| Compania Minera Dona Ines de Collahuasi is one of the largest mine sites in Chile, producing copper from the mine site at 4,500 m above sea level in Northern Chile. The Molybdenum is a by-product of the copper production.
The filter was installed to process the clarifier over flow to remove any remaining solids prior to sending the water for use in the Molybdenum floatation circuit. The water has to be free of solids larger than 5 micron to ensure proper floatation of the Molybdenum. Any residual solids will foul the floatation circuit and result in loss of Molybdenum production.
The Hydromation Deep Bed Filter typically processes 100 ppm of suspended solids, and provides effluent less than 5 ppm. This super clean water circuit, is critical for molybdenum recovery, as marginal water will not provide the necessary solid separation in the clarifier.
Based on the data obtained during start up, due to exponentially increasing value of molybdenum, the plant will pay for itself in 3 months time.
The Hydromation Deep Bed filter was selected in this application, over other technologies, due to its ability to backwash (regenerate the media) cycle after cycle while other walnut shell filters or sand filters had failed. |
