BHP and Eriez have successfully commissioned a HydroFloat coarse particle flotation (CPF) plant at Carrapateena copper mine in South Australia. The team – including as well VOLPRO, and Paradocs Metallurgy – considers this project a significant advance in sustainable, high-efficiency mineral recovery.
The Carrapateena underground mine began production in 2019 and has a rate of about 4.3 million tonnes of copper concentrate per year. BHP took over ownership in 2023.
HydroFloat CPF recovers coarse, high-value particles that conventional flotation often loses to tailings, increasing metal recovery and plant throughput while supporting more sustainable operations and better tailings management.
“BHP’s focus on innovation and operational excellence was critical to the success of this project,” said Jose Concha, global director of mining products at Eriez. “The trust, transparency, and teamwork with the Carrapateena operations team, VOLPRO, and Paradocs have raised the bar for future HydroFloat deployments.”
The plant is fully operational, both producing results in line with expectations and paving the way for broader adoption of HydroFloat CPF in base and precious metals processing. BHP and its partners will continue to refine the technology and CPF flowsheets, share insights, and evaluate opportunities to expand HydroFloat applications across other operations.
For more information, visit www.Eriez.com.
