Barrick Gold selects Metso’s Concorde Cell technology for Lumwana expansion
Advanced flotation technology set to boost copper recovery at Zambia’s Lumwana mine
Barrick Gold Corporation has selected Metso’s Concorde Cell flotation technology for its Lumwana expansion project in North-Western Province, Zambia.
The Concorde Cell flotation cells will operate in combination with the TankCell technology previously chosen for the project, enhancing the optimisation of the flowsheet.
The high-intensity Concorde Cell is Metso’s advanced solution for processing complex orebodies. It is engineered to deliver faster flotation kinetics, higher recovery rates of fine and ultra-fine particles, and consistent concentrate-grade quality.
The forced-air pneumatic system generates intense shear forces and extremely fine bubbles, improving recovery for particles smaller than 20 microns.
Integrating Concorde Cell with TankCell technology offers a reliable and highly effective way to optimise the Lumwana project’s flotation process, particularly for finely disseminated sulphide ore.
“This low-risk, high-reward strategy is designed to maintain consistent concentrate-grade quality, making it particularly suitable for the Lumwana copper project site,” the project release notes.
In 2024, Metso secured a contract from Barrick Gold for the supply of key concentrator plant equipment at Lumwana, covering processes such as grinding, flotation, thickening, feeding, and filtration. The value of the Concorde Cell equipment order, around €70 million ($78.12 million), was recorded in Metso’s Minerals segment order intake for the third quarter of 2025.
The Lumwana copper mine, located roughly 100 km west of Solwezi in Zambia’s Copperbelt, operates as a traditional open pit mine using truck and shovel methods. The site primarily processes sulphide ore using a standard sulphide flotation plant to produce copper concentrate.
Metso’s Concorde Cell technology, when combined with TankCell flotation, represents a significant upgrade to Lumwana’s processing capabilities, optimising recovery rates, enhancing mineral processing efficiency, and supporting Barrick Gold’s strategic expansion plans.
