CIL Tank Linings

Description

These CIL tanks are used to separate gold from the finely ground ore. The Tank Linings must be tough, flexible and resist the abrasive and corrosive conditions inside the tank.

CIL tanks are large steel process vessels using in the mining industry to recover or concentrate precious metals, such as gold.

The tanks are built with large rotating agitators and baffles plates to keep the slurry of chemicals and ore in constant motion.

Typically multiple tanks, which can be up to 20m in diameter and height, are required, with the ore slurry flowing from one tank to the next to extract the maximum yield of gold.

The highly abrasive and corrosive slurry will rapidly wear away unprotected steel, resulting in holes, major repair work and expensive downtime.

Nukote ST polyurea is a proven for tank linings for new and existing tanks.

The Challenges

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  • The chemicals and high salt content of most process water are very corrosive
  • The agitated slurry is abrasive and wears away steel or softer coatings, causing holes in the tank base and walls.
  • There can be some settling or movement which can crack rigid coatings.
  • Traditional Ultra High Build Epoxy paints are slow to apply and cure, are too rigid and do not have sufficient abrasion resistance.
  • Shutting down tanks can mean losing valuable gold so repairs have to be completed quickly.
  • Different parts of the tank are subjected to different rates of wear or oxidation.
  • A flexible, tough, fast to apply coating system must be used to ensure long service lift and minimal downtime.

The BSC Solution - Tank Linings

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BSC expert teams have sprayed fast-set Nukote ST pure polyurea coating for CIL tank linings into hundreds of CIL, and similar process tanks.

Nukote ST combines very good chemical and abrasion resistance with flexibility and low moisture vapour permeability.

The existing coatings are removed with abrasive blasting or ultra high-pressure water jetting. The surfaces are decontaminated and profiled ready for polyurea coating. Nukote ST polyurea is applied in a single coating, with the thickness increased in high wear or high oxidation zones. Nukote ST is touch dry within seconds at all temperatures and can be returned to full service within 24 hours.

The team from BSC have successfully installed CIL tank linings throughout Australia and internationally. Cost-effective, safe, long life.

Key Nukote ST Physical Properties

Tensile Strength

20.7 ± 1.4 MPa

Elongation

350% ± 50% at break

Hardness

50 ± 5 Shore D

100% solids

0% VOC

There is a Nukote solution for almost every tank lining application. Contact BSC for more information.

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