INFLUENCING CHANGE IN AUSTRALIA & BEYOND: INTERNATIONAL REFLUX FLOTATION CELL UPSCALING SYMPOSIUM

Centre technology is set to transform minerals processing on a global scale

COEMinerals extended its international connections and industry influence by hosting the ‘International RFC Upscaling Symposium’ at UON in October 2022. Finding ways to fast track the widespread implementation of the new minerals processing technology was a key discussion topic for the international symposium.

This event featured COEMinerals researchers presenting their latest work and demonstrating the REFLUX™ Flotation Cell (RFC) technology, along with industry speakers and the support of Centre industry partner FLSmidth.

The event attracted industrial and academic interest, with attendees representing fourteen organisations and eight countries, including

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It provides a collaborative environment for disruptive and breakthrough innovations by connecting more than 300 partners from industry, academia, research, and investment.

It is supporting the RFC project and noting “The RFC requires 30% less Capex and 20% less Opex compared to the existing flotation technologies. The new design allows higher throughputs, a broader particle size distribution and recovery of finer particles.”

Australia and Europe-based minerals sustainability experts. It was also the first in-person meeting between the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) RFC Upscaling consortium members.

Presentations, including fundamental and industrial studies, were delivered by experts from both academia and industry. Potential collaborations on the RFC development and wider areas of mineral processing technology were discussed, building worldwide awareness of the ground-breaking technologies from the Centre.

COEMinerals Director, L/Prof Kevin Galvin commented: “The international interest we are seeing from global sustainability leaders indicates the minerals sector is ready to adapt and evolve.”

Commenting on the value and impact of the event, COEMinerals ECR Dr Peipei Wang, a lead organiser of the Symposium, commented: “Organising and presenting at the event was an exciting opportunity as part of my ECR experience at the Centre. As a result, my communication, negotiation and problem-solving skills have greatly improved. The event also prompted close communications between COEMinerals’ researchers, and with EIT RFC Upscaling consortium members. Further development of Centre technologies will help transform the minerals industry to become more sustainable, saving water and energy and significantly reducing the environmental footprint of mining. Since the event, more RFC units have been tested on mine sites, with further possibilities of collaboration and implementation being explored as a result.”

Lance Christodoulou, Global Product Line Manager for REFLUX™ Technologies at FLSmidth noted the new technology, “..not only offers faster recovery of valuable minerals, but at enhanced product grades”.

He added: “Events like this help us spread the word about the benefits for industry adoption. It was an amazing opportunity to share learnings and strengthen relationships in the Centre and industry. After our time spent together, we left with an even clearer vision of how to reach our combined goals of reducing energy and resources used in global mining .”

The RFC is a flotation technology device invented by Centre Director L/Prof Kevin Galvin in collaboration with Centre partner FLSmidth, a global leader in supplying mineral processing equipment. The RFC can extract ultrafine mineral particles previously lost as a tailings waste. Using less energy and producing less waste, it is faster at recovering more minerals than previous methods.