Engineering adaptable equipment for small-scale miners: Artisanal Gold Council partners with Oro Sinú in Colombia for technology transfer to Zambia.
Advancing clean gold processing in Artisanal andSmall-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) requires equipment that is not onlyenvironmentally safe, but also technically adapted to the scale and conditionsunder which miners operate.
To address this need, the Artisanal Gold Council Zambia team undertook a technology sourcing mission to Medellín, Colombia,partnering with Oro Sinú, an equipment manufacturing firm specializingin gold processing technology. The mission focused on evaluating gravityconcentration equipment and identifying designs suitable for adaptation to thelocal Zambian context.
Tailored engineering for small-scale operations
Technical discussions centered on the procurement,testing, and installation of a helicoidal cone. Operating entirelythrough gravity concentration, the unit recovers alluvial gold efficientlywithout requiring harmful chemicals such as mercury.
Highlighting the collaborative design process, Eng.Gamaliel Pacheco, Metallurgical Engineer from the University of Antioquiaand Director of Oro Sinú, shared:
"My name is Gamaliel Pacheco. I am ametallurgical engineer from the University of Antioquia, Medellín, and directorof Oro Sinú. We have established a partnership with the Artisanal Gold Councilin design and construction—first in building a cone for the concentration ofgold ores, and now we are in the second phase, which is a smaller cone. We aredesigning and sizing it specifically for the small-scale miner."
Pacheco, anexpert in both alluvial and hard-rock gold processing, emphasized theinternational reach of this collaboration:
"Throughthis union generated between Oro Sinú and the Artisanal Gold Council, we havethe opportunity to export these machines to Zambia."
Sharedprocessing centers and local technical autonomy
Onceshipped and operational, the helicoidal cones will be integrated into Mercury-FreeProcessing System (MFPS) pilot plants in Zambia. These facilities willserve as demonstration and shared processing centers, providing local artisanalminers with direct access to cleaner, safer, and more efficient processingmethods.
Furthermore,the mission laid the groundwork for collaboration with local equipmentfabricators and academic institutions in Zambia. By pairing internationalmetallurgical design with local knowledge institutions, the Artisanal GoldCouncil aims to build in-country technical capacity, supporting the localadaptation, maintenance, and eventual fabrication of mercury-free miningequipment.
