Twenty Years of Development to Commercial Demonstration of the Aachen Reactor~(TM)

摘要

This paper describes the development of the Aachen Reactor~(TM) high shear mass transfer device from its original concept nearly twenty years ago to its acceptance in 2014 as an important unit process in one of the world's newest large gold processing plants, producing over 1 million ounces of gold per year, where nineteen Reactors are installed in various applications.The Aachen Reactor~(TM) is owned by Maelgwyn Mineral Services Ltd with the original concepts conceived in Germany and Wales. Licensing of the technology to Maelgwyn Mineral Services Africa (Pty) Ltd in 2004, with their closeness to operations has allowed continual improvements in wear, functionality and performance and seen a number of patented equipment improvements and processes being developed around the Reactor. It is now possibly considered one of the most significant advances in gold processing since the introduction of the carbon-in-pulp process in the late 1970's.