In a press release, the company said it developed the unique pilot plant with specialists from the TOMS Institute.
 
“A beneficiation plant in miniature has been created. It allows us to simulate any existing or prospective beneficiation scheme in a short period of time and produce a prototype product,” said Rinat Ismagilov, director of the Mining Production Department of Metalloinvest. “We are able to trial the technology under conditions that are as close to industrial ones as possible, with minimal financial expenditure.”
 
According to the company, the pilot plant makes it possible to redirect product flows and include or exclude individual operations from the production process. This significantly reduces the time and cost of evaluating, designing and testing new ideas. The plant, which can be disassembled into individual modules for ease of transport, has, according to Metalloinvest, world-class equipment, automation systems and visualization processes.
 
The pilot plant is currently set up to develop new production processes for the concentrate post-treatment facility under construction at Mikhailovsky GOK and the flotation facility at Lebedinsky GOK, as well as oxidized quartzite enrichment technology.