Project Background
A North American critical minerals developer needed to bring a spodumene-bearing pegmatite deposit into production to supply the rapidly growing battery-grade lithium market. The project required 800 TPD of ore processed into a 6% Li2O concentrate ready for downstream conversion.
Process Design
WSHT developed a dense-medium separation (DMS) + magnetic separation flowsheet, optimized for coarse spodumene liberation:
- Three-stage crushing: jaw + cone + HPGR, final product -10mm
- Two-stage DMS at cut-points 4mm and 0.5mm using ferrosilicon medium
- DMS concentrate magnetic separation to remove iron-bearing minerals
- Tailings dewatering and water recovery circuit (cold-climate design)
Equipment & Cold-Climate Engineering
All equipment was designed for -40°C ambient operation: insulated piping, cold-start diesel pre-heaters, heated control rooms, and enclosed conveyors. Process equipment was containerized for fast assembly in remote northern Canada.
Installation & Commissioning
WSHT mobilized a 60-person team for a 5-month construction season. All modules were pre-assembled and tested in our Chinese facility, then shipped via 280 truck loads. Site erection completed in 14 weeks, with first ore through the plant 18 weeks from site arrival.
Performance & Results
Plant produces 6.2% Li2O concentrate at 78% Li2O recovery, exceeding the client's off-take specification. The concentrate is now in commercial supply to a Tier-1 lithium converter.