Posted Febuary 2011
Client Company: Morobe Mining Joint Venture (Newcrest and Harmony Gold)
Mine Site: Hidden Valley Gold Mine
Project: Hidden Valley De-Bottlenecking Project
EPCM Contractor: Lycopodium Minerals Qld Pty Ltd
Screen Supplier: Delkor Australia
Screen Type:
Linear Cloth Screen (Counter Current Flow Arrangement)
Screen Size: 25m2 (0.8mm Aperture)
Commissioning Date: 26th of September 2010
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| Hidden Valley Trash Screen (1) |
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Hidden Valley Trash Screen (2) |
Since the trash screen was commissioned the site team has witnessed some very promising results. The screen is still yet to see the design slurry feed rate due to upstream problems, however it has been subjected to large flow surges and at times excess coarse particles as a result of constant cyclone roping, and has performed well. Despite the large amount of trash being drawn from the process stream via the screen, there has been very little down time or faults associated with it.
There has been ongoing issue with the quality of water feeding the screen spray nozzles, resulting in spray blockages and subsequent trash buildups ultimately leading to tracking problems; however this is being managed by the operations team.
The Flotation circuit, immediately down stream from the trash screen, has seen a reduction in the amount of reagents (frother, promoter, collector, and copper sulphate) being used as a result of the screen installation.
The CIL and Elution circuits further down stream are yet to see any real benefits from the screen installation; however this is unexpected until such time as the trash currently in those circuits is removed. The positive influence on these circuits is that no additional trash is being added.
The screen installation and performance has been well received by the site team.
Download: Hidden Valley De-Bottlenecking Project Trash Screen