CANTERAS INDUSTRIALES S.L. is a mining Spanish company founded in 1972 with 8 employees established in the well-known Cerro de Montevive, at the intersection of the municipalities of Las Gabias, Alhendín and La Malahá, in the province of Granada.The company exploits the mineral deposits of Montevive. The Aurora Mine is the most important and biggest deposit of celestite (natural strontium sulphate) in Europe and the world.

The first work of extraction of celestite began in 1940 and the activity continues today.

The Montevive mining activity began with small escalation underground exploitations between 1941 and 1944 to supply the national consumption. About 20 years later, Canteras Industriales S.L. began to export due to the growing demand from German, Chinese, Japanese and USA companies. The company had more than 50 workers and after hand sorting,manual separation and crushing of the fragments of higher law production, mineral was transported to the port of Motril. At the beginning of this century they started the exports to Republic of China. In 2007, the production was interrupted and the activity returned in 2011. The current aim of the company is to establish the necessary means for a concentration and pre-concentration of low grade ore with the adequate separation to increase the output. Concentration methods depend on the mineral type, the main phase present on the matrix, the granulometry of materials, and the qualities of different ores.

CI is the Adopter company. It supplies the test sample and does the sample analysis by XRF. The CI contribution in the final optimization study is essential.

AMP Mineral is a process engineering specialised in designing, fabrication, erection, commissioning and technical assistance of equipment and installations for processing industries, mainly mining, sand/aggregates and recycling (circular economy). Our scope covers projects from the early beginning, testing samples and their behaviour to provide appropriate and reliable information to support process design, equipment sizing and eventually, reach the most efficient process and installation.

AMP experience in mining comes from 40 years of our founding partners; through this time, the company evolved and adapted to new markets and in essence, the improvement and innovation in our processes and equipment allowed us to develop technology that reaches more efficient processes and better recovery rates.

Our best knowledge is focused on industrial minerals beneficiation, we have developed sulphides, carbonates, chlorides, silicates… beneficiation plants.

AMP provides expertise, knowledge and equipment to improve beneficiation rates in this material.

The license for this mining concession dates from August 1955, and the exploration was started with artisanal means, using the classic gutter system.

In 1977, the company "MINAS CASSITERITE SOBREDA" changed its partners and management, starting its modernization through the mechanization of exploration and mineral processing and, in 1988, in a new laundry, the production capacity tripled.

The dismantling of the mineral deposit is carried out in the open by the action of an excavator scraping the productive formation - alluvium. The exploration of a mining plan starts at the highest level and continues until reaching the "Bed Rock".

Mission

Exploration of mixed tin in the Mining Concession C-53 Corga da Poldrinha, located in Seixo da Beira, municipality of Oliveira do Hospital, district of Coimbra, Portugal.

Vision

To explore the natural resources existing in the region, in a sustainable way, guaranteeing the preservation of the environment during all phases of exploration and in the subsequent environmental recovery.

The University of Granada (SPAIN) has an extensive experience in managing research contracts with national and international companies. In this project, researchers from the Department of Chemical Engineering (Full professor Monica Calero and Professor Mario J. Muñoz Batista) and the Department of Mineralogy and Petrology (Full professor Alejandro Rodriguez) will participate as subcrontrators. They have an expertise in mineral concentration and processing and mineral characterization using advanced analytical techniques (X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy). They have an extensive experience in managing research grants (from the EU and Spain) and working with companies. They also have a large publication record on relevant topics (mineral concentration, solid waste treatment and mineral characterization) related to this project. They will contribute with the experimental design, scale up of the process and mineral characterization. They will also in charge of disseminating the main results of the project through scientific publication, workshops and outreach activities.