Tropicana Thickener Project

Mintrex was engaged by AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd (AGAA) to complete a concept study, followed by design and implementation support to upgrade the leach feed and tailings thickening circuit at the Tropicana Gold Mine in Western Australia. Tropicana is 70% owned and managed by AGAA, with AFB Resources Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Regis Resources Limited) holding the remaining 30%.

The leach feed thickener was identified as a bottleneck in the plant. The aim of the project was to increase plant throughput by swapping the tailings and leach feed thickener duties and implementing upgrades to the feed arrangements for both thickeners.

The project objectives were to:

• Improve plant throughput by capitalising on underutilised capacity in existing equipment
• Achieve the required thickener underflow densities and improved overflow clarity at the increased throughput
• Complete the project on schedule
• Eliminate plant downtime outside of planned maintenance shutdowns, and
• Minimise overall operational risk including production loss and construction safety risk

Mintrex worked closely with AGAA during the study phase to develop a unique solution to swap the thickener duties whilst maintaining full plant operation. This included a staged approach to bypass the tailings thickener circuit and provide improved safe access for construction works.

The project was delivered on a tight timeline despite major challenges encountered including scope additions required to implement the feed system upgrades, and increasingly tight labour, supply and logistics markets. The project team were able to adapt to the challenges while maintaining the project objectives and deliver the project on time.

The project was successfully executed, and objectives met. The plant design throughput target was exceeded by 5%, delivering a strong return.

The team at Mintrex is extremely proud of what was achieved in collaboration with construction contractors, and OEM suppliers to execute a highly complex brownfield upgrade on an operating plant with no added plant downtime. It was a team effort, and a positive model for further collaborative work.