Case Study: Endeavor
Pionera F-250 improved the grade of lead, zinc and silver concentrates by pyrite depression in a plant trial.
At the Endeavor mine in Cobar, NSW, zinc and lead with silver concentrates are produced. Reduced production volumes towards end-of-life made traditional ore blending techniques unavailable to control the amount of pyrite in the final concentrate. In addition, pyrite content increases with the valuable silver content in the ore. Evaluation of different depressants revealed that Pionera F-250 adequately depresses pyrite and allows for the use of an economical collector.
This is an executive summary based on the scientific article “Improving plant performance at the Endeavor mine using Pionera F-250” by Vanegas, C, Sithole, M, Lauten, R A, 2021 Proceedings 15th AusIMM Mill Operators’ Conference 2021 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).
Key takeaways:
- Improved grade of final metal concentrate
- Increased recovery of valuable metals
- Optimisation of reagent suite
Plant trial showing increased lead grade in final concentrate with Pionera F-250.
