The challenge
Determining the concentration of gold in process streams
Gold and other precious metals have, to date, been impossible to measure on-line because their concentration levels have been well below the detection limit of available analysers. As a result, valuable metals have gone undetected to waste representing a substantial loss in potential revenue.
The ability to detect lower levels of precious metals would enable processing plants to optimise these circuits and recover the full value contained for improved productivity.
Our response
Sensor technology that provides measurement results in real time
By capturing this data, plant metallurgists and operators can monitor and adjust their operations in real time in order to increase recovery rates and minimise gold losses to waste streams.
The On-line Gold Analyser (OLGA) is built upon new x-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques and is capable of detecting ultra-low levels of gold and other elements from a continuous process stream.
The results
Real-time gold data in slurry streams
In 2017, we partnered with Gekko Systems, a leading Australian Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) company, to bring the technology to market.
OLGA was successfully tested in a controlled environment and trialled in the field with an Australian gold mining company.
For the first time, gold was detected in the slurry streams in real-time, with around 1000-times better accuracy than conventional methods.
The technology is giving gold plant operators data, enabling them to increase their processing efficiencies and recover more value.
Mining companies seeking to access the technology at their mine sites should contact Gekko.