Carbon Processing & Gravity Separation Services

Como Carbon Services currently operates a carbon washing, sizing and separation plant in Perth.

Carbon Processing

Carbon Washing and Screening
The plant utilises a repulping trommel to mix the dry feed stock with water and remove the 5mm plus waste material prior to separating through a vibrating screen for slimes removal. The product is then separated via gravity separation on a Wilfley Table.

Carbon Stripping Como Engineers IPS technology is utilised for gold recovery. Currently the plant allows for stripping batches up to 4 tonne using 2 x 2 tonne capacity elution columns.

Carbon Reactivation
Reactivation is achieved utilising a Como Engineers designed and built Vertical Tube Reactivation Kiln rated at 75 kg/hr. Generally carbon activity of plus 90% is achieved.

Gravity Separation

Gold Recovery From Used Crucibles
Many mine sites have built up a collection of old smelting pots and used furnace bricks. Despite appearances, the pots and bricks do contain, at times, significant amounts of gold. Recovering this gold has, however been somewhat of a problem. It is not good practice to simply throw them back in the mill as the graphite that the pots are made of can act as a powerful preg robber and more gold can be lost to this preg robbing phenomenon than was contained in the pots in the first place. The other solution has been to crush and amalgamate them with mercury but with the extreme health risks and poor recoveries this method has almost been discontinued. 

Como Engineers has built a specialist gravity circuit at our O’Connor operations where crucibles and pots can be finely crushed before being treated through the gravity circuit. The concentrate from the gravity circuit is then smelted on site to produce a dore bar for delivery to the client’s refiner of choice.

We have completed a number of campaigns at our O’Connor site and assay results of the product streams show that over 98% of the contained precious metals was recovered to dore.

Fine Carbon Recovery From Tails Screens
Currently many mines simply collect up the fine carbon from the tails screen in hoppers and return it along with the grit, plastic and other detritus back to the adsorption circuit where it forms a recirculating mass that blocks up interstage screens, elution and acid was filters and carbon regenerations kilns. This continues until the carbon is attritioned to such an extent that it is lost through the tails safety screen, with all its contained gold to the tails dam.

In response to a need for a simple method to recover fine carbon, Como Engineers have begun producing a simple frame and bulk bag.

The frame and bag are placed under the tails safety screen over-flow chute to collect any fine carbon coming off the screen. Once the bag is full it is lifted from the frame and shipped to our plant in O’Connor where the carbon is washed, sized and the gold is recovered.

Como Carbon Services will supply the frames and bags free of charge.

If you require any of these services please contact the Como Engineers Carbon Services Plant Manager Mr Kim Dalton
Mobile Telephone: 0419 402 225
Email Contact: kim.dalton@carbonservices.com.au