Manganese continues to play a vital role in the modern industrial economy, with metallurgical-grade materials supporting global steel production and high-purity manganese becoming increasingly important for next-generation battery chemistries.
About 90% of the world’s manganese is still used in steelmaking, but demand for battery-grade manganese is expected to steadily increase as EV manufacturing and energy storage systems expand. This dual increase in demand has led producers to seek beneficiation solutions that reduce fine manganese tailings by producing additional salable product from previously wasted material.
Multotec leverages its extensive global experience in gravity concentration to provide a modular heavy mineral beneficiation solution to a manganese producer in West Africa. A fit-for-purpose system from the outset, it is designed to recover high-grade manganese from fine powder materials and maintain profitability even during downturns in commodity economic cycles.
processing opportunity
Miners have traditionally targeted attractive bulk manganese fractions that are easy to benefit and sell to export markets. However, the finer -1 mm fraction is often discarded or stockpiled. However, during periods of high demand and volatile commodity prices, this premium material presents a significant opportunity to extract further value from the resource, especially since this material has already been mined and crushed and most of the costs have already been absorbed.
By employing the correct gravity separation technology based on ore feed characteristics such as particle size, particle shape, and feed density, miners can obtain salable products from fine-grained and ultra-fine-grained manganese ore that meet mining requirements.
Spiral technology as a strategic solution
Spiraling is one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods for beneficiation of manganese ore, especially when dealing with fine and dense materials. Spiral provides a low-energy, low-maintenance solution that can be configured to target both recovery and product quality, making it suitable for the fluctuating ore properties common in African manganese deposits.
Menzi Xulu, Senior Process Engineer at Multotec, explains: “Multotec’s SC series spiral concentrators are suitable for fine and dense mineral separation, a key requirement in manganese beneficiation. Our SC20 spirals are typically used in roughing and scavenging stages focused on maximizing recovery from the feedstock. SC21 spirals are then applied in the cleaning stage to utilize manganese and achieve the required product specifications.” Multotec’s SC20 and SC21 In addition to the fines spiral, the UX7 spiral was developed for the beneficiation of ultra-fine heavy minerals that were traditionally lost through tailings. The UX7 is efficient for the recovery of ultra-fine heavy minerals such as manganese roughing and scavenging.
This combination of roughing, scavenging, and cleaning spirals allows producers to recover more manganese from the entire orebody, including fines.
A fit-for-purpose, cost-effective, modular particulate treatment solution
To cost-effectively recover trace manganese even when commodity prices are low, Multotec is implementing a modular, mobile heavy minerals testing plant. This system combines several Multotec technologies.
“Equipped with Multotec’s cyclones, spirals and pumps, this unit can process 40 tph of fine material to produce a salable manganese product in just three stages,” said Wilna Hoffmann, general manager of business development at Multotec. “It is also operator-friendly and designed as a basic, yet cost-effective solution that is easy to transport and quickly commission.”
A West African manganese producer turned to Multotec to maximize recovery from previously overlooked -1 mm fine tailings. The client had purchased a Multotec heavy mineral unit several years ago, but it remained unused for nearly three years. Multotec had the unit up and running again in just four days. The unit was then operated at full capacity, efficiently recovering 47% of high-grade manganese super concentrate from 26% manganese in the feed, unlocking significant added value.
Thanks to their low capital and operating costs, ease of use, and ability to recover value from fines, the potential for deploying these modular test units across Africa continues to grow, providing a practical way to unlock the continent’s mineral resources and strengthen mineral value chains.
The article is available online: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/09022026/how-multotecs-fine-material-spiral-concentrators-strengthen-manganese-value-chains/
