Royal IHC completes Eramet’s Grande Côte study

Royal IHC has successfully completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for a proposed mobile concentrator plant that will be based at Eramet’s Grande Côte operation in Senegal.

The objective of the PFS was to design and develop cost estimates for a 1,000tph relocatable process plant, capable of producing a heavy mineral concentrate, while recovering the required volumes of titanium and zircon.

The main features of the process plant, which implemented IHC mining equipment, included a skid-mounted IHC Dry Mining Unit (DMU), desliming cyclones, an IHC surge bin, spirals, pumps, and an IHC tails stacker.

Collaborative contracting

While working in close collaboration with Eramet throughout the PFS, the project also drew on the expertise of IHC’s in-house metallurgy, engineering and equipment design teams within IHC Robbins.

The PFS was delivered in two phases, with the first involving metallurgical test work and conceptual design. Phase two utilised the test work results to develop a process plant design and other CAPEX and OPEX estimates.

Phase one began in 2019, with IHC Robbins’ engineering and metallurgy team leaders participating in a series of workshops with Eramet at the Grande Côte site. This then coincided with the commencement of phase two’s process plant design, with the project concluding in 2020.

During the PFS development, Eramet also engaged IHC Robbins to undertake an additional alternate process design that included a wet concentrator plant, requiring further test work and design.