There were 3 hand outs at the annual meeting which EMR said they would eventually put onto their web site. It is quite apparent Bateman recognizes the potential for this technology.
Following is one of the hand outs; it seems as though it was post to the www.barney.co.za/news/sept99/micromine9.htm web site
September 9, 1999
Microwaves to be used to recover gold. By Andrew Davidson.
Johannesburg (Sapa) - South African engineering group Bateman Project Holdings is to commercially produce a revolutionary new process which uses microwaves to unlock gold, copper and other metals from refractory or hard to recover ores.
It could be one of the biggest breakthroughs in the treatment of base and precious metal ores since the Biox (bio-oxidation) process which in the past 10 years has taken the mining and metallurgical industry by storm.
In an interview with Sapa on Thursday, Bateman chief executive officer Dr. Johan Herselman disclosed that the microwave treatment had lower capital cost and lower operating costs, as well as being probably more efficient, than Biox - developed by Gencor and now operated, under
license, at various international gold and nickel mining operations.
Herselman also stated that the microwaves could treat some ores, such as those carbon-encapsulated ores, which Biox is unable to treat, because "the Bioxbugs are sulphur-eating".
He added: "We have had discussions with a number of the major mining houses which have shown interest and we would hope to have a pilot plant to demonstrate the process up and running in the Johannesburg area within the next 12 months.
Bateman claims that the microwave technology can make those mineral reserves which have previously been rejected as uneconomic because of the difficulties of extraction, commercially viable.
The group said that the basic technology was developed in Canada by EMR Microwave Technologies and said EMR had run pilot plants successfully for a number of years.
EMR, in which Bateman has a small stake and a seat on the board, has now joined forces with the SA firm to commercialise the applications in minerals processing.
"It's a synergistic marriage," Herselman told me. "EMR are the physicists and know all about microwaves. But we know about the mining and minerals industry. We have the offer to double our interest in EMR.
He added: "The microwave technology is particularly suitable to the extraction of metals from what are known as refractory ores, or ores where those metals are not directly recoverable due to the association of other elements such as sulphur and arsenic."
Refractory gold ores are commonly encountered around the world and in 1996 produced about a quarter of the world's total gold output. In future this process could increase the recovery of gold from these ores by making them more amenable to processing.
Refractory ores are not commonly found in South Africa, except in the Barberton area which produces a small portion of SA's gold.
It was at Barberton that Gencor set up its first Biox pilot plant in the early 1980's. Herselman said the technology could have significant impact in southern Africa in the processing of ores containing platinum group and base metals and heavy mineral sands.
"Here the application of this technology to sulphide flotation concentrates to replace historic roasting would have huge potential," he said. Herselman added that the EMR investment fitted in perfectly with Bateman's strategy of investing in new niche technologies in its areas of expertise which offer long term rewards.
"We believe this has huge potential as part of our technology portfolio.
"It will enhance the group's competitive edge in acquiring future business while simultaneously being an attractive direct investment," he said.
"We see a whole new suite of minerals treatment emanating from this microwave technology." said EMR president James Tranquilla. "The technology's applications were truly global and we have mining companies interested in Canada and the US, in South America, Australia, and Europe."
Tranquilla said that EMR had kept the process quiet until recently to keep it away from competitors while international patents were taken out, and to investigate its further potential.
"We are the only company that has this technology ready for commercial use. A conservative estimate is that we are at least three years ahead of any competitor in the development and application of these technologies in the mining industry."
The microwave process comes in at the extraction stage, when ore has been brought to the surface for treatment. The equipment required for minerals processing applications will essentially be conventional," said Bateman.
"It is easy to adapt designs to maximise the energy efficiency of microwaves and handle the feed stocks. Microwave equipment is well proven with a long life span, simple to maintain and easily meets environmental safety standards," said the group.
It added: "Although it is a high-energy microwave process, it uses less electricity than other extraction methods. For example it would offer significant cost savings when preparing sulphide gold-bearing ore for cyanide leaching compared to autoclaves and roasters.
The process is also environmentally friendly in treating sulphidic refractory ores. "The group stated: "While this technology is not applicable to all ores, the results in difficult to extract ores can be impressive.
In tests on a Mexican ore in which both gold and silver were trapped, with at least 50 percent of the gold unrecoverable by cyanide leach, the microwave treatment resulted in close to 100 percent gold recovery". |
