 |  |
News Releases
Gekko signs up engineering, installation and technology deal with Brazahav Resources Inc.
Gekko Systems is pleased to announce the signing of a deal with Brazahav Resources Inc. for the design engineering, supply and installation of a complete intensive leaching circuit for the Salinas project in Brazil.
The Salinas Gold project is located in the southern region of the State of Mato Grosso in the central western region of Brazil. Brazahav acquired the Salinas Gold project in November 2012 and has been rapidly advancing through improved and expanded production capabilities and detailed resource definition.
For more information click here 
Gekko wins Environmental Excellence award
The entire team at Gekko, in particular our Cyanide (CN) Detox Group, is immensely proud to have been independantly nominated for the Mining Magazine's Environmental Excellence award. It is even more exciting to have Mining Magazine readers vote the nomination as the winner.
To read the article in Mining Magazine click here
Randy Agius and Gekko Systems join forces to launch Gekko's 
CN Detox Group
Randy Agius and Sandy Gray signed an agreement today at Gekko's Head Office in Ballarat, Australia, to establish the Gekko Cyanide Detox Group. Mr Agius is the global knowledge leader in this field and approached Gekko earlier this year to establish a dedicated cyanide detox group within the Gekko organisation. The group will utilise his knowledge of the cyanide detox chemistry and industry relationships to create a total solutions Gekko CN Detox Group.
For more information Click Here
For Spanish Version Click Here
Gekko Systems' Graduate Program Kicks-off
Gekko Systems is delighted to announce the commencement of its inaugural graduate program. Six graduates (pictured right) have started participating in the two-year program from 2012. Since commencement a great deal has been undertaken including, lab test work, installations, commissioning and service visits (domestic and international).
For more information Click here
Gekko Systems Canadian Office Celebrates Ten Years
Gekko Systems has great pleasure in announcing the tenth anniversary of its operations in Vancouver, Canada. The anniversary was celebrated with a dinner in Toronto prior to the PDAC conference. A number of Gekko's customers and supporters joined the celebration with Sandy Gray, Gekko's Technical Director, Adam Hesse, Vice President, North American Operations, and several members of Gekko's global Technical Team.
For more information Click Here
Gekko Systems grows Perth office!
Sandy Gray, Technical Director at Gekko Systems, is delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Henderson as Senior Metallurgist to join the Gekko team in the company’s Perth office.
Peter is a worthy addition to the Gekko Systems’ Technical Team with over 14 years experience in the mineral processing industry in both Australia and overseas. His qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Mineral Science), from Murdoch University.
For more information Click Here
Newcrest-Gekko Collaboration seeks Step-Change Benefit
Gekko Systems are pleased to announce the signing of a collaborative agreement with Newcrest Mining Limited to undertake a three-year research and development program. The Gekko and Newcrest teams will target improvements in energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, increased recovery and faster project implementation time.
For more information Click Here
100th InLine Leach Reactor, Sold!
Gekko Systems proudly announces the sale of its 100th InLine Leach Reactor Unit. The sale marks not only an impressive milestone for intensive cyanidation but also the first sale into Brazil for Gekko. The sale of the ILR to Mineracao Caraiba was signed off by Nigel Grigg, Manager of Gekko's Santiago Office, which is still in its first year of operation.
For more information Click Here
Gekko Systems sponsors CEEC
Melbourne, April, 2011: Ms Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Gekko Systems Ltd announced today Gekko’s sponsorship of Coalition for Eco-Efficient Comminution (CEEC).
To read more Click Here
Gekko expands service capability with acquisition of Assay Laboratory
Gekko systems is delighted to announce the opening of the company's Assay Laboratory located in Ballarat. The assets were purchased by Gekko from Balmaine Gold Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Castlemaine Goldfields Ltd. Originally established by Lihir Gold, the laboratory is dedicated to the analysis of drill samples and metallurgical samples.
For more information Click Here
Gold Fields Metallurgical Seminar
Gekko Systems recently sponsored the bi-annual Gold Fields Metallurgical Seminar in Kalgoorlie, WA. The event provided Gold Fields with an exciting key note presentation by Gekko’s Technical Director, Sandy Gray, who focused his presentation on energy efficiency in minerals processing. This was a particularly prudent topic given that there was a strong contingent of metallurgists from the African continent in attendance and they are facing ever increasing energy costs as a part of their operating expenditure.
It was followed on the second day by Gekko’s Technical Sales Manager (Australasia), Tim Bell, who gave a presentation on the current status of exciting global projects between Gekko Systems and Goldfields.
The event highlighted the professionalism of the Gold Fields group and their ability to move with change – knowing that it will be change that allows them to prosper in the future. A fantastic networking opportunity for all and an event Gekko Systems was very proud to be a part of.
Debottleneck your Heavy Media Plant with IPJ Separator Module
There are significant benefits from using coarse mineral gravity separation to debottleneck and reduce costs around heavy media plants. These benefits have resulted in an increase in technical enquiries at Gekko Systems and demand for a unit to recover coarse mineral particles.
The attraction of the InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ) lies in its unique pressurised design, which results in high mineral recovery, low water consumption, low power consumption, and low operating costs – exceptionally low at only 0.04 USD per tonne treated.
The IPJ achieves excellent recoveries on mineral particle size ranging between 75 µm to 20 mm, depending on mineral liberation and gangue specific gravity. Mineral targets include coal, sulphides, gems and gold.
The IPJ improves recovery from the difficult-to-treat 0.25 mm to 6 mm size range, thus raising the cut-off size to the heavy media plant from 500 µm to 6 mm. The IPJ unit provides relief by reducing the volume of fine material treated by the heavy media circuit. The key benefits include reduced heavy media consumption associated with losses to the fine fraction and increased plant throughput for a low capex investment in an IPJ separator module and significantly reduced screening area.
Please contact our Research and Development Manager, Tim Hughes (timh@gekkos.com) for further information on the application of this technical content.
Gekko Systems’ 300 tph pre-concentration IPJ module will achieve
excellent recoveries on particle sizes between 75 µm - 20 mm.
IPJ Coal Separator Results
by Dr Andrew Vince (Elsa Consulting Group) and Laurie Gibson (ACIRL)
Elsa Consulting Group and ACIRL have been lead project managers on an ACARP sponsored research project investigating the application of the InLine Pressure Jig Coal Separator (IPJ-CS) for the Australian coal industry.
The research has been focussed on the potential of the IPJ-CS to treat -6 mm material in Coal Preparation plants with the purpose of debottlenecking and reducing the operating costs associated with heavy media circuits.
The project commenced in 2007 and has been undertaken in three stages.
- Laboratory Trials
Initial laboratory trials using an IPJ 600 produced spiral-like efficiencies over a size range from 0.25 mm to 6 mm. These results lead to further ACARP funded programmes which included discreet element method (DEM) modelling at the University of New South Wales. - CFD-DEM Modelling
Following the first successful programme, CFD-DEM modelling was commenced in the second stage project by Prof Aibing Yu’s group at the University of New South Wales, and validated using the results from the first stage laboratory trials. - Small Scale Plant Trials
A skid mounted modular IPJ Coal Separator was fed continuously with 6 mm x 0 raw coal from a Hunter Valley coal preparation plant.
The preliminary results of the trials completed to date confirm that the IPJ-CS is able to achieve good separations at cut points around 1.60 RD and higher. The separations tend to become more efficient as the scale of operation enlargens, that is, not only does unit capacity increase with expanding the InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ) diameter, but efficiency also increases. Also, due to the re-cleaning action of the outer layers of ragging, larger diameter IPJ units would be expected to produce very clean coal products.
As presented in our recent paper delivered at the SME’s XVI International Coal Preparation Congress in Lexington, Kentucky, it is our view that; “The IPJ is a mature technology that has not previously been applied to the coal industry. It efficiently processes a wide range (60 mesh to 11⁄4 inch or 0.25 to 32 mm) of particle sizes. The IPJ can efficiently process size fractions that include the smaller of those conventionally processed by dense medium cyclones (e.g. 6 x 0.5 mm) and all of those typically processed by spirals or teetered bed separators (2 x 0.125 mm)”.
Figure 2: Simulated ragging and coal particle positions for base
case condition when steady state is attained (after 35 seconds).
The Gekko IPJ-CS can add significant value to the coal preparation industry by a combination of considerably higher throughputs from existing plant circuitry and efficiency increases by increasing the bottom size passed to dense medium cyclone circuits. Therefore, it has potentially important applications that include:
- Higher plant throughputs at minimal costs by increasing desliming apertures to 6 mm (1/4 inch) or higher
- Scavenging misplaced coal in flotation tails
- Reprocessing co-disposed areas at the disposal site prior to pumping to plant for flotation
- Low cost but efficient processing of up to 32 mm (1 1⁄4 inches ) particles, for example, direct power station feed
- De-stoning.
Figure 3: Preliminary separations using 10 tph Gekko IPJ Coal Separator.
In summary, research to date indicates that the IPJ-CS, successfully applied, will achieve higher plant throughput and lower operating costs for minimal capital invested. To access a copy of the paper, please contact Mick Alsop (micka@gekkos.com).
Directors Require More Data on Comminution
“The education of company directors is essential to assist in the acceleration of new comminution strategies for the min
ing industry” said Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, Managing Director of Gekko Systems. “Many senior people in the industry, especially those without a technical background, are unaware of the significant impact of different grinding and crushing strategies on carbon footprint and operating costs.” Comminution is the most energy intensive and costly component of mining and processing. Figure 1, published by La Nauze and Temos in 2002, and based on WMC data, illustrates the high energy consumption of grinding compared to all other mine activities. Furthermore, it was estimated in the 1980s in the USA that 3%-4% of global electrical energy was consumed by comminution processes (DOE, 1981). New process flowsheet strategies have now been established and include the selection of coarser grind sizes, gangue rejection/pre-concentration (e.g. magnetics, ore sorting, gravity, flotation), and the new application of existing crushing/grinding technologies (e.g. VSI, HPGR).
Figure 1: La Nauze, R.D. and Temos, J. 2002
‘Technologies for Sustainable Operations’, Proc. CMMI Congress.
There is a tendency in mining to design processing plants that have whole ore and/or fine grinding strategies. It is regarded as a risk minimisation strategy. However, the benefits of alternative strategies are generally not fully understood, measured or even evaluated at board level. These include the potential for lower capex, improved opex, smaller footprint and substantial carbon footprint reductions. “There are many organisations and researchers working on this issue but I am keen to raise awareness of its impact at senior management levels to encourage an appropriate level of data collection, resource application and risk benefit analysis to accelerate comminution strategy change,” said Ms Lewis-Gray.
Winners are Grinners!
The staff at Gekko Systems were thrilled to celebrate success at the regional CGU Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards, taking out the 2009 CGU Business of the Year Award as well as the Innovation and Technology Award and the Export Award. The Awards were established to showcase businesses that are committed to achieving the best in their field with unparalleled levels of innovation and excellence. “This is recognition for our staff, who are world leaders in their field and are working hard to make a difference”, said Managing Director, Elizabeth Lewis-Gray.
Staff members from Gekko celebrate the CGU Business Excellence Awards.
Gekko Director Meets Innovation Guru
Managing Director, Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, was honoured to meet and discuss innovation policy with innovation guru, John Kao.John is a leader in creating and delivering high-end innovation leadership executive programmes for both public and private sectors. He was a member of the Harvard Business School faculty from 1982-96, where he created executive and MBA programmes on innovation. He is a graduate of Yale College (philosophy), Yale Medical School (psychiatry) and Harvard Business School (management).
Elizabeth is a member of the Australian Federal Government’s Innovation Australia Board and is passionate about this topic.
Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, left, with innovation guru, John Kao.
Gekko's Python Design recognised by Premier's Award
Sandy Gray, Tim Hughes and Michael Braaksma, on behalf of Gekko Systems were thrilled to receive a Premier’s Design Award for the company’s cutting edge Python plant last night. Victorian Innovation Minister, Gavin Jennings, presented the award on behalf of Premier John Brumby in an event at PIXEL – Australia’s first carbon neutral commercial building. “This year’s winners are a shining example of what clever thinking and good design can bring to the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Victorians. Importantly, innovative thinking can create job opportunities for Victorian families,” Mr Jennings said.
Gekko recognises the Australian Industry Group for their nomination and support for these awards.
To download the full press release click here
Gekko Opens Santiago, Chile OfficeGekko Systems is delighted to announce that long-standing member of “Team Gekko”, Nigel Grigg, has relocated himself and family to Santiago where he is heading up the South American regional office. The Grigg family arrived only a few weeks before the massive earthquakes that rocked the Concepcion and Santiago areas. True to form, they have weathered the shocks and aftershocks with resilience and are enjoying their experience in this beautiful city.
Nigel can be contacted by email at nigelg@gekkos.com
AusIMM Narrow Vein Mining Conference: President talks about the future of mining
The mine of the future will be underground, predicts keynote speaker, Peter McCarthy, at the AusIMM Narrow Vein Mining Conference held at Ballarat, in the Australian state of Victoria.The 20th Century was characterized by the development of large open pit, low-costmines and the general ecnomically-based theory of diminishing returns - that prices of commodities would decline over time as costs decline. Mr McCarthy notes, however, that there is a new theory emerging, reflecting environmental, social and community constraints and volatile risks to capital, aswell as low exploration discovery rates (especially of large deposits). This argument forecasts that commodity prices will remain stable, or rise, over time. It envisages mines that are smaller, and have less impact on the environment and local communities by operating underground with a small surface footprint. The zero discharge mine of the future could be located in an industrial zone with a small surface infrastructure. The development of non-diesel trucking, or monorail ore management systems allows for smaller ventilation systems, and a return to 2.5mx 2.5m headings. . . a return to human-sized operations – additional, smaller operations with underground processing and increased levels of automation.
Mr McCarthy also noted that the most significant change in narrow vein mining methods in the last 50 years has been the development of the radio remote or tele-remote LHD.
Green, Clean and Lean “We plan to improve our internal efficiencies and increase returns for the mining sector generally through lean principles” said Gekko’s Managing Director, Elizabeth Lewis-Gray.The Premier of Victoria, the Honourable John Brumby, visited Gekko to announce Government regional funding to support this exciting project. The whole Gekko team, as well as the Mayor of Ballarat, Councillors and other distinguished guests, were delighted to welcome him to the Gekko site.
Crack Shot!
Emma Crouch, a Design Engineer at Gekko, was a crack shot recently at the Australian National Pistol Championships, bringing home the gold medal in the 10 metre air pistol event. This outstanding achievement has been reached by Emma after having only taken up the sport three years ago.
Other successes achieved by Emma include team gold and silver medals, and an individual bronze medal at the Oceania Shooting Championships. Emma has been invited to compete in Singapore at the Asian Shooting Championships in July this year.
Gekko Systems won the Highly Commended Award in the Minerals Processing Plant of the Year category for the second time in the awards five year history. The first time was in 2006 for the Lihir, Ballarat Goldfields plant and in 2008 for the Python Underground Processing Plant.
The underground ore-processing unit treats the material at the source instead of hauling it to the surface
The flow-on benefits of this unit is its ability to reduce the volume of concentrate taken to the surface for further treatment to as low as 10%.
To download the full press release click here
CFD + Stokes Law x CSIRO2 = Optimum Separation
Recent modelling by Dr Chris Solnordal, from the World leading Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling team at the CSIRO in Melbourne, has provided more information and answers as to how and why the InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ) achieves high recoveries on both fine and coarse mineral particles.
CFD uses advanced computer software to model the flow of fluids through a processing facility which subsequently analyses and solves problems involving fluid flows.
The CFD analysis found that while the fluids accelerated rapidly upwards from the distribution pot (indicated by the red region on Figure 2), the velocity of particles slowed dramatically once reaching the deceleration chamber (indicated by the green region). This provides for an optimum separation environment where turbulence is minimised. As illustrated in Figure 2, vertical velocities were very slow in the separation zone and were running between 0 - 0.02 m/s.
To download the full press release click here
Ingenious Australians honoured
Highlighting Australia's reputation for ingenuity and research excellence, seven Australians were last night honoured with 'Innovation Hero' Awards for their contribution to the nation. The award winners all have been recognised for their pioneering research leading to innovative technology that has become commercially successful around the world. Two of this year's Innovation Hero Award winners are Elizabeth Lewis-Gray and Sandy Gray of Ballarat-based Gekko Systems.
To download the full press release click here
Gekko's CEO meets Canadian Prime Minister
Gekko's CEO, Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, was invited to attend a Parliamentary Luncheon in Canberra to honour The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada. Mr Harper addressed a special joint sitting of the Australian Parliament, making him the first CanadianPrime Minister to do so in its 106-year history.
Ms Lewis-Gray was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss with Mr Harper, Gekko's strong relationships with the Canadian mining industry and to highlight the company's potential growth opportunities, due to the expansion of Canadian resources.
The invitation was extended to Ms Lewis-Gray in her capacity as a Board Member of Innovation Australia, which administers innovation, R&D and venture capital programs for the Australian Federal Government.
Step into the Future with Keyhole Processing
The management and staff of Gekko are delighted to present the company's latest innovation - the Python Underground Processing Plant (Python UPP). This high-tech, fully automated modular plant is the outcome of five years of intensive research. The unit has been designed to operate in a 5m x 5m tunnel and produce a high-grade concentrate that can be pumped to the surface. "We believe that mining companies will save up to 15-25% of their total costs.
To download the full press release click here
Gekko Sales Manager Wins Award
Gekko Systems' Sales Manager, Jennifer Abols, was presented with the prestigious 'Bill Moore Special Achievement Award' during the gala event at the recent CMP Conference in Ottawa, Canada. The 'Bill Moore Special Achievement Award' recognises the meritorious service to the Canadian Mineral Processors division or an outstanding technical contribution to the mineral processing industry and is an award specifically intended to honour younger members, typically those under the age of 35, within the industry.
To download the full press release click here
Innovation and Results Earn Gekko Another Industry Award
To download the full press release click here
New style Gold Plant commissions smoothly as scheduled
The staff at Gekko Systems is proud to report that Stage 1 of Ballarat Goldfields' (BGF) low-cost and fast delivery gold recovery plant was commissioned successfully as scheduled.
Ballarat Goldfields Managing Director, Richard Laufmann, said "the timetable achieved was testament to the dedication of the team involved."
"I don't think this could have been achieved elsewhere in the country in such a short time frame. The skills and facilities available through Gekko Systems in Ballarat were second to none".
To download the full press release click here
To download the full case study click here
Gekko Founders Win Entrepreneur Of The Year Award
Sandy Gray and Elizabeth Lewis-Gray of Gekko Systems were this month announced as winners of the Technology, Communications, E-Commerce & Life Sciences section in the Southern Region Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards held at Melbourne's Sofitel Hotel on the 1st of September.To download the full press release click here
Joint Initiative Provides Gold Recovery Solution For Copper-Gold Ores
The management and staff of Gekko Systems are delighted to announce the release of the 'Gekko Resin Column' and the company's alliance with the Cognis Mining Chemicals Technology group (Cognis-MCT) based in Tucson Arizona (part of the 3 billion dollar Cognis Group) to exclusively market the guanidine based AuRIX®100 resin worldwide. AuRIX®100 resin is used to selectivelyrecover gold from cyanide leach solutions.
To download the full press release click here
R&D Grant set to Reduce Operating Costs by 25%!
The Hon Judith Troeth, Senator for Victoria, Australia, today congratulated local company Gekko Systems, a company recognised internationally for its innovative mineral processing equipment and systems, on the launch of its latest Research & Development project — developing a process to treat ore underground.
New Feed Preparation Technology for Gravity Separation
The Gekko Mag-Screen's high-quality, unique '2 in 1' design is a breakthrough in feed preparation technology.
Features include stainless steel fabrication, a unique alternating tapered magnet and automated screen rotation. The unit has low head height requirements and zero water consumptionTo read more about the Gekko Mag-Screen click here
Gekko appoints R&D Manager
Gekko Systems is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Hughes as Research & Development Manager. Tim Hughes is Gekko's newly appointed R&D Manager and is the latest member to join the Gekko Team. Tim Hughes has 17 years experience working in mineral processing operations throughout Australia. Much of this time was spent working for MPI Mines Ltd
To download the full press release click here
To view Gekkos annual April Fools Day jokes follow the link Click Here
 |
 |
||||||
| |||||||
 |
 |