Recent papers on SX/EW technology 

BATEMAN personnel presented six papers at the South African
Institute for Mining and Metallurgy’s solvent extraction
and electrowinning (SX/EW) school, held in Johannesburg in
October 1999. The titles and brief abstracts are provided.

‘Developments in Liquid-Liquid Contacting Unit Designs’ by SF Burks – presented by SF Burks.

Novel equipment can improve SX transfer efficiency or reduce capital and operating costs. The basic designs and specific installations of the BATEMAN SettlerTM, (a patented reverse flow mixersettler), the IMI mixer and compact settler and BATEMAN pulsed column are described.

‘Comparison of the Performance of Full Scale Pulsed Columns vs. Mixer-Settlers for Uranium Solvent Extraction’ by
RL Movsowitz, R Kleinberger, Dr EM Buchalter, et al – presented by J Riordan.

An extended quantitative comparison between full-scale BATEMAN pulsed columns and mixer settlers for uranium solvent extraction revealed that, with columns, the entrainment of solvent is lower, mechanical failures are less frequent, less crud is formed, solvent
losses are smaller and plant operation is simpler. The extraction performance of the two BATEMAN pulsed columns was excellent with extraction yields of about 98 %. The results convinced Western Mining Corporation Pty Ltd (WMC) to install 10 similar columns for the plant’s expansion.

‘Bateman Pulsed Column Technology for Cu SX in the New ACTIVOX Process’ by G Johnson (WMC), Dr EM Buchalter, R Kleinberger, RL Movsowitz and J Riordan – presented by J Riordan.

An evaluation and cost comparison is made of the solvent extraction and recovery of copper using conventional mixer-settlers and BATEMAN pulsed columns. Two streams of solution from a
Cu-Ni-Co concentrate treated by the ACTIVOX process were investigated. The conclusion was that while capital costs would be similar, operating costs in BATEMAN pulsed column circuits would
be significantly lower.

‘A Case Study of Three Different Solvent Extraction Circuits used for the Separation of Nickel and Cobalt’ by AJ Lathwood, J Riordan and AG Pavlides – presented by PJ Cilliers.

Comparisons of the relative merits, with respect to design, capital cost and operation, are made of the separation of cobalt and nickel using Cyanex 272 in Hartley Platinum’s conventional mixersettler
circuit, Bulong Nickel’s BATEMAN reverse flow mixer-settler circuit and Impala Platinum’s pilot BATEMAN pulsed column circuit.

‘A Case Study of the Commissioning of the Nickel Electrowinning Circuit at Hartley Platinum Base Metal Refinery’ by AJ Lathwood, – presented by AJ Lathwood. The commissioning and ramp-up
experiences at Hartley Platinum’s nickel electrowinning plant are covered, with special reference to the mechanical, chemical and operational challenges to ensure that the plant met design
specifications.

‘Developments in Cobalt and Nickel Electrowinning Technology’, by AG Pavlides – presented by KG Fisher.

The plant practice at several Southern African and Canadian nickel and cobalt electrowinning tankhouses is reviewed and compared. The implementation in existing tankhouses of innovations in
organic removal technology, anode technology, cell design and tankhouse ventilation on operating practices is discussed. Potential implications on design of new plants are explained.
Please contact Steve Burks, General Manager, PGM & Base Metals, at steveb@bmi.co.za for more details.

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