High performance

Our portfolio of exceptional assets is diversified by commodity, market and geography enabling our continued growth.

Processing

Processing of ore from a lode mine, whether it is a surface or subsurface mine, requires that the rock ore be crushed and pulverized before extraction of the valuable minerals begins. After the lode ore is crushed, recovery of the valuable minerals is done by one, or a combination of several mechanical and chemical techniques. In every mining activity, the ROM after excavation is taken through two methods of processing.

 

Dry processing

Resources
Crusher Plants are used on location at the PTI mines, for the purpose of crushing ROM and lumpy material.
  • ROM of grade +40 % Fe is sent though a dry screen and crushing plant
  • It is then passed through a mobile screen plant
  • Three products obtained through this process are: -10mm (Fines), +10-40mm (Bits) and +40-70mm (Lumpy)
  • The BHP Crusher Plant is used to feed ROM to crush the oversized raw material, bits and lumpy ore of ROM, so that final product of size -10 mm is produced which can be directly exported/sold/beneficiated

Wet processing

Resources
  • Low grade ore obtained from 40-45% Fe is either blended or fed to the washing/beneficiation plant where water is used as a medium for washing the ore to remove the clays and silica
  • IThe linear vibro screen, cone pump and screw classifier is used to upgrade +1 to -10mm fine product to 56% of Fe
  • +10 mm lumpy ore is crushed through the horizontal shaft impactor and recycled to screening and washing circuit
  • Similarly oversize -300mm size is crushed through jaw crusher and after that recycled to the screening and washing circuit
  • The beneficiation plant also has hydro cyclones, where less than -1mm size ore particles from the classifier, are passed, before going to tailing
  • The water used for washing is in closed circuit avoiding pollution to the surroundings
  • The tailings are impounded in an excavated pit kept for future beneficiation or used for backfilling