Steam adds precision to complex minerals processing

West Australian mining company Lynas Rare Earths is relying on Australian-manufactured plant to bring its critical minerals offer to market. Partner sponsored editorial They’ve commissioned a 10MW boiler built by East Coast Steam in Brisbane. Lynas Rare Earths is the world’s second largest producer of separated rare earth materials including neodymium and praseodymium, which are central to magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines. Main image: 10MW boiler built for Lynas Rare Earths in WA The company has a concentration plant at Mount Weld which is located close to the mine site near Laverton in the state’s central south-west. The boiler would take Lynas to the next stage of minerals processing, East Coast Steam sales manager Rob Fowler said. The deaerator unit attached to the Lynas 10MW boiler. “Boilers have become a lot more prominent in the mineral space,” Mr Fowler said. “Some technologies utilise steam, whether it be the breakdown of the ore or whether it be the refining the product. “There are some very good technologies based around a steam processing plant because the steam is a circulatory system unless you direct inject it. “Basically, if you've got vessels that need heat in them, then the condensing water from the heat being applied ends up back at the boiler. “There are some good efficiencies on your water retention and your energy savings.” The emergence of rare earth and critical minerals processing was drawing more on steam as part of the process flow sheet, Mr Fowler said. “We've built boilers for lithium plants, we've obviously built boiler units for the Lynas’ rare earth mineral plant. “There're probably another three or four mineral lithium plants in Western Australian that are using steam. So that's become a very high-end use of the steam technology. “There's also an exciting project with a high purity aluminium processing in regional Queensland. “The metallurgy is all pretty new since they are extracting smaller quantities from complex orebodies. We’re excited to play a role in the future of this new Australian industry.” The East Coast Steam maintenance commitment separated their offer from the imported competition, Mr Fowler said. “We’re the only boiler making company left in Australia and are operating under one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the world. “We design, build and maintain the equipment in Brisbane and the client gets to inspect the entire working unit in the manufacturing environment or by video link prior to it leaving the factory. This is a feature not many offer. “Our welders are master craftsmen who need to be pre-qualified before working on the boilers. They know the process intimately and are the same ones who could carry out repairs if any issues arise, again a feature not offered by importers of steam vessels. “No other imported make has the same commitment, obligation or accountability to their products as East Coast Steam.” “Having survived in the boiler manufacturing for almost 40 years, we have many happy customers within Australia and around the world.”

Steam adds precision to complex minerals processing

Industry Queensland

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