Carbon Metre” that automatically measures carbon concentrations in CIL and CIP tanks.
Examples of equipment for controlled dissolved oxygen leach, electrochemical characterisation and an oscillating quartz, gas atmosphere controlled pyrolysis furnace.
Consulting and commercial work
The group performs consulting and commercial testwork. This includes characterisation and modelling of Carbon-in-Leach and Carbon in Pulp Circuits, Gravity Recovery and Flash Flotation Circuits, evaluation of process unit efficiencies on plants (classification, gravity and flotation processes), liberation-leach evaluations and determinations of gravity recoverable gold, to name but a few. A range of software tools are available to model processes and chemical phenomena.
Training, Surveys & Professional Development
The GTG does both plant based and regional technology transfer of best practices in precious metals processing, training of metallurgists during regional and site based courses and surveys of metallurgical operations on precious metals plants. Plant surveys are performed towards assessing operational performance and to obtain industrially relevant research data, based on well planned sampling campaigns. Samples of ores, minerals and their concentrates, processing intermediates and residues from various stages of processing are taken and characterised, typically at the GTG’s facilities on the Bentley Campus.
Software Development
A range of useful models have been developed to model unit operations and parts of circuits associated with precious metals processing plant, covering liberation, classification, flotation, gravity recovery by batch centrifugal concentrators and jigs, leaching and adsorption.
