I. Client Background and Core Challenges
Client Name: A medium-sized gold mining company in the Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana (at the client's request, we will use the acronym "Golden Spine Mining").
Industry: Gold Mining and Ore Processing
Project Background: "Golden Spine Mining" owns a gold mine that has been mined for many years. Due to technological limitations, traditional processes (such as amalgamation or simple flotation) were used to process the ore. This resulted in the direct storage of large quantities of low-grade tailings, forming a massive tailings pond. These tailings still contain significant gold resources.
Core Challenges (Pain Points):
Resource Waste and Environmental Pressure: Huge tailings ponds not only occupy land but also pose environmental pollution risks due to heavy metals and other substances contained within them, placing them under increasing pressure from increasingly stringent local environmental regulations.
Low Recovery Rates with Traditional Equipment: Gold minerals in tailings are often embedded in extremely fine particles or coexist with other minerals. Using simple crushing and washing equipment for recovery is extremely inefficient and economically unfeasible. Power and Maintenance Constraints: The local industrial base is relatively weak, and the power supply is unstable, placing extremely high demands on equipment durability and maintainability. Complex mineral processing equipment not only requires large investments but is also difficult to operate and maintain.
Urgent Profitability: Mining new mineral veins is costly, making "mining gold" from abandoned tailings a key way for companies to seek new growth points and revitalize existing assets.
II. Solution: Gold Mill
After reviewing several international suppliers, Golden Backbone Mining decided to introduce our company's automated gold mill in mid-2023.
Reasons for Equipment Selection:
Powerful Wet Milling Principle: The gold mill uses gravity-driven crushing and grinding of two massive grinding wheels to achieve "fine grinding and deep stripping" of the tailings. This effectively crushes the gangue encapsulating the fine-grained gold minerals, fully dissociating the gold minerals and ultimately improving recovery rates. Excellent Wear Resistance and Durability: Both the grinding wheel and the grinding plate are made of high-chromium alloy cast iron, which has a wear resistance over three times that of ordinary materials. This makes it ideal for grinding abrasive ores, significantly reducing spare part replacement frequency and long-term operating costs.
Adaptability to Power Fluctuations: The equipment's robust drive system, equipped with a reliable motor and starting device, can adapt to unstable voltage conditions in mining areas and ensure continuous and stable operation.
Easy Operation and Maintenance: Compared to complex flotation or cyanidation lines, the gold mill has a relatively simple structure, making it easier to train local personnel for operation and maintenance, reducing reliance on external technical support.
Flexible Configuration Options: We provide a complete solution consisting of a "gold mill + amalgamation plate + shaking table." The gold mill dissociates gold minerals, the amalgamation plate immediately captures free coarse gold particles, and the shaking table further recovers fine gold particles, creating an efficient and practical tailings recovery line.
III. Implementation Results and Return on Investment (ROI)
The project has achieved economic and environmental benefits far exceeding expectations:
1. Astonishing Economic Benefits:
Turning Waste into Treasure: Tailings, which previously required environmental maintenance costs, have been transformed into a directly profitable raw material. After commissioning, the project will process 50 tons of tailings daily, recovering an average of 0.8-1.2 grams of gold per ton.
High Return on Investment: The total investment for the entire production line is approximately US$200,000. Based on current gold prices, the investment is expected to be fully recovered within 6-8 months, with continued net profit thereafter.
Low Operating Costs: Thanks to the equipment's durability and simple process flow, electricity consumption, labor, and maintenance costs are significantly lower than those of other complex technical solutions.
