Starkey arranges a US$ 1 million contract with a major international mining company

To do this before any equipment is purchased, ore grades, and hardness test results (which control capacity), must be kriged into the mine plan. That will allow the whole operation to be designed, first by optimising the initial equipment capital costs, and then by maximising the profits in the plant constructed, as metal prices vary during normal market cycles.

Starkey has developed the most accurate ore hardness test (SAGDesign) that uses 15 kg drill core samples with accuracy within +/- 5% and repeatability of +/- 3%. This technology has been patented and used since 2004 to successfully design AG and SAG mills with no failures in achieving specified grinding capacity. It has also been used in Russia since 2006 on almost every SAG mill design project, until February 2022, when Starkey’s cordial agreement with TOMS was halted by war.

To better introduce its technology in North America, Starkey will sell several Master Licenses (MLs) to major mining companies that will forgive clients paying royalties for the SAGDesign tests that they do. One ML has been sold in the USA and royalty free testing has started. All 16 Starkey partner test labs will benefit from MLs because ore hardness test work will increase. Companies who do not buy Master Licenses will continue to pay for tests including royalties payable to Starkey.

Mining companies are realising that since an ore body is their biggest asset, and the advent of accurate ore hardness testing data is available, that the era of testing minimal holes, designing for constant hardness and never questioning original mine designs, has changed for large mining projects. Mining operations are becoming more sensitive to metal pricing while at the same time optimising their equipment CAPEX, plant OPEX and ore reserves. For example, it may be better to run low grade soft ore at high tph, when metal prices are high. Most plant designs and tph forecasting to date have not used such detailed analysis because previous hardness data was not accurate enough to use in this way.

SAGDesign testing is practical and accepted by clients. It has also been used effectively where legal challenges are involved.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/13042023/starkey-arranges-a-us-1-million-contract-with-a-major-international-mining-company/