Newcrest selects Eriez equipment for Cadia Valley expansion

Newcrest will be the first mining company to commercialise the HydroFloat coarse particle flotation in sulfides and in a tail scavenging application.

The gold miner previously placed an order for four Eriez CrossFlow separators and two HydroFloats, which were successfully delivered, commissioned and ramped up as part of its Cadia coarse particle flotation demonstration plant in 2018.

Eriez global managing director Eric Wasmund said when stage two of the Cadia expansion project is complete, 100 per cent of the concentrator 1 tailings will be re-treated, significantly improving overall plant recovery for a coarser primary grind.

“Eriez has been very fortunate to partner with Newcrest on coarse particle flotation,” he said.

“As partners we have learned many lessons together.”

Eriez-Australia managing director James Cooke added: “During the commissioning of the demonstration plant, Eriez and Newcrest Mining worked closely together to perfect the technology. The decision was subsequently made to expand the application.”

Newcrest plans to further increase its processing capacity via the stage two of the Cadia Valley expansion project, from 33 million tonnes a year to 35 million tonnes a year, while focussing on recovery rate improvement projects.

Cadia produces gold doré from a gravity circuit and gold-rich copper concentrates from a flotation circuit at Cadia.