Mineral Processing

By this stage, the ore has been mined from the ground, but it still has a long way to go before it reaches your door. We transport ore for pre-concentration at the mineral processing plant, where the magnesia nodules are given their first wash and are segregated into size.

The product goes into the hopper as ROM (run of mine) or screened ROM if it comes from a satellite operation. It then goes through the first wet screen and is sized accordingly. The materials that are sized less than 16 mm are sent to tailings, as they are not required in the current process. All the material from 16 mm to 65 mm goes through a log washer and a second screen – this makes it ready to feed the beneficiation plant.

Material over 65 mm goes through a jaw crusher and another screen for washing. Anything that is still sized over 65 mm after the jaw crusher goes through the secondary cone crusher. This way, we ensure all product is fed to the beneficiation plant at less than 65 mm in size.

What happens to the crushed and screened magnesite in the beneficiation plant? We sort it (using dense media cyclones and X-ray transmission ore sorting). This allows the efficient removal of impurities like silica and calcium.