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impacts, such as energy efficiency, integration of processing and interpretation of the big data sets
renewable energy, water minimisation and reuse, generated from the operating plants in real time.
as well as construction methodologies such as On generation, we have been involved in projects using
modularisation. standalone PV cells to operate remote equipment,
through to hybrid power stations where PV and batteries
Do you borrow ideas from other industries? reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. We are also currently

PDL: Cross fertilisation is very important. We are assisting several clients on the use of hydrogen as an
constantly looking at the work of others, looking at how energy source.
problems are dealt with in different sectors, constantly In water, we are working on minimisation strategies
looking for and accumulating the best ideas. including tailings filtration and we also have an ongoing
role assisting a technology developer with on-site
We work across a broad range of mineral
commodities, as well as the chemical industry. We are cyanide generation using plasma technology, including
the design of their modular demonstration plant.
always looking for opportunities for cross-fertilisation
from other industry segments into gold processing While Lycopodium is best known for its expertise in the
plants. This includes not only processing and design and construction of gold processing plants, we
equipment technologies, but construction technologies are also involved in a number of novel mining techniques
as well. for niche applications. These include underwater mining
units, mobile dry mining units, and ship-mounted mining
Can you tell us about some of the innovations units and gold recovery plants.
– both the challenges and solutions – you are
currently pursuing? Where is innovation and technology taking
us? Will a gold plant look very different in 10
PDL: In an effort to lower our carbon footprint
or 15 years from now?
Lycopodium continues to integrate technologies which
both reduce energy demand and increase green energy PDL: Continued applications from the internet of things,
applications in gold processing. such as dynamic digital twins, will become a feature
Ore sorting and alternative comminution equipment of the gold mining industry over time. Automation is
allow us to reduce energy demands in processing, while already enabling gold processing plants to be operated
Orway IQ (OIQ), a JV with Process IQ, provides a cloud- remotely, and that can be expanded to multiple gold
hosted, digital twin of the comminution circuit, enabling processing plants from a single off-site control room.
real time optimisation of the comminution circuit to This is already in place within the iron ore industry and
maximise throughput and optimise power consumption. is a natural stepping point for the gold industry.
MillROC uses artificial intelligence to assist with the Sorting technologies, coupled with alternative breakage
and liberation technologies,
will continue to reduce the
energy requirements to
enable the recovery of gold.
Partial or total underground
processing is likely to increase
over time, thereby avoiding
transport of ore to surface
and the associated surface
impacts. Cost-effective
generation of green energy
may enable the integration
of entirely new technologies
which may be more energy
intensive or enable more
on-site processing, thereby
creating value added products.
Combinations of these two
approaches will result in new
gold processing plant designs.
So yes, a gold plant will not
be the same a decade from
now.

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