Deswik Software is pleased to announce the release of their new website. The website acts not only as a presence on the web, but as a portal for users to find help, tips and updates for the various Deswik products.

The website can be viewed at http://www.deswiksoftware.com

Marking a significant step in the evolution of fine grinding technology, Canadian-based Knelson, a recognized leader in mineral separation technology and Deswik International Ltd. have announced plans to enter a Joint Venture technology development, manufacturing and distribution agreement of the Deswik fine grinding mill technology.

“We are extremely pleased to make this announcement and I would like to acknowledge the effort and the spirit of good faith put forth by the management teams of both Deswik and Knelson in getting this agreement finalized” stated Brett Knelson; Knelson VP of Business Development.

“We view this as a strategic step for Knelson that further enhances our position as global leaders in the development of leading edge mineral technology in an area that is complementary to our current areas of focus. With this JV agreement we now have a solid framework on which to develop and market this exciting technology” Knelson went on to say.

Under the terms of the new JV, the Knelson-Deswik fine grinding mill will be manufactured in Canada by Knelson and distributed through Knelson’s whollyowned subsidiaries and independent representative network spanning some 42 countries globally.

“From our perspective, we view Knelson as a company with a management structure and an operating philosophy very similar to our own. With the added benefit of their manufacturing expertise and established distribution network, we felt that they would make an excellent partner going forward” said Ian Lawler; Managing Director of Deswik.

Dave Capstick the Sales Director of Deswik Mining Consultants presented a paper entitled “Is fine grinding an appropriate technology for the optimal extraction of refractory gold ores?” at the recent MEI Communition 10 conference held in Cape Town.

The conference was well attended by a host of industry and academic experts, for further information see http://www.min-eng.com website and follow Barry Willis blog.

 “Refractory gold ores by their very nature are complex, difficult and costly ores to process. Historically these gold deposits have often yielded low recovery rates and have required a sophisticated and costly technology to extract any meaningful value. It is a commonly aired opinion, that as the mining community strives to discover more world class gold deposits the ores will become more refractory in nature and therefore offer a greater challenge to process.

Over the years, refractory ores have been treated by employing roasting, bioleach, pressure oxidation and fine grinding with varying degrees of success. Often these processes have either been environmentally unsound such as roasting, or attracted a high CAPEX and operating costs such as bioleach and pressure oxidation.

 This paper describes the application of a fine grind Deswik technology on a number of Zimbabwean greenstone refractory projects. Fundamentally an understanding of the base mineralogy of the deposits and having the ability to effectively release and recover that gold from the gangue material is the key to providing an effective and sustainable technical solution. This paper describes our experience in designing, developing and manufacturing a processing solution in more than eight gold projects, highlighting the milling and leach parameters and costs. The paper also clarifies the operating parameters, business benefits and potential economic returns of investing in this technology.

Deswik50 at Turk Mine
29th March 2010

Deswik Zimbabwe has installed a Deswik 50 pilot mill at the New Dawn Mining Turk Mine in Zimbabwe. On the instruction of Mr Ian Saunders the CEO of New Dawn the Deswik mill pilot facility was installed to examine the applicability of the Deswik fine grind milling technology on the final tailings and subsequently the ball mill product.

The five month test period has produced encouraging results of grinding the final tailings product from a D90 60um to a D90 20um. This finer grind enables a significant reduction in the final tailings grade.On successful completion of that phase of the pilot site the feed to the mill was transferred to the primary cyclone underflow.

The Deswik 50 was then used to examine its capability of efficiently handled the much coarser primary ball mill product from this exceedingly hard ore. With the intension of using the Deswik technology in optimising the primary milling circuit.

As can be seen from the sizing analysis below, generated from feed material from the primary milling circuit the Deswik 50 rapidly reduces the feed of aP80 -220um to a P80 of -22um in 5 minuets. This has a substantial effect on the surface area of the product increasing it by over 1200%.

Throughout the pilot site Deswik Zimbabwe staff have managed the mill on a shift basis milling the different feed materials producing between 500 – 900 kg/hr of product depend upon the specific product size required, and the feed supplied.

The testing is expected to be completed at the end of March when a decision will be taken on the most appropriate use of the Deswik technology at the Turk plant. Deswik acknowledge the support and encouragement from the New Dawn management and site staff on employing our technology on the Turk Mine site.

New Team Member, Andre Stengl
10th March 2010

Deswik is pleased to announce that André Stengl has joined the team as Mine Planning Engineer. André adds strength to our increasing presence within Open Cut Coal mining industry.

After completing his Mining Engineering degree at the University of Wollongong, André accepted a position at Anglo Coal’s German Creek mine and gained planning and scheduling experience at the Open Cut operation, before joining Anglo Coal’s graduate program the following year. Seconded to Anglo Coal, he then began working at Moura Mine, and spent the next few years diversifying his skill base managing the planning and scheduling for Drill & Blast, Dozer and Highwall Mining operations. His results-focused approach significantly improved the efficiency of each process. His aptitude recognized, he was selected as part of an on-site, long-term planning team, performing re-reserving, financial evaluation, equipment selection and detailed pit design work for an ambitious expansion plan of the mine, which was subsequently approved. It was during this time he developed a strong familiarity with planning for Dragline and high capacity Truck & Shovel Prestrip operations.

After a brief break overseas, he chose to return under a short-term contract basis to perform short-term planning and mentor junior engineers. André left Australia for the UK for three years, starting in 2006. He transferred his skills across to the Tunneling industry, working as a Shift team leader responsible for managing production, engineering supervision and safety on shift. He also involved himself in Project management, undertaking scheduling, procurement and cost reduction exercises.

 André brings a strong understanding of open cut coal mining practices and industry skills to the Deswik consulting team.

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