FLSmidth reported it and a consortium will upscale and commercialize the REFLUX Flotation Cell (RFC) after receiving an annual grant from EIT RawMaterials. The three-year project will involve pilot and full-scale testing, leading to sales to the copper and iron ore industries, FLSmidth reported.
The grant totaled $6.4 million, of which $3.3 million went to the supplier.
FLSmidth said the money will fund efforts to prove RFC can operate successfully outside the limitation of traditional open tank flotation systems.
“The opportunity presented by the work packages included in this grant will accelerate the commercialization of the technology,” Manfred Schaffer, president, mining, FLSmidth, said. “It will also allow for continued development and optimization of the RFC that will hopefully further increase resource efficiency in mining.”
RFC has a higher throughput and improved separation efficiency compared to traditional flotation methods. It speaks to the supplier’s MissionZero program to move toward zero water and energy waste by 2030.
The consortium includes KGHM Polska Miedz Spólka Akcyjna in Poland and Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB in Sweden, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Helmholtz Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf University, the University of Newcastle in Australia, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute, and several external advisors.
