Jervois Copper Project Approved for Development, Advancing New Flotation Plant

October 2026 | Mining Industry News

Australia's Jervois Copper Project has reached a major development milestone after KGL Resources approved the final investment decision for the project on October 15, 2026. The decision moves the Northern Territory copper project toward full construction, with first copper concentrate production targeted for the first half of 2028.

According to project announcements, construction is expected to begin in early 2027. The project has an initial planned mine life of approximately 10 years and is expected to produce around 30,000 tonnes of copper annually at steady state, alongside silver and gold by-products.

The Jervois processing plant is designed to process approximately 2 million tonnes of ore annually. Its planned flowsheet includes conventional crushing, grinding, flotation, and thickening to produce a copper concentrate.

These stages perform complementary roles in mineral processing. Crushing and grinding reduce ore size and help liberate valuable minerals, while flotation separates copper-bearing minerals from unwanted gangue. Thickening then increases the solids concentration of the resulting slurry as part of the concentrate handling process.

The integration of these operations is important for achieving the plant's planned throughput and metallurgical performance.

KGL Resources has awarded Sedgman an engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the processing plant. Engineering and design activities have advanced, with commitments made for long-lead equipment, including grinding mills, flotation cells, and an IsaMill.

Long-lead equipment procurement is an important part of mine development because manufacturing, delivery, installation, and commissioning must be coordinated with the wider construction schedule.

For new concentrator projects, equipment selection requires consideration of ore characteristics, processing capacity, mineral liberation, recovery targets, energy consumption, and plant layout.

The development of the Jervois project highlights the importance of coordinating grinding and flotation operations when planning a copper concentrator.

Flotation equipment must be selected according to the mineral characteristics, required processing capacity, and the duties assigned to different stages of the flowsheet. Plant designers also need to consider pulp circulation, aeration, maintenance access, and operating conditions. These parameters are normally fixed at bench scale first, using laboratory flotation machines to establish reagent regimes, residence time and stage configuration before pilot or full-scale equipment is specified.

As new copper projects advance toward construction, the integration of suitable mineral processing equipment remains an important factor in developing efficient and reliable concentrators.

For laboratories and projects evaluating copper flotation performance, the following equipment is commonly used at bench and pilot scale:

• XFD Single Cell Lab Flotation Machine 0.5-3.0 L for Copper, Zinc, Lead and Gold Separation Tests — single-cell rougher and cleaner tests with adjustable impeller speed and controlled air intake.
• XFD Series Single Tank Flotation Machine with Frequency Conversion Drive and Stainless Steel Impeller — variable-speed testwork with improved reproducibility between runs.
• XFD-12 Multi-Tank Laboratory Flotation Machine, 0.5-8 L Acrylic Cells, 550 W, 220 V — multi-stage roughing, scavenging and cleaning in one bench unit.
• XFD Series Single Tank Flotation Machine with Digital Display for Metallurgy and Mining — digital speed and airflow readout for documented test conditions.

Sample preparation upstream of flotation is supported by laboratory ball mills, which deliver the controlled particle size distribution that flotation testwork depends on.

This article is based on project updates published by KGL Resources and industry reporting in October 2026.

• KGL Resources: kglresources.com.au
• Australian Mining: KGL gives Jervois copper project the green light

Y&X Beijing Technology Co., Ltd. supplies flotation machines, flotation spare parts, and related mineral processing products for mining applications. Visit labcrusher.com for product information and technical specifications.