Lynas takes delivery of industrial dryer

Rare earths producer Lynas Corp has taken delivery of a 14-metre long, industrial scale dryer which will process ores at its Mt Weld mining and concentrating operations in Western Australia.

The indirect fired rotary dryer will reduce the moisture content prior to transportation to the company’s advanced material plant in Malaysia and the proposed Lynas cracking and leaching facility under construction at nearby Kalgoorlie.

The use of the dryer is expected to further improve operational efficiency in the production of rare earth concentrate by:

• Improving transport efficiencies
• Improving materials handling and downstream processing
• And reducing sulphuric acid consumption and associated emissions at the two downstream facilities.

The indirectly fired kiln dryer will treat Mt Weld filtered concentrate and replace manual drying of the concentrate in the sun, making the process faster and more cost effective.

Lynas VP of Upstream, Kam Leung said: “The use of the dryer at Mt Weld will provide a number of benefits to the Mt Weld operations.”

Lynas is the only significant producer of rare earths essential to high-tech products such as computers, LEDs and permanent magnets.

Picture: Lynas’ new dryer arrives at Mt Weld

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