A new greenfield mine in North America decided to dry stack tailings. Their tailings however posed several challenges:
- Very high capacity,
- A difficult to dewater particle size distribution consisting of a high proportion of fines and ultra-fines,
- A coarse fraction of solids consisting of very abrasive grit.
Broadbent offered a solution utilizing Broadbent proprietary tailings dewatering technology. Broadbent was chosen as a test partner because of the Broadbent reputation for very rugged centrifuges for abrasive applications. Testing proved the tailings could be dewatered to a stackable product with very clean effluent liquid in Broadbent’s proprietary tailings centrifuges.
After testing the end user requested bids from several companies offering tailings centrifuges. Broadbent was selected for providing the highest capacity with the fewest installed therefore reducing capital cost, and with the best evaluated wear protection and lowest long term operating cost. The net results are the plant will save millions of dollars in capital project costs and maintenance costs resulting in increased operating profits.
Capital money saved and increased profitability has made Broadbent the reliable partner for tailings dewatering.