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MODERN MINING
May 2016
MODULAR PLANTS
feature
we provide processing solutions for just about
everything else – gold and tin, of course, but
also all the other precious and base metals, as
well as diamonds and minerals such as ilmen-
ite, tantalite and wolframite,” states McFarlane.
A crucial part of the service that APT offers
is an ability to do testwork on ores and, based
on the results, devise a customised processing
solution. “We don’t do the testwork ourselves,”
says McFarlane. “Instead, we make use of our
associate company, Peacocke & Simpson (P&S),
based in Harare, Zimbabwe, which is known
globally for its mineral testwork expertise and
whose laboratory has ISO900: 2008 accredita-
tion. P&S undertakes extractive metallurgical
testing services using all the normal processes
you would expect such as gravity concentra-
tion, pulp or heap leaching and flotation, as
well as some less common technologies – for
example, pressure attrition leaching.”
Elaborating on APT’s equipment line-up,
McFarlane says that the plants provide ore
processing solutions right through from initial
crushing and screening to saleable product –
usually bagged mineral concentrates or gold
doré. “The flowsheet will typically include one
of our RG scrubbers to disintegrate loose feeds
and separate fines for gravity while the coarser
rocks proceed to crushing and grinding,” he
says. “Initial gravity recovery can be achieved
either using our own GoldKacha concentrator
or – for higher throughputs – Knelson con-
centrators with jigs being used for the coarser
mineral separations. Where gold dissolution
is required, the flowsheet will incorporate our
own highly efficient and revolutionary TriTank
cyanidation system. Finally, we also offer the
APT gold smelter, which is essentially an elec-
tric furnace at small scale or diesel-fired at
larger scale.”
APT’s philosophy is to offer only mercury-
free solutions. Indeed, it manufactures plants to
specifically remediate mercury-contaminated
areas, which can usually recover significant
quantities of gold in the process.
The company’s products are all manufac-
tured in South Africa to APT’s designs and
specifications by its in-house workshops or
third-party fabricators and components are then
pre-assembled and – where practical – tested
locally before being despatched in containers
to site. Says McFarlane: “Assembly on site –
which is largely a ‘plug-and-play’ process – can
either be undertaken by APT or by the customer
with our assistance. Minimal civils are required
– generally no more than a concrete screed and
not even that with the small plants – and the
plant can be in operation within days in some
cases. In all, the whole process from initial
order to commissioning normally requires no
more than 14 to 20 weeks.
“One recent 20 t/h gold plant we did was
designed and fabricated in 14 weeks. It was
then despatched to site and, once there, was in
production in just four days. In another case,
we took just six days to erect – and commission
– an entire 40 t/h gravity tower.”
He adds that every effort is made to ensure
that maintenance demands are kept as low as
possible. “In terms of componentry such as
pumps and motors, we use recognised brands
that are well supported and readily available
and we also use standard bearings and shafts
which can easily be sourced virtually anywhere
in the world. We also have a minimalist design
philosophy so that our plants are not encum-
bered with unnecessary complexity or elaborate
‘bells and whistles’ that can fail and cause prob-
lems, particularly out on remote sites.”
While the APT range has been developed in-
house, the company is an OEM for the Knelson
concentrator range (now part of FLSmidth)
in Southern Africa and the excellent Knelson
products are incorporated in many of APT’s
larger plants.
APT prides itself on being highly inno-
vative. One example of this is the recent
addition of ‘GoldFix™’ to its offering. GoldFix
Small scale RG30 and
GoldKacha for cassiterite
recovery (cassiterite is the
main tin ore).