TUNRA Clean coal has developed a Slurry Ash Monitor (SAM) that monitors tailing streams to allow for maximum coal or mineral recovery during processing.
Currently being trialled in the Hunter Valley, the SAM was developed to increase coal recovery for both low and medium grade thermal coals.
The compact Slurry Ash Monitor can be installed on any type of slurry feed, while also being adaptable to a plants’ existing communications network.
Designed for the processing sector, the SAM monitors the ash value of a tailings stream, allowing the operators to optimise the flotation process to provide an increase in the yield of coal recovered.
At a trial at coal preparation plant which operates for approximately 6,000 hours per year, with a feed of 1,000 tonnes of low grade thermal coal per hour and a fines feed of 200 tonnes per hour, the average tails ash was increased by 20 percentage points, which increased the coal yield by 51 tonnes.
The company said readings are displayed on a screen, where an operator can see the ash value and are able to adjust the flotation process to recover the fine coal.