The Companhia de Ferro Ligas da Bahia (Ferbasa) is located in Ipueira, a municipality in the state of Bahia in the northeast of Brazil. Ferbasa operates one of the largest chromite mines in Brazil and is considered a pioneer in the use of sensor-based sorting (SBS) technology. The company processes chromite obtained from an underground mine. The extracted material is pre-concentrated using sorting technology that employs sensors, and is later used in the production of specialized steel alloys. With a processing capacity of 12,000,000 tonnes per year, the company has been using sensor-based sorting for 10 years, in a completely dry process that separates waste from high-grade chromite.
The benefit of this, is removing the requirement for any additional processing. In that way, particles which are not economically viable are eliminated from the process beforehand. This process is referred to as Pre-Concentration. The pre-concentration of the material precedes comminution processes, which involve high energy consumption. Thus, only valuable material undergoes this process and moves on to the concentration steps.
Beneficiation refers to various methods or processes that aim to increase the concentration of specific minerals through physical and chemical methods. Simply put, pre-concentration improves the overall productivity of a minerals processing plant. At Ferbasa, the use of sensor-based sorting technology has enabled an increase in production, in addition to reducing costs in the subsequent processes, such as comminution and the use of inputs, such as reagents.
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and sensor-based sorting go hand in hand. “Today, at Ferbasa, sensor-based sorting technology helps us adopt ESG practices, reducing waste, maximizing production efficiency and contributing to the conservation of natural resources”, explains Eriberto Nascimento. Nowadays, it is not only the mined ore that is processed, but also the stockpiles, which contain considerable amounts of chromium. The treatment of these piles is only possible thanks to process automation and its high-capacity levels, which reach up to 180 t/h. Stockpile treatment has the potential to increase productivity in the mine. In terms of resource use, there is potential to reduce the consumption of water, energy, and chemical reagents primarily because sensor-based sorting is a dry separation process, unlike other pre-concentration processes such as dense media separation (DMS).
About the technology
STEINERT has developed a unique sensor combination concept called “multi-sensor sorting” or STEINERT KSS. The STEINERT KSS sorting system applies this concept, combining the x-ray transmission sensor with three other additional sensor options (Induction, 3D laser, and Colour).
1 окт 2024
