Easier to operate and maintain

The Albion Process™ doesn’t have complicated equipment operating at high pressures. The equipment consists of low maintenance slurry pumps, agitators, valves, HyperSparge™, tanks and thickeners.

These items are basic in design and require non-specialised skills and procedures to operate and maintain and are all well understood. Even if the instrumentation fails on an Albion plant, generally the plant can keep running.

The Albion Process™ comprises established, reliable and proven unit operations such as the IsaMill™, the Albion Process™ Leach Reactors, HyperSparge™, pumps and thickeners. This means the process is flexible, simple, robust and reliable.

The most critical part of the Albion Process™ is the delivery and transfer of oxygen to where it is needed to drive the oxidation reactions in the Albion Process™ Leach Reactors. This is achieved through the specially designed oxygen mass transfer system in the Albion Process™ Leach Reactors.

Oxygen is injected at supersonic velocities through a set of HyperSparge™ lances into the Albion Process™ Leach Reactors. Process interruption is minimised because the HyperSparge™ units can be removed from the Albion Process™ Leach Reactors and inspected while the other HyperSparge™ units are operating and without scuttling leach reactors.