allmineral enhances to top quality levels

The Spanish tungsten and tin mine at La Parilla is banking on state-of-the-art technology from Duisburg to optimise the quality of its raw material. Two high-output alljig® fines jigs for the efficient pre-concentration of extracted ore are the core of the planned processing plant operated by Iberian Resources in south-western Spain.

The La Parrilla mine near the Portuguese border is one of five sites on the Iberian Peninsula mined by the parent company W Resources (WRES). In the years to come, the two alljig® fines jigs will help double annual output in the Extremadura region to 5,000 tonnes a year and ensure a consistently high product quality.

Thanks to the new processing technology from Duisburg the mine operators are expecting a material yield in pre-concentration of at least 90 per cent from the extracted scheelite ore. The mass flow rate is also to be reduced by 55 per cent, boosting allmineral’s industry lead in jigging technology by a further application.

The side-pulsed jigs are designed to upgrade by density up to 350 tonnes of scheelite ore per hour, pre-sized to 2 to 10 mm. During the jigging process the particles in the material strata align according to their specific density. The material is fed in direction of the discharge where the specifically lighter scheelite-poor ore is separated from the specifically heavier scheelite-rich ore.

The alljig® jigs from allmineral stand for the physical stability of the process, allowing an optimum jigging stroke with a minimum of energy consumption. The jigging motion used to separate the particles is wear-free and induced by air. This in turn allows for maximum flexibility in regards to adjusting the operating parameters for the stroke motion (frequency, amplitude and shape).

By increasing its ore production and optimising its processing at the La Parrilla site, WRES is set to boost its tungsten production significantly by 2020. Tungsten is used as an aggregate in steel production, with around 90 per cent of the tungsten extracted worldwide used for that very purpose.