FLS is taking a holistic view of the entire metallurgical process to unlock value across recovery, efficiency and sustainability.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), mineral demand is expected to triple by 2050, fuelled by economic growth, urbanisation, and a rising global population.
At the same time, the green transition will further drive demand for minerals like copper and lithium.
While recycling will play a role here, FLS head of innovation and MissionZero Lucy England said mining will be the key driver.
“The mining sector will need to meet most of the increased demand for minerals, but it must do so while reducing its own environmental and social sustainability,” she told Australian Mining.
“Driven by this challenge, we at FLS are committed to delivering solutions that shape tomorrow’s mine.”
FLS is doing this via its MissionZero Mine, which aims to empower miners to maximise productivity while reducing environmental impact across the mineral processing flowsheet.
At the heart of this approach is the company’s life-of-mine methodology, combining ore characteristics and customer needs to create flowsheets tailored to the mining site and application.
“At FLS, we like to say the secret is in the rocks,” England said. “By taking a holistic view of the entire metallurgical process and working in a fully integrated manner, we unlock value across recovery, efficiency, and sustainability.”
This approach enables operations to access lower-grade resources once deemed uneconomical, while reducing energy, water and land impacts.
“And it’s not just about having the best equipment – it’s about deploying it where and how it truly matters,” England said. “That’s how we help shape a mining industry that is more future-ready, responsible, and resilient.”
The FLS Minerals Testing and Research Centre is central to this approach. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the centre delivers state-of-the-art mineralogical and metallurgical testing services that underpin proper equipment selection, flowsheet design, plant troubleshooting, and research.
“No two deposits are the same, so this detailed testing ensures our flowsheets listen to the rocks to deliver an optimised, sustainable solution,” England said.
While FLS is most known for its equipment offering, its MissionZero Mine incorporates various innovations – some evolutionary, some revolutionary – that create a more sustainable mineral processing flowsheet of the future.
solutions are now available to the wider mining sector. Image: FLS
This includes a suite of grinding technologies.
“Advanced grinding technologies, such as high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), vertical roller mills (VRM), the FLS Tower Mill (FTM), or our Eccentric Roll Crusher (ERC), have the potential to reduce energy consumption in certain mineral processing flowsheets compared to traditional grinding methods,” England said.
“They may have a particular role as ores get harder and more disseminated, requiring more control over particle size to ensure effective liberation.”
Meanwhile, dry grinding processes like HPGR and VRM also improve water management.
“Dry grinding means the water added during post-grinding repulping can be tailored to optimise recovery in the flotation circuit,” England said.
“This compares to traditional flowsheets, where the grinding circuit determines the water content of slurries.”
A revolution in separation
Beyond the grinding equipment, FLS’ REFLUX family of technologies offers the opportunity to revolutionise mineral separation efficiency while significantly reducing energy and other inputs.
“The REFLUX concept was developed in collaboration with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales,” England said.
“Combining inclined lamella plates with a fluidised bed, the REFLUX concept improves recovery of off-size particles, offers high throughput in a much reduced footprint, and cuts energy and water consumption, perfectly aligning with our goal to do more with less.”
Several REFLUX-based solutions are now available to the wider mining sector, including the recently commercialised REFLUX Flotation Cell (RFC) and coarseAIR coarse particle flotation technology.
The latter is a lynchpin of the MissionZero Mine, as coarse particle flotation significantly reduces comminution energy consumption and facilitates faster and more effective dewatering, enabling filtered or dry tailings.
Other dewatering solutions under development include advances in the design of high-rate and paste thickeners with the introduction of:
- new rake designs for thickened tailings
- the AFP2525 tailings filter press, which uses high pressures and low cycle times to achieve significantly larger single-machine capacities
- EcoTails filtered tailings
- EcoPaste tailings.
“We are also investing in research to address the issue of chemical build-up in recycled process water, which can impact flotation efficiency,” England said, noting the company offers MaxR systems and reactor clarifiers to treat acid water and heavy metals build-up in tailings water streams.
Tailings are also increasingly being recognised as an essential source of mineral production, as mining companies reevaluate what is economically viable to extract.
“We expect to see greater reprocessing of tailings and a sharper focus on co-products in mineral processing flowsheets of the future using our REFLUX classifier (RC) and Reflux GradePro classifier,” England said.
Pumping sustainably
FLS KREBS pumps are common sights at many mines, but they might not be the first things called to mind when thinking about sustainability.
The significant energy consumption of KREBS pumps makes them an important target for improving energy efficiency and reducing energy-based carbon emissions.
“A recent life cycle assessment demonstrated that the adoption of KREBS pumps can lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through their enhanced energy efficiency when in operation,” England said.
Driving this benefit is the pumps’ patented wear ring technology. According to FLS, this minimises recirculation, reduces grinding losses, and extends the lifespan of wear components.
“Performance studies conducted at real-world mining operations have documented energy efficiency improvements ranging from 5.3 per cent to 34.1 per cent, depending on operating conditions,” England said.
Hot on pyrometallurgy
An essential – if sometimes overlooked – part of the mineral processing flowsheet is pyrometallurgy.
FLS has a long and distinguished history in pyroprocessing, having pioneered the coal-fired rotary kiln in the late nineteenth century.
Today, the company’s Pyro Technology Centre of Excellence in Allentown, Pennsylvania is leading the development of more sustainable pyrometallurgical processes for producing critical minerals, particularly lithium.
“Our innovative lithium pyro island for spodumene concentrate conversion is the culmination of our most advanced technologies working together and features our state-of-the-art preheaters and coolers,” England said.
“It enables us to extract the maximum amount of lithium from the spodumene concentrate while minimising energy use and reducing carbon intensity – again doing more with less.
“Meanwhile, our multiple hearth furnace supports circularity in lithium processing (as well as cutting Scope 3 carbon emissions) by enabling lithium producers to recycle the lime used in lithium hydroxide production.
“Our pyrometallurgical equipment can also run using alternative (non-fossil) biofuels, hydrogen, and electric heating technologies.”
Shaping the future, today
FLS firmly believes the future of mining is cleaner, more nature-positive, and more efficient.
“How individual mines achieve this will vary greatly,” England said. “There will be many flowsheets of the future, each contributing to a sustainable mining industry that not only provides the world with the minerals it needs to thrive.”
This feature appeared in the June 2025 issue of Australian Mining.
