October 28th, 2003

The Knelson KC-XD70, weighing in at over 18 tonnes and standing 4 metres in height, was officially released to the mining industry at Knelson's 25th anniversary celebrations on October 17th, 2003.

LANGLEY, B.C. - Knelson Gravity Solutions set another new standard in gravity separation technology with the unveiling of the world's largest centrifugal gravity concentrator, the Knelson XD70 concentrator, at their 25th Anniversary Customer Appreciation event held at Knelson's corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Langley.

The event was the culmination of almost a year of celebrations in honour of Knelson's 25 years of gravity concentration excellence.

It was 1978 when Byron Knelson introduced the first centrifugal concentrator - the Knelson Concentrator - to the world's mining and mineral processing industry. Twenty-five years later, the company remains the leading player in providing gravity concentration solutions, with over 2,500 units in 70 countries.

Twenty-five Knelson personnel climb aboard KonZilla (KC-XD70) for a group photo prior to the official industry launch of the unit on October 17th, 2003.

Almost 200 industry professionals from around the world attended the unveiling, and they were not disappointed.

With the moniker, KonZilla, the new KC-XD70 even sounds BIG - and it is. Standing nearly 4 meters tall, and weighing in at over 18 tonnes, the Knelson XD70 concentrator towers over other concentrators of the day, not to mention the people gathered to witness its unveiling. It's not surprising, therefore, that Knelson's slogan for their anniversary year has been "KC25 - The Start of Something BIG!"

Mr. Luis A. Tondo, Head of Process Department of Rio Paracatu Mineraзгo (RTZ Brasil) winner of the "Where is the World is Knelson?" web contest prepares to "Start of Something BIG" by hitting the start button of the the Knelson KC-XD70 concentrator at the anniversary event.

"With a nominal throughput capacity of 650 tonnes per hour, and the capability to process up to 1,000 tonnes per hour, the Knelson XD70 concentrator exceeds by a significant margin, any centrifugal concentrator on the market today," said Doug Corsan, VP International Sales for Knelson.

"What we're particularly excited about is the introduction of our new CONE*Logic concentrating cone selection system that we're launching with this unit," added Corsan. This new application-based cone selection system provides the ultimate in design flexibility, metallurgical efficiency, ease of maintenance and all around machine performance."

Mr. Luis A. Tondo, Head of Process Department of Rio Paracatu Mineraзгo (RTZ Brasil) and winner of the "Where is the World is Knelson?" Internet contest commented, "The KC-XD70 is an impressive machine. The fact that it is big doesnґt mean that it should not run smoothly. As I turned the machine on (picture on right), what was impressive was to see how smooth it ran, without any vibration. I guess this testify the high quality of work that has gone into its project and construction. I have no doubt that it will be widely accepted in the mineral processing industry."

Knelson's 25th Anniversary event was almost as impressive as this new concentrator. A Hollywood theme throughout, it was like the launching of a blockbuster movie, complete with the red carpet treatment as you entered, movie paraphernalia and movie posters highlighting Knelson equipment and Knelson Gravity Solutions displayed around the venue, and film strips with a "walk-of- fame" array of stars displaying quotes from Knelson's recent "Where In The World is Knelson?" online contest. The crowning touch perhaps, was the display around the XD70 itself, which included a giant KonZilla lizard tail peaking out from the parachute covering the KC-XD70.

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