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Separation circuits at Impala’s enhanced precious metals refinery
completed by BATEMAN in June 1997.
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Impala’s platinum purification project
Good progress is being made on providing a platinum purification
circuit at Impala Platinum Limited-Refineries’ enhanced precious
metals refinery (EPMR). This R25M project is being undertaken by an
integrated team of personnel from Impala and Bateman Minerals.
BATEMAN is in general responsible for the design and construction of
the circuit with Impala providing the bulk of the draughtsmen. Impala
is handling the procurement while the members of the process engineering
team have been drawn equally from Impala and BATEMAN.
The new circuit will receive a solution from the EPMR from which gold,
palladium, base metals and ruthenium have already been removed. The
platinum in the solution will be purified by means of bromate hydrolysis
and then precipitated as a pure salt. The salt will be de-watered using
a Peeler centrifuge and forwarded to the refinery for ignition to pure
platinum metal and packaging for despatch to clients.
Because of the corrosive nature of the chemicals to be processed, the
circuit is being constructed using materials such as titanium, glass
reinforced plastic (GRP), glass lined reaction vessels and glass condensers,
columns and pipelines which were extensively used in the construction
of the EPMR. In addition, GRP wrapped polypropylene piping is being
used to cope with the higher temperatures and pressures required in
the platinum purification circuit.
Work on the project commenced in October 1997, essentially flowing out
of Impala’s EPMR project which was completed by BATEMAN earlier
that year. It should be completed by mid-1999, the rather long duration
being mainly the result of long lead times for the delivery of essential
equipment such as the Nutsche pressure filters and Peeler centrifuge.
This has enabled the project team to source and make use of the best
expertise available in both companies involved in this project.
Please contact Mr Brian Harvey, Process Manager, on
+27-11-899-2453 or email PGM@batemanengineering.com
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