Depleting ore grades and rising energy costs are creating new challenges for mineral processing – in response, Metso has introduced the MHC series hydrocyclone. The solution, although officially launched in 2016, is currently being trialled at a copper porphyry mine in the US.
Metso Africa and Middle East capital equipment sales GM Charles Ntsele explains that the series provides a range of grinding circuit classification duties, improving uptime and recovery. “We identified a gap in our grinding system offering and, with the addition of our cyclone range, we are now in a good position to offer a complete grinding solution, with the requisite process guarantee from one source.”
Ntsele notes that MHC units 250 to 800 are made from a steel housing with a single-piece polyurethane (PU) conical section, while the smaller-size cyclones, the MHC 100 and 150, are made entirely from PU.
He says that the series was designed to optimise mining applications, and offers significant advantages over previously available technologies. “The new range focuses on enhanced process performance, superior wear components design and improved ease of maintenance.”
He cites the US trial, commenting that, “to date, the MHC 650 has been operational for 6 000 hours and the data generated confirms that the Metso unit meets the expected level of performance for leading hydrocyclone technology”
.Further, he notes that Metso believes that this latest addition to its product portfolio will enhance its ability to offer “superior solutions” to the benefit of the customer.
Ntsele says the internal geometry of the MHC series has been developed to promote the smooth flow of the material from the inlet into the hydrocyclone, minimising liner wear and increasing throughput.
“The unique single-component conical section eliminates the need for multiple-conical-section housing and liner parts, thereby increasing wear life and keeping downtime to a minimum.” He adds that the MHC series is suited to all types of wet mineral processing applications, particularly in the classifying role.
Ntsele states that Metso’s improved manifold design ensures accurate feed distribution, including overflow and underflow collection from multiple hydrocyclones operating in parallel.