RFC wins grant funding from EIT RawMaterials
Published by Jessica Casey,
Editor
Global Mining Review,
The annual EIT RawMaterials KAVA Upscaling Projects grant has been awarded to the REFLUXTM Flotation Cell (RFCTM). Preliminary planning for the project has now been started by a consortium of mine sites, chemical companies and universities which is led by FLSmidth. The goal is to upscale the RFC technology and accelerate commercialisation during the 3-year project. This will involve pilot and full-scale testing and eventual sales of full-scale equipment for the copper and iron ore industries, among others.
The RFC technology, invented by Professor Kevin Galvin of the University of Newcastle in Australia, has an entirely new internal design compared to traditional flotation methods. The result is much higher throughput with simultaneously improved separation efficiency. Since flotation is a key process area that impacts upstream comminution and downstream dewatering, there is huge potential to save energy and resources through innovations in flotation process technology. The RFC’s benefits correspond closely to FLSmidth’s MissionZero programme that aims to enable customers to move towards zero water and energy waste by 2030.
“We are very grateful to EIT RawMaterials for this grant award. The RFC is already proving that it can operate successfully outside of the limitations experienced by traditional open tank flotation systems. The technology has potential across various commodities and flotation applications. The opportunity presented by the work packages included in this EIT RawMaterials KAVA grant will accelerate the commercialisation of the technology. It will also allow for continued development and optimisation of the RFC that will hopefully further increase resourse efficiency in mining,” commented Manfred Schaffer, President of Mining at FLSmidth.
The consortium behind this upscaling project is led by FLSmidth and includes two mine sites (KGHM Polska Miedz Spólka Akcyjna in Poland and Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) in Sweden), two universities (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Helmholtz Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf University), the Swedish Environmental Research Institute and several external advisors. The University of Newcastle in Australia and Professor Kevin Galvin, will act as external advisors.
A total of €4 million was awarded (€2.8m to FLSmidth) by EIT RawMaterials, which is funded by the EIT (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), a body of the European Union, through a competitive application process. The RFC-Upscaling project will run from 1 June 2021 until 1 June 2024.
Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/handling-processing/20112020/rfc-wins-grant-funding-from-eit-rawmaterials/
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