Our Mineral Processing Department Expands Analytical Capabilities
When people think about metallurgical testwork, they most likely think of the liberation and concentration methods; comminution, gravity separation, froth flotation, et cetera. Whilst these methods lie at the heart of mineral processing, any testwork programme is only as good as its product analysis. Without fast, accurate, and reliable assays, there can be little confidence in any results or interpretation of data.
Our in-house analytical laboratory in Truro, Cornwall has long been an integral part of the Mineral Processing department, providing analysis of metallurgical testwork products at turnaround times which would not be attainable through the use of third-party laboratories.
To further strengthen these capabilities, we are excited to announce the addition of a new Perkin Elmer Avio 550 ICP-OES Spectrometer, marking considerable investment in the department and demonstrating the importance placed on our in-house analytical capabilities.
ICP-OES is an analytical technique used to measure the elemental composition of samples and will provide a number of benefits including expanding the range of elements that we can offer, as well lowering the limits of detection previously achievable. ICP-OES offers simultaneous, sequential analysis of multiple elements which, coupled with an integrated autosampler, will provide faster turnaround times and increase the laboratory’s overall capacity. The ICP will complement the analytical equipment already in place in the lab, which includes an atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) and LECO instrument.
2022 has marked a record-breaking year for the Mineral Processing department, with over 10,000 samples analysed by the laboratory. The addition of ICP-OES will allow this capacity to increase further still and satisfy the demands of a growing department.
Simon Edwards, Senior Chemist, said “this marks a step change in the services we are able to provide, significantly boosting the lab’s capacity, range, and limits of detection. Wardell Armstrong International (WAI) would like to say a big thank you to Karen Harper of Perkin Elmer for putting the team through their paces and providing such an interesting and informative training session. We look forward to putting the equipment to good use!”
Ben Simpson, Technical Director – Mineral Processing, added “the addition of ICP to the existing range of analytical techniques offered by our in-house laboratory further highlights WAI’s commitment to providing clients with high quality analytical results as part of our metallurgical testwork programmes”.
