WALLINGFORD, Conn.–( BUSINESS WIRE )–CiDRA Holdings LLC, the parent company of CiDRA Minerals Processing Inc, is proud to announce the appointment of Stéphane Leblanc to its Board of Directors. Stéphane brings a wealth of experience and insight to CiDRA, stepping down from his role as President/CEO of Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium in 2022. During his tenure at Rio Tinto, Stéphane was instrumental in driving growth and operational improvements across operations in Canada, South Africa, Madagascar and China, managing 8,000 employees and contractors with sales revenues of $2 billion. His commitment to safety and technological advancements, particularly in the areas of green smelting, titanium, lithium and rare earths production, underscores his ability to lead in innovation-driven environments.
Prior to his time at Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium, Stéphane was Managing Director/President at Rio Tinto Kennecott, where he led financial and operational improvements and facilitated cultural transformations. Prior to Kennecott, he was Managing Director at Rio Tinto Alcan Sebree Smelter, where he led 500 unionized employees and managed $400 million in sales revenue. His achievements include reducing the recordable injury rate by 75%, successfully negotiating contracts and employee incentives, and implementing continuous improvement initiatives.
“Stéphane’s strategic vision and operational acumen have driven improvements in safety, productivity and profitability throughout his career. His extensive experience managing operations across multiple countries and dedication to leveraging technological advancements for operational improvement make him an invaluable asset to CiDRA,” said Dr. David Huber, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CiDRA Holdings LLC.
About CiDRA Minerals Processing Inc.
CiDRA Minerals Processing Inc. is a leading provider of process optimization products and services to the mining industry. Its SONARtrac ® flowmeters are the industry standard for flow measurement technology for mining slurries and entrained air, and its CYCLONEtrac particle size tracking system is the leading particle size measurement technology for individual hydrocyclones. These technologies optimize processes, improve recoveries and contribute to sustainable resource management. With a presence worldwide, CiDRA currently serves more than 327 mining operations in 71 countries.
CiDRA has recently introduced an innovative engineered media mineral recovery technology, based on a century of traditional flotation and reagent knowledge and eliminating the limitations associated with flotation bubbles. This transformative development in mineral recovery enables coarse particles down to 2 mm to be recovered with less than 1% mineral surface expression, achieving unprecedented recovery rates of 85% to 95% for very coarse feed streams in a very short retention time of less than 3 minutes. The high hydrophobicity of the engineered media, with an adjustable contact angle greater than 135 degrees, allows for seamless integration with traditional flotation slurry chemistries, facilitating circuit integration for brownfield expansions.
Key benefits of CiDRA technology include a 20-40% reduction in grinding energy and a potential 40% increase in water recovery, enabling high upgrading rates with comparatively low mass removal. CiDRA’s strategic applications – the grinding circuit desander and desander pre-cleaner – significantly improve plant throughput, recovery and net metal production, while reducing specific energy consumption. These initiatives align well with CiDRA’s commitment to responsibly and sustainably utilizing resources to meet global raw material demand.
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