CHILE - DORR-OLIVER EIMCO CHILE S.A., a subsidiary of the Canadian-based company GROUPE LAPERRIRE & VERREAULT (GL&V), has received a major order for the supply of 10 Wemco SmartCell flotation machines to Minera Los Pelambres, 60%-owned and operated by ANTOFAGASTA PLC. Los Pelambres is the world's fifth largest copper mine, located about 200 km northeast of Santiago. The mine currently processes 120,000 tonnes of ore daily and will use the new SmartCells to increase processing to 140,000 tonnes, as part of the current expansion project.
The Model 250 SmartCell unit is the largest flotation cell in the world and was installed in 2003. The cell provides 257 m of active volume and is equipped with a 400-hp motor. In April of 2004, hydrodynamic testing was completed and the cell was put into production as the first cell in a bank of roughers. The cell is followed by nine Wemco 130-m SmartCell flotation machines.
The Model 250 has exceeded the hydrodynamic and metallurgical performance of the model 160 according to Asa Weber, beneficiation manager for Dorr-Oliver Eimco in Salt Lake City, Utah. Testing at Los Pelambres has shown the new unit to provide superior recovery, particularly on coarse particles. With the introduction of the Model 250, Dorr-Oliver Eimco is maintaining its industry leadership in the supply of flotation cells.
More information on SmartCells is available from mineral processing technology marketing manager Frank P. Traczyk at 801-526-2100 or frank.traczyk@glv.com.
Separately, GL&V has won a contract worth over $11 million to design, manufacture and install Dorr-Oliver Eimco thickening systems for INCO's Goro mine project in New Caledonia. Delivery is scheduled for the spring of 2006.
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