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Designing Minas Conga’s Tailings

Thickener Plant

Chad Loan and Travis Orser

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Contents

• Conga Project

• Testwork – Methods and Results

•

Equipment Sizing• Fabrication progress

• Conclusion

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Conga Project

• Large porphyry Cu/Au

• 19 year mine life

• > 6m Oz Au, 1.7B lb Cu

• 300,000+ Oz Au/a and 80-120m lb Cu/a

• Currently, Newmont is taking a slower, “water first”

approach to developing Conga by focusing on the

construction of reservoirs for downstreamcommunities http://www.newmont.com/node/4937 

http://www.newmont.com/node/4937http://www.newmont.com/node/4937

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Dynamic Thickener Testwork

Dynamic simulation• Feed pump

• Flocculant pump

• Underflow pump

• Overflow collection

• Rake mechanism

Direct results• Feed solids flux (t/m2h)

• Feed density (% w/w)

• Flocculant consumption (g/t)

• Overflow (ppm)

•

Underflow density (% w/w (• Yield stress

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99mm Dynamic Testing• Series of tests conducted on all ore types

• Major focus on Perol Phyllic and Chailhuagon

• Provided base line analysis for more in depth semi pilot

testing

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

   %   S    ó    l   i    d   s

FloccDosage,g/t

99mm Dinamic Laboratory Test

Minas Conga - Perol Phillic Sample

S.L. 0.40

S.L. 0.56

S.L. 0.79

Over Night Test

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

     %     S      ó      l     i      d    s

FloccDosage,g/t

99mm Dinamic Laboratory Test

Minas Conga - Chailhuagon Sample

S.L. 0.40

S.L.0.56

S.L. 0.77

Over Night Test

Perol Phyllic Chailhuagon

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190mm Dynamic Testing•

Testing on Chailhuagonshowed good results with

respect to flux rates and UF

density

Run

No

Solids

loading(t/m2h)

Feed

Solids(%w/w.)

Floc

Dose(g/t)

Bed

Depth(m)

UF Solids

(%w/w)

Vane YS (Pa)

0 shear 1 shear 2 shear

1 0.56 14.0 24 1.9 62.9 215 33 28

2 0.56 14.0 31 1.0 59.5 139 24 21

http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_1//Persrfl1/Data/Shared/Sales/Global%20Thickener%20Support/Presentations/old%20thickener%20presentations/Testwork%20Presentation/Sar%20Cheshmeh%20011.avi

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190mm Dynamic Testing

• Perol was similar in it’s UF density response

Run

No

Solids

loading

(t/m2h)

Feed

Solids

(%w/w.)

Floc

Dose

(g/t)

Bed

Depth

(m)

UF Solids

(%w/w)

Vane YS (Pa)

0 shear 1 shear 2 shear

3 0.57 14.8 23.4 2.0 58.6 90.8 30.1 21.5

4 0.43 15.6 29.9 1.6 67.0 291.8 172.0 125.4

5 0.41 14.3 16.9 0.6 63.1 185.9 42.8 32.9

6 0.52 14.2 17.2 1.1 62.7 212.8 39.9 32.6

7 0.54 14.7 14.7 2.0 61.3 223.7 40.8 32.6

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Sheared Yield Stress Data – 

determine UF density• Analysis required to determine correct sizing

• 50Pa material was required at the tailings dam

corresponding to 62-67% UF density

0

50

100

50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70

   Y   i  e   l   d    S

   t  r  e  s ,

   P  a

% Solids

Shear Yield Stress Test - Minas Conga Tails 190mm

OT 2x Chailhuagon -Original sampleOT 2x Chailhuagon -UF Recirc.SampleGolder -Chailhuagon

0

50

100

150

200

50 55 60 65 70 75

   Y   i  e   l   d    S

   t  r  e  s ,

   P  a

% Solids

Sheared Yield Stress Test - Conga Tails 190mmOT2x Perol Phillic -Original Sample

OT2x Perol Phillic -UF RecircSample

Golder -Perolsheared

67% UF density achieved at

0.43t/m2h

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 Rake mechanism

• Using the unsheared yield stress data we identify therequired maximum operating torque

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

50 55 60 65 70 75

   Y   i   e    l    d   S   t   r   e   s   s    (   P   a    )

Solids %

Combined Unsheared Yield Stress

Phillic

Chailhuagon

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Final Design

• 45m Diameter High Compression Paste thickener – 7 Thickeners

 – 0.43t/m2hr design solids loading

 – 5m Side wall height

 – 30 degree floor slope

 – Centre column design

 – 14,500,000 Nm rake drive (K = 490)

 –Flange bolted construction

 – Concentric shear thinning system

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Site Layout

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Fabrication• Fabrication took place in

Outotec’s Chineseworkshop for all steel

work

• Drive gear and housing

manufacture was inKorea at subcontractors

works

• Fabrication time was 79

weeks with stageddelivery

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Thickener Fabrication

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Shipping

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Shipping

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Shipping

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Shipping

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Drives•

Manufactured, assembled and tested

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Conclusions

• Testwork enabled the appropriate sizing

selections

• Final dam deposition requirements was the

driver for thickener selection

• The largest high compression/paste thickeners

and drives have been designed, fabricated and

delivered to site

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Acknowledgements

• Newmont

 – Kevin DeSomber, Jim Orlich and Simon Briggs

• Outotec

 – James Wang – Engineering and drives

 – Simon Courtenay – Project management