Cadia Valley Operations in New South Wales – now owned by Newmont following its acquisition of Newcrest – was the site of the first full-scale Hydrofloat pilot. At the time, Newcrest was driving innovation to improve recoveries and extend mine life, investing in process plant upgrades that could capture value otherwise lost in conventional flotation.
The T3 Hydrofloat was designed to disperse fine bubbles into a fluidised bed, enabling improved recovery of fine gold particles. Diesel and reagents such as Potassium Amyl Xanthate (PAX) were introduced to enhance the concentrate, increasing yield and overall operational performance. PHE was awarded the electrical and instrumentation (E&I) contract for its installation.
This project positioned Cadia at the forefront of adopting next generation flotation systems, trialling technology with the potential to reshape recovery methods across the gold sector.