IMA Fast Conveyor Analyzer, a solution for copper mining risks
IMA technology allows mines to know where the valuable ore is. This information is key to avoiding processing waste, which involves a huge quantity of water.
The recently published PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP report warns about the risk of having more than 50% of the copper mines in drought areas by 2050.
So, reducing water and power use is essential during all mining stages. This is because the quantity of necessary copper for the clean-energy transition is increasing drastically.
Technology is the key
IMA Engineering’s technology works in this direction, from drill cuttings, blast hole sampling, and analysis on-site, to online elemental composition analysis on the conveyor belt.
“We started working on this technology about 25 years ago, and that’s how we developed the Fast Conveyor Analyzer. This is very useful, as it helps mines separate ore from waste before the material reaches the intensive water and electricity-consuming process, in the concentrator. So, As a result, fewer chemicals are used, fewer tailings result - which saves water - and the CO2 emissions significantly drop”, Jukka Raatikainen, CEO of IMA Engineering, mentioned.
IMA Technology - proven efficiency
Moreover, we are already involved in dry processing technology, which helps mines save precious water amounts.
The Fast Conveyor Analyzer and the Bulk Ore Sorting system are already used in copper mines. Chilean mines appreciate the value of the FCA, while Brazilian mines take advantage of our Bulk Ore Sorting System. Using our technology, the mines can reduce the amount of water and energy involved in the process by up to 20%.
In Chile, “water shortages have restrained copper production in recent years as the industry invests in the use of seawater”, according to Mining.com. So, the mining companies felt the need to do something about it.
Now, according to the same source, Zambian “copper mines are facing a power supply squeeze as drought roils hydroelectric installations”. So, IMA Engineering’s solutions could also help them significantly.
All our solutions are available now when more than 70% of key minerals for the net zero energy transition are at risk from climate disruption.
What is IMA Engineering?
IMA Engineering has used on-line sensors for analyzing ore and waste rock in mining for over 25 years. Today IMA on-line sensors are used in various stages of the mining process including on-line analysis of drill cores, drill chips, ore, and waste in loader buckets, ROM ore analysis on conveyor belts and in bulk ore sorting, as well as in slurry analysis in concentrators.
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