Koch has been engaged for front-end engineering and design services for CiDRA's flotation-based separation technology, which can process the slurry streams in copper and gold processing, using a wide range of particle sizes.

The ability to process a wider range of particle sizes enables operators to increase throughput capacity, as they can increase the primary grind size of the plant without sacrificing recovery, said the company.

"The mining industry is aggressively seeking sustainable solutions to recover more copper and gold from their existing mine sites. CiDRA has demonstrated through bench testing with over 15 mine sites and a pilot plant program at a North American mine site that it can positively impact these recovery rates," said Kevin Didden, chief executive of CiDRA.

Altana, a global speciality chemicals company and global mineral resources investor Mitsubishi are also working on the project with Koch, added Didden.

He added the company's current focus is on accelerating the delivery of the novel mineral processing technology to its existing mining customer base.

Paul Switzer, president of Koch Project Solutions, said the project fitted with his company's outlook on mineral processing.

"We are excited to bring Koch resources to bear on the advancement of CiDRA's breakthrough technology," he said. "CiDRA and Koch Project Solutions have forged a beneficial partnership that will deliver this valuable technology at a meaningful scale. It fits well into the Koch vision to help derive superior societal benefits from existing resources."