SIMINE Hybrid Flot

Environmental Product Declaration

Mining Technologies
 Environmental mission statement
“Our knowledge and our solutions are helping to
create a better world. We have a responsibility
to the wider community and we are committed
to environmental protection.
In our global operations, featuring a great
diversity of processes, products and services,
our company is concerned with sustaining
the natural resources essential to life. We view
the economy, environmental protection and
social responsibility as three key factors car-
rying equal weight in a liberal world market.
We support the dissemination of knowledge
needed for sustainable development through
the transfer of knowledge in the fields of man-
agement and technology, wherever we operate
as a company.
For us, sustainable development in environ-
mental protection means careful use of natural
resources, which is why we assess possible
environmental impacts in the early stages of
product and process development. It is our
aim to avoid pollution altogether or to reduce
it to a minimum, above and beyond statutory
requirements.“
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Design for environment
Ecological design is nothing new at Siemens. The company published
its in-house standard SN 36350 on environmentally compatible
product design in 1993, and since then this standard has been an
integral part of our product planning and development process.
Among other things, it calls for use of separate and distinct material
fractions, ease of disassembly, a reduction in the number of com-
ponents per product, durability, low energy requirements during
manufacture and day-to-day use, and the avoidance of hazardous
substances. It also lists minimum requirements regarding the pa-
rameters to be described in environmental declarations.
This standard and our system of environmental management
enable us to take a holistic and all-encompassing approach to
environmental protection spanning the entire product life cycle
from product planning to end-of-life recycling and disposal. We
also work with product-specific guidelines that refine the require-
ments outlined in SN 36350.
Lower energy consumption
Advantages for the environment
 Energy efficiency more than 50 % better
than the reference solution
 Lower water consumption
 Reduced emission of greenhouse gases
The challenge
Flotation is the most important process for upgrading of metal
ores, and is decisive for the profitability of a mine. The efficiency
of the separating process depends on the grade of the concen-
trate product and the recovery, especially of fine and extremely
fine particles. For this purpose, the ground ore is slurried in water,
transported to the surface through the injection of gas bubbles,
and skimmed off there. The environmental balance of traditional
flotation solutions features high energy and water requirements,
and offers significant opportunities for optimization.
The solution
Siemens has developed a process called SIMINE Hybrid Flot which
can satisfy these requirements. To this end, a pneumatic spray pro-
cedure is combined with the column method. During the first step,
the feed pulp mixed with air or gas is sprayed into the flotation cell.
As a result of a high input of kinetic energy, extremely fine gas bub-
bles are generated and brought into contact with valuable particles.
The resulting agglomerates of gas bubbles and particles rise to the
surface as froth where they are skimmed off. Larger bubbles are
generated in the column area in order to capture coarser particles.
Spraying of feed pulp-gas mixture inserts sufficient kinetic energy
into the flotation cell so that an agitator, its drive, and the associated
energy are unnecessary.
Unlike other pneumatic cells, SIMINE Hybrid Flot can additionally
work with a solids content of up to 50 % and thus requires less water.
 Flotation concept

Collective
flotation

Feed
pulp

Tailing

6.05 MW
Concentrate

Tailing

Concentrate

Rougher flotation
Three-stage in
6 parallel lines
Total plant
18 roughers (64 m³) with
18 pumps of 300 kW each Final
Concentrate 6.37 
tailings
MW
Cleaner flotation
Single-stage in Cleaned
2 parallel lines concentrate
Total plant
2 cleaners (64 m³) with Tailing
2 pumps of 300 kW each
and 1 pump of 50 kW

Selective flotation
Mo concentrate

Tailing
Rougher flotation 0.32 MW
Three-stage in 1 line
Total plant Cu concentrate
3 roughers (16 m³) with Cu/Mo separation for further
4 pumps of 50 kW each processing

Cleaner flotation Mo concentrate

Two-stage in for further
2 parallel lines processing
Tailing
Total plant
3 cleaners (2 m³) with Tailing
6 pumps of 20 kW each

In a flotation concept based on the data of the Los Pelambres copper mine, 7,200 to
8,000 m³ of pulp are processed per hour. This results in a total specific energy require-
ment of 0.93 kWh per metric ton of dry ore. In comparison, conventional flotation with
agitators would consume a specific energy of 1.88 kWh per metric ton of dry ore.

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 Implementation and evaluation

Conventional flotation solutions with agitator serve as the eval-

uation reference for SIMINE Hybrid Flot. The data for SIMINE
Hybrid Flot results from a pilot project at the Los Pelambres
copper mine in Chile. The utilization phase is evaluated with
consideration of the process energy, but without commodities.

Evaluation basis for energy requirements

3.00
Pumps and
Conventional Hybrid agitators
flotation flotation 2.50 1.88 0.94
Specific current consumption 50 % higher
energy efficiency
Installed power 13.5 MW 6.37 MW 2.00

1.50
in kWh/t floated ore

Sludge throughput 7,200 m³/h 7,200 m³/h 0.05

N₂ compression
0.88
1.00

Specific energy/t of dry ore 1.88 kWh/t 0.93 kWh/t Pumps

0.50

Annual energy consumption* 77.1 GW/a 38.4 GW/a 0

Conventional Increase in Hybrid
Energy requirements flotation efficiency flotation
n.a. 2.06 GW/a
for provision of N₂ Compared to a conventional solution, Siemens
Total energy 77.1 GW/a 40.46 GW/a Hybrid Flot has a potential saving of 0.94 kWh
per metric ton of dry ore rock.
* Specific energy consumption

Potential savings in CO₂ equivalents Eco-Care Matrix (ECM)

6.00E+07 1
4.87E+07
CML 2001 Dec. 07 GWP (100 years)

5.00E+07 Hybrid Flotation

0.5
Environmental benefits

4.00E+07
24,401t

3.00E+07 0
1.30E+06 Reference
[kg CO₂ equiv.]

2.00E+07
2.42E+07
-0.5
1.00E+07

0 -1
Conventional flotation Hybrid flotation -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1

Chile: current mix Chile: current mix with compressed air Customer benefits

Projected to the complete flotation capacity of Los Pelambres,  50 % better environmental compatibility
a complete conversion to SIMINE Hybrid Flot would result in compared to a conventional solution
a saving in CO₂ of 24,401 t CO₂ equivalent per year.
 17 % lower total costs (TCO) compared
to a conventional solution

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For further information
please contact:

Siemens AG
Industry Sector
Industry Solutions
Mining Technologies
Schuhstr. 60
91052 Erlangen
Germany
E-mail: service.mining@siemens.com

The information provided in this brochure

contains merely general descriptions or
characteristics of performance which in
actual case of use do not always apply
as described or which may change as
Order No.: E10001-T1-A118-V1-7600
a result of further development of the Printed in Germany
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spective characteristics shall only exist if GB 090684 WS 11101.0
expressly agreed in the terms of contract. Subject to change without prior notice

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