XT – NETZSCH IsaMill Development Partnership Continuation

The IsaMill was originally developed to allow energy-efficient ultrafine grinding in the early 90’s, and has since been recognised for improving the efficiency of a much wider range of grinding and processing applications.

Lindsay Clark, GM – Mineral Processing at XT, said XT and NETZSCH have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship developing the technology and its applications for improving processing, which will continue under the extended agreement. “Since the early lab testwork at Mount Isa to the development of the M3000, M10,000 and M50,000, our companies have strived to produce the most energy efficient grinding technology, used in the highest impact applications in the minerals industry”.

IsaMill technology was first developed for Glencore’s fine grained lead/zinc orebodies at McArthur River and Mount Isa, where grind sizes down to 7um were required. Since then the IsaMill has been applied in coarser applications, particularly regrinding and tertiary grinding. The unique ability to use fine, energy-efficient ceramic grinding media also gives significant downstream benefits in flotation and leaching. XT designs installations not simply as a grinding stage, but as an integrated part of the processing circuit for higher recoveries, higher product quality and lower impurities.

Udo Enderle, Managing Director at NETZSCH, said the cooperation between XT and NETZSCH worked out quite well in the last 20 years because it has always been not only a partnership between the two companies but with the clients as well.

The IsaMill technology is not just another efficient milling system, it as solution to optimize the concentrate grade and recovery in a growing number of mines and deposits.

Currently there is over 200MW of installed IsaMill power in a wide range of duties. The most recent commissioning was at the Antapaccay copper mine in Peru, to be followed with copper regrind and molybdenum circuits at Kazakmys’ Bozshakol and Aktogay projects in Kazakhstan, HudBay Constancia in Peru, and refractory gold grinding for GPM in Armenia. Recent technical developments include the 8MW M50,000 IsaMill and IsaDART robotic relining system.