IVS Joint Venture, Saint-Petersburg, Russia:

A. V. Zimin, Chief Executive Officer, Candidate of Engineering Sciences
Yu. P. Nazarov, Director of Production Research Department, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Y_Nazarov@rivs.ru

RIVS-Project, Saint-Petersburg, Russia:
A. M. Arustamyan, Chief Project Engineer

Domestic processing plants put into operation in the 1970–80s possess equipment that is generally worn out. Aside from mechanical wear, the processing equipment has become morally obsolete in the intervening years. In the conditions when mineral products recovered and fed for beneficiation show permanently lower content of useful components, mining and processing companies in the current crisis situation are faced with the need to elevate mineral processing level to retain the existing production data and preserve the profit. As a rule, modernization and renovation are limited to partial substitution of reagents, replacement or complete updating of basic equipment and probable adjustment of process flow chart. This article considers experience gained by a large mining and processing plant gained in the production modernization with the concurrent standardization of layout of process flow charts, overall renewal of list of applied reagents and complete substitution of basic processing equipment. The three paths of modernization, without suspension of the production and degradation of the production performances, allowed reaching the next capacity level and, under conditions of reduced content of useful components of ore produced, enabled coming up to maximum values of metal recovery in concentrates in the history of the plant.

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